I hate nursing exams

JBMmom, MSN, NP · Apr 14, 2012

The tests aren't the majority of what I have learned in nursing school. The applications during clinical experience are the things that I will rely on moving forward. People get really hung up on the fact that they "should" have an A. I think that some people are adept at taking the exams, but does that indicate they will be the best nurses? Not necessarily. I think we all know at least one very successful academic student that's a mess in clinical. Would I want them to treat me just because they were successful at tests? Not a chance. They can't ever please everyone- so the route taken is designed to make you successful at the licensing exam. If everyone flew through nursing school with great test grades because the tests were designed in that way, but then they couldn't pass the NCLEX and ever practice, that wouldn't work out either.

RNbethy · Apr 14, 2012

The tests aren't the majority of what I have learned in nursing school. The applications during clinical experience are the things that I will rely on moving forward. People get really hung up on the fact that they "should" have an A. I think that some people are adept at taking the exams, but does that indicate they will be the best nurses? Not necessarily. I think we all know at least one very successful academic student that's a mess in clinical. Would I want them to treat me just because they were successful at tests? Not a chance. They can't ever please everyone- so the route taken is designed to make you successful at the licensing exam. If everyone flew through nursing school with great test grades because the tests were designed in that way, but then they couldn't pass the NCLEX and ever practice, that wouldn't work out either.

I'm not trying to undermine the importance of clinical when I explain that the testing system needs improvement... All aspects of our nursing education should help us learn, and I do not feel the nursing exams do that. I don't think people would fail the NCLEX exams if they were given more written exam questions; they would just be forced to think and study harder. We don't need every exam to mimic the NCLEX! We need a combination of challenging exam questions to push the limit on what we study and what we learn. Yes there are students who are great academically, who are also "a mess" in clinical... However, that does not mean that all academic students suck in the clinical setting, nor does it mean we need lower standards for our tests.

I'm sorry, but it is frustrating not to get an A after putting so many long hours and dedication into learning. In the big picture, grades do not matter.... but when you go to apply for advanced degrees.... they DO.

mindlor · Apr 14, 2012

I dont know why you are here asking questions nursebet. You are obviously smart and have all the answers......

If you are happy with your scores by all means, keep doing things your way......

If you want to make A's then scroll up an reread the thread.....

Its a simple choice.....

RNbethy · Apr 14, 2012

I dont know why you are here asking questions nursebet. You are obviously smart and have all the answers......
If you are happy with your scores by all means, keep doing things your way......
If you want to make A's then scroll up an reread the thread.....
Its a simple choice.....

Mindlor, I'm not saying I have nothing to learn about improving my test-taking ability. I am always ready to improve and do things to better my scores. Even if I do make the marks I want to make (i.e. by learning how to find the "distractors" among the list of options), I do not think these tests are the best... They do not motivate students to study as much as possible to enhance their overall understanding.... From what I have seen, students are LESS motivated to study for nursing than for other courses.

mindlor · Apr 14, 2012

I think my best course of action here is to smile, wish you well, and turn and walk away......

Good luck to you in your endeavors.

RNbethy · Apr 14, 2012

Good luck to you as well Mindlor :)

Keep in mind that I was not posting here for advice on how to do well on the MC exam... I already know what I have to do for that, :)-

I am frustrated with the testing system, but that does not mean that I won't learn how to take the tests -

anonymousstudent · Apr 14, 2012

Yup, I am wrong.....keeep doing it your way.....

LOL Admitting wrong indicates that you are fairly close to self-actualization.

iluvhrts · Apr 14, 2012

Perhaps you need to do something in the science related field that you love so much? The fact is if your program has a 99-100% NCLEX pass rate they are testing correctly. Tough. Suck it up. Adjust or go to a program that you feel is adequate for your vast intelligence. Nursing is the ability to prioritize and critically think. Sometimes it is not a situation that is concrete. You have to assess a complex situation quickly. Not everything is cookie cutter. PRIORITIZING. Your program won't change, but maybe you need to rethink your career choice.

Morainey, BSN, RN · Apr 15, 2012

I can understand where the OP is coming from. I have a BS as well, and I found that nursing exams seemed really, almost, oversimplified. Yes you have to learn critical thinking and prioritization. But toward the end of school, I figured out that to do well on my nursing tests, you seemed to have to learn the one weird fact about, well, everything. How do you position a patient who just had a lobectomy? What do you do in a suspected air embolism? What bizarre side effect does this med have?

Just my two cents. I don't really think studying for NCLEX or taking NCLEX can make or break a person as a nurse.

shortnorthstudent · Apr 15, 2012

Mindlor, I'm not saying I have nothing to learn about improving my test-taking ability. I am always ready to improve and do things to better my scores. Even if I do make the marks I want to make (i.e. by learning how to find the "distractors" among the list of options), I do not think these tests are the best... They do not motivate students to study as much as possible to enhance their overall understanding.... From what I have seen, students are LESS motivated to study for nursing than for other courses.

At this stage in your education, you should not need the lure of a good grade to motivate you to study. You need your own knowledge and critical thinking to understand that learning the materials to use in practice is far more important than learning it for a test. If you are only motivated by good tests, then you are going to find yourself in the wrong field once you are out of school.

I have not found people who are less motivated to study for nursing than they are for other courses. Perhaps I saw that in the early terms, but now as I approach graduation in less than 2 months, my classmates are all working towards greater ability to critically think AND how to best prepare for NCLEX. Our grades are important, but so is our ability to function as an almost nurse in the clinical setting. Whether you study for the test is irrelevant if you cannot care for your patient in the clinical setting. The actual ability to perform patient care should be sufficient to motivate you to learn those facts you need to know. The critical thinking comes with time and experience.

Ultimately, you are going to learn to be an excellent nurse on the floor of your first job. Nursing school is giving you a broad overview of the basics to superimpose on your A&P and Patho courses and preparing you to take the exam that will determine whether or not you get to take a job on a floor of a hospital or other location and learn to be a nurse.

Feistn · Apr 15, 2012

It seems as though you've forgotten the goal, which is to GRADUATE. Yes you took o-chem, and that's an accomplishment. But this isn't o-chem. you're not going to change the system, so you better work within it.

corsair · Apr 15, 2012

I hate the way our nursing exams are written. The faculty does not spell or grammar check them and the wording is poor. My ATI predictor tests are usually "Level 3" indicating a passing level on the NCLEX and I do well with the questions from our textbook publisher and the Saunders NCLEX book/CD but when I take a nursing process exam I do well to make a B (I don't suffer from test anxiety either). I feel that the instructors should draw their questions from professionally written sources such as ATI or do what they do for powerpoint slides- copy and paste from the textbook publishers website. I have several times picked the second best answer and been marked wrong because the correct one was misspelled and I thought it was a trick. If enough student argue about a given question the reply is "We will look at it" then they give everybody credit for it.

The ambiguity is the real problem though, we were once given this question;

A nurse is obtaining a sexual health history for a 20 year old client which of the following should she do?

A. inform the client that they must be HIV tested (obviously not)

B. ask if the client performs testicular exams (Hmmm, does the client have testicles? Or s/he does them on a friend?)

C. ask for date of LMP (maybe, unless they have testicles)

D. ask the age of all sexual partners (unless there was some reason to suspect this person is abusing someone, uh no)

It turns out the question should have read "a 20 year old FEMALE client" which would have made it stupidly easy given the choices. They wound up giving the entire class credit for it but still didn't spell check the next test :banghead: