Nursing exam

Sour Lemon · Nov 21, 2017

I am not sure how to deal with this situation. I am beyond frustrated and need an advice. Today we had an exam and there were many select all questions. Now, I am already familiar with this kind of questions but for this particular exam it was confusing. For example, it says: What are the side effects of NSAIDs?
heaache
stomach pain
stomach ulcer
ringing in the ear
all of the above
none of the above (this wasnt an actual question, I am making it up)
The professor said that if select all the answers and also "all of the above" it will mess up the computer and mark it as wrong. I wasnt sure what she wanted us to do so I walked to her desk and ask for clarification.
Does she want us to select all of the choices but not "all of the above" or just "all of the above." She said something confusing again and I kept staring at the screen of my computer and then she said "I am not going to argue with you. I told you what's gonna happen with the computer." At that point I went back and just skipped all of the questions that I thought all the options were correct plus they had "all of the above."
I dont think this is fair. Her response was rude and the question itself wasnt fair. It is correct if you select all of the options but it is also correct if you select "all of the above." And instead of focusing on answering questions, I was trying to figure out what is ok to do in this situation.
Anyway, not sure how I did on this exam, since I skipped like 4-5 select all question due to the fact that I wasnt clear what she wants.
Is there is anything I could do abot this?

From what you've said, the instructions seem clear to me. What's less clear is why you would skip the questions, entirely ...even if you weren't 100% sure what to do?

I'm not sure there's anything you can do about this past test. Maybe talk to your classmates and make sure that you understand the format if it will be used in future tests, though?

FutureNurse0201 · Nov 21, 2017

Can you explain what I was supposed to mark as correct? All of the choices plus "all of the above?" Or just all of the above? Or just choices? (Assuming all of the choices are correct). And remember it is "select all that apply" question so you can mark as many options as you want.

Sour Lemon · Nov 21, 2017

Can you explain what I was supposed to mark as correct? All of the choices plus "all of the above?" Or just all of the above? Or just choices? (Assuming all of the choices are correct). And remember it is "select all that apply" question so you can mark as many options as you want.

From what your professor said, I understand it to mean you select "all of the above" and nothing else if all of the answers above are correct. If they're not all correct, you select only the answers that are.

The instructor's additional instructions clarified the "select all that apply" instructions.

FutureNurse0201 · Nov 21, 2017

Ok, I just thought it was weird to make it "select all that apply" question. I understand regular questions with "all of the above" option. This was just weird, and her rude attitude didn't help.

Sour Lemon · Nov 21, 2017

Ok, I just thought it was weird to make it "select all that apply" question. I understand regular questions with "all of the above" option. This was just weird, and her rude attitude didn't help.

Next time, at least answer. You have no chance of getting it right if you leave it blank.

FutureNurse0201 · Nov 21, 2017

I got frustrated that my knowledge was not an issue, i was 100% sure all of the options were correct, but guessing how to answer it, because "computer is going to mark it wrong even if it is right" was unnecessary. And when I asked for clarification in the nicest possible way, she was rude and not open to clarify. Select all questions are hard enough already (and there is no partial credit).

**NICU Guy, BSN, RN** · Nov 21, 2017

A select all that apply should not have "all of the above". It is redundant because if you have 4 choices and they are all correct, then you click all 4 choices. You would not need a "all of the above" choice. Since it was an option, then select only the "all of the above" choice and not the individual choices. Very poorly formatted question.

FutureNurse0201 · Nov 21, 2017

Thank you. Actually, since i am very upset with the exam, i kept searching for questions online to check what I got wrong. But what i found is just unacceptable. So, in addition to unnecessary "all of the above", the test had so many grammar errors to the point it was hard to understand. For example: "select all that apply" which one characteristic is not...? or critical thinker should exhibits: context, committed or confidence (so a mix of nouns and adjectives). And the biggest one, I found a question that was on the exam in NCLEX practice book EXCEPT, the professor took question number 19, but gave us answers for question number 20 in the book. We thought it didn't make sense.

What do I do? I think this will bring my grade down significantly. Is there anyone at University, I can talk to so they can go through the exam. I don't think students should pay for professor's lack of time to properly write the exam.

TriciaJ, RN · Nov 21, 2017

Can you explain what I was supposed to mark as correct? All of the choices plus "all of the above?" Or just all of the above? Or just choices? (Assuming all of the choices are correct). And remember it is "select all that apply" question so you can mark as many options as you want.

Just "all of the above". The computer is not going to let you select several answers; you have to pick one. If all the answers are correct, then the "all of the above" answer is the one you select.

TriciaJ, RN · Nov 21, 2017

Thank you. Actually, since i am very upset with the exam, i kept searching for questions online to check what I got wrong. But what i found is just unacceptable. So, in addition to unnecessary "all of the above", the test had so many grammar errors to the point it was hard to understand. For example: "select all that apply" which one characteristic is not...? or critical thinker should exhibits: context, committed or confidence (so a mix of nouns and adjectives). And the biggest one, I found a question that was on the exam in NCLEX practice book EXCEPT, the professor took question number 19, but gave us answers for question number 20 in the book. We thought it didn't make sense.
What do I do? I think this will bring my grade down significantly. Is there anyone at University, I can talk to so they can go through the exam. I don't think students should pay for professor's lack of time to properly write the exam.

Is there an adviser or some sort of student go-to person in your school? Who does your instructor report to? Does anyone else in your class notice how poorly the exams are written? Surely everyone is losing marks because of this. See if you can get some classmates together and approach an administrative person with your concerns.

Bad instructors often take a few semesters to be gotten rid of. Good luck and hang in there.

**NICU Guy, BSN, RN** · Nov 21, 2017

Just "all of the above". The computer is not going to let you select several answers; you have to pick one. If all the answers are correct, then the "all of the above" answer is the one you select.

It was a "Select All That Apply" question, so you can choose multiple answers. The problem was that one of the answers was "all of the above". Do you choose only "all of the above" or A-D in addition to All of the above, since the question states Select ALL that apply?

For example: Which items are round? Select All That Apply:

A Basketball

B Baseball

C Tennis Ball

D a brick

You would click A,B,C.

But if the question was: Which items are round? Select All That Apply:

A Basketball

B Baseball

C Tennis Ball

D all of the above

Do you choose A,B,C,D or only D

"D" shouldn't be an option since you have the ability to choose A-C.