What am I doing Wrong?? Help!

PJMommy · Nov 3, 2003

Are missing a particular type of question on the exams? Maybe your school has a study skills office that might help. Are you reading into the questions too much? Maybe over-analyzing?

My first thought when I read your message -- are you getting enough sleep? I had a Physics prof many years ago who told us we should never be studying the night before a test because, if we didn't know by that point, we weren't going to know it and we'd just end up frazzled and tired anyway.

Trust yourself that you know the material and don't go through it dozens and dozens of times. Get a good night's sleep. Have a cup of coffee before the test and chew gum during the test (both have been proven to improve test performance!).

Jen2 · Nov 3, 2003

My next exam is in two weeks, and this is how I prepare. I study each unit on my own, and answer all of the unit objectives. I also do NCLEX questions on the unit we are covering. After a full week of studying on my own, I meet with a study group twice the week of the test. Our exams are on Friday afternoon at 2:00p.m., so I'll meet with a study group that Monday and Wednesday. This really clears things up for me that I was having difficulty in on my own. Then the night of the test, I relax, take a hot bubble bath, and watch T.V.. It has become tradition now for our exams, that our study group meets at 9:30a.m., the day of the test. We go out and get the biggest breakfast you can imagine, and then go back and review once more right before the exam. We also have a lady in our class that is very religous and she always says the most wonderful prayer before we take an exam. Our instructor has also told us that eating something salty before a test helps the brain synapses. So as a joke we pass around a bag of pretzels before the exam. Ear plugs during a test helps, as well as sitting in the front so you're not distracted by others movements. Read the questions very carefully, answer those that you are 100% sure of the answer the first time around, and leave the iffy ones blank. Then the second time around they sometimes come to you. Hope this helps. Good luck.

LydiaGreen · Nov 3, 2003

I have a few tips for you.

#1 - Study in as similar an environment to the one you take the exams in as possible. Psych and human development classes taught me that recall is so much easier if the way you study and the way you write the exam are similar.

#2 - Get a pair of inexpensive ear plugs from any safety store and USE them - when you study and when you write the exams. Distractions in an exam ruin me. Took me until the end of second semester to realize that the girl smacking her gum, the guy clicking his pen, and the girl tapping her shoe against the desk are not going to quit doing it for me - ear plugs have worked wonders.

#3 - When you study, split the study time up. One hour is the maximum, then take a break and make sure that whatever you do is not similar to the material you were studying. It is easier for your short term memory (the studying) to be transferred into long term memory if it is not confused with similar material. So, don't study and then watch Trauma on TLC, (I'm always nitpicking - "did you see that guy violate his sterile field!?!")

#4 - A classmate gave me this tip - she makes little copies of study notes (large enough to read from the "throne") and tapes them up on her bathroom mirror and bathroom walls. Why take a copy of Reader's Digest in the can when you can reinforce your learning, right?

#5 - Sleep is your friend! Don't study all night, you will just confuse yourself. I used to do that. When I made a strict rule for myself about sleep the night before a test - I went from a 3.5 to a 4.0 in one semester. I am in bed no later than 10:00 p.m. the night before an exam. This insures at least 8 hours of sleep. It is so important if you want your brain to function during the exam. Seriously, rest has made the BIGGEST difference in my grades. Prior to ten p.m., I may REVIEW but I do not "STUDY". It is better to study hard the week before and then review for an hour a day prior to the exam.

#6 - There are a ton of free websites out there that share mnemonics for nursing students. They WORK. Just visit the thread for the mnemonics for the 12 cranial nerves and you'll see what I mean. Mnemonics do not replace studying, but serve as a system for remembering the basics and you can expand from there on the exam.

GOOD LUCK TO YOU!

Berta · Nov 3, 2003

My little tips...

1. Don't stay up late the night before cramming information. It will just confuse you or make you worry what you missed.

2. Get a good nights sleep.

3. On the day of the test, do not open your books, notes, etc. Don't talk with other students about the pending test. Just relax. Talk about other things, or go for a walk to destress.

4. Use a sheet of blank paper to cover the other questions. Only look at one at a time. If you don't know the answer, circle the question and go back to it at the end.

5. If all else fails, eliminate as many wrong answers as possible then choose the best remaining answer. Don't read into the question.

Good luck

MandyInMS · Nov 3, 2003

I agree with the others r/t splitting your study time up..study an hour or so..then go for a walk, or do some other activity..then go back to studying..I know my poor little brain can't concentrate for 2-3 hrs at a time..after a while my eyes start to cross and I'm not learning a thing anyway..lol..and get some much needed sleeeep..I never did well when I was exhausted...and last, don't over-analyze the questions..read it through along with answers and go with your first answer...changing answers and reading the same question over and over will drive ya nuts..and 9/10 your first thought is correct...best of luck :)

tonicareer · Nov 3, 2003

This might sound silly but maybe you are studying too much material. You are putting so much in your brain that the testing stuff is lost in there. Concentrate on the major things not all the little bit and pieces.

LauraLou · Nov 3, 2003

It certainly sounds like you are studying enough. Perhaps you have a slight case of test anxiety. I took a class on conquering text anxiety and this is what they suggested.

When you get the test, before you start looking at the questions, inhale for 3 seconds, hold for 3 seconds and exhale for 3 seconds. Do this a couple of times until you feel calmer.

Read the question very softly outloud to yourself. Make sure you really understand what it is asking. When you get nervous sometimes you read too quickly and miss important words or mistake a "which is not" for a "which is" question.

Only focus on the question you are working on. Don't think about all the other questions you have to answer. Read all the choices, even if you are sure the answer is "A". "A" may be right, but "D" may be more right.

There are a lot of books on test anxiety if you are interested.

Good luck!

LilRedRN1973 · Nov 4, 2003

If you stress at all before an exam.....RELAX!!! I'm a firm believer in relaxing before exams. I study approximately 5 hours a week, and am very attentive in class. I read my chapters (most of the time) and look over my objectives to see what I don't know. Most of my classmates study their butts off (20-30 hours per week) but then get all stressed out before an exam. Some of the ones who are studying the hardest and longest are the ones doing the poorest because they get all freaked out before a test. I keep my distance from them before an exam because stress is very contagious.

I think the reason I'm pulling high B's, low A's is because I'm relaxed while testing. This enables me to pull information from long term memory and relate it to what I'm being tested on. I have only stressed about two exams and did poorly on them. Of course, they were very difficult subjects (cardiology and neuro) but I think the reason I didn't do as well was because I got completely tied up in knots from stress.

Take one of the other poster's advice and relax the night before and morning of....don't think about the test and maybe do a mini-meditation right before the exam to clear your head of all anxiety or stress. You certainly sound like you have the basis for a straight A student and I envy your determination and discipline. And remember, some of the B and C nursing students turn out to be GREAT nurses and some of the A students don't do so well out in the real world of nursing. I'm sure you will be a terrific nurse!!!

wonderbee, BSN, RN · Nov 4, 2003

Can you focus in on specifics when you study? Is there a guide or some study questions you can start from? The idea is to take the general, weed out the extraneous, and be left with a product you can digest in bits and pieces to produce concepts, right?

I think it's great to have all those study guides available but generally for use as references. I take a nutrition class online. I read the chapters word for word, made extensive notes, took the practice quizzes and still bombed on the tests. A lot of work went into it and yielded crappola. Now I don't read the chapters any more and just answer the discussion questions and make note of where in the book I can find the information. The difference between night and day. No more bombing. The moral of the story: sometimes it is better to study smart than study lots of info.

Good luck.

meownsmile, BSN, RN · Nov 4, 2003

The suggestions on studying are great. But my first thought was ,, when i was in school (just a year and half ago) we werent allowed to take the exam away from the classroom. We could review our test, see what we had missed but then the exams were all passed back to the instructor and we didnt get copies. We even had students that were raked over the coals for writing down questions they had missed to take home to study. That was a nono too.

So, just was thinking, did you actually see their grade? or was it their report of what their grade was? There used to be a lot of chat after a test about what grades were recieved, but i never SAW their grade. That grade can be about anything you want it to be if noone saw it. Dont beat yourself up, you are actually learning the material

Nursie30 · Nov 4, 2003

Have you seen the game in the break room? Acronymity wanna play? That is how I studied, finding acryonyms for the answers that I needed to remember, I also crammed, people learn in different styles, you just have to find your style, I also figured out that a study group wasn't for me.....