Passing fundamental

RN403, BSN, RN · Sep 3, 2014

Don't be too down on yourself. While it is unfortunate, not passing nursing courses does happen. I know quite a few people who did not initially pass a course, but, they came back and turned it to very competent nurses. Have you pinned down what exactly held you back during your last attempt? In order to be successful this time around you must identify what went wrong the first time and set up a plan to fix it.

It seems that you feel your study skills are lacking...how did you study previously?

Clisabeth08 · Sep 3, 2014

I studied the powerpoints and read few chapters of the book.

RN403, BSN, RN · Sep 3, 2014

I studied the powerpoints and read few chapters of the book.

How did you study this material? My first semester of nursing school I had no idea how to study. I did not do too well on my first exam so I made drastic changes in my study habits. I started making study guides. I made practice questions of my own based on the lecture material from class. I also made note cards, quizzed myself, and recorded myself talking through the lectures. By saying the material out loud I was able to get the info into my long term memory (where you want it to be!) and I also was able to listen to myself later on (study) while cleaning, driving, etc.

Do you have any peers from class that you might like to study with? I am not big on studying with people, but, I would meet with my peers once a week to talk through the material. Sometimes other people have a different view on things that could end up helping you remember the material or might have taken some notes that you missed in class.

Also, you might try taking NCLEX style practice exams that relate to whatever area you are studying. This will help you get a feel for what will be on your exam and will allow you to get comfortable with NCLEX style questions. Usually, you can find some questions in the back of your Fundamentals textbook or at the end of each chapter. I found doing those practice Qs very vital to my success.

Reading the chapters is great if you feel that it is helpful, but, sometimes it can be like information overloading your brain. Now that you have taken this course before...what have you noticed that your professor tests on? More lecture material or do they take a lot from the book? I would focus on your lecture material and then skim the readings. If you are not understanding something THEN read the full chapter. Other than that, you might be trying to study too much material.

Remember to focus on the nursing interventions. You get a lot of lecture material but you are going to school to be a NURSE. When you're studying...keep asking yourself...what would the NURSE do in this situation? That is what you will be tested on most of the time.

RescueNinjaKy · Sep 3, 2014

Make sure that you're not just reading. Nursing requires critical thinking so make sure you understand on top of knowing. Personally, I found it super useful to practice nclex questions as my exams are in that format.

I do not know if nursing is or isn't for you but if it is what you want to do then keep at it and just keep trying harder. Like previous poster, try to identify your weakness by going over past exams or seeking the aid of your professors.

I will post what I believe you should know for fundamentals of I can find that old post of mine.

RescueNinjaKy · Sep 3, 2014

What are you focusing on? Personally I find that fundamentals usually cover topics such as nursing process. So learn what is assessment, nursing diagnosis, planning, intervention, evaluation.

Prioritization, who needs your attention first. Abc, airway breathing circulation. Think about which needs your help immediately and which can wait.

Delegation, what is the role of a rn, lpn, cna. Which patient falls within their scope of practice and who needs the most help.

Med math, drug calculations, flow rates drop factors, patients rights, med rights, injections, insulin

Communications, how would you communicate with the patient, types of therapeutic communication, verbal and nonverbal, cultural awareness

Safety, what is safe for the nurse, what is safe for the patient, things like ambulating, side rails, bed level and brake, call bells, hand hygiene

Charting, legality, hippa etc.

Then the specific systems that your professor is covering that week. For instance if on gu think about what normal findings are, what abnormal findings are, and very important that you think of what the nurse should do then. If patient is constipated what can you do, consult his dietary restrictions, encourage and teach about fiber and fluid intake and inform doctor and doctor might give stool softener or enema. What diet should a constipated patient be on, etc.

What I'm trying to say is that studying a lot and practicing nclex isn't going to help if you don't think about what they're asking of you. The focus of fundamentals, at least in my case, is to get you to think like a nurse. So think of what i wrote above and then you should have better clarity on what you should be focusing on when they're going over specific systems. Knowing the terms and definition is good but not enough. Knowing how to do our when to do something is also good but not enough. You want to know why. you need know what to look out for and why you should do something, and how to do something

Clisabeth08 · Sep 3, 2014

I didn't know about the nclex questions at that time, I was good with math and the terminology but it was the other questions that killed me.

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Sep 3, 2014

PPs are offering wonderful advice - they are sharing their own experiences & this is the most valuable source of information that you could find.

However, I do want you to examine your situation very objectively. Maybe your instructor did not express it in the kindest or most empathetic way, but the words were true... nursing is NOT for everyone. As an educator, I have worked with bright, intelligent and very motivated students who were unable to succeed in nursing education no matter how hard they tried. Their brains were simply not wired to 'think like a nurse' and it had nothing to do with intelligence.

If - at some point you begin to suspect that this is the case for you, please consider another career path rather than beating yourself up and destroying your self esteem. There are a lot of options out there for you.