Am I doing these critical thinking questions wrong??

[The0Walrus, BSN, RN]

I've been doing as many critical thinking questions as I can find on the topics that my next test is on. The first round I go through these questions I get maybe 50% right! Obviously the 2nd round I'll get them all right. I'm really worried this is not good because I'd imagine you should get them right on the first shot. I have been doing ATI questions and Med Surg success. I know these questions well so when I do them I give my rationale of why they're right but I know they're right. I've found a few more questions here and there but I know the wording already so I've just been going over them and giving the rationales. Should I be worried that I would get 50% correct the first time and the 2nd I get the all right? Does anybody else have this happen to them?

Thank you in advance. I greatly appreciate your opinions. This is really bothering me and I would like to get in the 90s.

[AliNajaCat]

If you're congratulating yourself on getting the right answers on the second go-round of the SMAE QUESTIONS, you're deluding yourself into thinking you've learned something. But all you have demonstrated is a decent memory for the same material once you've seen it. Learning (and successfully testing on) critical thinking requires you to learn the reasons for your decisions. "I remember this from the last time I saw it" doesn't meet that criterion.

Suggest that you get a couple of those big NCLEX review books that give you the rationales not only for why the right answer is correct but also why the wrong ones are wrong. You should be able to learn a lot more from those.

[cayenne06, MSN, CNM]

Maybe you can post an example, and show us how you work through it? I'd be more than happy to help.