Test Anxiety putting a damper on my grades..

tokyoROSE, BSN, RN · Nov 19, 2011

I would like to hear ways to combat test anxiety as well. So far in nursing school, I've just dealt with it. I have thought about going to the doctor for a rx (a few students have done this), but going to the doctor is normally my last resort.

Glenna, LPN · Nov 20, 2011

I've always hated taking tests. I always second guess myself and it's the end of the world for me. When I took A&P at the community college, my theme song was REM's, "It's the end of the world." When I got into my nursing program we had to make sure our grades stayed above a 75% or we would fail the course. 28,000 for my program is nothing to sneeze at. I would always stress and over study with flashcards all around me.

What I did to get over my stress was trying not to focus on the fact that I am taking a test. I would tell myself this is just me reviewing. You have studied. You know this information that you are going to be tested on. Your first impluse for an answer is the one you should listen to.

While you are taking the test, don't dwell on a question you don't know. Instead put an arrow next to it and go to the next question. Who cares if you skip over 10 or even 20 questions for exmaple. Just answer the ones you know right off the bat. Then go back and answer them. You will find that if you don't linger over a question for a long period of time you might be able to see the answer more clearly when you come back to answer the question.

NEVER CHANGE YOUR ANSWER AFTER YOU HAVE ANSWERED IT!

I've noticed more times if I changed my answer I'd get it wrong. Now if you still don't know the answer after you've skipped over it, either pick C, or the question that has the most words in it. Nclex books a lot of times tell you to do this.

Now, before you even open your test...don't put extra stress on yourself! Take a deep breath. Hold it. Then exhale slowly. You will find that a lot of stress will come out this way. It is, what it is. One of my classmates would always tell me when I would freak out over a test. What is the worst that could happen? I fail the test. Okay. You'll learn from what you did wrong and you'll correct it for the next test.

You will do awesome. I have faith in you. If this person (me) can get over the fear I had that if I failed a class, I'd have to wait six months before I could retake it...let alone have to redo all the other classes that I had to take that term even if I passed them. Yeah, if I can get over my stress of taking tests I think you will be golden.

I hope this helps.

nalaa83 · Nov 21, 2011

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer. I really appreciate this. Yes I will follow those strategies that you mentioned. I will try not to focus on it being a test and think of it as reviewing. I am now going to be studying for my final and my comprehensive ATI exam.

Thanks again!!!

Mentalageis16 · Nov 21, 2011

studying is the only way to make higher grades, reading the same thing over and over again maybe boring and time consuming, but it helps to retain information.

Anxiety is normal when your grade is close to 80, turn it into eustress and make it a game to win for passing the class. it's actually funny, when you treat the studying part as interesting, you actually will find yourself learning. if you think everything is boring, then you won't learn, if you learn, you won't appreciate it.

ms_sgr, BSN, NP · Nov 21, 2011

I often have anxiety when taking test. I started taking SAM-e and it has helped me a lot.

Double-Helix, BSN, RN · Nov 21, 2011

Talk to your advisor about ways to manage test anxiety. You might find deep breathing, visualization, or certain study tips to be helpful.

Test anxiety is something you need to learn to master now. The NCLEX is the biggest test of your life, so anxiety is always high. Learning to combat this now will make it much easier for you to pass NCLEX.

JBMmom, MSN, NP · Nov 21, 2011

There should be a few resources available through your school that might help. A tutoring center might be helpful to zero in on your most effective study techniques. Even if it's not nursing specific, we've had a few students find that helpful. Your teachers might have some good ideas on how their specific questions are picked related to how the material has been presented. For fundmentals, I don't think an NCLEX book is the most helpful because there's a lot of information you haven't yet been exposed to, but I've heard great things about Fundamentals Test Success for first (and second) semester tests. I think ultimately, though, you have to learn to put your anxiety aside to take the test. Figure out how you best take a test. For me, I read through the questions until I find one I'm absolutely positive on. If it's the first question, I feel great, but even if I have to read through three or four, I don't even think about it until I've found that "Yes!" question. Our exams always have math questions at the end, so I might even just skip to the back and do those first- it puts me in a good frame of mind and then I settle in to the rest of the class. You absolutely can't look at that test and start thinking- if I don't pass this test, I'm out of the class, and then I'll have to retake the class, or drop out of school, life as we know it comes to an end.... Just try your best to relax. We all know it's not easy, you can do it.

loveoutloud · Nov 22, 2011

Look into deep breathing techniques. It helped so much with me

nalaa83 · Nov 22, 2011

There should be a few resources available through your school that might help. A tutoring center might be helpful to zero in on your most effective study techniques. Even if it's not nursing specific, we've had a few students find that helpful. Your teachers might have some good ideas on how their specific questions are picked related to how the material has been presented. For fundmentals, I don't think an NCLEX book is the most helpful because there's a lot of information you haven't yet been exposed to, but I've heard great things about Fundamentals Test Success for first (and second) semester tests. I think ultimately, though, you have to learn to put your anxiety aside to take the test. Figure out how you best take a test. For me, I read through the questions until I find one I'm absolutely positive on. If it's the first question, I feel great, but even if I have to read through three or four, I don't even think about it until I've found that "Yes!" question. Our exams always have math questions at the end, so I might even just skip to the back and do those first- it puts me in a good frame of mind and then I settle in to the rest of the class. You absolutely can't look at that test and start thinking- if I don't pass this test, I'm out of the class, and then I'll have to retake the class, or drop out of school, life as we know it comes to an end.... Just try your best to relax. We all know it's not easy, you can do it.

Thanks so much for the advice. I do have a NCLEX review because I am in Advance Med Surg. I find it more difficult to master but I am going to take your suggestions. I did not do well on my Neuro Exam I got a 78 so my average is 79.5. I need to pass the final with at least a 78 and do well on the ATI in order for me to pass the exam. I really appreciate everyone taking the time to offer me advice. I will update you all. Thanks so much!!!!

nalaa83 · Dec 13, 2011

Well I have passed Adv Med Surg with 82. I am happy.

jesskidding, LPN · Dec 14, 2011

I suffered from horrible test anxiety until I got my act together and did something about it.

There are resources at every school that can help you. I would take advantage of this and meet with them and listen to what they advise.

I helped myself though and you can too. What I did was as soon as I got the test I would write on the back all the information I could think of that was relevant to the test. Things like; lab values, etc.

Then, I would cover the multiple choice answers with my scan-tron sheet. I would then read the question a few times to be sure I comprehend what they were asking. Then I would write what I thought was the right answer before looking at my choices. 9 times out of 10 the answer I wrote was one of the answers.

This helped me so much. I would also take a little break after 20-30 questions to stretch and just relax for a few minutes before continuing the test.

On my finals I made above 90% on each one without any test anxiety.