Pre-Clinical Test?

[Ctomida]

Good Afternoon!

Just seeking advice or personal experiences from fellow students..

After being on a wait list for OVER two years, I finally received my letter advising I start the 'core' of our RN program in the Fall. My school is a community college therefore does not require the HESI.

I am currently taking the STNA class (which I have put off doing for far too long ) and our instructor mentioned something about a test they give the students before they start clinicals which is testing your knowledge on pharmacology and dosage information.. as she put it, " You are off to bigger and better things and they want to be sure you are ready." She also mentioned that she couldn't sit in the room this past year because of so many girls running out of the rooms crying after the test..

SO, in a nutshell, what she told us about this "knowledge check" has me quite nervous. I am confident in my knowledge of dosage calculation however I am more concerned with remembering EVERYTHING from pharmacology. I was just curious if anyone has heard of this kind of a test before and what your experiences were with it.

[mrsboots87]

It sounds like she may be over exaggerating. My CC program doesn't have any pre clinical tests but we do have checkoffs at various points in the semester based on learning from lab. I have heard of the schools with preclinical tests though. For the most part, they want you to pass and will set up the expectations for that test in advance. They should also give some insight as to what to expect to see on the test so it wont surprise you. Study what they lecture and you should be fine. Our checkoffs so far have been for PO med, injectables, and a basic pharmacology knowledge check with common meds and their classifications and reasons to hold. Oh, and of course some med math tests as well. I wont say they aren't stressful and that students don't leave crying because it would be a lie. But its not like half the class leaves crying. Usually there are just a handful that feel like they did terrible on the test, or are just overly stressed and will cry whether they passed or failed. One student was so nervous, that after injectable checkoff she came out in tears but dancing. Nursing school gets to you sometimes because there is a lot to learn in a short time, but stay on top of your studying and you shold pass whatever is thrown at you. Try not to stress and psych yourself out before you get to it. You may be surprised that the preclinical test is not as awful as its made out to be. GL.