Getting very discouraged 2nd month into nursing school. help!

[morningglory229]

hi, i am in my second month of nursing school and i am becoming increasingly discouraged. the first test i got a 92 on, and had no problem. i went over all the material as it was laid out on the syllabus, and felt like the test was very relevant to the material.

this test (#2) was a different story... for this test i went over all the assigned material and took note of all the items that teachers said "will be on the test". i incessantly reviewed things like heart sounds (s1 & s2) and where they are auscultated best, and where the valves are located (ex aortic at 2nd ics @ rsb) i also used the resources available from my books and the ati testing site so i had an all around basic knowledge in different formats. i studied extremely hard (as i usually do) and i was completely discouraged after submitting the test to find that i got an 82. i know that sounds like a decent mark, but i am a wicked over-achiever and that is actually the lowest grade i have gotten in years (not trying to brag at all..just saying that it is not normal for me)

the information that they said "will be on the test" was not. there were no ?s about heart sounds, locations of valves, types of infectious diseases...etc there were loads of trick questions where the answers were all right, but depended upon what way you interpreted the question. for example, one question regarding sterile technique wanted to know which of the following procedures is a characteristic or part of using sterile technique. it gave 1 answer that involved an aspect of sterile technique, 2 answers that pertained to "clean" technique, and 1 answer that consisted of an actual procedure you would perform on a patient that requires the use of sterile technique. i chose the answer that included something you would do to ensure sterile technique...and i got it wrong. the correct answer was inserting an indwelling catheter. i can understand how the indwelling catheter involves the use of sterile technique, but the question i felt was very ambiguous as to what they were actually asking.

i can give you many other examples of the questions i got incorrect that i was absolutely sure about.

i know i will not score perfect, but i think it is at best ridiculous that they are telling us to make sure we know info and then it isn't even mentioned on the test.

i cant help but feel very discouraged and that this class is going to ruin my gpa. does anyone have any advice?? some days i come home and i feel like i love school...i am very interested in it, and about providing competent care. i am highly interested in infectious diseases, and all of the factual information regarding procedures and the function of the body. then other days i get so discouraged and i just come home and cry. i think to myself, what am i doing??

:uhoh3: does anyone have any advice on how to cope with the extreme stresses of nursing school?

[4boysmama]

i would be frustrated at being told specific info would be tested and then it wasn't. with the volume of info you need to study for nursing exams, that seems very unfair.

on this:

there were loads of trick questions where the answers were all right, but depended upon what way you interpreted the question

my understanding is that this is exactly how the nclex is. it's not a matter of figuring out the one right answer among several clearly wrong ones, but more about figuring out the best answer for the specific question. (in the example you gave, the catheter was the correct answer because the question asked which procedure involved sterile technique (not the actual technique itself)

the ibclc boards were like this, as well, and it's a total mindset change to think like that. it's a far more challenging testing method, but also a much better way to prepare you for clinical situations that you'll encounter as a health care professional. i hang in there :)

[NCRNMDM, ASN, RN]

If you're in your first nursing class, which it would appear is true since you're only two months in, stop studying complicated things. Nursing 111 is a very basic course, and they don't expect you to be able to quote Starling's Law, take about pre-load and after-load, and discuss complicated anatomy (at least not in the program I'm enrolled in). We have a lab class, a lecture class, and clinical. We completed the eight week lab class, and have recently started clinical. There are very few questions about procedures on any of our unit exams because we covered all of that during our lab class and lab checkoff. I was really strict about my grades before I started nursing school, and I continue to be, to an extent. I made a 94 on the first test and a 92 on the second, and I am thrilled with that. The one thing you need to keep in mind is this, "C=RN." You don't have to make an A, and no one cares if you do. As long as you make a C and pass the course, you will advance in the program. You really have to stop being so hard on yourself, because you probably aren't going to make an A while in nursing school. At my school, the range for an A is a 96-100. That's pretty much impossible to reach, and no one in the program expects that they will ever make an A in any course. We get a study guide before each test, but the instructors tell us that the study guide isn't hard and fast. For instance, the second study guide focused mainly on pharmacology, medication administration, drug classes, pain management, and tissue integrity. The first 15 questions(of a 50 question test)of the test were all about confusion, delirium, dementia, and patients with altered LOC. There was one question about vitamin D deficiency and instructing a patient about it, and this was no where on the study guide. My point is this: just because you are given a study guide, or told to know something, doesn't mean that you shouldn't study everything else. Before you take an exam, you should have at least a basic understanding of every concept you covered in the unit. Don't go into an exam with an advanced knowledge of one topic, a basic understanding of two topics, and little to no understanding or knowledge about another topic. If you do that, the topic that you know nothing about will be the topic that makes up the majority of the test. Study everything, even if you only know basic information. It will be better to know a little bit about something and make an educated guess than to be totally clueless and have to make a blind guess. Learning how to study for nursing exams takes time, and you have to find a way that consistently works for you. Once you find that method, and start to understand what you really need to focus on in each unit, you will find that you have a much easier time in studying for the tests.

[Sand_Dollar, BSN]

I am in med-surg and we do the types of questions you are talking about too. We even had a clean/sterile question on one of our tests like the one your talking about. What I found the most helpful was to get the Saunders Comprehensive NCLEX-RN Review book and work through the relevant questions on the CD. We had a cardiac exam last week which was the hardest test I have ever taken. I didn't know half the questions. But, because I practiced so many of those NCLEX questions, I was able to work my way through the questions and come out with an A.

I do NOT read or study my textbook but make my own set of notes from the Power Points the professor uses (I make note but never really focus on 'this will be on the test' info, I study EVERYTHING covered). I am very visual, so just making these notes in Word..with tons of extra graphics works best for me. I take the practice ATI tests and any quizzes from the text, but I mostly supplement with Saunders.

I am major type A too and have never slacked when it comes to studying, which it might seem when I saw skip the text for most stuff. I have a 4.0 and have managed to hold onto it so far through nursing school. It takes time to find your best study method, but the first thing you need to do is start working on those NCLEX questions...trust me! Personally, I had to learn to slow down, read every question and THEN figure it out. Oh, and ditch your pencil unless its a scantron test - this stops you from going back and changing your answers, another lesson learned.

Good luck!! I get stressed when my GPA might drop too...but I'm learning to let that one go, slowly.

[Twinmom06, ASN, APN]

I'm learning that nursing school tests are NOT your standard memorize and regurgitate like the pre-reqs (or just about any other class) has been like...if you are in an ADN program, they start teaching you the NCLEX style from day 1 - We just had a test taking strategy seminar and the one thing that was really stressed was the difference - and that you have to start thinking like the test writer - they aren't going to ask you to regurgitate the information, they are going to ask you to critically think the scenario through...

and for the record I have 2 in my clinical group that would have given their left arm for an 82 - they now have to wait a year to retake

[MissTrina]

Everything they throw at you the first semester is hard and everyone in my second semester is still in shock we made it through. The tests are written in NCLEX style, which can be difficult to get used to so grab some NCLEX study guides and work through them so you get used to the style of questioning. I have always been a straight A student and it was very difficult for me to accept less then perfect grades my first semester of nursing school as well. The first semester is the worst, you just need to not be so hard on yourself, realize you are not alone, and it gets easier!

[SweetseRN]

Get used to that...You need to learn how to think rather than just memorize facts. Expect a dip in the GPA for a while. You are learning a whole new language and way of thinking. You will get it, but it's less book facts and more common sense.

[turnforthenurse, MSN, NP]

A once straight A student will become a straight B or C student once they go through nursing school...and the motto becomes, "C means continue!" or "C means degrees!" Nursing exams are quite different compared to other exams. You need to learn how to apply the knowledge rather than memorizing facts. There are few things you can memorize (such as lab values) but everything else is application.

[milksteak]

Advice: YOU NEED TO KNOW EVERYTHING IN THE BOOK/WHAT YOU ARE TAUGHT IN CLASS.

Everything is fair game.. just because you have a study guide, does not mean that there won't be other questions on the test.

[milksteak]

And you have to be able to prioritize and utilize critical thinking. You can't just memorize definitions, ranges, etc.. you need to know the application of every intervention, meds, and what not.

Practice w/ some NCLEX questions or questions in your book.. your instructors are most likely going by those types of questions. Or ATI is a good resource too.

[xtxrn, ASN, RN]

I was a good student; graduated w/honors, and never thought anything less than 100% was worth even dealing with- I get it.

Nursing school is only going to work if you are able to just get through it. You aren't supposed to have any of this stuff down pat And even when you graduate, you're going to have a lot of doubts (check out the first year out of school forum). That's normal.

Just get through the program with whatever is passing being "enough" if it's a really hard class. You will have classes that just 'click' better. And there will be those that are just nuts.

Give yourself permission to be wonderful later

Right now, all passing grades graduate- and all passing NCLEX get a license (though I was one of those who thought that not making the top grade was shameful- now it still bugs me that I got something like 10% of 1000 questions wrong- but I do have better perspective).

Ya gotta let up on yourself. It is ALWAYS good to do your best- and sometimes "best" means just getting through it :)

[bonnie_d]

As a student who started out with a 4.0 through the first year of prereqs, got in, and is now facing a few Bs in the remaining pre-courses, I've got to admit it's really relaxing. I've got a 4.5 month old who I've been spending time with and I wouldn't trade it for the world. When I come home in the evening and could either spend time studying to get an A, or not study and spend time with my family and get a B, I love it! I really love it! I don't love the Bs, but it's SO much less work to get a letter grade less. I could probably double my efforts to get As. If I was still childless, I probably would spend my time getting As because I wouldn't have as much of a life, and I couldn't bring myself to excuse Bs.

Yeah, I think it's hard to get used to the fact that I'm not getting As in everything, but it's not really a problem. I'm pretty sure I'm one of the very few students here who had a 4.0 in prereqs, and do I think that my fellow classmates are failing because they've gotten Bs, and God forbid, a few Cs? No, they're people too and some of them are probably going to be better nurses than I am.

I know things will change once I start the program and I'll have to study more to be able to understand what I need to, but in the meantime, why should I work so hard to get a different letter?