i average low on qt 6 and 7 on kaplan

RN-joy · Aug 20, 2014

it depends if you're getting the questions wrong because you don't understand/know how to answer the question or because you don't know the content

have you studied content before doing the questions? i did qtrainers 1-4 without doing any studying and was only getting 47-53 on them. my problem was that i didn't know content. i watched the kaplan videos and took notes as review but i've heard that saunders and hurst are good as well. after you study content i would then do the questions. definitely read the rationale for ALL answers right or wrong- you want to understand if you're getting the question wrong because you didn't understand how to answer the question or because you didn't know the content. look up topics in the question you don't know or understand

before you answer any question figure out the topic of the question, for example if its asking you about normal growth and development of a 5 month old - then look at the answer choices and see how they relate to a 5 month old. usually you can eliminate 2 answers right away because they are wrong or don't relate to the topic of the question. when you're left with two think it through...which is the right answer

for priority type of questions always think airway/breathing/circulation...if you have

1) patient with a flail chest

2) patient in hypovolemic shock

3) patient w a fever

4) patient with a fracture of the right arm

look at the choices...3 and 4 are more stable patients who can wait to see the doctor...but 1 and 2 are unstable. answer choice 2 is circulation and answer choice 1 is breathing...so that would be the priority patient

keep strategy tips such as these in mind when you're answering questions. I would do a review of content first though, before you keep answering questions

RN-joy · Aug 20, 2014

also when you're reviewing make sure you're understanding the content and not just memorizing. for example hyperthyroidism can cause you to loose weight and have an increased sensitivity to heat. instead of just memorizing that information understand why...the thyroid gland is responsible for metabolism. if its hyper--that means metabolism is increased and when that happens you lose weight. the person is sensitive to heat because again, your metabolism is increased meaning your body is working overtime

once you know and understand basic information such as this it helps answering questions....for example if you had a question what should you do for this patient

1) give them extra blankets

2) give them extra finger foods

3) take their temperature

4) provide oral liquids

go through each answer choice. 1- you wouldn't give them extra blankets because they're sensitive to heat. 2) makes sense to give them extra finger foods because their metabolism is in overdrive and they're losing weight 3) important assessment but not as important as making sure the patient is maintaining weight and 4) again patient needs calories not liquids

so answer choice 2 would be correct

once you understand one disease you can usually understand the other. what i mean by this is that hypothyroidism then is just the opposite (increased sensitivity to cold, decreased metabolism---gaining weight)

hope that helps!