Nursing school so depressed!

Sour Lemon · Feb 28, 2018

I'm a big fan of understanding the big picture. A lot of people who struggle seem to focus on ferociously writing notes and memorizing facts. I usually just listened and read the assigned chapters the day of (or day before) the test. I did more thinking than doing, in other words.

A lot of times, I didn't know the answers to test questions ...but having some general knowledge allowed me to guess correctly.

Are you in fundamentals or med/surg?

Emilylovesthegym · Feb 28, 2018

In fundamentals, and I do rewrite the PowerPoints but our professor goes over let's say 10 chapters. All of which are basic knowledge but then some pharm like antihypertensives and diuretics so I focus all my time at understanding it than the test has no questions on it, it's crazy!

bugya90, ASN, BSN, LVN, RN · Feb 28, 2018

You need to accept that nursing school is way different than any other class or pre-req you have taken thus far. You're not studying just to memorize random facts or numbers. You are studying to fully understand what is happening so you don't kill anyone.

When you're in lecture don't focus so much on writing everything that the professor talks about. Write key points or things that they say several times

Read the required chapters (preferably the night before lecture)

Get a NCLEX study guide that is broken up by topic and read the topics that you are currently studying (I recommend Saunders but there are several out there)

Practice NCLEX style questions. Again you can get a study guide for this or download some of the apps. NCLEX questions are different than standard test questions, they call for you to apply knowledge and make a judgement call. Get used to this style question now because it is all your boards will be.

Ask your professors for feedback. Believe it or not they are there to help you. Ask for help before it is too late.

Google and YouTube are your friends. If you're not fully grasping something, research it some more. There are many short lecture videos on YouTube on a lot of topics.

Sour Lemon · Feb 28, 2018

In fundamentals, and I do rewrite the PowerPoints but our professor goes over let's say 10 chapters. All of which are basic knowledge but then some pharm like antihypertensives and diuretics so I focus all my time at understanding it than the test has no questions on it, it's crazy!

Well, the only encouraging thing I can think of to tell you is that I failed my first fundamentals test. It was "weird" and I wasn't used to the style. I compensated and did well after that, though.

Med/surg I is the hardest class for a lot of people because you still have the "weird" testing style, but the content gets a lot more involved than bed-making. You've really got to figure out what works for you fast or you may be doomed.

Bugya's advice is all very good.

ItsThatJenGirl, CNA · Feb 28, 2018

The key for me is to take the time to understand what the question is asking. That's my biggest hump. I'm used to straight-forward tests, but nursing school tests are not straightforward. Like, we had a question about a low O2 sat and what your first action would be. I chose "ask the patient to take a few deep breaths", but the answer was to move the O2 monitor to a new location first. It makes sense upon reflection, but I went for the obvious answer and that will get you in trouble. Because while my answer is correct, having the patient take deep breaths won't matter if the O2 monitor isn't in a good spot, or has come loose.

If you're grasping the material and looking back on the tests thinking the answer was obvious, it might just be that you need to work on your test taking strategies. There are a million and two practice questions out there on the 'net. Just google NCLEX questions, or invest in an app to help you become more proficient at nursing school style questions.

Good luck.

JKL33 · Feb 28, 2018

The key for me is to take the time to understand what the question is asking. That's my biggest hump. I'm used to straight-forward tests, but nursing school tests are not straightforward. Like, we had a question about a low O2 sat and what your first action would be. I chose "ask the patient to take a few deep breaths", but the answer was to move the O2 monitor to a new location first. It makes sense upon reflection, but I went for the obvious answer and that will get you in trouble. Because while my answer is correct, having the patient take deep breaths won't matter if the O2 monitor isn't in a good spot, or has come loose.
If you're grasping the material and looking back on the tests thinking the answer was obvious, it might just be that you need to work on your test taking strategies. There are a million and two practice questions out there on the 'net. Just google NCLEX questions, or invest in an app to help you become more proficient at nursing school style questions.
Good luck.

That's right! (bolded)

However, I must say I think that actually not trying to be as tricky would better help cement concepts in students' minds (personal opinion). In the example you gave, your reconsidered rationale makes perfect sense. But there are a handful of other things (probably not choices on your test) that make better sense. Such as "evaluate whether there is an adequate oximetry waveform on the monitor." Because, well, if the patient's SpO2 is indeed 85% with a good waveform, then moving it is wasting time. Moving it from a spot that took someone a lot of finagling to get good waveform to begin with, is wasting a lot of time. And to boot, is exactly the kind of thing a newer nurse might misprioritize without recognizing that the waveform is good and the patient's cap refill doesn't look great. Or the lips/nailbeds have become slightly dusky.

I know you all have to get through it so I don't want to discourage you, but I am not a fan of the purposeful increasing trickiness of the questions I hear about. So many of them are of an "it depends" nature; which is difficult when trying to learn concepts. The fact that there are "nursing style questions" is so unfortunate to me.

Kudos to all who put the concepts together and make the most of it!

direw0lf, BSN · Feb 28, 2018

I used to wonder why some seemingly random question about something I didn't remember covering would be on the exam. Oh like laryngotracheobronchopneumonitis (aka croup). Content is important but you won't know all of it so this is where the question becomes like a game. So say you know nothing about that disease. You don't even know if it's in the head or butt. But your answer choices..hmm.. you see one answer about airway patency. The other answers look important and smart though. But airway..that's most important. Ok usually croup will have something about standing in front of a freezer but that's airway too..cold air.decrease inflammation..airway. I don't know if I'm helping but try to focus half your time on content and half on understanding how to answer nclex type questions. I wish I purchased uworld in the beginning alhough it's expensive. Focus on those Davis questions, not digging into dark depths about every disease/procedure but about thinking critically. Update us..

Peepsimus, BSN, RN · Mar 1, 2018

Have you been going over your exams with the professor to talk about why you picked the answers you did, develop test strategies for how YOU approach the material, and what you can do to improve? NCLEX style questions throw everyone for a loop at first. There are different strategies, approaches, and tools that you have to learn to answer them correctly. Buying an NCLEX app and doing the Fundamentals questions helped me a lot because I could see rationales and learn how to answer the questions without the pressure of a test.