Failing nursing school!!!

SierraBravo · Feb 8, 2015

NCLEX style questions take some getting used to. Once you get the hang of how to answer them then your anxiety should ease up with respect to exams.

Not to minimize the amount of work you have to do, but I did an accelerated bachelors program where we were responsible for more than 7 chapters a week... Every week... For an entire year... The moral of the story is that if you want it bad enough, you will find a way to succeed. Sometimes you have to take it day by day, literally. Like I said, it takes time to get used to NCLEX style questions. Our program used the ATI system. But you can buy a Lippincotts or Saunders NCLEX review book if you want extra practice with questions.

The good news is that you love what you're doing, that will help you get through it. And making the time to speak with someone at the school is an excellent idea. They can help you come up with some strategies for being successful in nursing school. Just keep going, one foot in front of the other and before you know it you will be graduating.

TheCommuter, BSN, RN · Feb 8, 2015

I am thinking of doing the CNA program to get more experience then do the lvn then bridge to rn route!

Not to minimize the hard work that CNAs do, but this type of employment will not help you pass your tests in nursing school. The role of the CNA is brutally physical, grueling, and focused on the completion of basic nursing tasks.

I transitioned from LVN to RN. After 11 years, my transition is still ongoing. It is hard as hell to work full-time and manage adult responsibilities while attending school full-time. I completed an LVN program in 2005, an LPN-to-ASN transition program in 2010, and will complete an online RN-to-BSN program in the next month or two.

The quickest path between two points is a straight line. You will be taking the straight line path by earning your RN license sooner than later. Becoming a CNA, then an LVN, then an RN will only extend that process by more time. In addition, there's no guarantee you'll ever return to earn your RN license because life has an uncanny way of happening.

LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN · Feb 8, 2015

Not to minimize the hard work that CNAs do, but this type of employment will not help you pass your tests in nursing school. The role of the CNA is brutally physical, grueling, and focused on the completion of basic nursing tasks.
I transitioned from LVN to RN. After 11 years, my transition is still ongoing. It is hard as hell to work full-time and manage adult responsibilities while attending school full-time. I completed an LVN program in 2005, an LPN-to-ASN transition program in 2010, and will complete an online RN-to-BSN program in the next month or two.
The quickest path between two points is a straight line. You will be taking the straight line path by earning your RN license sooner than later. Becoming a CNA, then an LVN, then an RN will only extend that process by more time. In addition, there's no guarantee you'll ever return to earn your RN license because life has an uncanny way of happening.

This.

OP; The Success Series, and other reviews related to the subjects are out there; they are available on Amazon; each have questions related to Fundamentals, Med/Surg, OB, Peds, Pharmacology; each with enough questions to help get comfortable with NCLEX-style questions.

Also what helped me with my test anxiety was doing yoga after studying, or deep breathing exercises before the test. I also understood my learning style was kinesthetic, so I focused on the action words and used imagery during the questions; and not read into the question.

Studentnurse365 · Feb 8, 2015

Test Success: Test-Taking Techniques for Beginning Nursing Students: 9780803628182: Medicine & Health Science Books @ Amazon.com

This book really helped me learn how to answer nursing questions. I went fron a 77 on my very first nursing exam to getting a 90 on my 2nd one. I continued to get high B's and A's the rest of my time in school. I utilized all of the "for success" books.

Nibbles1 · Feb 8, 2015

Are you studying too much? Staying up til 0200 isn't good either. NCLEX questions are hard in the beginning. You have critically think the answers out. Usually two are incorrect. Try process of elimination.

If i am assuming, you are studying health of the individuals and theory along with Evidence based practice. I thought those chapters were dry as day old bread. I really struggled with culture and values. Maybe it's more of the subjects you are studying and not that you don't know it. Plus, a lot has to do with the instructor. I did better with different instructors. But you said the best thing. You are going to talk to your instructor. That's the best advice I can give you. Hang in there! You got this!

MurseJJ · Feb 8, 2015

I don't know where to start but I just need to vent out of how horrible I am doing in nursing school! I study every single day, sometimes I go to sleep till 2 am and when its the day on the exam I get super nervous. My nursing friends tell me that I know my stuff which I do but then when it comes to the actual test I don't know what happens . I think I am having trouble answering nclex style question(not use to it). The first test I thought I got a B but end up getting a 73, the second one I thought I passed but no i got 70 =/.
I still cant figure out why I'm scoring low but this Tuesday I am talking to my counselor about my grades. I do love nursing , especially clinicals =). All I know is that I'm going to keep trying harder and give it my all. Oh by the way its fundamentals first semester and its 5-7 chapter each week. Also, which book will you recommend me to get to start practicing the nclex style questions? We are using the taylor fundamentals book.
For the meanwhile, i need to have a 2nd option... I am thinking of doing the CNA program to get more experience then do the lvn then bridge to rn route!

The "Fundamentals Success" book is highly recommended. You'll get lots of practice with NCLEX style questions, and, most importantly, there are rationales for each answer, which will help you understand why the answer is what it is.

Fundamentals Success: A Q&A Review Applying Critical Thinking to Test Taking (Davis's Q&a Success): 9780803627796: Medicine & Health Science Books @ Amazon.com

I am also a big fan of the "Reviews and Rationales" series of books. They provide content review plus pre and post tests for each chapter.

Pearson Reviews & Rationales: Nursing Fundamentals with "Nursing Reviews & Rationales" (3rd Edition) (Reviews & Rationales Series): 9780133083590: Medicine & Health Science Books @ Amazon.com

I took fundamentals last semester and used those two books to supplement my study. I think they really helped, and classmates were always wondering what I was doing to do so well. Once you have the content down, do as many questions as you can. I did the questions in the textbook, then in all the review books I had.

Stick with it! You're in the program now, so do everything you can to pass. Remember, whenever looking at a question, think about what I, as the nurse, can do, what is important to me, as the nurse, and what can ensure/promote the patient's safety and/or physiology.

SunnyTrailRunner · Feb 8, 2015

Fundies seems like the hardest semester just because you are transitioning from pre-req thinking to nursing school thinking.

First, do something else. What I mean by this is start doing something beneficial to your body, spirit, and mind that is not nursing related. Start running, swimming, or doing yoga. Maybe try journaling to help your anxiety. Whatever it is, you need to feel success somewhere else in your life. I promise, this will help.

Second, slow down. When you're taking the test, fully read the question. If you literally have no idea what the question is talking about, skip it. Lots of times, I will start in the back or the middle. There's no rule that you have to start at number one. If you start to feel yourself panicing, put your pencil down, close your eyes, and remind yourself that you know the material.

Third, remember that these tests are not spit out facts. You have to know the facts and then use those to get to the answer the question wants.

Good luck! I know fundamentals is a huge challenge. You'll get through it. Try to focus on learning the material so you know it instead of studying for a grade.

JoseQuinones · Feb 8, 2015

If you are sure you are mastering the material but you are simply choking at the test, then what you need is test practice. There are lots and lots of good free test banks online to help you hone your skills. Use the ones that include rationales.

And don't worry so much about whether the questions directly coincide with your present classes, because you are practicing a way of thinking, not necessarily a list of facts. I am entering my third and final year of my BSN and it astonishes me how you start to see the same patterns over and over, whether the underlying material is new or not, that guides guides you to the right answer. To help with this, maybe pick a topic that really interests you and makes sense to you, then practice the NCLEX test banks till the nursing process starts to click.

Nursing school, more than anything else, teaches a way of arranging information according to the nursing process. Learn that not just for this fundies class, but for all that follow.

CT Pixie, BSN, RN · Feb 8, 2015

For the meanwhile, i need to have a 2nd option... I am thinking of doing the CNA program to get more experience then do the lvn then bridge to rn route!

As a former CNA and LPN I can tell you...being a CNA will NOT help you with Funds nor how to answer NCLEX style questions.

As well...in my State, LPNs are given credit for the 1st year of nursing classes in a 2 year program. In the first year of RN classes, Funds in the first class. This means that the funds class you take in LPN schooling is comparable to the funds class you take in RN school. If you are having difficulty now with it, going to LPN school won't make the class easier.

When I began my nursing school journey, I picked up a few NCLEX books. I used them to help me study for upcoming tests. I'd just go to the section we were to be tested on and did those questions. I read ALL the rationales, not just the ones I got wrong. What i've always said is, you can't just memorize info. You need to know it but you also need to know how to apply that info. Knowing the signs and sympotoms of say an MI won't help if you don't know what you as the nurse would have to do. You need to know all the interventions you'd use and not do in some cases, in terms of that MI.

Also READ the entire question and figure out exactly what its asking you. If it asks for what you'd do to educate the patient, DO NOT pick a nusing intervention for that problem and vise vers. That isn't what they are looking for. If they are asking you to educate a patient on edema, do not pick 'elevate the patients legs', pick the one that educates the patient..such as to avoid food/fluids high in sodium. (does that make sense?)

canigraduate · Feb 9, 2015

Do a quick search on allnurses.com. This question has been asked many times and there are several great threads that will help.

socialworknurse · Feb 9, 2015

I second using the Pearson's Reviews and Rationales series...it is the main reason I have been able to get As in my classes.