Any Hesi fundamentals exam experiences?

[VJN11]

Hi all,

I just recently took my Hesi fundamentals exam for the end of this semester and I failed pretty badly. My program does not require us students to get a certain percentage on the tests, but it is very upsetting to get a such a low score and it makes me fear of what to come in nursing school. I did not study really because our professors did not really stress that it was important. I feel like this has already pre-determined my NCLEX results even though its still really early in the program. I was wondering if anyone out there has had a similar experiences or has any tips about these kinds of tests. Or has anyone improved their hesi scores throughout the semester? Anything will help, I am just feeling so pessimistic right now

[dreamchaser14]

Hi. My classmates and I took the HESI on Monday I can completely relate. It was indeed the content that we went over in our Foundations class, but on steroids. I went through it not really sure of my results, fortunately I was able to pass but it was more luck than anything. Since its such a broad amount of information you're going to have to rely on your knowledge and most importantly trust your reasoning. It helped me to not look for the correct answers, but I explained to myself why the other answers were wrong. Do NOT give up. I know its the cliche thing to say around here but its the truth, nursing isn't linear and neither is being a nursing student. Don't take it too hard, just learn from it and keep it moving. Brush up on those things you know you may not be strong in (sterile technique, assessment skills, etc.). And lastly, as far as NCLEX is concerned, no test no matter how low or high you score determines your intelligence. You have much farther to go and with time you'll learn tricks. GOODLUCK!

[AceOfHearts<3]

I'm assuming this was your first HESI. I would relax and not worry too much. It takes some time to get used to HESI. One of my lowest scores was on the first one, which was fundamentals. My program counted them towards our grade and they were worth more and more throughout the program, but the first one was just 5% because they didn't expect most people to do very well on it.

[guest908299]

I agree with AceOfHearts above. If this was your first HESI, don't stress too much. It is likely a different type of testing than you are used to and the "right answers" will not always be identical to what you've learned in class or seen in clinical.

Do you have access to Adaptive Quizzing or Case Studies/Patient Reviews (through Evolve) or any form of practice questions through your school? There are a few great HESI review books, but once again, I wouldn't stress too much if this was just your first experience with HESI :)

[Horseshoe, BSN, RN]

Hi all,

I did not study really because our professors did not really stress that it was important. I feel like this has already pre-determined my NCLEX results even though its still really early in the program.

Unless you plan on "not really studying" for the NCLEX, I wouldn't worry about it. If you'd studied your brains out and thought you'd done fabulous, only to discover you failed badly, you might have cause for concern. Put it behind you, give your studies 100% effort, and do better in the future.