Failed CRNE exam being good prepared

lenjoy03, RN · Mar 17, 2008

Is the CNA 4th edition the latest?

Silverdragon102, BSN · Mar 17, 2008

Not sure why you would want an earlier edition

el_2008 · Mar 17, 2008

CNA prep guide 4-th edition is the latest and All the answers are in my memory.

I think earlier editions should differ, and I will more questions to practice.

suzanne4, RN · Mar 17, 2008

And that is where your problem is. You are not going to see questions on your exam that are in the review book, so if you memorized answers to those in the book, you were not reading the entire question thru and changes were made, however subtle.

The worst thing that you can do in preparing for an exam like this is to memorize the answers from the questions in the book, they are not going to be the same on the test.

You need to understand what they are looking for in answer, and chances are when most of the question looked familiar, you went with what you had remembered from the book.

I would not do this the next time, and you do not need earlier guides to help you pass, just the one book is just fine. It is the most current one that they have out.

mctina_20 · Mar 17, 2008

Prep guide will only help you see what kind of questions there will be in the exam.. but definitely NOT the same question. In fact the exam itself is far more difficult than the prep guide. Just based on my experience.

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Mar 17, 2008

If you really know the information being tested, multiple choice exams have some basic rules for success.

1- Read the question through at least twice to ensure you understand what the question is asking. Read only what is written. Don't make any assumptions or add anything that isn't there. Look for keywords in both the question and the responses. If there is even one keyword in the response that doesn't agree with the question, then it's wrong.

2- Eliminate the obviously wrong responses. There are often two, but sometimes only one. Any response that contains an absolute (always, never, must, shall, etc) is wrong. There are no absolutes in health care. By eliminating the obviously wrong responses, you increase your odds of choosing the correct one exponentially.

3- If you have gut feeling about an answer, go with it. DO NOT EVER change an answer once you've selected it, because the odds are heavily stacked on making a correct answer wrong. Don't second-guess yourself.

4- Ensure that you've answered every question. If you're unsure of an answer, putting something down at least gives you a slightly better chance of getting it correct than if you leave it blank.

These little rules helped my daughter, who has ADHD, succeed in a difficult university arts program. She has a serious problem with multiple choice exams and if these helped her, they will help others.

el_2008 · Mar 17, 2008

mctina_20, suzanne4 ,

You think that it is possible that the question in examen can be the exact question from CNA book, but with one - two keywords changed and so the answer will be completely different? I was quite sure having EXACTLY same questions and answers. It was so tempting to choose them, and there was A LOT SUCH questions...

I study now Mosby book (the second time, but more in deep), but I memorize all questions-answers even if I do not want it. :cry:

el_2008 · Mar 18, 2008

janfrn,

Thank you for your multiple choice advices. :nuke:

Do you know some good sources to read about multiple choices strategies?

Pediatric Critical Care Columnist · Mar 18, 2008

There are some resources on the internet that I passed on to my daughter when she was struggling. Unfortunately I'm at work right now and don't have time to run a Google search, which is how I found them in the first place. Maybe after I get up tomorrow afternoon I'll have some time to look.

el_2008 · Mar 18, 2008

Thank you, janfrn

I will do Google search myself

RGN1 · Mar 18, 2008

mctina_20, suzanne4 ,
You think that it is possible that the question in examen can be the exact question from CNA book, but with one - two keywords changed and so the answer will be completely different? I was quite sure having EXACTLY same questions and answers. It was so tempting to choose them, and there was A LOT SUCH questions...
I study now Mosby book (the second time, but more in deep), but I memorize all questions-answers even if I do not want it.

Then you're in danger of making the same mistake again! Memorising questions is not going to help. You need to understand the rationale behind why an answer is correct. Learn what it is that makes one answer more correct than another even though more than one may look right.

Jan's advice is excellent plus there are other strategies contained in the forward of the Mosby book that will also help.

I admit I haven't done CRNE yet but I did pass N-CLEX at 75 first time & am a foreign educated nurse. Although the exam questions for CRNE are going to be different to N-CLEX I believe the strategies are very similar, from the studying I have done so far.