Hanging onto an extremely thin line right now.

1234student · Oct 19, 2009

I understand what you are going through. We have had 3 nursing tests and i have only passed 2 of them by 2 percent. It is hard to know what to study and to study everything is not possible. All my tests are on Mondays so i study part of the day (like 6 hours or so) on Saturday and then all day (10-12) hours on Sundays. Do your teachers have objective homework questions for you to do that the test questions are based off of??? We have questions for each section/ chapter and i do those and read them over and over. I also read over my notes several times, make flash cards of the important term and read the chapters over in the book. When you are reading over things it helps me to read them out loud-it like forces your mind to listen. I think it is very important to study a ton right before the test. I think that will help you out the most.

nneokill175 · Oct 19, 2009

My profs, have study guides questions. Not much of an objective hw questions.... (at least i dont think). Thanks for the tips

my exams are all on mondays also, im so glad im not the only person on the boat. I feel like we have more stress now that we are on this thin string. But i believe it will pay off if we get through this. Lets get through this together!!!

1234student · Oct 19, 2009

Ok, well if the teachers give you questions then i would do them because they prolly have something to do with what they think you should know or they wouldn't give them to you. I am in Fundamentals of nursing, we are starting clinicals next week....

MassED, BSN, RN · Oct 19, 2009

Hey guys, just want to start off by saying this forum have been extremely helpful to me in the past and the present. My problem is for the past 2 exams that I had, i passed with "just enough" score. No exaggeration, i passed the 2 exams with .01 high than the failing grade.
Here is the summary of my programs grading works. There are four main exams in lecture and it is 75% of your whole grade. So far i have had 2 lecture exams, and passed exactly on the dot. There will be 2 more lecture exams and 1 final exam, which is 20% of the whole entire grade.
My problem is, for some reason i can not hit the books until the last 2-3 days before the exam. I am really trying to fix this because i know if i start studying 2 days earlier i can definitely hit a higher grade. I have my 3rd lecture exam coming in 3 weeks. I want to know how hard is the final accumulated exam usually is. I need some kind of motivation, that i cant seem to find. I need some valid studying methods, which is something ive been running around blindly with. And before anyone starts telling to drop it, i just want you to know i am not dropping it no matter what. I have been in situations like this before and i have gotten out of out of it with successful outcomes.
What i want from you guys is that, is there anything you guys can post to help me see things more clear? A motivation post, a studying method post, an experienced post(my situation happened to you and youd like to share how you got past it.), or simply a post to help me see the light?
Thank you for reading, after i realized how much of a thin line i was on today, i was got really scared.

through nursing school, I had the director on my tail and my care plans, though reviewed as "good" by other instructors, were never good enough. She told me that "I was hanging by a thread from failing" because of care plans. She was testing me, and it scared me. I did every little thing she suggested and then some. I kissed her tail, basically, since she had the power to say whether I stayed or went. It was awful. Just awful. In hindsight, it wasn't helpful for me to go through, because I knew what I was doing. Maybe she had it out for me, or was testing me to see if I could endure it... since that was a high attrition week... who knows. Whether you're singled out, or bring the difficulties yourself, it will make you stronger. Dig your heels in and do the best you can. You know what you are capable of - remember nursing school is a relatively short time, so as much as it stinks, try to keep it in perspective. Study study and study some more - I had study buddies, but they never had troubles, so it didn't help much to have their support, really. I kept a countdown as to when school was over. I feel better about going through any difficulties in nursing school because I am a great nurse in an ER, which was my goal at the outset. Good luck - don't get discouraged!

Keep in mind it's not the amount of studying, but the quality of that studying time. Take brain, food, coffee breaks - keep repeating your test materials until it makes sense. Nursing is all about common sense.

Also, this is a personality thing and my personal study approach, but I like to break down my material into managable pieces and study way before the due date, otherwise I can't rest or do anything else unless I've made progress. You wrote that you study a few days prior to a test. I have never been able to procrastinate - so, being married to a procrastinator, I can't tell you how to overcome that, but I'd recommend forcing yourself to start sooner - like a week before a test. Commit to it and set that time aside. I'm sure there are procrastinators in this board that will have helpful hints for you in that regard.

nneokill175 · Oct 19, 2009

1234student-

I do do the study guide questions to study, and they help with the test. I guess its the information i need to retain that i have trouble with. It's good to see someone who's in the same age group as me pursuing the same goal.

massED-

im glad you posted also, to see someone who was in a similar situation as me graduate and working. Yes i know procrastination is bad, which is why im trying to figure out something that would get me out of it. thanks so much for your advice.

MassED, BSN, RN · Oct 19, 2009

I guess her hounding me made me want to do better, because I felt like she was such an idiot. An idiot with all the power. That motivated me.

LeesG · Oct 19, 2009

I also stuggle at times with the motivation to study. The other day I saw the devestaion of not studying from the other side, I watched 3 of my class mates walk out of the math test, with tears in their eyes, they failed, and are unable to return to school...thats it, kicked out !!! It was sad to see how easliy it can all slip away, all the work, or if they didnt study the feeling of complete regret on their faces, that they thought they could slip by, and then they didnt ...it was sad, and also enlightening.

So Im not sure if I have tips for you to GET motivated a few days earlier, but for me, watching my friends fail, and seeing the hurt, that at any time could be me, has given me ALOT of motivation on the last few days.

nneokill175 · Oct 19, 2009

I also stuggle at times with the motivation to study. The other day I saw the devestaion of not studying from the other side, I watched 3 of my class mates walk out of the math test, with tears in their eyes, they failed, and are unable to return to school...thats it, kicked out !!! It was sad to see how easliy it can all slip away, all the work, or if they didnt study the feeling of complete regret on their faces, that they thought they could slip by, and then they didnt ...it was sad, and also enlightening.
So Im not sure if I have tips for you to GET motivated a few days earlier, but for me, watching my friends fail, and seeing the hurt, that at any time could be me, has given me ALOT of motivation on the last few days.

this is also what im afraid of. Im also afraid to see my friends fail and leave me alone in the program. But unfortunately nothing like that happened yet. We all passed the math exam. and so far we all passed the lecture exams, some with higher grades than others.

i am really scared to experience what you just posted, nothing worst than seeing a fellow classmate fail.

MassED, BSN, RN · Oct 19, 2009

fear is the best motivator. I had fellow students quit - 5 in one week! There were a few who failed the math tests. That is quite stressful. I promise you that once nursing school is over, it's a huge relief. Then, it actually becomes fun and you can finally enjoy the learning - that's when nursing education REALLY begins.

1234student · Oct 19, 2009

nneokill-yeah,the information takes time and work to remember, i liked massed's suggestions on breaking it down and studying way before the test, so your brain does not have to remember so much. And fellow classmates will fail out or quit, thats just how it goes. We started with 50 in my program and are down to 40 as of today, some were kicked out due to math tests and other left.

LeesG · Oct 19, 2009

True,

But also for me I realized that at anytime it could be me, with the tears in my eyes, leaving them, and my dreams of finishing school gone in a poof. Yes I could return, and I have seen many posts of people who have done that and did better the second time around, but thats not the route I want to take, Im here now, and want to stay.

the scene I witnessed, as we all stood in the hallway waiting for each other, and then to see tears, it really was.....well....sad, that peoples dreams were crushed, be it a silly math error, or not appyling themselves, either way it was sad.

This has been all the motivation I have needed in the last few days...hope ot helps you.