HESI A2: Don't stress- Tips from a recent test taker!

twolittleleaves

Yesterday, I finally took my HESI exam and I couldn't wait to post some tips for future test takers! Here are my scores along with some things I wish I would have known:

How To Pass HESI

McGraw Hill's practice exam booklet is a great way to familiarize yourself with the test format.

By far, the best study guide book is by Elsevier, the company that makes the HESI A2. Buy it, read it and take the practice questions. The guide shows you exactly what you need to study for the exam. The only section I would recommend doing additional studying for is the A&P section.

Scores

Math: 98%

Basic, basic math. You also get a simple calculator on the exam, which is wonderful! Know your conversations (temperature, metric, etc.) and be very comfortable working with ratios and fractions.

Reading Comprehension: 92%

Practice exams hugely helped prepare me for this section. During the test, make sure you read through the passage first and understand exactly what a question is asking before selecting an answer. To be safe, on most questions I wrote out "ABCD" on my scratch paper and went through the passage marking each wrong answer as I read to ensure I chose the correct answer and didn't rush through the question.

Vocabulary: 98%

Whoah there- did anyone purchase the Mometrix HESI A2 study guide? If you haven't: Stay away! If you have: Put it down and breathe a sigh of relief. The book contains a hefty list of medical terminology. I memorized everything from hepatosalpinx to carbuncle and not a single word I learned was even close to the content on the exam. For the vocabulary section, focus on general vocabulary. I'd say most of the content consists of words commonly used in everyday academia.

A&P: 84%

I way, way over studied for A&P, so it's unfortunate I achieved my lowest score on this section. Two weeks before the exam, I pored over the minutia of each chapter of my past anatomy textbook. Unfortunately, I focused on accumulating a knowledge of many details and skimmed general concepts, figuring this information was "too easy" for the exam. Wrong choice. When you're studying for the HESI A2 A&P section, focus on broad, general concepts (hormones, cellular transport, general anatomy, etc.) and don't get bogged down with the little details. I used the following site to brush up on my anatomy: Anatomy & Physiology Class Website. Excellent organization of information! Again, don't focus on the little details.

Grammar: 98%

Studying for this section concerned me. Whereas I know the rules of grammar, the last time I learned the technical terms for grammar rules (indirect object, weak clause, etc.) was years ago. Luckily, the exam didn't focus on identifying parts of a sentence via technical terms. I used the following site to test myself on grammar knowledge after studying and it was really helpful: Grammar Quizzes

Critical Thinking: 940/1000

This section is not included in any of the available HESI A2 study guides, so I was nervous to take it. The Critical Thinking section provides you with a variety of different situations you could encounter as a nurse and asks how you would respond in a given situation.

My advice... before answering a question

Identify the most urgent problem
Select the best response for treating the specific problem

Hope this information helps someone! Overall, the test was much less intense than I expected, so don't stress yourself out too much. Happy to answer any questions!