Need Help, Dont want to fail!

DCCCRN2Bn05 · Nov 15, 2004

Goodness it seems they throw quite a mixture of things together in one semester. wow, well anyway, I'll give you my advice and you can take it for what it's worth. I too had a bad experience with failing a semester,( and it set me back a year before I could start again.) The problem I've found with the nursing tests is they put alot of junk in the question that you don't need ( you don't have to know he just had a amputated big toe, when he's not breathing) Look at what they are asking for! Mark out the other junk. And look for words like BEST, FIRST, or EXCEPT if you don't they could really throw you off. MY advice for the therepeutic communication is what would you like to hear during that situation. (or since I'm so bad at it, which one would I not say, that's usually the right one) Take your time, slow down, even see if you can take your test alone in another room if that may help. Well I wish you luck!!! Hope I helped a little.

llg, PhD, RN · Nov 15, 2004

Maybe you need a different program ... one that is not accellerated. You may need to learn the material at a slower pace or to have more opportunities to practice applying the information. Just because you do not perform well within one program (with one particular class) does not mean that you can not perform well in another.

Can you transfer to another program?

llg

akcarmean, LPN · Nov 15, 2004

I agree with DCCCRN2Bn05 That was the way we were talk to take our test. Just give yourself a little pep talk. Talk to the teacher and ask her what she thinks you need to concentrate at the most or what pointers she could give you. Take your time. BEST of luck.

Angelia

therealnurse · Nov 15, 2004

thx for the advice everyone. The thing is that I was in the accelerated program last semester, I am in the regular program this, because I figure at a slower pace I would have a better chance, but I seem to be in the same place again. I only got like 4 weeks of school, so Im cuttying it really short.

erdave · Nov 16, 2004

You are going to do great. It's not the material alone you are being tested on; it's your test taking ability. The test taking ability is all about you. The test is memorization and turning short-term memory items into long-term memory.Stress is the enemy of memory. It destroys memory when stress is used in excess.

your quote;

[Anyways that teacher ended up telling me after I told her that, she said I knew this was going to happen, I knew it since the first day.]

your set yourself up to fail, you left yourself an out,[i knew it was going to happen]. Why? Your not a failure...No one that reads these posts in here are failures. Your a new mom and school is heck. I am also a single dad in school and work full-time....Trust me .. im no rocket scientest. If I can anyone can. Im a nurse but i am a senior in history and philosophy and i stress bad too some days. keep the stress in perspective. None of us are measured by our intellect but who we are as people.

Tricks that have helped me on tests.

Get the busy work done first day assigned. Try to study for the test (3) days prior. Day before the test read, review and dont cram, it dosent work. Have fun ..go work out at the gym, jog, whatever physical you prefer. Try Yoga, Tai Chi, Meditation, Prayer..(whatever works) use this short time for you...helps get you right for the test or anything else. I am very strong on the mental aspects of test taking..lots of studies out there on stress and outside interference wrecking our memory. Take control and be a winner. try doing this, "go look in the mirror and tell yourself, your a good looking mom and one heckuva parent and you will soon be one fantastic nurse". if you really did that exercise..bet you see a smile in the reflection.

Anyway, If you and I both fail a test before the end of this semester ( It aint gonna happen) we are still winners..dont believe me ask your kid!

Have fun.....enjoy....dave

KBnursestudent · Nov 16, 2004

I know that in our lectures, our profs say that all the nursing profs are egotistical menaing that if they say it in class go by that. Read the material you are given but rely on the notes handed out or taken in class. I liek to take my nots and tape them in class and then go home and retype the notes out . Thsi not only helps me remember what was said in class but I also have a typed reference of what was said in class, like a transcript. (There is also a market for typed class transcripts as they are great to study from and not eceryone has the time to do this. It is perfectly legal and not against school policy as it is just selling your notes you took in class. Another friend of mine likes to take his notes from class (We are usually handed some photo copies of a power point presentation) and he redoes all his notes in an outline from after he goes home. He does not even read the material for class that often and he is pulling an A. I was getting a C until I started to tape and retype my notes now I am doing well! :)

therealnurse · Nov 21, 2004

thx will try everything that was suggested

nurse2bmaryg · Nov 29, 2004

I am in my first semester of the ADN. I aced with straight A's all my pre-req's Micro, A&P, and then we had our first exam this semester and I could not understand what they wanted. It seemed like every question had at least 2 right answers. Anyway, i met with my prof. and discussed it with her, she lent me a book "Test for Success, by Patricia Nugent and Barbara A. Vitale, and I must say that it has been able to show me what they want. I am told that the tests are written in NCLEX format. this book clearly explains and gives the rationales for the correct and the incorrect answers to the questions, I took my second test a few weeks ago and I aced it. I also do the tape class and type notes that night regimen. The other thing I do is listen to the taped notes on my way to and from school everyday. (1hr commute one way)

I hope this helps you, I have strongly recommended this book to anyone who has mentioned having the "I don't understand what the question is asking" problem I have been told that many have found it helpful. One person that I study with went from dropping out if she did not pass her last test to getting a B on that test.

Good Luck, and don't ever let anyone tell you that you are not smart, you have to be smart to get into these classes.

LydiaNN · Nov 29, 2004

Do you have an advisor for your nursing program? It sounds as if talking to him/her might be a good place to start. If you are studying hard and still not doing well on the tests, maybe you should consider taking one of those courses that helps you learn how to take tests. My cousin was having a really rough time in nursing school, and her Mom paid for one of those courses. They both said it was the best investment my aunt could have made. Things were a little easier for my cousin after that. She had been working hard all along, but the way she was studying wasn't compatible with the way she was being tested.