*Test Taking Tips*

[2bNurseDR.T]

Test Taking Tips

The exams in nursing school can be very challenging and require good test taking skills as well as a great deal of knowledge regarding the material that you are being tested over. Before I get started, I want to clarify that I am by no means an expert, but I would like to share my advice as it has helped many people that I have tutored.

1. First things first; have a good understanding of the material and be well prepared for the exam. DoNOT procrastinate and try to cram at the last minute.. This method may have worked for you in your pre-requisites, but it would not be wise for you to do this in nursing school. The material you are learning is not only important for your exam, but it will also be important during your clinical's or when you get out of school and work as a RN.
   
2. Secondly, once you think you've mastered the material go to your textbook's online resource and do practice quizzes. This allows you to see where you need to review more and gives you a feel for how you may see it presented on the exam. When you are reviewing the questions that you miss, be sure to read the rationales and really understand why you miss the question. If your textbook does not have an online resource, then do practice questions on Kaplan or whichever program your nursing school uses.
   
3. If you still feel uneasy after doing practice quizzes and reviewing your notes, go to YouTube and search for the topic you need help with. I have found numerous YouTube videos that are amazing. Khan Academy and Med Cram are two of my favorite YouTube Channels for reviewing troubling material.
   
4. During the exam.. Before I start my exam, I always ask my professor for a blank piece of paper. I use this piece of paper for two things; to "brain-dump" all the values/or helpful sayings I've came up with to use during my exam and to cover the answer choices on the exam. Covering the answer choices/ distractors while you are reading the question is by far one of the best things you can do. This will not work for every question, but for the majority it will. By covering the answer choices, you can read the question and write out beside the question what you think the answer is (without looking at the choices before). This allows you to answer without being influenced by anything and once you uncover the answer choices, if you see an answer that is similar to what you wrote then chances are that answer is correct.
   
5. Bring a highlighter to your exam. I like to highlight what I believe to be "key words" in the question, this helps me focus on what the question is asking without being distracted by irrelevant information in the question
   
6. Do NOT, change your answer once you've bubbled in on the scantron!!! Unless you are 100% sure the answer you are changing it to is correct, do not fall in this trap! I have seen a lot of my friends fail because they go back and change answers. The solution to their problem was, golfing pencils (no eraser).
   
7. Most importantly believe in yourself and don't second guess yourself. If you are in the middle of the exam and get tore up because you are stressed out, just pray to God or whomever you claim as your higher power to relieve your anxiety/stress.
   

I realize these tips are not going to help everyone, but I do hope they help some of you. These are just tips and tricks that I have found to contribute to my exam taking skills. Please, if you have any questions let me know.

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[AZBlueBell]

I would recommend not getting in the habit of brain-dumping because it is not allowed on the NCLEX. Other than that, good tips!

[2bNurseDR.T]

I would recommend not getting in the habit of brain-dumping because it is not allowed on the NCLEX. Other than that, good tips!

Thanks for the heads up😊 At some testing facilities, don't they give you a small white board or something? I have never really asked anyone about the NCLEX besides the general "what type of questions did you see?", "what do you think they focus on", etc.

[AZBlueBell]

Thanks for the heads up[emoji4] At some testing facilities, don't they give you a small white board or something? I have never really asked anyone about the NCLEX besides the general "what type of questions did you see?", "what do you think they focus on", etc.

I believe they do so you can do calculations, but if they see you brain-dump anything then you fail. My school stopped allowing students to do that because they won't be able to do it at NCLEX.

[LadyFree28, BSN, LPN, RN]

I believe they do so you can do calculations, but if they see you brain-dump anything then you fail.

Exactly.

The white board is not to be used until the start of the exam to deter "brain dumping"; you are also recorded during the exams, and if the proctor sees anything that looks like brain dumping, that information will be provided to the BON.

Best thing to do is focus on key concepts and get into the habit of not reading into the questions.

Every bring else in your tips is awesome!

[2bNurseDR.T]

Exactly.

The white board is not to be used until the start of the exam to deter "brain dumping"; you are also recorded during the exams, and if the proctor sees anything that looks like brain dumping, that information will be provided to the BON.

Best thing to do is focus on key concepts and get into the habit of not reading into the questions.

Every bring else in your tips is awesome!

Nice to know. I wonder why the nursing program that I am in, allows brain-dumping because that could be a bad habit for some people to break. I usually keep it to a minimum if I do it at all. Thanks 😁

[NurseGirl525, ASN, RN]

That was one of the first things ATI told us, no brain dumping. Apparently it's considered a form of cheating on NCLEX. Not sure why, but those lab values need to be in your head and you need to mentally recall those neumonics.

It seems to me that white board is somewhat of a joke. You can't erase anything. And you have to turn it in and ask for a new one after you use it each time.

All I can think of is somebody has some intricate cheating methods in the past.

[pmabraham, BSN, RN]

From my perspective of finishing 3 semesters of RN school (Jesus willing, graduating this coming December 2016) who typically does well on exams (thank you, Jesus!!!), I do not recommend brain dumping at all. I agree with previous posters who state it is a very bad habit; and one to either not start or otherwise get rid of. Will you brain dump at the start of your shift once you are a RN? I hope not.

[2bNurseDR.T]

From my perspective of finishing 3 semesters of RN school (Jesus willing, graduating this coming December 2016) who typically does well on exams (thank you, Jesus!!!), I do not recommend brain dumping at all. I agree with previous posters who state it is a very bad habit; and one to either not start or otherwise get rid of. Will you brain dump at the start of your shift once you are a RN? I hope not.

I agree it is a bad habit, but it does help some students. I am also a third semester nursing student who typically does really well on exams. Personally, If I brain dump at all its minimal (maybe if we had a lot of values to know or something). I look at brain dumping as a method to ease some students nerves or anxiety and have seen it really improve their grades (whether or not they even use it). I only mentioned it in the post because going into an exam can be stressful when you have tons of lab values or drugs running through your mind, and jotting them down real quick can make you feel at ease a little bit. Also, most of the things that students brain dump is just memorization things. In my opinion, I think as long as you have a good understanding of the pathological process and what is going on as well as the reasoning behind things, then you are doing pretty good. Furthermore, when we get out into the nursing world without our notes, there's no need to brain dump anything because the majority of hospitals have their lab value references included in the diagnostic finding. And every hospital/lab is different and use different reference ranges, so to me anyways it doesn't make that much of a difference if you jotted down memorization type information on your test.

I mean no disrespect in my response, I just wanted to share my thoughts regarding why I included brain dumping in my original post. But, great job and congratulations on doing well thus far on your journey to becoming an RN😊

[augurey]

I would recommend not getting in the habit of brain-dumping because it is not allowed on the NCLEX. Other than that, good tips!

Is brain dumping only when you write down all the info at the beginning?

Or at any point during the exam? We have math questions on every exam. Whenever we have conversions like teaspoon to ounces, etc., I work it out by jotting down 5 mL to 1 tsp and so on since it's easier for me to work the problem out. Also sometimes when I come across a question, regardless of where it's at, I start jotting down what I know about what they are asking in the question and then look at the answers.

Is that considered brain dumping as well?

I'm just curious so that I can start doing away with that if that is the case.

[AZBlueBell]

Is brain dumping only when you write down all the info at the beginning?

Or at any point during the exam? We have math questions on every exam. Whenever we have conversions like teaspoon to ounces, etc., I work it out by jotting down 5 mL to 1 tsp and so on since it's easier for me to work the problem out. Also sometimes when I come across a question, regardless of where it's at, I start jotting down what I know about what they are asking in the question and then look at the answers.

Is that considered brain dumping as well?

I'm just curious so that I can start doing away with that if that is the case.

I don't think that's brain dumping (but I'm not 100% sure). That's a valid question though and I do the same thing when working a math problem. I view it as part of calculating the problem...maybe someone else can tell us for sure!

[AZBlueBell]

I agree it is a bad habit, but it does help some students. I am also a third semester nursing student who typically does really well on exams. Personally, If I brain dump at all its minimal (maybe if we had a lot of values to know or something). I look at brain dumping as a method to ease some students nerves or anxiety and have seen it really improve their grades (whether or not they even use it). I only mentioned it in the post because going into an exam can be stressful when you have tons of lab values or drugs running through your mind, and jotting them down real quick can make you feel at ease a little bit. Also, most of the things that students brain dump is just memorization things. In my opinion, I think as long as you have a good understanding of the pathological process and what is going on as well as the reasoning behind things, then you are doing pretty good. Furthermore, when we get out into the nursing world without our notes, there's no need to brain dump anything because the majority of hospitals have their lab value references included in the diagnostic finding. And every hospital/lab is different and use different reference ranges, so to me anyways it doesn't make that much of a difference if you jotted down memorization type information on your test.

I mean no disrespect in my response, I just wanted to share my thoughts regarding why I included brain dumping in my original post. But, great job and congratulations on doing well thus far on your journey to becoming an RN[emoji4]

I agree. I used to brain dump before exams (not in nursing school) and it was totally an anxiety thing for me. I knew all those things, but writing them down in the beginning of the exam gave me peace of mind that I wouldn't just blank out on something during the exam! Truth be told though, I haven't had any issues since I stopped doing it. It really is just a mind thing I think.