Counting the types of questions you got....

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....is REALLY not worth your time.

I see it so many times here, people record how many math, how many SATA, how many drag/drop, how many med questions, and on and on.

My question to those of you doing this (or planning to do this): how do you feel this will improve your chances of passing? Is this not a VERY unnecessary distraction to your focus?

I believe if I were sitting there making tick marks next to which kind of question was next up on the screen (and trying to read into it what it "means") it would certainly divert my focus.

Why do this to yourself? It doesn't help, it can ONLY hurt, and ultimately is useless information.

Stop torturing yourselves! Read the question, post your answer, and repeat until the Blue Screen of Death (j/k!) rears itself. Then it's over. Analyzing how many of which type is of no use to you, honestly.

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I will tell you why I did that during my recent exam. I was actually writing down the options, 1, 2, 3, 4 so that way I can cross out what I felt I knew wasn't the answer and circled the write option(s) (like for SATA) so that I wouldn't miss anything. So that's how I know how many SATA I had. The other things I just recall from memory, like an estimate of how many I came across (like meds). But I agree that it can be a waste of time I suppose.

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Specializes in L&D, infusion, urology.

I agree! It seems like several of my classmates have posted how many SATA questions they had (and ALL have been 20+:facepalm:). Just as I don't plan to do the PVT, I don't plan to make myself crazy ticking off how many of what category I've had. Only so much energy to go around, and I'd rather focus it on passing! :nurse:

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Specializes in LTC.

For me personally, I kept track of how many SATA questions I got because I was curious. I don't think you can generalize and say it can only hurt because we are all different. It didn't distract me nor freak me out to see the count of SATA questions go up. I never lost focus and I passed the exam just fine.

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I didn't keep track but since I had SATA after almost every 2 questions and sometimes, I will get a SATA and get one or two right in a row, I estimated 30ish, even my last question was a SATA.

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For me personally, I kept track of how many SATA questions I got because I was curious. I don't think you can generalize and say it can only hurt because we are all different. It didn't distract me nor freak me out to see the count of SATA questions go up. I never lost focus and I passed the exam just fine.

I'm glad to hear it went fine for you, truly. But I think I CAN generalize, because people taking this exam aren't all that different: they either are calm and collected about it, or.....not. And it seems to be this latter group that is most likely to be hyper-focused on categorizing questions....as though it mattered.

For curiosity's sake, I totally get the attraction, which is what you did. But time after time after time I see posts where people give the run-down of all the questions they had, how many of each type, and these never seem to be calm, collected people....they are typically nervous beyond words AFTER the test, BECAUSE of all the focus on how many of what. And this is what I was addressing.

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I didn't keep track but since I had SATA after almost every 2 questions and sometimes, I will get a SATA and get one or two right in a row, I estimated 30ish, even my last question was a SATA.

And did you worry that those SATA questions meant something one way or the other? Did you try to read into it how you did on the exam based on that? If yes....there is the waste of time I mentioned. If not....yay! You didn't "go there" with all that.

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Specializes in LTC.
I'm glad to hear it went fine for you, truly. But I think I CAN generalize, because people taking this exam aren't all that different: they either are calm and collected about it, or.....not. And it seems to be this latter group that is most likely to be hyper-focused on categorizing questions....as though it mattered.

For curiosity's sake, I totally get the attraction, which is what you did. But time after time after time I see posts where people give the run-down of all the questions they had, how many of each type, and these never seem to be calm, collected people....they are typically nervous beyond words AFTER the test, BECAUSE of all the focus on how many of what. And this is what I was addressing.

I just wanted to present a different perspective that's all. In your original post you didn't mention that you were speaking only of the folks who tend to freak out or not be calm. Anyway, I commend your efforts to inform folks.

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Specializes in Emergency, Tele, Med Surg, DOU, ICU.

I did not keep tract of how many of each type of questions I got because it seemed like every question was incredibly difficult.

But I did have quite a few SATA's. When I did Kaplan's alternate format test or Kaplan's SATA test I got a 30%. I did really bad on SATA. Lo and behold my very first question on the NCLEX was a SATA. Then it was SATA right after the other. I really really thought hard when answering SATA because it was my weakness.

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Who cares if somebody keeps track of the types of questions they get?!

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Who cares if somebody keeps track of the types of questions they get?!

I don't care. But you missed the point entirely.

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Specializes in Cardiac, ER, Pediatrics, Corrections.

Haha I admit, I kept tally on my white board of all my SATA. I even drew pictures to relax a little. Can't imagine what the people at the testing center thought when they erased my white board.

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