What did your first nurs. test look like?

blynn9173 · Feb 7, 2009

Your first nursing exam will be hard, at least mine was. Nursing exams are not like any other exam you have taken. They are scenerio type questions. You have to apply the knowledge from the material that you have learned. So make sure you have covered the readings real well. Pay attention to the boxes in your chapters. Some of our questions always came from the boxes. It took me a while to get used to taking a nursing exam because I had never taken a test like that before. I have finally caught on how to take these exams. I would suggest that you buy a NCLEX book. The NCLEX book by Saunders is a good book. It has test taking strategies in it that would help you. It gives you examples of NCLEX questions. I wish you look on you first exam. I hope this helps.

GeneralJinjur · Feb 7, 2009

Our first test was very similar to the practice NCLEX questions in the book and on the CD. After talking with several 4th semester students, I bought the Fundamentals Reviews and Rationales book so I could get the concepts more concisely and practice yet more questions!

I got a 94 on the first exam, so I'm pretty happy!

bamagt · Feb 7, 2009

I remember one of my first tests.

This may not help you alot but it brings back funny memories.

There was a question: You walk in to the kitchen and you find your child lying there, not breathing, with pills and drain-o running out of his mouth, what do you do?

A. Start CPR.

B. Call poison control

Any one wanna guess which answer I put? Yep, thats right I put B. HAHA I was so clueless back then.

Trilldayz,RN BSN · Feb 7, 2009

I'm a first semester student as well. Our first test was just a week and a half ago. The questions were...interesting. Some were fact based, abd others were application. I passed, but just barely! (but unfortunatly I was one of the few that passed) But now, I feel even more motivated to kick this next test's @$$! (BAMAGT, I guess I'm pretty clueless too LOL. I thought B was the answer. :rolleyes: )

ChiSmile6 · Feb 7, 2009

It seemed like my first test had a lot of "trick" questions. I soon learned this was how all nursing tests would be. Right away there will be 1-2 answers that are obviously wrong and the next two try to trick you. Some of the questions I remember included where do you start auscultating bowel sounds? (what quadrant) What would a normal tympanic membrane look like? (pretty factual questions) but there are a lot of scenario questions...hallmark of nursing tests..scenarios!

midnight*sky · Feb 7, 2009

Nursing fund. tests are very.....different from tests you're probably used to. Be ready to really rack your brain during it with major critical thinking. My fund. tests are exactly like the NCLEX exam. The first time I took an exam, I was surprised at how difficult it was even though I studied my brains out the entire week for it. I was expecting to fly through it! Wow, was I ever wrong! I still managed to get a 90%, but it was HARD thinking. I just took my third exam for that class yesterday. I studied 6-8 hours everyday this week since it involved 7 chapters, but it was still really hard. They are all scenario questions where you have to apply the material you read....The questions aren't directly from the material you read per-se.

Good luck!! :up: Just read very critically and do pay attention to the boxes in the chapters...My instructor always pulls info from them!

amers_here · Feb 7, 2009

I just had my first a couple days ago and got an 85%. It was on the fundamentals, nursing process, a little bit of history, etc. Biggest suggestion would be to do all the practice NCLEX-style questions in your textbook for each chapter if you have them.

TheSquire, DNP, APRN, NP · Feb 8, 2009

My first test was the basic assessment test, and covered taking a patient history and the "normal" assessment for the Head, Neck, Eyes, Ears, Throat, and Chest and Lungs.

cursedandblessed · Feb 8, 2009

The test success for fundamentals is probably going to give you the best idea what your questions will be like. You have to get used to thinking about what to do given a certain scenario + what is the question asking you : are you assessing, planning, diagnosing, evaluating--what step are you at in the nursing process.