(Just a rant) Are nursing test unfair....

springchick1, ADN, RN · Jun 16, 2013

Or just unnecessarily difficult....
I would say a little bit of both.
I finished my first semester and I can't help thinking how tough the next semester will be. Not because I'm not committed enough, in fact its the opposite. I put in so many hours of studying and I manage to get a grade I'm not happy with.
I asked around and the highest grade anyone got in my class was a 90%. Maybe someone got a higher grade but I must of asked at least half the class and no one did better.
I'll admit, my "critical thinking" skills are lacking and although I was able to improve by the end of the semester, it just wasn't good enough.
I ended up getting an 85% in one class and an 92% in the other. But I guarantee had I put in the amount of work I did in this class in any other class, my grades would have been close to a 100%. I cant justify this by admitting somehow nursing school is really hard or whatever. I think I've been challenged more in other non-nursing classes and nursing itself is really simple to grasp, its just a lot of information.
I wouldn't say that the test define our capabilities either. The one student who got a 90% was also in my clinical rotation. She's a smart girl but not so good with patients, or skills.
With all that being said, I loved my first semester of nursing! Just wish some teachers would take it easy with the tests.
Any of you feel the same? I'm trying to be objective but could be I'm just upset I didn't get all A's, haha.

The test are to prepare you for the NCLEX so they will be different than anything you've ever taken before. Memorizing the material won't do you any good. You have to learn it. And there are people here who would KILL for an 85 and a 92. I was always a straight A student and I'm happy with my 82 I got this past semester!

Everyone is different. Some people have horrible test taking skills and are fantastic with patients. Some do great on test but struggle more with patient care. But cut that girl some slack, it is nerve racking for some people when they first start out trying to get used to patient care and being hands on with the patient. That doesn't mean she is going to be a bad nurse. Good luck to you!

DisneyNurseGal, BSN, RN · Jun 16, 2013

My class was quite upset when the AVERAGE grades of our Med Surg I exams was 76%. Now keep in mind, in my program passing is 75% - anything lower and you have to re mediate the exam by researching every question you missed. I had to change the way I took and studied for exams. Upon entering nursing school I had a 4.0 and I was bound and determined to keep it, even though I was told it was impossible. After getting a 73% and a 81% on my first two tests, I knew I had to do something different. I stopped just memorizing data and really tried to analyze the question. For example, if the question mentioned hyperkalemia, I would stop and think of what hyperkalemia does to the body and what it would mean in relation to the rest of the body. It worked and from them on i scored over 88% on all of my tests. They want to start training us to think in new ways just like the NCLEX and the nursing profession required.

Another thing they taught us at orientation was before we take the NCLEX we should practice on over 10,000 NCLEX style questions. My nursing school fees included a database of 10,000 practice questions. Since the first week of school I make sure that I do 200 practice questions MINIMUM. I get these questions from that database PrepU, from study books I have purchased or from the internet. The more questions you do, the easier the questions get to break down, and figure out.

opto-nurse · Jun 16, 2013

My fellow classmate might one day be the greatest nurse in the entire world! But it doesn't stop me from being observant. I didn't mean to put her down but was using her as an example. She probably received the highest score in the class but because nursing isn't just about taking tests, maybe they should focus on the entire picture and not just a program that prepares you to take the NCLEX

You're right ebailey1218. Believe it or not those type of questions I do better on, still need a lot of work to get my mind thinking like that but I dont do so bad. The questions I hate are those that answers can't be found in the book. Maybe it was just my teacher but there would be questions I remembered after I took the exam and no matter where I looked, the answer was nowhere to be found. After talking to the teachers, I realized that they were questions in which you would just have to think like a nurse. I suppose thats called critical thinking but I call it a little bit unfair, as we were never taught to think like a nurse.

Anyhow, I do think its unfair for tests questions to be written the way they are but I dont waste my energy constantly thinking about it. I just dont like studying for hours only to know that i'll be getting Bs in my tests.

hodgieRN · Jun 16, 2013

I'm sure you have heard the idea of picking the righter answer. Many questions seem to have choices that could be argued either way. I still see questions that get a "oh, whatever!" from me. They are formulated like this b/c this is what happens in the real world. You have different choices on the unit and any choice is beneficial, but there is always something that needs to be done first. I try not to think of it as critical thinking....I think of it as proper problem solving. In medicine, every situation has a variance. You have to be able to solve the problem at hand while prioritizing your steps to the solution.

You have to take a step back from the question and see what it is asking you. Look at it from a different angle and assume that the question is trying to trick you. The questions are written in a curveball manner and you have to identify what the curveball is. Sometimes, knowing how to take an exam is just as important as knowing the information on the exam. If there's a whole paragraph with an H&P and lab values, read the question first, then look at the paragraph. Pick out the information you need to answer the questions and nothing more.

DLS_PMHNP, MSN, RN, NP · Jun 17, 2013

Please don't compare yourself to other students.. concentrate on your own grades and goals. Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses. Not always a good idea to ask fellow students "what did you get on the ___ test?" You will set yourself up for disappointment. Just concentrate on YOU and your goals!

I wish you all the best.

Nurse Diane

HTBAN · Jun 17, 2013

Please don't compare yourself to other students.. concentrate on your own grades and goals. Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses. Not always a good idea to ask fellow students "what did you get on the ___ test?" You will set yourself up for disappointment. Just concentrate on YOU and your goals!
I wish you all the best.
Nurse Diane

I agree with Nurse Diane. I follow a don't ask/tell policy regarding grades/tests. I find this way I'm not always comparing myself to others but encouraging myself to work hard. When asked I generally say "I did how I expected and plan to keep working hard " or something like that. I will discuss area of difficulties but try not to lament it's not helpful to anyone. My goal is to be well rounded in knowledge and skill. So far none of my RN friends have mentioned that they've been questioned on the job about their grades in nursing school :0)

PacoUSA, BSN, RN · Jun 17, 2013

Trust me, once you're an RN your patients won't care one bit that you didn't get all A's.

I know a nurse that had a 2.9 GPA in nursing school, graduated 3 years ago. You would never know seeing her @ work that she was academically poor.

JenTheSchoolRN, BSN, RN · Jun 17, 2013

Stop dwelling on the number. I did at first and it just added stress to my life. Instead, I focused on passing and doing the best I could do. When I got above a 90% (which was waaayyy less than I wanted to), I smiled and tried to remember those study habits for the next exam. Hard as it was, I had to stop comparing myself to others; every person learns a different way and has different strengths.

My patients don't ask for a copy of my transcript. And frankly, since my exams were so challenging, the NCLEX seemed less daunting!

classicdame, MSN, EdD · Jun 17, 2013

I believe more people would benefit from learning how to take tests, than from just being spoonfed information. Be glad you are getting the tests as practice really does make a difference. Ask your school to provide your computer lab with banks of old questions. The tests are not written the same way we talk, and that is a real challenge to many students.

Nursing school is an endurance test, isn't it? Keep up the good work!

ruralnurse84 · Jun 17, 2013

Trust me you are doing fine. These types of tests are to prepare you for the NCLEX and if they don't start doing them this way now, how are you going to take the harder tests later on down the road? These tests in themselves ARE teaching you how to problem solve, think critically.

ashang143 · Jun 26, 2013

@omaraver

Hello I applied to the lvn to RN bridge and hope to be in spring 2014 with you. I'm number 39 on the waitlist so I'm hoping to get in. How are my chances of starting with your class??? What should I do and prepare for while I wait?