I need to do better on my nursing exams, PLEASE HELP!

[clairebelle]

I am in my first semester of nursing school and study quite a bit. I have given up a social life and spend most of my time in my books, on my computer taking practice tests, and in study groups. I have taken two exams already and have not passed them. You must make an 80 or above to pass, if not you fail the exam. The only grades we get are our exams, and there are 8 total.

Our exams are on the computer and are 50 questions. We given an hour and 15 minutes and I never have time to look back over my exam. The timing is not agreeing with me.

I have a Bachelor's degree and have always made god grades. So I am baffled. I knew nursing school would not be easy but I am bending over backwards only to see discouraging results. I am schocked, freaking out and need advice and help! Any advice will be appreciated.

Thanks so much.

[science in flowers]

"stupid women instructors"? "women think"?

i find your post extremely disturbing, insulting, and misogynistic. i expect better from fellow nursing students--who are taught to be nonjudgmental of varying cultures, races, sexuality, and gender.

just my 2 cents i suppose.

^^ this. in. the. end!! stop trying to teach it that way in the beginning! it's grossly unfair to students to expect them to apply a concept until they thoroughly understand it. instructors don't take an accounting i student and make them try to pass the cpa exam questions, do they?

learn first, then apply. to teach it any other way is just setting the students up to fail. it's not good teaching. it's stupid women-think, again. can't organize, can't streamline it, can't remember to say what the key points are, out of all that blathering. if this stuff is indeed a system, then it has a stupid-simple work process and decision tree for the beginner, and then after they learn that rudimentary thing, then you start fleshing it in and teaching about more than one way to do this or that, or more than one thing to consider. please make some sense of your "system" before you stand up to teach it, you stupid women instructors! students don't learn by osmosis. if this is a beginner class, be sure to emphasis exactly what you want them to learn from each lecture. i feel like this is all just one big game of keep-away: "there is a message someplace in all of this 4 hours of talking i am going to do, but you'll have to figure out for yourself what is is, haha!"

there, i am off my soap box. if i manage to learn anything textbook in nursing i, it will be because i taught it to myself, not because the curriculum and the teaching tools are well designed.

original post: get the study guide that goes with your textbook. most of these instructors will pull questions almost straight from that if the school didn't suggest or require your to buy the study guide, i'd almost bet that their test questions are running very close to those in the study guide.

[pinkfluffybunny]

Here are some things that helped for me.

First always be ahead on the reading. When you walk into class the power points should be a review of the information that you have already went over.

Figure out what kind of learner you are. Visual, auditory, etc. Record the lectures and listen to them in the car, on your ipod, hell while your sleeping. Draw pictures, for example my patient has this patho what are the signs and symptoms, what are going to be my diagnosis and interventions. When reveiwing get a blank sheet of paper, write the topic you are reviewing on the top, and then write everything that you know about it. If you already feel like you are strong in one area, move onto another.

Think ABCs and Maslows hierarchy of needs, in alot of cases this will apply.

Kaplan review guide is really good.

Do NCLEX questions and then do more NCLEX questions. Go to your local bookstore buy a cup of coffee and use their NCLEX books for free.

Get sleep, excercise, and eat something other then what comes out of the vending machine and fast food.

DO NOT OVER ANALYZE THE QUESTIONS!

Hope this helps.

[Despareux]

I've always read every chapter 2-3 times each. My grades and understanding have been sup-par (avg. 87%).

I know I can do better. So I studied with a friend, which I don't normally do. She and I used our powerpoints and made flashcards. Many of these flashcards were made into similar-type questions that pertained to an entire powerpoint slide. Some flashcards' intentions were based on just memorization. Also, if there is something about a powerpoint slide that is not clear, I would at that point reference my book for more clarification.

Once my flashcards are made, I have my kids and husband quiz me, or I quiz myself.

Using this method proved to be far more useful than reading each chapter 2-3 times. I absolutely understand the chapter concepts and I'm not spending an entire day reading one chapter; instead, I'm able to study for several chapters in one day, which equals more time spent with my kids and husband.

I haven't had a chance to apply this method of studying to any tests so far. I am anxious to see how this new approach will work for me. But, the fact that I have retained so much more information along with the extra time I now have, is enough to convince me that this method will work for me.

[futurernjap]

Hi you all! I'm starting my ADN program this summer at Jeff State Community College

in Birmingham, Al. To get ready for the program I've purchased the "..made incredibly easy" for fundamentals, pharmacology, and dosage and calculations. I've just completed a CNA class at the end of February with a high B and I'm now retaking the physiology part of A&P( my school splits anatomy and physiology) as a mini term that's from 3/6- 5/6/2011. Partly because I made a C the first time and partly because with the amount of info in physiology and having it taught in such a short amount of time, I figured that would get me ready for the amount of info that's gonna be thrown my way when I start this summer!and because I want to have a good understanding on the physiology part because I've heard that was a big part of being successful in nursing. My program starts May 26, 2011. Ironically I'm not really worried about fundamentals- because after looking through the table of contents for my FON book( I went on and purchased mynbooks ahead of time) I know most of those skills except for the obvious (i.e. Starting iv, catheter, ostemy bag) I'm worried about pharmacology, math is not my strong point at all, would there be anything you all would suggest to prepare me for this summer! I already know I have my work cut out for me because of me starting the program in the summer, but I'm determined to succeed! Any advice would be appreciated!I just want to be as successful as I possibly can! I'm open to tips for all classes not just pharmacology but pharmacology in particular!

Thanks! James P.

[taalyn_1, CNA]

I have taken two tests so far for my Med-surg class. The first I passed, the second I didn't. We have 3 tests left, which I am going to have to pretty much ace in order to pass the class. I have tried to study in different ways but the truth of the matter is, you have to apply the over-all concepts. You can study everything and read all 300 pages of text and do 500 practice questions but if you don't get the over-all picture, you aren't gonna do well.

Since not passing the second test, I am going about my studying a little different (maybe it will help, maybe it wont). I am still doing practice questions and watching videos etc. But I have made a study guide pertaining to the diseases we are covering, with different things like a short patho of the disease, what the manifestations are, potential complications, and general "treatments/interventions" for each disease. I am hoping this will help for the next exam as some of the students in my class have done this and did much better on the second exam than I. Hopefully, this will give me an over-all picture of the system and the diseases so I can apply it to the test questions. If not, well, I dont know.

[VickyRN, MSN, DNP, RN]

Please check out various articles in my blog here on allnurses - The Teacher's Corner - some good advice on passing NCLEX style nursing exams.

[lavender59]

How do you read your chapters? Do you read everything or just skim the paragraphs? Do you answer the objectives to be prepared for class?

[sommeil, ASN, RN]

i'm not quite in nursing school yet (i start next month) but i had to take pharmacology for nurses this semester and for the first time in my life i'm not getting an A. i'm used to tests with 1 correct answer and 3 incorrect answers instead of tests where every answer is right but some are more right than others. i really suck at these tests.

i recently found this online and it has helped me..

http://www.ann2.net/pld/kaplan.html