A & P Ii Test Taking

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:( :( :( Hi All,

I was wondering if anyone can offer any advice on critical thinking test taking? I just took my first exam in my A&P II class and myself along with most of the class was in awe!!! I know that I was prepared for the exam, but the questions were so broad, I struggled with them. I was faced with this in A&P I and finished with a C. I want to do better, but I am completely stumped. I heard that the book Fundamentals Success is helpful, but is it geared more for actual nursing students? or can it help pre nursing students as well (pre-req studies)? My teacher is a doctor and has never taught before, I love his lectures and feel as though I am learning the material, I studied, read and put forth great effort to be prepared for this exam, and now feel completely deflated (as does most of my classmates). I'm not certain if maybe he's just testing over our heads, or if its me, and I'm just not capable of absorbing the material at this level. Any advice and or comments would be greatly appreciated!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Hi,

The Fundementals book is primarly for nursing. It is very helpful. Being at Charity/Delgado in my first semester, I can say that what you are describing one of the "major" issues that fellow students share. The test questions that we get are mutiple choice. You can probably rule out 2 answers from the get go- but then you are left with two. This is where the critical thinking comes in. They say that they can not teach you how to be a nurse-that you must be able to think on your feet. That each patient will be different- you must be able to APPLY what you have learned to case senarios that are given.

I had very few critical thinking questions in A&P. Like others that are here, it is quite a difference to go from "black and white" test questions @ the Coke label is a) red b) yellow c) green d) purple... to these type of questions.

This helps prepare you for the NCLEX exam because this is the style of questioning-so they are getting you prepped for it...

I think the more that you read these type of questions-the better you are. The Fundementals book is great because it gives you the rationale behind each answer-as well as wrong answer (so you can see where you went wrong)

This book also has an intorduction part that tells you that you should look for key words in the questions-and underline them. I personally tend to read test questions too fast... so I make myself so down... and I take every minute of time that is offered for the test. I do go back and recheck my answers (make sure I don't code the wrong bubble in by mistake) I know everyone has a different style- its what works best for you.

I tend to think that if you are prepared for the exam, then go with what you have heard in lecture (visualize in your head)- go with what you have read in your material- don't try to "rationalize" an answer to be right when its not. You have to slow down, put a star by the question and come back to it- the answer will probably come to you be the end of the test- or you might read something in another question that may cue you to the answer.

Everyone I speak to seems to agree that if you go over your material every night- if just for 30 to 60 minutes- read a little everyday- that the more you see it, the more you get to know the info...

I think that I saw a thread on this site somewhere- (or you can search critical thinking in the white bar) to find websites or other books on critical thinking test questions. Or "Google" anatomy critical thinking test questions....

I'm not sure that this is much to offer... I feel your frustration and share in it when I take my own tests....the more you take these kinds of tests, the better you get at them...

I wish you luck......stay motivated...

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

many of the students on the nursing students forums say that getting a nclex preparation book and using it to study from changed their test scores considerably. saunders and kaplan's were the ones most praised. here are two websites that may be of help to you:

http://go.dbcc.edu/hhps/nursing/study_skills.html - study skills for the nursing student from daytona beach community college nursing department with some good advice.

http://go.dbcc.edu/hhps/nursing/test_taking_skills.html - test taking skills also from daytona beach community college nursing department. a couple of sample questions and how to chose the correct answer for these application type questions.

http://www.efn.org/~nurses/ - this is a website maintained by the nursing students at lane community college in eugene, oregon. for study and learning tips specific to nursing students click on "tips for learning" at the left side of this home page.

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Thanks Nolanurse, It helps to hear that this is a normal issue and that its not me- I was beginning to think that I just wasn't able to absorb the material all of a sudden. I did order the book yesterday, and also I got a reply about some web sites that may be helpful (you may want to look into those as well) any bit of help is always appreciated. Thanks again!!!

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Specializes in ICU.

try to read your material in your textbook at least twice ,do you do this

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