What's wrong with me?

Nursing Students General Students

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I am 5 months into Nursing school, taking Fundamentals. So far, I have been passing with a C. A bit of background, I was one of those students who did not need to study and I would still receive A's. Fast forward- from my very first exam I quickly noticed Nursing school would require much more, therefore I studied and read a lot.

My dilemma right now is, I have about 4 more weeks to complete this semester and Med Surg will begin in May. I Just failed one of my exams by 2 points, therefore I only have 2 more exams to increase my grade and those exams will be on Fluids and Electrolytes (which I'm told is very difficult). I am not sure what is wrong with me or if it's just extreme test anxiety. I know the information, but for some strange reason that I cannot comprehend I'm getting C's or failing. I find that while sitting the exam, I sometimes choose the right answer and then erase it. Also, as soon as the time is up, all the wrong answers I chose comes rushing to my brain. Finally, when I review the exam, it's as though I did not read the exam, because there is no way I would choose some of the answers I did. Ps- This is only happening on my lecture exams

If anyone has any tips on how they prepare for an exam/ tips on how to deal with test anxiety, please share.

Thank you.

Specializes in ED.
I would tell my students to read the question completely before answering. Try and answer the question before looking at the answers given. My saying to them was, "know what it is so you will know what it ain't". I also had a few students that I made them take their eraser off their pencils. Breathe! Make flash cards. Take your time unless of course it is timed, leave more difficult questions for last. You can do this but I know some days you feel you can't. There are so many free reference information "easy to learn" electrolytes/fluid balance help that you may benefit from. Good luck!

This worked for me. I covered the answers with my hand or scratch paper if allowed and only looked at them after I read the question and had an idea of the possible answers in my head. And like others suggested, don't erase or overthink, even when you feel a strong urge. Your brain pulled the initial response from the "database" it retained earlier in the lecture or sometime during reading, trust it! As you progress through the courses, you will get better at answering those type of questions.

I also recommend UWorld; it has excellent rationales (especially the ones that explain why you got it wrong). UWorld questions are the reason I got through the NCLEX with zero anxiety and in record time.

Good luck!

Thanks for all the tips! :)

I also want to say, keep your head up! Nursing school is HARD, and even some of the smartest students struggle. Your grades in nursing school are NOT an indication of how good of a nurse you are going to be. Just find the study habits that work best for you and try your best. You can do it!

On my test paper I would always circle the words first. most important, and always remember ABC, airway, breathing, and circulation because without those 3 meeting that main criteria your patient will die..like it does no good to do a dressing change on a dead person (a good example)..so always keep that in mind on tests..I had some test problems in my first semester then another student shared those tips with me and bang..my thought process changed and I made great grades after that..

Specializes in ED, med-surg, peri op.

Practice questions helps you to pass test, but it doesn't help you be a good nurse.

I think you need to do more study Because what your doing isn't working. Saying your failing but you know the material means Your not aware of what you don't know.

I like to study like I'm already a nurse and explain to myself what I'm doing. For example if you are studying diabetes, think of a pt and what nursing care you would give and what your priorities are. Then rationalise it. Like monitoring feet for this which is caused by this because of this so I would do this and this.

This method will also help you lots when your in clinicals because you've already linked the material with nursing care.

It's frustrating when you know the material and put in the time but it isn't reflected on your scores. I was in your same situation hence my extremely long reply! But if I can do it, so can you!

Study smarter, not harder. Figure out what you don't need and cut out unnecessary busy work because you end up spending time trying to complete everything in preparation and in reality, haven't even learned anything. Like someone else said, cover the answers so that you read the question and formulate an answer first. Then choose the one that is closest to your answer. The answers may ALL be correct but you need to choose the one that is MOST correct and is specific to the question. Do as many practice questions as possible and you'll learn things such as follow the ABCs and most of the time, you need to assess” the patient so know prioritization rules. Rarely is the answer Call the doctor” because you need to "assess" the patient prior to calling the doctor- right? And for questions where the nursing assistant is involved, they NEVER assess” so know their scope of practice as well.

Re-read the question again to ensure you understand what it is truly asking. Is it asking for a right” or wrong” answer. What comment by the patient tells the nurse that the teaching was ineffective?” In this case, you are looking for a wrong” answer. Don't over analyze and overthink things. They're not meant to be trick questions. Know the important take aways that was stressed during lecture as these are what you're most likely to be tested on. Memorize your normal lab values and other important numbers so that abnormal values will stick out and help you narrow down your answer.

Youtube has several videos on How to answer nursing exam questions” that I found very helpful. Answering select all that apply (SATAs) questions for instance, you already know the minimum correct answer is two. Then you read each option as a true” or false”. If your exam is online like mine, we were taught to save each answer before proceeding to the next. If you don't, the selected answers would jump” to a different one you didn't mean to select and end up getting them wrong.

I noticed some of the end of chapter questions in the required readings were recycled on exams as well so it's worth doing them. And always read the rationales and ensure it makes sense to you because even if the question is re-worded, you'll still understand the concept. Figure out each professor's style and you can anticipate the type of questions that will be on that section of the exam. Does one professor ask questions from her powerpoint material while the other asks questions off of required textbook readings? Or are they off of random” stories during lecture that you didn't think was important but recognized on the exam?

If the way you're studying is not working, change it. If you used to study by yourself, join a study group. Find someone who's doing well and ask them how they study. Recording the lectures and replaying them over and over has saved me. I play them at home and follow along with the powerpoint and add my own notes to it and study off of that. Always review the answers at the end of the exam and if you're allowed, ask the professor to go over your exam questions during office hours. The professor can break it down for you and help you to see what they were looking for. Ask the professors if something will be on the exam or how in depth you need to know something. My professors have always been upfront and tell us what we need to know and what we don't. Ask for a breakdown of how many questions are on each subject so you know where to focus your efforts. Take advantage if your school has special accommodations for students that have test anxiety as it allows you more time on the exam. Take deep breathes and stay away from nervous classmates right before the exam so as not to have them rub off on you. Chew gum or wear ear plugs if allowed. During the exam, you'll recognize which questions go with which lectures... focus and pull the answers from that lecture to answer those questions.

Finally, nothing's wrong with you. Welcome to nursing school! And good luck.

That's exactly how I was feeling, completely frustrated, knowing that I know the answers, but they were not reflecting in my grades. Thank you for this very thoughtful post!

I had the same trouble as you. Never really had to study, then struggled in 1st semester of nursing school. I didn't know how to study because I never needed to. Luckily, I had an aunt who was a learning specialist and she helped me to develop some much-needed study skills. I would suggest a visit to your schools learning center for some help. They can teach you how you learn best so that you can tailor your studying to your learning style.

Specializes in CICU, Telemetry.

What's wrong with you? Your middle school and high school didn't challenge you enough that you had to learn to study. Now, you're having to learn a skill that your peer group already has about 10 years of experience in. It's going to be bumpy and take some time to figure out. I Had to spend every free second my first 3 semesters or so on content because I didn't know how to study efficiently. Like any skill, the more time you put in, the better you will get. You just need to 'practice' at studying, which is something normal people don't have to do, because they've actually been doing it forever.

Practice questions helps you to pass test, but it doesn't help you be a good nurse.

I think you need to do more study Because what your doing isn't working. Saying your failing but you know the material means Your not aware of what you don't know.

I like to study like I'm already a nurse and explain to myself what I'm doing. For example if you are studying diabetes, think of a pt and what nursing care you would give and what your priorities are. Then rationalise it. Like monitoring feet for this which is caused by this because of this so I would do this and this.

This method will also help you lots when your in clinicals because you've already linked the material with nursing care.

She's only in Fundamentals. Certainly your advice is good for later on (Med-Surg).

OP - practice, practice, practice. Make up tests of your own. Base them on the material you have been given in class.

Get a tutor.

Study with a friend or 2. Don't goof off. Make each other accountable.

"Teach" the material to a friend. When you have to teach material to someone else, you have to really learn it.

Do your books have tests, case studies, scenarios in them for you to practice? You can probably find some practice exams in the library or online.

Never mind that someone else thinks Fluid and Electrolytes is a hard topic. You can master this truly fascinating material.

Get enough sleep, exercise, good nutrition, sunshine now that Spring has sprung, get enough spiritual refreshment - enjoy watching the birds, go to the Zoo and lose yourself for an hour in the fascinating world of animals, take a bike ride or a hike. Play some good music or read poetry that refreshes and challenges you. Take your mind completely off of school for a little while. You'll be much fresher when you go back to it.

Keep us posted.

A few thoughts about this sitting from the instructor side as someone who writes ands adminsters exams to nursing students at many levels:

1. DON'T CHANGE YOUR ANSWERS-fatal student mistake#1. I had a grad student give away 10% of an exam score by changing the answers.

2. At the undergraduate level-a really good test is going to require you to more than know and understand the content. The NCLEX tests your knowledge, comprehension and goes further to test how you analyze, synthesize, and evaluate. Nurses have to be thinking clinicians and must have skills beyond knowledge and understanding. My suggestion to you is get an NCLEX book and review questions relevant to the content area of your class and learn the rationales.

3. If you have test anxiety-seek out resources at your school related to academic success.Your school/college/university may have an academic success unit that can assist you with strategies to combat test anxiety.

4. There are some students who need special accommodations for testing-extra time, quiet environment, etc. These types of accommodations are often issued through student disability services or programs. You may want to think about meeting with an adviser/counselor from this unit at your university/school for an evaluation. I've had students who needed special testing accommodations who were very intelligent to be successful with testing. They did well and are practicing RNs.

5. Seek out resources about tutors.

Good luck to you in your studies.

OP, this is so common and there is nothing "wrong" with you. You just need to learn new study and test taking strategies. Luckily there is lots of good advice here.

When I was taking microbiology, the tests (in NCLEX style) seemed really difficult at first. I had always been an "A" student like you, but this was different. So I talked with my professor about my concerns and she explained part of the problem was just over-thinking the questions.

Okay, so how do you NOT over think?

My professor told me to limit my analysis to the information in the question. If a component was not in the question, don't consider it. I eventually learned to focus only on the question and to trust my FIRST instinct about the answer. My anxiety lightened and my scores improved.

In addition to all the great advice in this thread, please talk to your professor and let him/her know what is happening sooner rather than later. Many will listen and try to help you. Good luck to you - you can do this!

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