Nursing school Q: 1 min/1 question?

[Beldar_the_Cenobite, CNA]

Hi everyone!

Question for you! I'm taking NURS299 at UNLV. It's called Nutritional Development Across the Lifespan. Our exams are 45 questions and we have 45 minutes to take them. To me, that's insane. It doesn't seem possible unless there was like a study guide. But there is no teacher to teach in class to go over anything. Voice overs on power points are from another instructor. The instructor that I have I wanted to meet with is very scornful about me wanting to meet with her for questions regarding the material in the book. She's an RN. One of those "I got my degree, I could careless what you want to look up, use google, look it up on google" type of teacher. She sounds like she has this job to give her a break from a real nursing job like research or working with patients.

Anyway, when you were in nursing school, was there a class where exams were a minute per question? Like 45 minutes for 45 questions? It just seems way too stressful.

[iluvivt, BSN, RN]

Yes, but why are you so focused on the time you get when you should be focused on learning the content. If you know the content thoroughly then this is of plenty of time. When I take my certification test every three years I must answer 56 questions per hour (170 in three hours) I always finish and have time to check on a few answers because I make certain when I sit for the test I am ready. If you want to succeed make a study plan and stick to it. If you are quessing on tests you need more time. If you know your stuff you sail through the short test.

[missmollie, ADN, BSN, RN]

Because in real life, in an emergency situation, you always have all the time you need to think through something. Just learn the material. You either know it or you don't, and when you read the question you'll know which category you fall into.

[VerticalHorizon]

I think almost all my tests were one minute per question, maybe a even little less. One minute is more than enough time to answer the question, especially if all or most of the questions are multiple choice. If you do not know the answer within the first 30 seconds then skip it and come back to it at the end. In nursing school your are going to need to know how to prioritize your time and be efficient.

[AJJKRN]

If it's an online class, most likely the time constraints are to keep test takers from cheating. My first sociology class was online and I started off doing all the reading only to quickly realize that what I was doing was inefficient time management for me because it didn't really help me answer the 100 question quizzes I had to take each week in a short timeframe (can't remember if it was 30 minutes or what but it was over chapters and chapters).

I found that I was much quicker at utilizing the back of the box to search for the answers and in turn was getting A's. Now a group of nursing students a few semesters in front of me got caught cheating in the library were say they would have X amount of questions and all take the test together on their separate laptops and each student took so many questions each and would use the book/resources to look up the answers and pass. My school didn't have a cheating policy at that point but one was drawn up rather quickly and the rest of my nursing classes had there tests proctored afterwards.

[Cat365]

We were given 1 minute per question and almost everyone was finished before the deadline every test. As earlier posters suggested you either know it or you don't.

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

I think I need about 15 seconds per question for an average multiple choice test

[Scottishtape]

The online classes I had for my bachelors degree were all 1 min per question. Like the PP said, it's to deter cheating.

My nursing school exams were at a testing center with my professor. We had a flat 2 hours for every exam, no matter how many questions. Our exams ranged from 55-75 questions, so it wasn't bad. In general, I usually finished all my exams in 45 minutes, including the time it took me to go over my answers.

I think it's definitely doable for the average Joe. If you're having a hard time finishing in the time allotted, maybe you can speak with your professor and get some accommodations. We had a few students do that and it seemed to help them.

[Simplistic]

Hmm.. Well for my nursing classes (which are all in person), I get 2 minutes per question. I once took a pathophysiology class online and had 40 minutes to answer 25 questions..

[direw0lf, BSN]

My OB and peds pharm final, with calculation questions, was just under 1 min per question! Now that was pressure! But we were prepped for it. All our quizzes were 1 min per q, and we had a quiz a week. Practice, use a free NCLEX question app (like Kaplan mini qbank) you can make your own test like how many questions. Do about 25/day and see if you can improve your time each day you do it.

It's unfortunate that you have a teacher who isn't really willing to help more. However there's lots of resources for you! I like Kaplan's NCLEX premier book because it teaches you how to read, re-word, and answer NCLEX style questions (do I sound like a salesperson for kaplan? I'm not lol)

Don't waste energy on thoughts about whether this teacher is just wanting a break or how it's unfair or anything. If you try to just focus on learning how to answer nursing questions and the material, you'll be better off and more prepared.

[meanmaryjean, DNP, RN]

Also, disparaging your instructor indicates a lack of maturity and willingness to blame others for your lack of preparation. Not cool.

[WanderingWilder, ASN]

We get about 1.5min a question. The exams are 70 to 80 questions multiple choice. Its always plenty of time for everyone. For me I can do 80 questions in 60 mins. It doesn't seem like a long time but you will have some questions that may take only 15 sec so you will have extra time on the harder ones.