Need advice: leakage for test questions

rn undisclosed name · Nov 13, 2004

I don't see why you're so upset. Those who don't study from the book and only from nclex books will only hurt themselves in the long run. I would never study just the question. Sorry I'd want to understand the material so I could answer the question right every time.

As long as you know the material you should be able to answer the question no matter where your instructor got the question from. If people aren't motivated to study then it's their problem and they're not going to pass the nclex and they won't be a nurse.

Kelly

ETA: I use many sources to study. I use the textbook, notes, nclex review book, study guide for the test, and the cd that comes with my textbook and has nclex style questions on the test. I don't rely on just one source.

RainDreamer, BSN, RN · Nov 13, 2004

Those who don't study from the book and only from nclex books will only hurt themselves in the long run. I would never study just the question. Sorry I'd want to understand the material so I could answer the question right every time.
As long as you know the material you should be able to answer the question no matter where your instructor got the question from. If people aren't motivated to study then it's their problem and they're not going to pass the nclex and they won't be a nurse.

I totally agree!! If they're only studying the review books to memorize the answers they are only hurting themselves, because when it's time to take the NCLEX they won't understand the material! All these semesters of nursing school are preparing us for the NCLEX, that's it! If they get 100% on all these exams and graduate with high marks, it won't mean jack if they can't pass the NCLEX. What good is it to have a ADN/BSN if you don't pass the boards and have no nursing license?!

Don't worry about their grades. Who cares if they are passing exams now, even though they weren't before? Study like you were before, study your textbook, lecture notes, etc. And now that you have the information on the review book, study that too! Like a previous poster said, 15/50 is 30% of the test. So if you study the review book then that gives you 15/50.... now study the textbook and lecture notes for the other 70% of the test.

Good luck!

aruray · Nov 14, 2004

im upset because the other students clearly had an edge over us.

its like being in a race, only the opponents were already in the middle of the race even before starting it. its not fair.

if they hadnt known about the source, we could all have gotten several questions wrong. and if 70% of the students didnt get the question, that question gets thrown off. but instead these ppl got the questions right, because they stumbled upon them while they were "reading", and we all looked like idiots for getting the questions wrong.

if u were one of the students who failed, wouldnt u go bezerk too? that test carried a great deal of our total grade because it was a midterm. so failing that test meant they also have a failing average. not a lot of ppl know yet. if the class knew, oh that would be a riot.

i know my material, thats why im still passing even w/o reading the darn nclex book. im complaining because it just doesnt feel right. we all worked so hard to get here, only to feel like weve been scammed

fleasle · Nov 14, 2004

i want to learn the right way. i dont want to memorize questions after questions. see the effect on the students will be, ppl will only be memorizing test questions and answers on the book and not study at all. for instance, one girl who failed the two prior exams and got a high mark on the last one told me, "ive abandoned the text book and ill just do questions". i know now why.

I can appreciate why you would feel the way you do. Think about it like this for a second...YOU studied and KNOW the material, they don't. YOU will be prepared for the NCLEX, THEY won't. Plus, memorizing 15 questions doesn't help with the other 35.

My instructors do take questions from NCLEX books, and I don't own every single NCLEX book either. I review the ones I do own and if they show up on a test, great. If they don't though, I am still prepared because I studied my a$$ off and KNOW the material. They are only hurting themselves by studying the NCLEX books only. If they get higher grades on the tests, so what....it will cost them in the end when they pay $200 each time they have to retake the NCLEX.

While YOU are all the wiser.

Just my 2 cents.

fleasle · Nov 14, 2004

I don't see why you're so upset. Those who don't study from the book and only from nclex books will only hurt themselves in the long run. I would never study just the question. Sorry I'd want to understand the material so I could answer the question right every time.
As long as you know the material you should be able to answer the question no matter where your instructor got the question from. If people aren't motivated to study then it's their problem and they're not going to pass the nclex and they won't be a nurse.
Kelly
ETA: I use many sources to study. I use the textbook, notes, nclex review book, study guide for the test, and the cd that comes with my textbook and has nclex style questions on the test. I don't rely on just one source.

I couldn't agree more.

TooterIA · Nov 14, 2004

I understand you are upset but the first thing you learn in nursing school is LIFE IS NOT FAIR. You wrote that it is not fair that those students knew what to study. Well later on you will learn that it is not fair that some students get better patient assignments than you, get the better clinical teacher, etc. Nothing about nursing school is fair and you will realize when you graduate how great it is to be done and none of that stuff matters.

And hopefully when you are done and pass your boards you will silently thank that teacher for giving you NCLEX review questions so you know how to pass boards. I dont understand that you are mad that she copies them word for word but it would be ok if she reworded them. What is the difference? And teachers really are just looking out to make you the best nurse you can be, she's not trying to flunk you all.

mariedoreen · Nov 14, 2004

I don't see the big deal either. I've been in college for years and have had a lot of instructors that pulled questions word for word from our study guides, the CD or the website and included them on exams. I learned that the very first term. You always take the practice exams that go with the material to test your knowledge sure, but also just exactly because there's a possibility they'll use them.

Now, I take all the practice exams that accompany my nursing material and I do the NCLEX book as well (recommended by the way, by our instructors as an additional learning resource). You don't take all these practice exam questions to hopefully "memorize" them for the exam but to see if you know the material and most importantly for nursing, to understand the way they are determining correct and incorrect answers. It's simply another way to study. Your fellow students took advantage of that and benefitted.

aruray · Nov 14, 2004

u know how confusing, tricky and obscured nursing q's are. u can read the text books until the cows come home, it doesnt necessarily make a difference. sometimes i think u have to have a creative brain to figure these q's out. u have to be able to read between the lines and see into that q's author's brain what he wants as an answer.

it becomes a big deal when ur not passing the course. has any of ur teachers taken 15q in 1 test? and that 15 being her "hard" questions. the other 30 questions were easy, if u got them all right, u still wouldnt be passing. now that 15 questions become the crucial q's. now do u see why the 15 q's make the difference? thats whats making me crazy. these students that had 90's were also making the minimum grade, but they knew about the source, but in reality they should also be in the failing mark. i could make a point to the dean that this exam was not reflective of what the students really know. if we know the answers to her questions, what becomes the purpose of the exam then? why are we taking the exam if we already know the answers to it?

this issue has taken so much of my time already, i should be memorizing my nclex collection instead.

peaceful · Nov 14, 2004

All through nursing school i had to study the textbooks, lecture notes, AND NCLEX study/practice books. For me it was the only way to get consistently A's and B's.

One would be a fool not to practice NCLEX question books. Practicing these questions over and over, help you understand and learn how to answer questions while critically thinking. These are not just a tool to memorize answers, the questions are too complex for that type of memorizing anyway. You will also be better prepared for the NCLEX when the time comes.

Now it does suck if some of your classmates had knowledge of which questions and which book your test in class was going to be. That does not seem fair at all. How did that happen anyway?

aruray · Nov 14, 2004

Now it does suck if some of your classmates had knowledge of which questions and which book your test in class was going to be. That does not seem fair at all. How did that happen anyway?

i have no idea how they found out abt the source. the girls that know r keeping quiet about it, even if they were asked! then 1 girl finally told my friend after a lil bit of arm twisting. thats how i found out.

lisamc1RN, LPN · Nov 14, 2004

Is there some reason that those who failed couldn't answer the Nclex questions? Was the material not covered in lecture or material? I think that unless the material was not covered, then it would probably do no good to complain to the dean or instructor. The students should be able to answer those questions, whether they ever saw them before or not.

Speaking for myself, I would be pretty ticked if the instructor threw out a question because not everyone was willing to go the extra mile and look through additional resources. I study from the Saunders Nclex guide all the time, plus the textbooks have cd's and study guide that I use. I've seen questions from all of them on our test, sometimes word for word. Our instructors have very strongly advised us to use these resources and I have. I don't see it as some kind of unfair advantage, because all the students have access to the same info, should they choose to use it.

peaceful · Nov 14, 2004

I would keep quiet about the whole situation, and just from now on also use NCLEx book for studying. Sometimes rocking the boat will just make it all back fire.