HELP - I have only passed 1 out of 4 tests.

turnforthenurse, MSN, NP · Oct 26, 2011

Have you tried meeting with your instructors to go over the test? They can probably explain to you in greater detail why you missed a particular question and get you thinking on the right track. Do your classes offer tutoring? At my school we had tutors for some of the more difficult classes (A&P, pharm & patho) which was very useful when I didn't understand something.

Doing practice questions is also very important. I highly suggest purchasing an NCLEX review book (Saunder's is excellent and recommended by many on AN...I agree. Pearson Prentice Hall Reviews & Rationales is also another great review book). Do practice questions based on what you are studying...so for example, if you are studying the renal system, go to the renal chapter and do the practice questions.

Nursing tests are different from other tests...you simply cannot "memorize" the facts. Memorization only really applies to very few things, such as lab values, but all-in-all you need to be able to UNDERSTAND the material and APPLY it to a patient situation.

Best of luck :heartbeat:

xtxrn, ASN, RN · Oct 27, 2011

Yeah- talk with the instructor :) This has to be absolutely devastating for you I was a good student, and the C I got in OB tore me up.....we won't even talk about US History (about 3 years earlier)....I got academic forgiveness for that - since I never got that lousy a grade since that class.

Do you know if you're a 'visual' or 'auditory' lerner? I like visual things- handouts, taking my own notes, reading and highlighting, etc. When I had to rely on tapes (back in the day, there was no YouTube with demos), I didn't do well, even if I took notes. I would re-write notes, just to have it drilled into my head.

Also, get some note-cards with the metal ring through the stack.... use that for flash cards to study with. Repetition never hurts.

But talk with the instructor :)

DennRN · Oct 27, 2011

Ouch.

Your program has an odd scoring system, but thats besides the point.

If I may offer a few suggestions in addition to the great advice you have already received, I would add:

Read each question carefully and circle any important words like NOT, or EXCEPT.

Don't read to deep into a principles of nursing question, it is one thing to base an answer on a fundmental principle of nursing, it is another thing entirely to create a special circumstance in your head that makes an answer correct/incorrect SOME of the time.

Trust your gut, if you need to change an answer, only do so if you realize you were clearly wrong for some reason.

Think in terms of airway breathing and circulation, patient safety, pain control, disease management, teaching, and so on. Ranking things in terms of importance to immediate health sometimes helps to thin out the herd.

Principles tests love to use BEST answer type questions. These type of questions will have answers that 1, 2, 3, and even 4 answers seem like they may be right at least some of the time. Get familiar with them and learn strategies to deal with them. Attacking the question from a different angle can sometimes help such as "which one will be correct for most people" and "which one has the least potential to harm".

There will be knowlege based questions, there is simply no substitute to studying in order to answer these correctly.

Other questions will be geared toward critical thinking, if you cant see an obvious answer, this may be one that requires a deeper level of thinking BE CAREFUL TO ONLY OPERATE ON THE INFORMATION GIVEN, don't assume. Now start slowly working out considerations for disease process, complications, and management to see if you can recall anything that fits.

Most importantly do not panic, prepare as much as you can, get the sleep you need beforehand, and trust that you have prepared as much as you can and let the test just happen. Stressing throughout it will decrease your ability to make sound judgements.

turnforthenurse, MSN, NP · Oct 28, 2011

Oh and when testing, don't go back and change your answers. Studies show that your first choice is usually correct. I learned that the hard way!

watersamy · Oct 28, 2011

Use the Davis's success series nursing books. such as "Fundamentals Success" or "Med-Surg Success" etc. They were my lifesaver. They're great with helping with critical thinking and rational questions

llg, PhD, RN · Oct 28, 2011

What have you (the OP) done to improve? Have you talked with your faculty? Have you sought out any tutoring resources available at the school? etc. Those should be your first steps. No one here can diagnosis your learning problem and intervene. You need to be talking to people qualified to do that.

fiisrnsi · Oct 29, 2011

I'm in the same situation. I have to pass the next 2 test with A otherwise I'm out. :crying2: I need a miracle!!!

Please let me know of any suggestion you find. I did approach my Prof. but she wasn't that much of help....

Thanks,

A

VolunteerCPR · Oct 29, 2011

Do you have cds with your books? Usually the cds w/test questions are from the same company that makes the class test questions, so they help a lot.

rrham · Oct 29, 2011

I feel your pain! I am in my first year as well. I am not sure what the format of your tests are, but mine are worded as the NCLEX are worded. Although this is difficult to get used to a new style of testing, it is preparing us for what is to come. Our teachers told us to train ourselves to be critical thinkers. The info in these tests are not something you can memorize. You have to learn how to apply the information to real life situations. I would suggest looking at your old test and analyzing how you could have come to the right answer. A lot of the questions, you need to look for key words that lead you to the correct answer. Hang int here! It can only get better!!