A little depressed..

Nursing Students General Students

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Took first FON test yesterday and only got a C. I thought I had done better. I know several questions I didn't go with my first instinct and that's always bad. Kind of throws me even though I know the correct response is "put your big girl panties on and study harder dummy" : ) -- I know how to fix it and that it just means I will need to do better on the next one, but still kind of unnerves me...anyone understand all that gibberish?

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Nursing school tests are hard and the questions are unlike any I'd ever encountered before. I would recommend getting "Fundamentals Success", it is a book of practice questions with rationales and doing each chapter as it corresponds to your content in class. I used that book in my first semester and I never got less than 94% on an exam. It was worth its weight in gold!

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I think most of my class received C's on the first test in Fundamentals. It's so hard to take that first test because 1) Nursing school tests are different. 2) You don't know how your individual instructor is going to test yet and 3) You are probably used to getting really good grades in your pre-reqs.

I suggest reading Test Success for Nursing Students. It gives rationales and tips/tricks to help you define why you choose an answer over the other answers.

Good luck to you and I hope it gets better!

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Specializes in Infusion.

2nd term and I flunked a test for the first time 2 weeks ago and then got my first A on the next test. Not only do you have to know your stuff, you need to be able to read the question to see what it is actually saying, try to figure out answers that come out of no where. It's just crazy when there is more than one right answer and you have to figure out what is MOST correct for the particular time and situation.

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Specializes in Labor and Delivery.

I completely understand I am going through the exact same thing. I took my first test and barely passed.. I know I didn't study enougjh and the info seemed so easy but was so detailed on the exam if you didn't know it in and out the questions could trick you and they got me :( All week I was bumming cause I'm normally used to getting very good grades but I stopped moping (kind of) and am trying a new way to study and definately going to put more time into it. Hang in there I'ms ure we will do better :):redpinkhe

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It's okay to be upset about it. Nursing school is very demanding and you are expected to be on your "A game" the entire time. But, this was your first exam. Now you know what kind of questions to expect on future tests. Like the first poster, I recommend Fundamentals Success. Also, Test Success is wonderful! Both of these books are by Nugent & Vitale. It may seem like just extra text to read, but they are so unbelievably helpful in teaching you how to choose the correct answer and what to look for in test questions.

The answer may not be to "study harder," but it may require you to change your test taking routine. Critical thinking is a term you will hear ad nauseum through nursing school. Fundaments Success and Test Success will teach you to clear your mind, good breathing techniques, have a positive test taking attitude, it will teach you a critical thinking process. It's very important to not change your daily/nightly routine before the exam. Get a good amount of sleep. If you don't know the material at 0230, the night before your test, chances are, you won't know it when you sit down to take the test, either. And don't change your answers on a test unless you are 1000% sure it's wrong!

When reading about assessment and interventions, ask yourself why you would do this, when you would do this, how it's done, etc. You will get the hang of it. Nursing tests are a whole different animal compared to the rote memory A&P tests we had to take! One of my instructors always says, "Don't lose your common sense," when we read into questions too much. Take the question for exactly what is it and don't add any extraneous info to it. You can do it! You're in the program for a reason!

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So nice to have support from folks that understand! : ) I expected to have problems with the math part and I aced all of it. Except when I rounded up and shouldn't have. The answer on my work sheet was correct.uurgh. You are exactly right that the material seemed like it would be easier than what it was. We even talked about that before the test. Onward and upward. First of many. Thank guys! Now to work on my first concept map....yeck.

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