What is happening?

OB-nurse2013, BSN, RN · Oct 5, 2012

Truthfully, I think you're too much and using too many books

Katie71275 · Oct 5, 2012

Im a B student(lately an A student) and this is what I use: study my materials(usually powerpoints as my teachers include everything I need to know) and then I use Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs to study. Also a new method for me is : If you can do one thing for your patient before you leave and that's it...what is the one thing you would do. This REALLY helps break it down so you can prioritize.

Streamline2010 · Oct 5, 2012

Answering the original post: I also think you are spread too thin and are only superficially covering the material. I did that same thing (tried to read/do it all) and by Nursing IV I was burned out, fed up and done. What most of my classmates did all along was just studied the Powerpoint handouts. I have read/heard that before: Students said they started out trying to read it all and thoroughly study it all, but then threw away the books and used the lecture handouts combined with critical thinking. Nursing questions are all about making decisions based on the information given in the question.

Test-taking strategies, lecture handouts, and critical thinking are going to be pretty important things to master. Maslow's heirarchy, and ABC, too. You can't read and do everything that the instructors want you to do. Thoroughly study what was covered in class.

And I think some of the success, deep down, is how interested you truly are in the subject material. If you are lukewarm or less, it will be a grind and there will be no changing that, and you also will have trouble retaining it. For me, I started out all pumped-up and 100% enthusiastic, but my interest level just went down and down as I got more exposure to the culture of nursing, and to what nurses actually do, and how people treat them. You just have to be honest with yourself regarding how much joy it is or isn't for you.

Etrips · Oct 5, 2012

So what do you suggest when the instructors don't even test you on anything they are teaching?

Mrs.Priss · Oct 5, 2012

Well, we have 2 different professors, who just began teaching together this semseter. THey both teach differently and give us questions based on EVERYTHING!!! there are questions from the text that they did not cover in lecture or in powerpoints and from the fundamentals success book that they did not cover in lecture or put on the powerpoints. I focused on main topics in the book, lecture, and powerpoints for the first test and made a 70!!! So how am I supposed to study unless i literally disect everything? THe questions are SO random. We had a questions from a small box at the end of the chapter on sensory and it was not covered in lecture or powerpoint! Do you see my frustration now? lol :)

Etrips · Oct 5, 2012

I'm pretty much in the same boat. 5 hours of lecture and maybe only 10% of it is in the actual test. We even had a question that wasn't even in the textbook but rather the lab manual.

rubato, ASN, RN · Oct 5, 2012

We have tons of questions from the lab manual. I learned from week 1 to study that diligently. But, luckily, 99% of the rest comes from powerpoints. It sounds like you'll have a lot of reading and studying to do.

FDW630 · Oct 5, 2012

I wouldn't waste my time studying a book that I'm not going to be tested on this soon. Fundamentals is fairly basic. However, it is a lot of material to cover in a small window of time. I'm on the Potter and Perry fundamentals book now. My advice would be to spend every minute of study time you have covering the material in your text/class notes. IMO, fundamentals isn't complex enough to warrant studying any test success or NCLEX review books yet. I'd save those for when the material gets a lot more hairy! The NCLEX-style chapter review questions in the textbook have been plenty helpful for me. Good luck! :)

dayanara · Oct 6, 2012

I'm sorry you are struggling:-(

One thing I have noticed from my tests is the way the answers are worded. There are two that are definitely wrong and you can easily recognize those. So your odds of choosing the right answer get better. Read on test-taking strategies. I did it an it helped me a lot. Also, read every single word in the chapters, and as you are reading, highlight what you think would make a good test question. Also, keep in mind they are testing your knowledge on the nursing process all the time, so become an expert in ADPIE.

I really hope your grades get better! Keep working hard! :-)

sowings · Oct 6, 2012

OKAY....I just got my grade back from my second fundamentals exam and I got a 78!!! I made a 70 on my first exam!!! 75 is passing, have literally studied every free minute! The questions are SO random! It's like I have to know every single detail in every single chapter in order to answer these questions... I use my text, PP's, NCLEX review books, test success, fundamentals success, fundamentals made incredibly easy, quizlet, and ATI. So I guess I'm really just searching for advice, tips, other resource suggestions.

I agree with the other replies. One thing I would highly advise is learning some test taking strategies. This "random" question thing will continue through school. It's a test of critical thinking. Your nursing knowledge will only carry you so far. There are good strategies for breaking down these exam questions when you don't recall the information or have never heard of it. Rule number one (and something many in my senior nursing class are still struggling with) is figure out what the question is asking you. There will be many distractions, and often more info then you need to answer the question. Does your school use AtI or Kapplan? They have great resources for breaking down questions. If you can master this now, you will be ahead of the game.

Also, in most nursing text books...the information in the boxes is important! Learned that the hard way!

DawnJ · Oct 6, 2012

We get questions that are related to the topic, but never covered. So unless you are really lucky, or happen to know from random life, you are out of luck. For example we are studying general respiratory principles (semester 1)

We get this test question: A COPD patient is sat-ing at 87% what do you do? A. apply O2 and get an order from the doc for it, B. Call the doc for direction, C. Check the chart, D. Draw an ABG

Well, we had been told that if someone needs O2 we give it and not wait for the dr's order. It is more important to get them oxygenated (ABC's) before calling the doc. So, we all learned after the test that giving a CO2 retainer oxygen can kill them. Great, now I won't forget that. But was it a fair test question when we never covered COPD treatment or CO2 retainers? BTW, the correct answer was to check the chart to see if 87% was normal for them.