please give some tips in answering exam questions

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hi to everyone.....im a 3rd year nursing student and my final exams are coming up.....i just want to ask for advice or tips or things to remember when answering nursing questions especially SITUATIONAL QUESTIONS......:D

thanks in advance for the help ^^

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how did you get to 3rd semester? Did they have the same type of questions before? I would say just keep using practice questions, read the rationale for the right answer ANDDDDDD the wrong answer.

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Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

for questions involving situations you definitely want to employ the nursing process. know the steps of the nursing process and place the situation you have been given where it falls in the nursing process. that will help you filter out inappropriate answers. for example, if the stem of the question gives you a little history of the patient and then asks what the goal of some intervention is you need to recognize and know that a goal is part of step #3. the problem at that point has already been determined and is based on symptoms that were discovered during assessment. any intervention would be targeting one of the symptoms of the problem and the goal would be what you expect to occur as a result of performing that intervention--often a reversal of the symptom.

see https://allnurses.com/forums/f50/looking-test-taking-stratagies-224581.html - looking for test taking strategies

you must also:

  • know and consider the normal anatomy and physiology
  • know and consider abnormal anatomy for the disease in question
  • know and consider the resulting signs and symptoms when the disease occurs and how they proceed from mild to fatal - each sign and symptom can be related back to the pathophysiology of the disease
  • know and consider how the doctor diagnoses and treats the disease in question
  • know nursing interventions for the signs and symptoms you are being asked about
  • know the steps of the nursing process and what goes on in each of the steps and consider how they are affecting the question you are being asked
  • know and consider the principles behind the actions being done - there are many kinds of principles: principles of nursing, principles of biology, principles of chemistry, principles of physics, etc.
  • read the stem of the question carefully and answer that because the test makers try to trip you up by distracting you with conflicting information they give you in the answer choices that sounds good but has no relationship to what the question is asking for
  • ask yourself "why" a patient is experiencing some sign or symptoms to get at the underlying problem. nursing like other disciplines treats the problem/signs and symptoms.

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My advice if you get stuck is to eliminate the answers which can't be right and go from there. Many times there is at least 1 answer which is totally improbable.

Good Luck!

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thanks for all the tips you gave me everyone!!! ill surely remember it ^^

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eliminate the most obvious wrong answers. then you're down to atleast 2 options. you have a 50-50 chance of getting the correct answer.

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Get a copy of Kaplan's NCLEX-RN: Strategies for the registered nursing license exam (ISBN 1419550985). It's a quick read and a great resource to have.

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Specializes in critical care, PACU.

what classes are you in right now?

I always remember ABCs but dont always jump for the most extreme intervention like call a code when you see v tach on the ekg if a less extreme intervention or assessment answer is there.

For IE I have seen a test q similar to that where it was call a code, etc, etc, and the correct answer was check for a pulse :)

Answering questions is often based on following the steps of the nursing process and considering client safety.

I am sure you are doing well with these questions if you made it to third year. When I first started NS, I was so intimidated by their questions, but now I feel that with enough practice (3 semesters) I am more comfortable with the style.

Like others have said, I highly recommend a NCLEX book--I love saunders. Whats really great is to check the sources the book cites to see if it's your text. Then you know you are getting additional questions consistent with your textbook.

I always thought that if I ran a NS, I would make them get a NCLEX book and choose all the textbooks around the cited books because the review book becomes a study guide with additional practice questions.

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Don't change your answers - go with your first choice (or guess)!

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