Any ideas how to pass medsurg?

[us2uk4u]

I did very well in Fundamentals but I am now struggling in medsurg. How did you get through this section of your nursing education? I study a lot but apparently I am studying the wrong things. I failed the mid-term and I studied for that test for two weeks (right after the first test finished). I thought I knew most of the subject matter, but I guess not. I even have a tutor for crying out loud.

Any ideas will be greatly appreciated. Is this class more of a care plan driven class?

[casi, ASN, RN]

I did a lot of NCLEX questions and reading through the answers.

Med-Surg is about the disease, but it's also about how to respond as a nurse to a patient with the disease.

[shanyone]

I believe Casi is right. You'll want to be sure that you have access to NCLEX type questions for studying. Doing hundreds of questions prior to exams was how I learned to answer nursing school exam questions. The rationale is presented to you after you answer and this too helped me learn about the disease process, etc.

I wish you well in class!

[Teacher First]

Try to read and study for overall comprehension, then work on application of knowledge to scenarios. Check to see what kind of computer programs your college has to help you as well as online services provided by many of the textbook providers. An NCLEX review book is also helpful as they tend to focus on the most important information. Small study groups can also be beneficial if the group stays focused as you can see a patient care scenario from different people's perspectives. Good luck!

[us2uk4u]

Thanks everyone. I do have several NCLEX review books, including Saunders and MedSurg Sucess. I do well when I use the reviews but my instructor's questions don't even come close to what I read.

[Ginger's Mom, MSN, RN]

Does your school offer tutors, they can help you learn critical thinking.

[Destination1]

I bought a book titled the "illustrated study guide for the NCLEX-RN exam" seventh edition and for me it has been worth its weight in gold. If you don't have it I would highly recommend you get it.

[AZMOMO2]

Med-Surg & Patho Made Easy!

[jlr820]

Could the issue be that you have some anxiety with test taking? As others have said, one thing that you should be doing is supplementing your reading with NCLEX style study questions (LOTS of them). Nursing school exams (and the NCLEX too) are totally different from other courses. First, make sure that you understand what you are being asked (Kaplan calls this the "central issue" of the question). Look at ALL of the answer choices to help you "nail down" what you are being asked. Next, with each question, try your best to systematically eliminate answer choices. This gives you a better chance of arriving at the correct answer. Remember that Maslow, the ABC's, etc may come into play. Also, when you say you "studied for 2 weeks" can you elaborate on exactly what you did to study? Maybe your study methods aren't correct for the type of learner that you are, and you need to modify them.

[Virgo_RN, BSN, RN]

Also, keep in mind that they probably use a question bank to formulate their tests. Whatever textbook package they had you buy for your courses probably has practice sections at the end of each chapter, with many of the same questions or types of questions that are pulled from the question banks. Do the practice exercises at the end of each chapter, and do them until you get every one right.

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

keep repeating this mantra - "Others did it and so can I".

Seriously. consider a study group. Maybe your need to break out of the box a little in the way you are thinking. Hearing how others think might assist you.

[hotflashion, BSN, RN]

When I was taking tests, I would read each possible answer and write the reason why an answer was right or wrong, next to it. This helped me to "keep my thoughts straight."

Did you make any "stupid" mistakes? Like reading a question that asks you what shouldn't be done and then picking one of the answers that describes what should be done? I usually would write "yes" or "no" after each answer and then choose the "no" answer. If there are four possible answers and you have two "yeses," one "no," and a question mark, the answer marked "no" is likely the correct answer.

In all cases, be very reluctant to change an answer. Don't change an answer on a whim.

Be skeptical of any answer that has the word "always" or "never" in it. It's not true that those answers are always wrong (as I have heard some say) but I think usually they are not the right choice.

Along with ABC and Maslow, it's also important to keep in mind "who is doing the action." One focus of nursing is teaching the patient about and encouraging the patient to engage in self care; so pay close attention to any answer that has the patient doing something for themselves instead of a nurse or other health care professional doing for them. So, for example, the correct answer may be the one that has the nurse teaching the patient to use a splint to brace their incision when they need to cough.

It's possible that your instructors are writing their own questions and that they're lousy test question writers. But, no matter who writes them, not all test questions are good questions. If you can make a case for a "bad question," it's possible that you (and your class mates) will get credit for that question. (You certainly shouldn't be penalized!)

Do you have exam review? If not, ask your profs if time can be set aside for this. Talking about the questions, discussing why the right answer was right and why the wrong answers are wrong can be very helpful.

I think that test taking is a skill unto itself. Don't freak out too much about this one, try to learn from it.