How is this fair?????????

hello, jg11785, fellow buckeye, and welcome to allnurses! :welcome:

there has been concern in the nursing profession for some time that students coming out of nursing schools were sadly lacking in critical thinking and problem solving skills. a number of tests have been developed to try to bring out problems with this. ati and hesi are two of them. another is the pbds (performance based development system) which is a test that was developed for new graduates and is often used by facilities to test the critical thinking skills of nurses who are already licensed and just hired at new jobs.

i think that this is going to become an industry standard as time goes on because of the complexities of rn work. the test writers are working to standardize and evaluate the test takers ability to think and reason out problems which is what an rn must be able to do on their job. this is because each school focuses on critical thinking and problem solving differently. all those care plans, nursing process and problem solving exercises you have been doing all through nursing school is really what nursing school is ultimately about. learning the technical hands-on skills are just the fluff. as a licensed rn your value is going to be your ability to problem solve, not put in foley catheters and start ivs, although these are also important things. they can get lpns to do them. ati also provides test result feedback to the schools and boards of nursing and advises on areas where there is weakness or strength. this is to help each program buff up their curriculum where it is weak. again, this is to help schools reach the level of attaining standardized teaching goals.

i get that you are upset and worried. the best thing you can do for yourself is to periodically review what the nursing process is. it is a problem solving method that you must know. chapter 5 of saunders comprehensive review for the nclex-rn examination, 3rd edition, by linda anne silvestri pretty much defines what goes into answering a nclex question, which is a critical thinking, problem solving type of question. what you have to provide is the background information to be able to answer these questions. that's all those pre-requisite courses you took that contribute some information to the understanding of the underlying pathophysiology of what is going on with a patient's disease. you also need to know how a doctor goes about testing for and diagnosing specific medical diseases and why they order the treatments and medications they do. you need to understand that they primarily treat the patient's symptoms and, when possible, the underlying cause of the disease. as nurses, we assess the patient as well and we also independently treat those symptoms and responses to illness that the patient's exhibit. these are important points that you must know by the time you finish school. and, you must know how all these pieces fit together when trying to solve a problem that comes up. that is partly why you are asked to write care plans. it is a start at learaning the process of problem solving. in reality, on the job, you are problem solving every minute of your working time.

and, because new grads across the country are just not able to handle this critical thinking and problem solving business at their new jobs is why you are having to undergo this testing. my advice is to do your best to prepare yourself as i have suggested and you should come through this ok. ati also publishes study manuals for these tests. you might want to invest in one. they are listed on their website.

as for you school's rules. . .that is something the school has deemed it must do. some schools are very nurturing and take struggling students in hand and work with them. with others, it's a sink or swim proposition. you really have no control over it. the powers in charge hold the reins. when they say "jump!" you can only respond with "how high?"