ADN student needing study tips

[nursebucky]

THIS IS LONG...SO BRACE YOURSELF. Thank you for your patience.

I need advice. I am in Fundamentals of Nursing...worth 9 credit hrs. Pharmacology is wrapped into it. We had one lecture on medication admin. and the rest, you teach yourself. We have 12 books for this class. I use 2 Nclex books, and get alot of the answers right. I use a test taking book, and a Nurse Test book so that I can have sample test questions so I will feel comfortable.

I attend a school ADN- program - in Ga. I am having problems with the prioritization of the assessments on our tests or the overall test. The last two tests have been very hard. They told us to expect the last two tests to be even worse.

The material was over substance abuse, the elderly, Piaget, Erikson, Elimination, Nutrition, Legal Aspect and Psychosocial Illness....these were good lectures and I enjoyed them! I bombed the test, though!!!!! I know this material!

We lost half of our class (50 out of 100), and after todays test, I thought there was going to be a riot! The students were cursing and fussing. Most of the class failed. The teacher threatened to stop the review. I know the other students studied just as hard. We all did study groups to supplement our learning.

I studied for two weeks, know the lecture, know all of the reading assignments, receive Grades of Pass w/excellent in the SKills Lab and Clinicals at the hospital...but get to the test, and I am answering the questions wrong.

I use process of elimination, and even go slow and ask myself...what is the issue....this is my knowledge.

I also use this to follow....

Assess first, Vital Signs, Maslow

Safety

Patient first

Patient motivation - family, community support....

WHAT ELSE COULD I DO and how can I change my thinking? I feel so dumb. I am questioning myself. Not my ability to be a nurse, but if I am in a school that fits my style of learning. I don't expect this to be handed to me, but I do expect a chance to 'show off' what I know during the test.

My teachers seem to be really tricky. Teach one thing in lecture, but do something different on the test, so I try to study all of what they lecture on.

Thank you in advance to all who can offer advice.

:stone :stone :stone

[santhony44, MSN, RN, NP]

This isn't very concrete, but try to see if you can get a grasp on how they're thinking, what they're looking for. Many times nursing tests don't have questions with clear-cut right or wrong answers, but one "best" answer. Also, rely more on the book/lecture than what you may actually be seeing in clinicals, or see/have seen in "real life."

If you can and it's allowed, try to get hold of some of the instructors' old tests, not to memorize the material but to get a better feel for how they test.

My test-taking strategy was always to go through and answer the questions I was sure of and then go back over the ones which were not so certain, then use the process of elimination. Do *not* go back and change an answer unless you have an epiphany and are certain of the answer. I'm not sure how well this would work on computerized testing though!

Not sure if any of this helps. Maybe also get with students who have done better on the test and see if they can help you understand what the instructors are looking for? Good luck!

[kimtab]

Bucky,

I know where you go to school. I don't think it's you.

What I have to do is go SLOW and really pick the question apart. You can scratch out the distracting information, figure out exactly what the question is asking you. Now, before you look at the answers- decide what your answer would be. When you look at the answers, it's likely to be the one closest to your answer- but look at them all anyway. You can usually throw out two right off the bat. You are then left with two plausible answers. Analyze those with the ABC criteria, then Maslow, (or therapeutic communication if it's one of those).

I had the same instructors last year, you are welcome to PM me if you think I can shed any light.

Kim

[SmilingBluEyes]

agree with the above....

get used to the frustration....i experienced it over and over in my RN program. remember, to select the ONE best answer...and don't change your answers after ward....big mistake.

read, read read........write notes in margins........really pay attention to lectures. each instructor will have his/her own teaching style and testing style, too. you will have to get used to that, too. i can remember great frustration when one instructor LOVED my care plans while the other would slash them with red marks right and left.

not fair, but you will have to learn their games and play by their rules to finish.

best wishes to you. hang in there. you have my empathy!!!:kiss

[vemiliob]

Hi Bucky!

You see, every time one posts an answer to a thread generally is answering to oneself first. Just as a kind of reminder and often it doesn't matter if others don't pay attention to your post.

During the lasts thirteen months I went from TOEFL to NCLEX, following a 4 year BSN program based mostly on Pencil Paper multiple choice, exams. I passed my TOEFL after three weeks-training home alone with my computer. Afterwards, follow up with KAPLANS, MOSBY, and others, related to NCLEX.

I didn't go to my NCLEX yet, but I can talk about my previous experience. I Had to travel every week 800 km from my hospital, to go to classes, clinical experiences and exams during 4 years. I started with a team of six students and on the second year everybody gave up and I continued my way alone till the end of my program.

Many of my co-students where, supervisors, nursing-teachers, and nursing school directors even, obliged to go on a BSN program by the new nursing regulation. Although they knew a lot, they didn't fit in the multiple choice system.

I could offer two or three tips that guess could be of use, if you catch them.

1.Don't try to follow a formula. If you do, you'll close your mind.

2.Mostly, the answer is in the question itself.

3.There is a typical Nursing answer but NCLEX (or any computer test program) will offer mostly a lateral choice. That means not thinking on the typical answer but reading on what the computer is offering instead.

As it was said, on four questions, two distractors, two possible and one choice. I've seen that sometimes non of the four correspond to the typical. As in TOEFL test, computer tests measure more human capacity than human knowledge.

[nursebucky]

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU...to all who responded.

Kimtab...glad to know someone understands my school.:kiss