Published Apr 8, 2016
PerkyNurse55
26 Posts
Hi everyone.
So yeah, like a whole bunch of the lovelies on here, I failed my exit. I got an 863 and I had to benchmark at 925. I'm really bummed.
I got all of the math questions right, but the questions I got wrong were ones that were ones I legitimately had no idea about. Like crazy in-depth about random topics like pinworms.
I don't know what I can do to prep for my second attempt because there is just so much content and obviously, there is no way to know exactly what they're going to focus on. I was doing Evolve's adaptive quizzing and case studies to prep for this but clearly it's not enough.
Feeling super bummed and worn out. I was doing 100 questions a day and it's so frustrating that it wasn't enough. Sometimes I don't feel like anything I give this school is ever going to be enough.
Any help anyone could give me would be great. Even if you want to just give me pep talk.
Medix73
20 Posts
Hi everyone. So yeah, like a whole bunch of the lovelies on here, I failed my exit. I got an 863 and I had to benchmark at 925. I'm really bummed. I got all of the math questions right, but the questions I got wrong were ones that were ones I legitimately had no idea about. Like crazy in-depth about random topics like pinworms. I don't know what I can do to prep for my second attempt because there is just so much content and obviously, there is no way to know exactly what they're going to focus on. I was doing Evolve's adaptive quizzing and case studies to prep for this but clearly it's not enough. Feeling super bummed and worn out. I was doing 100 questions a day and it's so frustrating that it wasn't enough. Sometimes I don't feel like anything I give this school is ever going to be enough. Any help anyone could give me would be great. Even if you want to just give me pep talk.
Hey,
Some of the best students I know have failed their HESI exams. Alternatively, some of the best nurses I know have also failed their NCLEX exam. Failing an exam really has no bearing on how good of a nurse you are. An exam is just a tool for measurement of knowledge retention and regurgitation.
I have been a paramedic for 10 years. I'm a pretty damn good paramedic. The majority of the time, I make sound decisions and critical judgements that benefit my patient.
I failed my National Registry twice. National Registry is an exam set up identical to the NCLEX, just on different material. It's adaptive and can go up to a couple hundred questions. It's the devil.
Failing a test isn't the end of the world, especially if you get another shot at taking it. Consider it a small set back, and trust me, your career will be full of small set backs. The trick is learning to overcome and not letting it affect the fibers of your being. This is still a work in progress for me!
I use Evolve at my nursing school. Typically before my HESI exams I spend about 2 weeks taking NCLEX practice questions (we call them question sets) over all of the material I think will be on the test. I do practice mode so I get instant feedback and it allows me to identify my problem areas. Usually, the content is presented in groups: like the questions will be 60 questions of mental health, 40 questions on renal, 100 questions on acid base, etc. I just do a hundred or so a night and then close my laptop and start it up again the following day.
My professors have recommended that we do the case studies and things like that, but I didn't find them to as beneficial to me as just doing a ton of practice questions, many of which I have seen repeated on the HESI exams.
I don't know if this will find you before you test again, as your post is fairly old, but I hope it does and I hope it helps.
Good luck!
Thanks for responding! Your encouragement was really needed. I actually take the test again on FRIDAY so I'm freaking out! I've been doing what you suggested above so that's at least a good sign! I guess I'm just gonna walk into that test and hope for the best. I truly feel I've done all I can do.
John_T
17 Posts
Sorry I didn't see this earlier...hopefully you can happily report that you passed the second time? I have to eventually take this one too. Any tips?
No I didn't pass it the second time and now my school is holding my degree hostage until I get the score they want me to get. I got an 868 the second time around so I've hired a private tutor. Hopefully that helps....
CSTtoRN
177 Posts
I don't know if you have your best grade or not but that helped me a ton. I used it for my 3rd semester HESI and my exit yesterday. Some of the questions are very similar. I always felt like the adaptive quizzing on Evolve was too easy. The green HESI book was very helpful as well, especially the HESI hints in it. Honestly I feel like doing lots of questions was what helped me but they need to be more difficult than what Evolve has to offer. Good luck and I hope the 3rd time is the charm!
gracehope26, ASN, BSN, RN
160 Posts
Hey, have you tried techniques to get you to relax as well. That helps a ton. Many of my friends didn't pass the first time due to the fact they let their anxiety get to them. When they went in the second time and didn't listen to what others who had just taken the exam talk about it, they passed that second time. Sometimes its just how you look at it.
Send positivity towards the day of the exam. Say many prayers leading up to that day. If you're not big on prayer, meditate on the situation. Think it, believe it, and see it.