Desperate

Sour Lemon · Jun 22, 2018

They call it "med.purge" for a reason. Hopefully you can repeat it if this semester doesn't go well. I

Scottishtape · Jun 22, 2018

Sounds like it's time to reach out to your professors for help and utilize your classmates. A lot of students see professors as the enemy who is trying to fail them, instead of the resource they really are. They can assess how you're approaching the material and help guide you so you can be successful.

Get with your classmate and find out what they are doing differently than you are. Maybe they have some good study tips. Maybe they are focusing on different parts of the material.

That will be your best bet. None of us can really help since we aren't in your program dealing with that material.

Good luck!!

rnhopeful82, ASN, RN · Jun 22, 2018

Last semester I went to the tutor after exam 1 to see what I got wrong on the test (we weren't allowed to see what we got wrong any other way) and she helped explain the rationale of each question I got wrong so I was able to understand what they were asking and how to pick the best right answer. Maybe something like that can help. Good luck!!

Sindoriel, ASN, BSN, RN · Jun 22, 2018

Medsurg 2 was by far the hardest class I've ever taken. My grades were pretty much the same you had 66 Exam 1, 70 Exam 2, and 75 Exam 3. We also had an ATI exam we had to achieve level 2 or higher on that I managed (but it ended up not being counted due to suspected cheating). I ended up needing an 86 on the Final to pass the class. They weighted Exam 1 at 23%, Exam 2 and 3 at 25%, and the Final at 27% (To make up for the original 2% from ATI).

I spent half the semester blaming our instructor for making impossible exams since half the class had similar grades as I did, but really we just weren't grasping the material. Once I stopped blaming the instructor and really got down to studying for comprehension before our 3rd exam and even more for the Final my grades showed the effort. Fortunately with the Final being a complete review of previous exams which I focused on re learning what I got wrong I managed to get exactly an 86 and overall 74.65 which my professor was allowed to round up for a C+.

The semester exhausted me and I spent almost 2 months at the end only going to school and studying or watching RegisteredNurseRN on youtube. It was all worth it, and I'm glad I never gave up. With hard work you can make an improvement and make it through.

OsceanSN2018 · Jun 23, 2018

What are your current study techniques in med surg? For my med surg class, I study by reading the chapters then reviewing and comparing the material I previously read with my teacher's PowerPoints. Then I google all Youtube w/ visuals videos related to the topic. So far, this has been helping me pass the class with really high marks.

bgxyrnf, MSN, RN · Jun 24, 2018

I'm going to reply point by point embedded in your post.

I'm in the second semester of nursing school (med-surg) and I'm desperate to pass.
#1: I breezed through semester 1. Everyone says semester 1 is awful and absolute hell but I managed it. I studied my ass off, but I also wasn't worried I would fail. (For Christ sakes my house burned down and I still made it to clinical the next morning.)
First off, ignore what other people say about the rigor of... anything. That is their experience, not yours. Apply yourself fully to the task at hand and you're far more likely be successful, irrespective of what other people say. Treat every class and every topic as though it's the most difficult thing ever.

I'd like to caution you about the free use of vulgarities that add nothing to your post because it can be (a) very offputting, (b) a very, very hard habit to break, © easy to have it leak into your speech, and (d) most people will never say a word about it but still judge you.

That is especially true for the gratuitous use of the deity, which millions of people find grossly offensive.
#2: Maybe I took semester 2 for granted because of how everyone ranted about how easy it was compared to 1.
My best performance as a student has been when I work as hard as I can right from the outset of the term and don't pollute my thinking by the expressed experiences of other people.
#3: On my first exam this semester, I got literally the lowest score in the whole class (67); that has never happened to me in my life. It's embarrassing.
Yeah, that is humiliating. That's never happened to me but I have failed classes and THAT is even worse.

It sounds like you may not have been applying yourself and hence have under-performed. The good news is that you can turn that around.
#4: Exam 2, I work my ass off...get a 70.
Effort alone is not sufficient... It is effective effort that counts. Were I in your situation, I'd spend some time reviewing just how I've been expending my effort to look for inefficiency and redundancy. For example, I've seen a tendency among students to treat all information as equally significant when it's really not. Time spent on the fundamentals will generally yield higher results than the same time spent on details. Likewise, we often spend review time looking at information that we already know (because it's easy) rather than focusing on the areas in which we're deficient.
Passing at my school is a 77.
I need an 86 on the next two exams to pass the semester. I'm feeling very discouraged because the only thing that would make my grade jump 20 points is divine intervention.
You can easily calculate precisely what scores you need in order to pass and you should do so immediately. If you're mathematically eliminated, speak to your instructor to determine if there are any alternatives... if not, spend the remainder of the term figuring out *WHY* you're struggling despite studying regularly. Clearly that's an issue with how you're approaching your studies and if you don't figure that out, your whole academic career is at risk.

I just realized that you already said that you need 86's to pass. That doesn't sound like an unattainable goal to me. I'd get in to see the instructor immediately to solicit help in troubleshooting your approach to studying. I'd talk to the tutoring center at your school, as well.
I've tried everything; I just can't pass a test.
Quote: "Whether you tell yourself that you can do a thing or that you cannot, you're probably right."

With that declaration that you've made, and which you are likely reinforcing for yourself, I agree... you likely cannot pass. I'd change that message *NOW*
I feel like I just can't do it considering I've given it my all and still can't pass.
I challenge your assertion that you've given it your all. How much thought and energy have put into critiquing *HOW* you're studying. If you haven't done that, you haven't given it your all. As I said, it's not about effort, it's about effective effort.
I feel like an absolute idiot/failure.
I know... Been there, done that...
I kick ass at clinical
Irrelevant... Practicum and theory/core knowledge are very different and require very different skills and approaches.
I run circles around my classmates when we're studying
I don't really know what that even means or how you're so sure. It does make me think, though, that studying with other people may not be the most efficient method for you. Personally, it's terribly INEFFECTIVE for me. I spend far too much time listening to and thinking about things that I already know and not digging into my weaknesses and deficiencies.
why can't I answer a question on a test? Why isn't anything sinking in?

bitter_betsy, BSN · Jun 25, 2018

I'm not in actual nursing school yet... but here are my study tactics (because I MUST keep my 4.0 to have any chance of being admitted to my program of choice).

I skim the textbook prior to class. I listen to the textbook while driving (I hate siri's voice and she always says things wrong). I print each of my power point slides on a 4x6 notecard and spiral bind them on the right side. I can see the powerpoint page on the left and I make notes on the right. When I get home - I re-write all of my notes in a 6x9 spiral notebook (easier to carry around). I have a pearson account for my class now and I do ALL of the activities available on pearson. Then I do all of the extra stuff available through the pearson site. Then I transcribe my small notebook to a smaller notebook to carry around with me (because I can't always have my phone out but I can pull out a notebook). Then I go to class again and repeat.

Repetition is key for me. When I re-write my notes I don't write them exactly the same. If I wrote a definition the first time, I'll re-group into how things are related and then again into some other way they are related. I tend to memorize things the way I read them. By the time I'm done - I've probably re-written the same thing 4 different ways and I realize "oh hey - these things go together and that's how that works" and I get the big picture and not just a single viewpoint.

I hope that helps and wish you luck. You can do this - you just have to figure out how you need to study.