Slightly Discouraged

Published

I recently began an Accelerated BSN program. I took my first test, and did fine. I took my second test in Nursing Assessment, and failed miserably. I really thought I knew the material, but the questions totally confused me. Can anyone relate? Is this normal at the beginning? I did great in my first undergrad degree so I am confused as to why I am failing at this point. Any advice would be great! :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×

My best advice is to immediately get with the instructor and find out what you are doing wrong. By talking with you, the instructor should be able to figure out why you failed and guide you to get your study techniques up to par with the tests. You can't waste time now. Establish a rapport with this instructor. It will only help you in the long run. Good luck.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.

Thread moved to Student forum.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Perioperative, ACU, Hospice.

I agree with the previous poster - meet with your instructor ASAP and discuss ways to improve your test-taking skills and/or ways to study better.

That said, when I first started LVN school (I'm in an RN program now - yay!) I had a hard time adjusting to the style of the exams. Like you, I was a great student in college, it all came pretty easy. But my first few test scores in NS freaked me out! Most all NS exams are modeled after the NCLEX. There is nothing like the NCLEX; it is it's own wart-covered, hairy beast. The style of the questions, the wording of the answers, all very strange to my (at the time) non-nursing brain. It took some getting used to, but now I eat, sleep and breathe NCLEX-style questions. Soon you will too!

Don't give up! Keep studying and maybe get an NCLEX review book (Saunders is a good one) so that you can practice taking NCLEX-style questions.

Good luck and I'll see you by the bedside in '09!:specs:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in med/surg, telemetry, IV therapy, mgmt.

find out what it is about the questions on this test that confused you. it is not enough to know the material. nursing tests are famous for being what are called "application type" questions, or questions of critical thinking. this means that you must pull from your memory and apply many different concepts along with the information that you learned in order to get to the correct answer. this all has to do with decision making which is the ultimate goal of your nursing education. you can learn all the facts in the world, but on the job as an rn you will be worthless if you cannot apply them in making sound decisions and judgments about what to do for the patient. a bsn program is really going to put heavy stress on that component. you are being trained to be a problem solver not someone who can merely spit back facts. i strongly suggest you read chapter 5 of linda anne silvestri's saunders comprehensive review for the nclex-rn examination because those few pages contain the critical thinking strategy needed to answer these kinds of questions. i also tell students to know the nursing process. assessment is only the first step of the nursing process--there is more to come. you should also review the information on the websites posted on this thread:

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion