Freaking out

I understand the feeling. Grades in nursing fluctuate quite often, even our smartest students have tests where they are just off. It's very difficult to get an A on every test that you take. From my experience, those A students usually manage to find their way back to that A at the end of the semester. Good study habits and an strong work ethic usually pay off in the end. I know it feels terrible now, but later on no one is going to remember that you didn't do so hot on a few tests.

Some advice I have is to talk to your instructor, see if you are allowed to review your test. See the mistakes that you made and make some adjustments. Do no dwell on the bad score after that. Studying for nursing is different from other college courses. Nursing material is not terribly difficult but it comes at you at a VERY fast pace. It is very difficult to read everything that is assigned to you so just focus on what you need to know. Overtime, you will have to develop a system that works for you. Focus on what the teacher covers in class, know how to prioritize (use MASLOW, ABC's). If it asks what to do first, remember your nursing process (the answer will usually be an assessment). When studying focus in on what you would do as a nurse. It helps me to get an nclex review book (made easy, saunders, i love the ATI books schools hand out) which cover the main points you need to know, this way you will know what to zone in on when going over the book. I got some of these tips off this forum and found it very helpful.

Oh! and one more thing. Never, ever, change your answer you marked. I still do this, and 91% of the time I change it to the incorrect answer. This is something nursing students complain about all day.

Good luck in your studies.

Have you ever heard the saying "C=RN"? Well it's true. Nursing school is hard and it's one of the few places where C actually means what it's intended to mean: proficient.