What is YOUR opinion on nursing school exams?

Nursing Students General Students

Published

Hi everyone. So yeah we took some exams this week. The one for Fundamentals of Nursing I didn't necessarily bomb it but I was still unhappy with my grade. But really the test to me made no sense whatsoever and the answers to most of the questions were solely based on someone else's clinical opinion. Any RN of high stature (practitioner, DSN, etc.) would highly disagree with some of the things presented on the exam as being the "best" thing for a nurse to do. How do I know that? Because I have books from highly distinguised nurses and doctors and they are all up to date on what is going on and why is that....well because they are currently in the clinical setting and not just somewhere writing books about past experiences. So the bottom line is....these tests are used to weed people out. Yeah I said it. And to all the "saints" in the forum hold your response because I feel like I can say what I want here.

Ladies and gentlemen, weeding season has begun. They use these tests to weed out people who can not read between the shullbit. The teachers teach from different books than the ones "recommended" for the course. Ha! I've already found my way around that. And also they contradict themselves in lecture because things are so different on exams. They mess with your head by throwing this useless crap in lectures that never shows up on tests. So yes, it is weeding season. I just hope you guys don't get plucked out of your programs. It's a conspiracy with nursing school. Just look at the healthcare industry and then ask yourself also why did half of those instructors decide to become instructors instead of being active nurses. I have one instructor who looks to be about 38-40 years old who said she hadn't worked in the clinical setting in 15 years and her lectures are the very worst lectures because she does not know much nor does she follow the book but then they have the nerve to try and make the tests difficult. That stuff is not critical thinking it is just mindless bs with some of the answers. "They are all right, you just have to choose the best one". The best one according to who? To you, to Lippincott, to Mosby, to who?????!!!!!!! I have done a 4 yr stint in college prior to this and I have taken many a test where you had to utilize critical thinking and nursing school has yet to show me critical thinking. Half of the examples they use for "critical thinking" actually isn't critical thinking at all its just using common sense with a little bit of nursing knowledge thrown in. So yeah Im not fond of the tests that some of these people are giving and I feel it is just a way to weed people out. If you weed people out you have a low graduation class, which leads to a continual shortage in nursing, which perpetuates the problems in healthcare. I just wanted to know what do you guys think or how do you feel about the tests that are given in your program.

I have never had a "blueprint" for my exams. Actually I have never even heard of such a thing. I study the material that is covered in class. I read the chapters that cover the material discussed in lecture. At times I may even need to go back and read sections of books used for previous courses. Somehow I can still manage to get As....must be all that studying I do.

So may I ask why you are even interested in staying in a program that has low graduation rate and inept professors?

Oh sweetie, I don't work this semester so studying is all I do as well. Actually when added up, I spend 44 hrs and 45 minutes studying in 7 days (Saturdays and Sundays are full-coverage study days) so yeah I know about the study thing dear, lol. And in my program, they will do that for students (give blueprints for exams) so know dear no two programs are alike...lol. Actually none of them should be!

Jeez, condescending much Sweetie?

LOL, I just return the respect that I am given unless of course I am dealing with a patient or a concerned or bereaving family.

LOL, I just return the respect that I am given unless of course I am dealing with a patient or a concerned or bereaving family.

Yours are the only condescending posts I see. You asked for opinions, and then flamed away at the opinions that were different than yours, Sweetie.

Specializes in NICU.

I actually did better on exams without using the blueprints. Most of the blueprints wound up being inaccurate anyways. And honestly, there was plenty of material on the tests that wasn't in lecture. So, I can honestly say that I didn't care about getting reviews or blueprints or whatever. The only thing that I did really like doing test-wise was having the instructors going over the exams afterwards and discussing why answers were right or why we may have missed things. That helped me figure out how to better prepare for the next test.

Yours are the only condescending posts I see. You asked for opinions, and then flamed away at the opinions that were different than yours, Sweetie.

Your posts are irrelevant dear, lol. But hey for the current nursing students who understand me, I understand them as well as the people who disagree but my grade was not a reflection of me oh no dear it was not honey ok? Do you get it? Probably not but hey like I said on this exam I made an 87, I came to the defense of my classmates who are currently petitioning as they should because this programs' crappiness is about to end this year if we can help it! So yes you can continue to say what you like, I was reading the other posts and most are really interesting but no I have to say something when people think it is my fault because no dear, I feel that it's not.

Specializes in Medical Surgical/Addiction/Mental Health.
I found your post to be derogatory and offensive.

You love it and it's funny when someone suffers? How nice for you. I also complained about my exam and I also did fine. But I questioned the purpose of many of the questions, especially after seeing some good students get blindsided.

Part of being a nursing school instructor is dealing with students who can't cut it or fail for one reason or another. That's part of the job. Just like being a working nurse often means dealing with patients who die. However, nurses don't revel in the joy of these deaths or find them funny. And they certainly don't actively kill anyone.

The problem with the tone of your post is that it sounds like you can't wait to start doing the killing/weeding out.

Dear Mr. Holier than Thou,

You will have to excuse me, but I cannot stand it when people make ridiculous statements without facts or even a decent attempt to support their position. If that makes me such a bad person, then so be it.

You are correct when you say that I will have to deal with students who are failing. I would not enjoy the fact that a student isn't passing, but I also will not feel bad if he/she isn't putting forth the effort to learn the material. I don't think it is any instructor's job duty to hold the student's hand.

All I am going to say about your analogy is that it is way off.

Finally, if you think my tone is that I cannot wait to start weeding out/killing, go back and read the post again. The foundation of my statement was simply debunking the ridiculous statements made by the previous poster, not how I will manage my classroom.

Your posts are irrelevant dear, lol. But hey for the current nursing students who understand me, I understand them as well as the people who disagree but my grade was not a reflection of me oh no dear it was honey ok? Do you get it? Probably not but hey like I said on this exam I made an 87, I came to the defense of my classmates who are currently petitioning as they should because this programs' crappiness is about to end this year if we can help it! So yes you can continue to say what you like, I was reading the other posts and most are really interesting but no I have to say something when people think it is my fault because no dear, I feel that it's not.

Oh wait....I thought this thread was about opinion? Evidently, not to you....it seems you think it's about your opinion. Well, the world doesn't work that way and my opinion is just as relevant as yours, Sweetie.

Best of luck in your educational pursuits.

Oh wait....I thought this thread was about opinion? Evidently, not to you....it seems you think it's about your opinion. Well, the world doesn't work that way and my opinion is just as relevant as yours, Sweetie.

Best of luck in your educational pursuits.

WOW, you're 41. Lol. Thank you very much though for the wishes, same to you! :D

WOW, you're 41. Lol. Thank you very though for the wishes, same to you! :D

Yup, maybe when you get to 41 you'll have a more grounded perspective.....or at least one that includes others.

Dear Mr. Holier than Thou,

You will have to excuse me, but I cannot stand it when people make ridiculous statements without facts or even a decent attempt to support their position. If that makes me such a bad person, then so be it.

You are correct when you say that I will have to deal with students who are failing. I would not enjoy the fact that a student isn't passing, but I also will not feel bad if he/she isn't putting forth the effort to learn the material. I don't think it is any instructor's job duty to hold the student's hand.

All I am going to say about your analogy is that it is way off.

Finally, if you think my tone is that I cannot wait to start weeding out/killing, go back and read the post again. The foundation of my statement was simply debunking the ridiculous statements made by the previous poster, not how I will manage my classroom.

You're funny! I would love to hear more from you! With these stressful study hours, clinicals, and class, a good laugh is what I need and you're it sir! Keep your posts coming, I do value your opinion however your wording makes it funny. :lol2:

Ok, this is the last thing I have to say...for the life of me, why on earth would someone as "educated" as you (I have a BS too by the way :rolleyes:) not have done the proper research before enrolling in this university's nursing program?

BTW, you must have a lot of free time with all this posting you are doing. Time to get back to studying....

Ok, this is the last thing I have to say...for the life of me, why on earth would someone as "educated" as you (I have a BS too by the way :rolleyes:) not have done the proper research before enrolling in this university's nursing program?

BTW, you must have a lot of free time with all this posting you are doing. Time to get back to studying....

You're so right!!! Thank you for binging me in the head on that one!! You are right though. I should have done that. But I was so stuck on getting into the program that promised me admission I didn't even think twice about this program so shame on me. Sweetie, I can post as much as I'd like. Im not a 24-7 study person. I studied today from 6am-12pm took my break and studied again from 2pm-8pm. So there's my 12 hours for the day I am free now dear I can do whatever I like, lol.

+ Add a Comment