Med/Surg Test Help

[kbm318]

My first Med/Surg class is 8 weeks long and we have a total of 4 tests. Well, I just got my results back from the first test and I got an 80%. Which I know is good but I would really like to at least have a B in this class at the end. I really thought I understood the material well, but when I went to take my test I seriously went "what the heck is this" in my head. All of our questions are NCLEX style which aren't really new to me since our Fundamentals tests were written the same way, they just seem to be more difficult now. I studied from my Iggy book and from the resources online, my notes, and also 3 NCLEX books. I used Lippincott's Content Review, Mosby's Comprehensive Review, and also a Davis's NCLEX review. Does anyone have any ideas on what else I can do so I can understand better for the remaining tests?

[matilda123]

go over as many questions as you can find pertaining to med/surg! knowing the material and answering well at nursing test questions are two different things! good luck!

[jjjoy, LPN]

When you went over the test, did you feel like "Oh! That's what that question was asking!" or "I didn't think to study that!" or "That makes sense now!"?

Or was maybe more like "Huh? I still don't get why answer A is 'better'!" or "I'm still not sure exactly what that question is asking" or "I understand the rationales, but the wording of the question and answers still don't seem clear to me"?

Scenario 1: Now you know what you need to study - go study!

Scenario 2: Maybe your instructor customizes or creates their own test questions that no amount of studying or comprehension will lead you to the "best" answer. Solution? Study whatever you need for your own knowledge. To improve on test scores, see if you can figure out the instructor's angle on test questions. Maybe they focus on applying Maslow's hierarchy of needs, or on key words and question stems, or on safety or education, or on independent nursing interventions as opposed to collaborative nursing interventions. Classes go by quickly, so if you still end up with lower test scores, try to keep in mind that passing and gaining knowledge are ultimately more important to becoming a nurse than earning an A... not that all three wouldn't be nice!