I tested this morning at 8am. Like most others, I was baffled by the test. My questions seemed so random and so unrelated to a new nurse's role. I certainly DO NOT feel that this was a 'basic competency' test. I did great in nursing school, yet feel like a failure after taking this test. How can I go thru nursing school, do very well, and then encounter drugs on this test that I NEVER EVEN HEARD OF. Hmmm.....does not seem right to me. (especially since if that happened in real life I would grab a drug book and look it up!!! Not GUESS like I did on this test!)
Anyway, with that being said, the computer put me out of my misery at 75 questions. Many feel that this is a "good sign", yet I would have felt more comfortable getting more questions so that I could prove myself, which I feel I did not do in 75 questions.
My test had lots of the dreaded SATA, about 3-4 drug calculations, and the rest were priority & delegation. There were 2 questions that I got early on which then repeated themselves later on in the test (albeit worded slightly differently) which upset me. I felt I got them wrong the first time, so why were they asking me again????
When my test ended, I raised my hand as instructed. The proctor came over and said, "Oh..you're ready for a break?" I said, "Break?? It's over." And she said, "wow. Ok..then have a nice life". Ummm..gee...thanks for the encouragement. It was only 9:10am. Ugh.
I am glad I did not go crazy studying for this test. I am glad I didnt blow my hard-earned money on Kaplan. I could have spent YEARS studying drugs and I still don't think I could have gotten the Meds questions right. They were just *that* obscure. I just bought a Saunders book and tried to refresh my memory on all the stuff i learned in nursing school. Hopefully that was enough.
Well, I'm off to my couch right now. I rented a pile of DVDs and plan to hibernate for the next 48 hrs until my results are in. Sorry this post is so long.
P.S. for those who are also waiting on results, read Eric Enfermero's EXCELLENT post above in the "Sticky" section. He made me feel a little better. His post will explain to you that the reason you feel so dumb right now is because we have a tendency to remember the HARD questions, the ones we think we go wrong. He also says don't try to figure out how you did - - there is just no way to predict. Don't harp on the # of questions you got. People pass & people fail at 75, at 265 and at every number in between. Also, my issue about the questions that repeated themselves is answered in his post.
Lastly....VERY BEST OF LUCK TO EVERYONE OUT THERE. See you in 48 hours!!!
