Unfair Exam Practices

Trauma Columnist · Jul 30, 2006

There are very solid reasons to have several years of experience before getting into a masters program and this is one of them. I do think you will have to just hustle to stay caught up. Other avenues might be a good solid peds book like the Wong/Baker text or some other book that your instructor could recommend.

I went back for my APN with 14 years of nursing experience under my belt and did just fine - but I will say that much of what I knew as what I learned in 10 years in a level one trauma center.

I gotta hand it to you - I would have had a hard time with only 18 months experience. Good luck and hang in there.

llg, PhD, RN · Jul 30, 2006

Help...what do you think...would you confront the instructor on the unfair exam practices...or would you just suck it up and figure out how to pass the exams?

I think "confrontation" is the wrong approach. Graduate students in all disciplines are supposed to be able to seek answers and learn material that is not spoonfed to them directly through the class handouts and assigned readings.

However, I would advise talking with the instructor politely and asking him/her for some advice. Explain that you have less clinical experience than the other students and therefore your knowledge base coming into the class is not as strong as theirs. (While you may not like to admit that, it's true. They have learned things through their experience that you have not learned.) Ask the instructor to recommend some additional books or other resources that might supplement those required for class -- resources that can help you to "fill in some of the holes" that you have in your knowledge base.

Another thing to consider is to slow down your academic progress -- not drop out of school -- but rather slow down. Go very part time and get a job that will supplement your learning (as well as your income). Also see if there is a way you can "save" your clinical courses for the end of your program when you have gotten more clinical experience. Take the other courses first, such as research, stats, etc.

I started grad school many years ago after only getting 2 years of staff nurse experience. So, I am not against people going back to school with minimal clinical experience. However, certain courses (and programs) are more geared towards experienced students than others -- and you can't ignore that fact as you make decisions about your career choices. Advanced clinical courses are just that -- ADVANCED clinical courses. Benner's research has confirmed that it takes 3-5 years of clinical experience (including some school work) for a beginner nurse to progress thorugh the advanced beginner phase and into the competent level of expertise. Anyone with less than that is probably still an advanced beginner and should expect to struggle with a advanced class designed for students at the competent level or above (proficient nurses and/or expert ones).

Good luck to you.

llg

christvs, DNP, RN, NP · Jul 30, 2006

I need help. I'm toward the end of the MSN program and I'm having a tough time with the exams for the Primary Care classes - right now it's Peds. Part of the problem is a large portion of the material covered on the exams is not covered in the lecture notes (usually power point presentations) nor in the reading material (usually articles on the topic being lectured on).
Some of my classmates are doing ok because they have experience in some of the areas being tested on the exams. I've been an RN for 1 1/2 years so I don't have a lot of experience outside of my clinical experiences and the short time I've been a nurse.
I'm really upset with the instructors because they're testing us on material that's not being covered. I realize this is graduate level and they shouldn't spoon feed us...but I believe the material we're being testing on should come from either the lecture notes or the reading material. If, in order to pass the exams, we need to have outside experiences, then why do we need to spend thousands of dollars on school?
I'm very clinically capable but I'm afraid of flunking out of the program because I can't pass the exams.
Help...what do you think...would you confront the instructor on the unfair exam practices...or would you just suck it up and figure out how to pass the exams?

Regardless of how many years of RN experience you have, I do not feel it is fair to test students on material that is not even covered in class. You are not enrolled in graduate school so you can be tested on what you know as an RN from work. You are in grad school so you can learn additional, more advanced material and you should be tested on just that. I would approach your professor and point this out very nicely that you have been carefully studying all the material gone over in class and feel he/she should focus the exams on what he/she is teaching. That is not only fair, that should be expected. Good luck!

labcat01, BSN, RN · Jul 30, 2006

Regardless of how many years of RN experience you have, I do not feel it is fair to test students on material that is not even covered in class.

I agree with this to an extent...you have to talk to your professors about this. I would tell them what you've been doing to study and explain that you haven't been doing well on the exams. Ask them what they suggest you do to perform better on the exam but DON'T YOU DARE try to tell them that they need to change their exams...this would be seen as confrontational and rude.

Home Health Columnist / Guide · Jul 30, 2006

Part of the problem is a large portion of the material covered on the exams is not covered in the lecture notes (usually power point presentations) nor in the reading material (usually articles on the topic being lectured on).
I'm really upset with the instructors because they're testing us on material that's not being covered. I realize this is graduate level and they shouldn't spoon feed us...but I believe the material we're being testing on should come from either the lecture notes or the reading material.

Concur with Ilg

Graduate students in all disciplines are supposed to be able to seek answers and learn material that is not spoonfed to them directly through the class handouts and assigned readings.

In the graduate courses I've taken, there are usually 1 or 2 textbooks assigned to be read. Lecture outline usually has chapter numbers listed.

Expectation was you'd read the chapters PRIOR to class; ask questions of material difficult to understand IN class as expectation you are able to read and absorb material. Could not believe classmates and bb members that admit to never reading the textbook ..something unthinkable to me.

You acknowledge that you do not have the clinical experience to draw on.

So need to look at what you CAN do to be successful in graduate level class.

a. Reread course and lecture outline for each class.

Make up grid of key concepts and corresponding material: textbook, powerpoint and articles. Use that to study from for exams.

b. Many professiors give testing/exam guidleines that you sign to acknowledge your aware of expectations. Schedule meeting with professor prior to first exam if you did not sign anything so you understand how they test.

c. Team up with another student from first class as study buddy/mentor. Meet with them prior to or directly after class to discuss info presented.

d. Sign up to met with professor during their office time to review areas of concern.

e. Ask to review exam with professor; most will do so when asked as "learning opportunity". Some schools require second professor be present as unbiased party.

f. Consider taking and online CE course in specific area if you have NO expertise/experience at all --some provide focussed indepth info so when exposed to concept later in course will have some familiarity with info and questions from CE course may be in similar vein.

If several classmates all have concerns that exams have material not included at all in text/notes/articles, then need to unite as group to approach professor make sure right exam given out. (Had some that cmae in sealed evelope prepared by dept secretary...one set was misfiled.)

Iig suggestion that you take the nonclinical courses first to gain you more experience as RN helpful too.

Best wishes as you persue advanced degree.

angel5113 · Jul 31, 2006

Thanks for all the great advice

I think "confrontation" is the wrong approach.
However, I would advise talking with the instructor politely and asking him/her for some advice.

Yes, I agree. Confronting the instructors and telling them they need to change their exams are probably not the best ways to go about this. Although other students are complaining about the exams, I don't feel up to uniting them to approach the instructors. Talking with them and asking for their advice is a great idea.

Explain that you have less aexperience than the other students and therefore your knowledge base coming into the class is not as strong as theirs. (While you may not like to admit that, it's true. They have learned things through their experience that you have not learned.) Ask the instructor to recommend some additional books or other resources that might supplement those required for class -- resources that can help you to "fill in some of the holes" that you have in your knowledge base.

Great suggestion. I agree...they do have more clinical experience than me and consequently have learned more through their experiences. Identifying additional resources to fill in the gaps would be very helpful.

Another thing to consider is to slow down your academic progress -- not drop out of school -- but rather slow down. Go very part time and get a job that will supplement your learning (as well as your income). Also see if there is a way you can "save" your clinical courses for the end of your program when you have gotten more clinical experience. Take the other courses first, such as research, stats, etc.

I've taken all the other required classes (yahoo!!!). The only other classes remaining are the primary care classes (peds, adult health, & women's health) which I have to take one at a time in a series. If I don't get at least B's in these classes I won't be able to graduate.

Benner's research has confirmed that it takes 3-5 years of clinical experience (including some school work) for a beginner nurse to progress thorugh the advanced beginner phase and into the competent level of expertise. Anyone with less than that is probably still an advanced beginner and should expect to struggle with a advanced class designed for students at the competent level or above (proficient nurses and/or expert ones).
Good luck to you.
llg

Yes, I'm probably an advanced beginner. It's good to know that my struggles are less due to my inability to learn the material than due to my lack of clinical experience. I'm sure that, given time, I will become a proficient nurse and perhaps even an expert one at some point. I'll just have to work very hard between now and the next couple of weeks before the next exam to supplement my knowledge base. Thanks again for the advice.

angel5113 · Jul 31, 2006

There are very solid reasons to have several years of experience before getting into a masters program and this is one of them. I do think you will have to just hustle to stay caught up. Other avenues might be a good solid peds book like the Wong/Baker text or some other book that your instructor could recommend.
I went back for my APN with 14 years of nursing experience under my belt and did just fine - but I will say that much of what I knew as what I learned in 10 years in a level one trauma center.
I gotta hand it to you - I would have had a hard time with only 18 months experience. Good luck and hang in there.

Thanks for responding and thanks for the encouragement.

Should graduate nursing programs be responsible for warning students with less experience of how difficult this might be? Or perhaps have a requirement for a certain number of years of experience. For example, there are some MBA programs that will only except students with "X number" years of professional business experience.

This experience has tought me how valuable clinical experience is to accumulating a knowledge base. Does this mean then that graduate nursing programs should have a requirement for a certain number of years of experience before accepting students into their programs?

Trauma Columnist · Jul 31, 2006

Angel - my personal feelings are that you need five years of solid RN experience (in a busy, teaching hospital preferably) prior to becoming an advanced practice nurse. This gives you enough time to know what area you want to specialize in, the job outlook in your area, earnings potential, etc.

However, the caveat to this is that an MSN that isn't geared toward advanced practice could probably be started with two years of RN experience.

Good luck. I'm sure with your positive attitude and willingness to learn, you will do fine. Take care.

llg, PhD, RN · Jul 31, 2006

Thanks for responding and thanks for the encouragement.
Should graduate nursing programs be responsible for warning students with less experience of how difficult this might be? Or perhaps have a requirement for a certain number of years of experience. For example, there are some MBA programs that will only except students with "X number" years of professional business experience.
This experience has tought me how valuable clinical experience is to accumulating a knowledge base. Does this mean then that graduate nursing programs should have a requirement for a certain number of years of experience before accepting students into their programs?

Thank you for taking my previous advice with such grace and dignity. I wish you the best of luck in your career.

As for schools requiring experience prior to graduate school ... A lot of schools DO require experience and say so up front. Unfortunately, some schools are more interested in recruiting students into their programs than in assuring that the students they accept into their graduate programs are ready to do the type of work the program requires.

Other schools have made the philosophical shift to allow/encourage inexperienced nurses to begin graduate school before getting clinical experience. I think that is OK -- but the classes have to designed to accommodate those students' lack of experience. A school can't have it both ways. Either they require experience or they don't -- and the courses have to be designed to adequately suit the student body that they accept into their program. They need to know who their target audience is and then be consistent and upfront with whatever desicision they make.

llg

christvs, DNP, RN, NP · Jul 31, 2006

I agree with this to an extent...you have to talk to your professors about this. I would tell them what you've been doing to study and explain that you haven't been doing well on the exams. Ask them what they suggest you do to perform better on the exam but DON'T YOU DARE try to tell them that they need to change their exams...this would be seen as confrontational and rude.

I am not suggesting to be either rude or confrontational. I am actually the most polite person you have ever met. :) I just think it is not fair to be testing students on material that was never even taught in class. If it were me, I would say something like "I am concerned about how I am learning this material, and also concerned about my grade. I noticed that most of the material on the exams is not what we covered in class and I am concerned and surprised about this. Can you suggest some ways I could improve?" Because honestly, why bother attending classes (other than the obvious-gaining advanced knowledge) then if what you are being tested on is coming from your work experience? It just does not make sense to me. I love school and think graduate school is great. That is why I'm enrolled in my MSN program to be an NP. I too only have one year of RN experience. But I also don't think it's fair for other nurses to say we shouldn't be in graduate school because we only have X years of RN experience. Every person is different, and we can not assume we know how well another nurse/person learns. I took an advanced oncology nursing class as my elective in a class with 10 nurses who have had 10+ years of oncology RN experience. I have no oncology experience (except for my MS degree in biology) and have been a med/surg/tele RN for only one year, yet I received A's on every single test and assignment because I loved the material we were learning and understood it without any trouble. I received an A in the class. I know for a fact that at least 4 of the RNs with 10 + years oncology experience received B- because they told me what they got. My point is, please don't make generalizations such as "All nurses need X many years of experience as an RN before attending graduate school." As an RN with only 1 year experience but who has 3 degrees including an MS in biology I strongly feel it matters on how you are as an individual and how well you can learn and master new information. I do not feel lost at work because I have only been there one year. I have been already teaching others who are newer than me actually. I feel totally comfortable taking graduate level NP courses and love it. Just wanted to add my two cents. :)

-Christine

angel5113 · Aug 6, 2006

As an RN with only 1 year experience but who has 3 degrees including an MS in biology I strongly feel it matters on how you are as an individual and how well you can learn and master new information. I do not feel lost at work because I have only been there one year. I have been already teaching others who are newer than me actually. I feel totally comfortable taking graduate level NP courses and love it. Just wanted to add my two cents. :)
-Christine

Christine,

Congratulations on doing so well in your oncology class and for being brave enough to tackle an MSN so early in your RN career. I feel encouraged that I'm not the only "new nurse" tackling an advanced program. It's interesting to hear that you're teaching others...I find myself doing the same thing. My fellow nurses are always surprised to hear that I've only had 18 months of nursing experience. I wish you continued success in your program!!