Having hard time passing tests

medsurgRNCali, ASN · Oct 1, 2016

Can you join a study group? For me the thing that helps the most is taking practice quizes on a site like quizlet but only ones that give rationales for the right answers.

dreamchaser14 · Oct 1, 2016

You'd be surprised to find out how many 4.0 students enter nursing school and just wish to simply pass AND this is somewhat perfectly fine. The material isn't static (as Im sure you've found out so you can't just regurgitate; it has to be applied. I find it helpful to write questions that relate to the material and see if I can answer them. Also, I review each objective and if I the goal is to be able to explain it as if I were the teacher. However, everyone learns differently and you just have to see what works for you. But don't get discouraged. Nursing is hard, and you'd want it to be if you were that patient that you're going to treat one day!

Lastly, do NOT and I repeat, do NOT get too caught up in having all A's. At this point in your career you are studying to save a life, not make an A.

AliNajaCat · Oct 1, 2016

Run, do not walk, to your instructor, and sit down with him or her to go over the quiz to see why you chose the answers you did and why there were better choices. Critical thinking is huge in nursing, and you may just be either overthinking or leaving something out in your decision-making. Make a standing appointment to see the instructor every week to do this until you start getting better. Leaving it to the end of the quarter, or even to mid-terms, is too late.

Loveleen Sahni · Oct 1, 2016

I never tried quizlet as my instructor advises to use elsevier..

I did join a study group that helps alooot.. I thik I have to devote more time and as you said read the rationals nicely..

Zooey72 · Oct 2, 2016

I had close to a 4.0 going into nursing school, took my first test and failed it. I talked to my prof. and she gave me some good advice, but after seeing what the test was I pretty much knew where I screwed up. I took the second test and got a B+.

Where I messed up on the first test is I looked at it as one big A&P 'bone test' memorization type of thing. I hated studying for the first test because quite frankly I thought the stuff I was memorizing was stupid; and sure enough it was stupid for me to memorize textbook definitions of "what is a concept" and garbage like that. I have taken a lot of tests in my life and I had learned when you get asked vocab questions on words everyone knows that you need to regurgitate whatever the book says. That was not the case on the first test, so nearly 800 cards i had created and memorized were worthless. A few of the things I memorized were on there, mostly how the laws work and that type of thing but for the most part it was pure application (and I am fine with that).

What I did for the second test was memorize some of the stuff, but the majority of my flashcards were me relating a concept to something I knew. I am invested in the stock market, and I know a bit about it. I looked at nursing process the same way i look to see if I want to invest in a stock or bond (the very first thing I look at when I consider buying a stock is the p/e ratio; p/e ratio became assessment and vital signs). I won't bore you with how I tailored it to myself, because my cards were unique to me and really would not help anyone else. But that helped me a lot, and I think correlating something you know into the nursing stuff will make it MUCH easier to learn it.

Anyhow, my second test has dug me out of the hole the first test put me in. I now stand as a 'c' student and that does kind of get under my skin since I pulled A's up until now. The first test put any realistic chance of an 'A' out of reach, but I think I may still be able to salvage a B or maybe even a B+ out of it. But ultimately I am getting a vibe from most other students is that they look at the whole thing as a pass/fail type of deal. Reminds me of a joke I heard years ago.

"Do you know what you call someone who got all C's in medical school?"

Doctor

pmabraham, BSN, RN · Oct 2, 2016

I found

to be extremely helpful as well as

chtzu, BSN, RN · Oct 2, 2016

The first semester is always the hardest (at least it was for me). It can be a rough start adjusting to this type of thinking and test-taking. I can't stress enough how important it is to go to your professor. They are the ones making the test/quiz and they should be able to lead you in the right direction. I struggled all by myself the first semester because I was too embarrassed to face anyone with my grades but after going to my professor before the final, I ended up acing the exam. Make your own study guides (probably the thing that saved me throughout all of nursing school), watch videos on concepts that are difficult to understand, find a study partner to bounce ideas with. There were many times where I didn't do all that great and wanted to give up, but I kept pushing myself. You can do this!!! Don't lose faith. Best of luck :)

Loveleen Sahni · Oct 2, 2016

I did see her after the first quiz, she wasn't that helpful.. She said go to the testing center and review quiz on your own.. She gives us objectives to do n quiz is over that. May be I overthink alooot and change my answers again n again out of anxiousness..

sacyyl220 · Oct 8, 2016

You have to take the attitude that this is your Waterloo ! Fourth and goal...time for you to score !!! Kidding aside, not all nursing programs are alike. Some programs have different nuances, staff that may help or hinder ...So many variables....but the one constant ...You ! When I went to private school, our instructor made us take an IQ test, as part of his curriculum . There was this young African American student who sat next to me, that had a very low score , while mine was slightly above average. But this guy passed the course with ' Honors' , higher than my scores ! What was his secret ?.....he studied harder and longer than anyone else, to make up for any short comings. Success is 10 per cent inspiration, 90 per cent perspiration ! You may or may not pass...but let it be known that it will not be because you held anything back...believe in yourself !