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Discussion

New and needs some help with exams

Hi Everyone,

I am so glad I found this website. I am in my third semester of Nursing school and have officially failed my first two exams. As most of us are, I am a serious student, and study for hours. I've tried all different methods from note cards, to recording lectures, NCLEX review books...you name it, I've done it.

Our instructors make up their own questions and I'm finding that they are very subjective. We have review sessions after the exam, and try to tell them why we choose the answers we did, and it's not helping. They have now implemented a mandatory study session (since 80% of our class is failing into the 6th week). How can it not be evident that there is something wrong when 35 straight A students are failing??

There is so much content to cover, and only 40 questions. They seem to pick the most absurd things to put on the test. I specifically went up to my instructor after lecture and asked her about something I read in the text book because she didn't mention it at all during lecture. She told me we didn't need to know this and had me cross it off in my notes. Low and behold, it was on the exam. I didn't pick that answer, because there was another answer that made sense as well, and I thought it was a trick. When I approached her about this after the exam, her reply was "Oh yeah, I'm sorry"

They give us a testing blueprint that tells us what is on the exam, and then there are topics on the exam that weren't even in the blueprint.

Just wondering if your instructors make up their own questions, or do they use an NCLEX bank, or textbook bank?

I don't know if I should withdraw from the program or risk failing and my GPA going in the toilet?

Any comments would be greatly welcomed..... Very frustrated.

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Moved to a thread on it's own as posted in a very old thread

  • Author

Thanks...Just joined this website. Appreciate it!

Our 4th semester class is going about like this. Our instructors don't write their own questions, they use written questions but re-write them semester by semester so that people can't cheat. During that process, information needed to choose the correct answer is sometimes taken out. It's frustrating!

I met with my teacher and asked for suggestions for how to study, because the methods I had used for the previous 3 semesters was no longer working. I would also ask your instructors if they feel you should withdraw. Do you know when the last date is for withdrawal, and is it possible for you to recover your grade before then? I can tell you what I'm doing now that appears to be working, but it's an insane amount of work. This is my last semester though and there's no way I can fail out now.

  • Author

Thanks for responding.

I would love to hear what you are doing. I'm willing to do whatever it takes. I have no life anyway.. ha ha

If it's working for you, then I will certainly give it a shot.

Hang in there!

I take the outline they give us and use that as the base. As I read our book, plus search online and read "Med surg made incredibly easy" I add anything I highlight to the outline. I do this on the computer so I can add without making a giant mess. When that is finished, I rewrite it by hand. Then I listen to the lectures again and make make more notes on that handwritten outline in a different color pen based on what I think may be important that the instructor said. We have LOTS of reading, but the material covered on the test isn't always covered in the notes or reading.

Because our questions are not written based on the material.

  • Author

Excellent. Thank you very much. I too use their outline, but the objectives aren't always consistent with what they test us on either. Med-Surg made easy..didn't know about that, so I may go and pick that up. Great advice. I appreciate you taking the time to respond.

Best of luck to you.

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