What's the worst you've done on an exam?

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Specializes in CVICU.

Today, we had our 2nd Med-Surg exam which covered the neurovascular system, the GI system, and the renal system, including assessment of, pathologies concerning, s/s and treatment of said pathologies. Some conditions covered include different types of seizures, peptic ulcer disease (gastric and duodenal ulcers), calcium stones, kidney stones, UTI's, glomerulonephritis, blahblah. Oh, and lab/diagnostic tests concerning these. So in other words, it was a ***** of an exam.

I did the worst on this exam than any other exam I have had in nursing school, with a score of 56.88. I was like.. O.O. Last semester, the lowest score I had gotten was 81%. But 2nd semester is a whole other ballgame. On our first test, only 5 people passed (thankfully I was one of them). This test, only 3 people passed. There are 31 of us.

So tell me, what's the worst you've done on a (major) exam?

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Specializes in L&D, infusion, urology.

Hm. If the pass rates are that low, it might be time to re-evaluate this program! Are the exams above the teaching level? Are people doing the studying necessary in order to pass? Are the instructors setting you guys up for failure somehow?

My lowest score was a 71%, and that was because I came in for an exam feeling like death (I'd already e-mailed the instructor to let her know that I wouldn't be staying for lecture), and I hurried through the exam, not reading the questions carefully enough. At least half of what I'd missed was because I rushed it.

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Specializes in CVICU.
Hm. If the pass rates are that low, it might be time to re-evaluate this program! Are the exams above the teaching level? Are people doing the studying necessary in order to pass? Are the instructors setting you guys up for failure somehow?

My lowest score was a 71%, and that was because I came in for an exam feeling like death (I'd already e-mailed the instructor to let her know that I wouldn't be staying for lecture), and I hurried through the exam, not reading the questions carefully enough. At least half of what I'd missed was because I rushed it.

I really try to avoid blaming the instructors for poor performance. There is no way nursing school can be completely taught, so of course a lot of self-instruction is expected of students. However, this test was kind of a special case because our renal lecture was cancelled due to inclement weather. The instructor put the powerpoint online with her notes attached and the test continued as scheduled. So, we didn't get a lecture for the renal portion of the test, but we were provided with the pp/notes. As lame as this sounds, I truly feel like it's total chance if you happen to study the correct things and can piece them together to answer the test questions. In our case, with 3 systems (Neuro, GI, renal), there are a myriad of pathologies we had to study, many having similar S/S and treatments with minor differences. With an exam every 2 weeks, it's simply a lot of information without much guidance on what specific things we need to study. However, that isn't a new concept in nursing school and definitely not the exception as far as programs go. So I guess it could be a combination of all the things you asked.

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I think it was a 72 during a med-surg exam. I was super bummed, but didn't study as much as I should have so I knew why I got the grade. I studied super hard and rocked out the next exam. I'm in my last semester and have long stopped expecting things we covered in class to be on the exam. It's the way it goes. I practice with a lot of nclex-style questions on the topics we're covering.

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So far in nursing school, my lowest grade is the 70 I scored on an exam last semester. A family emergency came up and I asked my instructor if I could take the exam 2 days early. I was not nearly prepared! That 70 was a real bummer. I worked my butt off and ended up 2 points away from an A, scoring a B+ (my lowest grade in nursing school) as my final grade.

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I think my worst one ever was somewhere around 69. Did not study much, clearly.

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82%...but below 76 is failing in my program so even that score gave me palpitations! I am usually hovering around 88-92. That's a B.

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My worst was a 64% O.o

There was a big cheating scandal and the teacher changed the test completely. I don't think anyone actually passed that test. She tested from things we were never informed on. It sucked, but I still managed to pass with a low B!

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Specializes in Neuro Intensive Care.

I want to say 72. Passing for our school is 75

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Specializes in Neuro Intensive Care.

Nero, renal, and GI all on one test? We test by systems. :)

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Specializes in CVICU.
Nero, renal, and GI all on one test? We test by systems. :)

I wish we did. I feel like we would learn more. But we are doing med/surg, peds, and OB/labor & delivery all during this one semester, so I guess they're trying to pack as much as they can into each test.

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Specializes in LTC.

The lowest score I ever made was an 81 on my med surg final. That test was harder than the nclex!

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