First test!! FAILED!!

NurseLoveJoy88, ASN, RN · Sep 17, 2008

I'm sorry you failed. You should meet with your instructors to try and figure out what you did wrong. You should also purchase a book called TEST SUCCESS ! it really helps with knowing how to read and answer questions. Don't give up. You just have to do better next time.

Saturnalia · Sep 17, 2008

I'm sorry! I can relate to what you said though.

Do you have test anxiety? I do and it has really messed me up on tests even when I KNOW the material. Having confidence about knowing the material really does help with that. Can you get your test back and look at what you missed? Maybe you can notice what went wrong...whether it was just material you didn't know or something else.

Keep your head up, I think this sort of thing happens to almost all of us. While it can be quite discouraging, don't let it keep you under!

beth66335, BSN, RN · Sep 17, 2008

I'm sorry! I can relate to what you said though.
Do you have test anxiety? I do and it has really messed me up on tests even when I KNOW the material. Having confidence about knowing the material really does help with that. Can you get your test back and look at what you missed? Maybe you can notice what went wrong...whether it was just material you didn't know or something else.
Keep your head up, I think this sort of thing happens to almost all of us. While it can be quite discouraging, don't let it keep you under!

Does your school make accommodations for people with Test Anxiety? I had to drop out after the first week of school b/c I failed a math test by 2 points...due to anxiety. They told me to have it documented in our guidance center and next Fall when I start my second year again I will get extra time or whatever I need when I take tests.

sugarbush · Sep 18, 2008

The tests are rough. I don't know about other programs, but for ours we have several professors for each class, they take turns teaching and they all write test questions so it is hard to know what to expect on exams.

You need to meet with your professors ASAP. They will help you with test taking stratagy. What works for me on exams is to read the assigned readings. I went all the way through college once only studying off of lecture notes and then started nursing school and learned that if I did not do all the reading I was not going to pass.

Good luck

Yendis, LPN, LVN · Sep 18, 2008

I can't pm on the message you sent me!!! Send me your private email and I will reply to you there!!! Hang in there!!! Don't feel bad cuz it happened to me too and I graduated!! Do you guys still have 6 exams total plus the final?

Slimlady727 · Sep 18, 2008

thanks everyone!!

i dont usually have test anxiety, but i think because this was my first nursing test, i was a little anxious. (and by the professor being 15mins late didnt help either). after looking back, i see that i second guessed myself and also the test was alot of critical thinking, when i knew the facts. i will make an appt with my prof asap. i took the math calc pre-test and got a 95, so we shall see. i feel so much better talking to my classmate because the class avg was low 75.5 so we all feel the same way.

thanks again!! :bow:

jjjoy, LPN · Sep 19, 2008

I don't know why nursing instructors don't give a practice test first to let students have some idea of what to expect on the first test. Nursing test questions are so different from what most of us are used to and there's often not much guidance on what students need to know for the tests... so students end up studying a ton of stuff, doing poorly on the test, and wondering how they could have gotten it so wrong!

The next test will be better. : )

sugarbush · Sep 20, 2008

My school does give 10 question practice exams in some classes. They don't count for anything, just to guage yourself.

We also re-take the exam as a class after the exam so we know how we did and have the opportunity to ask questions about rational etc.

Nurseinprocess · Sep 20, 2008

I wouldn't stress out too much, unless you only have one more test to make up the failing grade. I failed my first Health Assessment II exam (well I failed it until the instructor gave us some points back, and then I got a 78% (which is the lowest grade possible to pass). I left class that day pretty sure I wasn't going to go back. What was the point if I was going to fail more exams? I sucked it up and ended up with a B overall in the class :). Sometimes that first exam is just a big learning tool to find out what test style the instructor has. I just started Med-Surge I and got a B on the first exam, an E on the second. I plan on getting an A on the last one! I can lose 17 more points and still pass the class, but I am aiming for some sort of B . Don't get too discouraged about your first exam, sometimes you will just get a crappy grade and have to move on :).