xantha31669

The test is computer adaptive. There can be anywhere from 75 questions up to 200+.(can't remember the exact amount) There is no set # of right or wrong questions. You start with with mid level questions, if you get that right they get harder, wrong they get easier until you can answer.when you have answered enough questions at the appropriate level right then you pass, which could be anywhere in that range(75 and up) also if you get so low on the difficulty that you have no possibility of pulling up the level then you can fail as well ( also at 75). What few people outside of nursing understand is that the questions are not things like "where is your liver?" the questions can be very difficult and involved and can pull on 3 or 4 different things at once. " A patient is admitted with dehydration secondary to nausea vomiting and diarrhea. they have a history of CHF, HTN, and IDDM. Upon assessment they are diaphoretic (sweaty) weak and shaky what is your first action?" There will usually be at least two right answers. In this question you have to know what all three of the history diagnosises are. What are the possible signs and symptoms of each and what effects they have on the body. You have to also know what effects nausea vomiting and diarrhea can have on the body right down to the cellular level. Then you have to compare all this to the signs and symptoms your patient is having. After you figure this all out then you have to figure which thing is the most life threatening (the first priority to treat) after this you can take a stab at an aswer. When you try to answer, the two answers that are both technically right are very close, you have to figure out which is the best answer.(keeping in mind what falls into your scope of practice) Try having to take a minimum of 75 questions like this, right up to over 200! It is murder!!! I hope this answers your question.

The test is the same for everyone everywhere and is run by a national testing company. Just curious, did your cousin go to Holyoke Community College? Lori

There was a big note on the pyxis the other day that there is a shortage of the prefilled PCA syringes of Dilaudid. We are in CT.

We had to take the worst test I ever had as part of orientation. It was called PBDS. They showed us videos with patients having various problems. They give you some basic data (labs,vitals,etc) then you would have to figure out what was going on with the patient by watching them. Once you thought you knew you had to decide whether it was urgent, then list all the interventions you would do. It was really hard because they had 20 of trying to watch it on a little TV, so it was easy to miss things. I thought that it was very helpful though. It made you really think about what you would do for some common things like low blood sugar, transfusion reactions, respiratory distress, etc. Lori

We were told basically the same things as you were, with the addition of "NO NIPPLES" I almost choked!! I found out after they have had problems with tight shirts and no bras in the past. Add that to cold air conditioned classrooms, well you know what comes next!! Lori

Soon2bnp, They must like the dying ritual thing because I got one about Jewish Orthodox dying issues and the one thing I could remember was not one of the answers!! Lori

Glow worm, I just took mine on Monday and I felt the same way. The questions were so "different" than all the test prep stuff out there that I was floored!! I shut off at 75 as well and I feel like I failed. I am hoping the results will be up soon because I am sick with worry. I have always been an honors student and do well on tests, but this test was unreal!! Good luck to you, hopefully you will find out soon (me too!) Lori

I too e-mailed them. I suggested they try coming and working with a nurse on a busy medical-surgical floor and see who does the work of caring for and curing pts. I also mentioned that the majority of education provided to pts is provided by the nurses in most settings. This is precisely why I prefer to see the APRN at my MD's office because they take the time to explain things to me and not just hand me a prescription or send me for a test and send me out the door clueless so they can hurry to the next patient. I know they don't care but i feel better having just been able to vent. Lori

I too have always been crazy about my grades. I have cried and beaten myself up quite a bit about actually getting, god forbid, a "B" in my nursing class last semester. I hope to go on to some form of advanced practice so I know the grades are important. Everyone I was friends with in class was the same way so we could vent to each other. I also have three kids and I want them to see what you can do when you work hard. By getting good grades with all the responsibilities I have in my life it gives my a good base to have high expectations for my kids. As I tell my daughter (who tends to be lazy about school work), if I can get good grades while working, raising a family and taking more than a full course load there is no excuse why she can't get good grades. As long as you don't make yourself sick over it i don't see the big deal about caring about your grades. JMHO. Lori

I agree with you Vsummer, the thing is not everyone goes to school on financial aid. You would be penalizing the people who pay out of pocket doing it that way. Why should they have to pay more for so others could get bigger financial aid refunds. I have full time nursing school, plus have had to take an extra class each semester, I have three kids (4,5 & 9), I am a class officer, I work part-time, and my GPA is still a 3.5. It is very hard and requires sacrifice, but it can be done. That is the great thing about healthcare, they are open 24/7, so you can work at night or on the weekends if you have to. I don't know what your skill level or certifications are but can you get a per diem position at a hospital or nursing home in your area? Alot of places do it because they hope you will work there when you are done. You can also cram in hours during your breaks and live off that money. I got rid of my car so I didn't have a payment and got a clunker. My kids couldn't do any activities that cost money. It is only for such ashort time in the scheme of things.Most of the people in my class are older and in the same boat as me, or are on 2nd degrees and can't get aid either. On top of that, if you tripled your tuition there is cap on how much aid you can get (grants and loans) per year. Even if you get outside scholarships they deduct that from what they will give you. So you end up with less left over and/or more in student loans when you graduate. Maybe you could sit down with a counselor in financial aid and find a co-op type job, or talk to the nursing dept. they might know of a place that will let you work around your class schedule. Good luck with working things out, you can do it. Some times you just have to take a leap of faith and take it one day/month at a time. Lori

I can see everyone's point about the deceiving nature of the credit hours, but if we got credit for all those hours the school's would CHARGE us for all those credit hours. Can you imagine that bill!! We would be doubling or tripling our tuition. I would rather have it this way than pay any more money. The only thing that is hard is when a non-nursing student is like, "Well you ONLY have 8 credits, what is the big deal?" They just don not get it!! Lori

In my school each credit is equal to 2-3 hours of class time. Our regular nursing classes are 8 credits, but meet for 16 hours. Our labs are 1 or 2 credits but meet for either 3 or 6 hours. They told us it maes it cheaper for us this way that way we don't have to pay for all those credits. Lori

I just talked to a place here in western mass that starts a new grad at 20.84. I guess that is good.

I haven't graduated yet, but the ICU that I plan on going to has a 6 month orientation which includes classes on ECG reading, cardiac meds etc. plus working with a preceptor and having a patient assignment. I would be very scared to go into that kind of setting and not get the orientation my hospital gives.

I have always wanted to be a L & D nurse but I am scared of the highly litigious environment in L & D these days. I hear of MD's just quitting because insurance is soo high and one of my friends works at a hospital where they lost their two OB MD's because of this. They just ship them out now and pray that they have time to do this. (Smaller community hospital) The Md's in ER fight over who has to take care of the PT that comes in PG. How does the whole lawsuit thing work? Can you really lose everything? I know you have to document and be as thorough as possible. Just looking for some input. Thanks Lori