[Anonymous]

Do you take notes in class? Maybe you need to tape the class and listen to it again.. Maybe you are driving your self crazy studying tooo much...Why not just study the stuff your instructor gives you and never mind NCLEX and such.

I think you are getting yourself all confused with all this data and information.

JMHO

WR,,, three commas for Becca

[1mg.epi]

Nursing school tests are the strangest tests I have ever taken. You know that many questions have 2 correct answers, its finding the "most correct" and some times that is in the teachers mind. (a place that would scare me to be). I would recommend to get a review book for boards and review what you are doing wrong. Most of the time it has to do with the "nursing process" (darn I hated that term) where we get most of our questions wrong not how tec. smart we are. I always got the questions wrong in Psych. that started with, "The nurse would". I always put what the nurse should not do. Keep plugging away, forget days off, put your family in the closet till you are finished with school.
If you have the heart, and nursing is something you want to do, you will do it.

[Anonymous]

Thanks I'm all set. I took the NCLEX in 1997. I answered 75 questions in about 20 minutes.. And that is the key.. You have to know how the tester thinks. They want you to do the nursey thing.. That's why in my last semester I took the test 10-12 time 2-3 times a week on the computer in the computer lab.. Gave me not only the questions but the feel of taking it on a computer.. I couldn't go back there and I couldn't go back during the test.. I don't like a book.. Heck I hardly read any of them in school why start just before the test???
I have to understand something.. I don't do rote.. It's too difficult.. I rarely learn anything I can look up..

Also, I will say I got lucky. There were approx 10-12 questions on ESRD.. My forte.. LOLL But how did the board know. My first question was about carafate.. I was working on a M/S Ortho floor at the time and gave the drug daily

WR,,, three commas for Becca

P.S. I was an LPN for 17.. I suppose that gave me an advantage...Again my theory of apprenticeship looks good IMHO.

[mercynurse]

I like the apprenticeship theory too!!

[Scatty]

I had my exam on diabetes this past week. Was really thrilled to get my highest grade of the semester on it...an 86. Yes, would have loved to have done even better but I felt happy to know I COULD do this. Took my test up to the instructor after we reviewed the material and she said, "Great! I knew you could do it!....Too bad it's too late." Okay, that was a kick in the teeth but she may be right. My friends tell me that's negative thinking on my part and that I shouldn't give in to it but it's hard not to.
We only have two more exams (was supposed to be three but the instructor is going to combine two units into one) and then we'll have the final. This will make it even harder for me to bring up my average. Still not giving up; will give it every bit of fight I can but, realistically, I'm looking at having to retake.
Admittedly a bit bummed out about that.

[Jesse]

Nursing schools and tests haven't changed much in the 32 years I've been working in this field...except for computers...wish I'd had them for research once upon a time!

The smartest phrase a nursing instructor once told the class to remember, however, is "C=RN." That's it...don't spend your valuable mental resources agonizing over getting A's...A "C" is all you need to pass...the rest of your nursing career will not be affected one way or the other whether you get A's or C's.

The "nursing process" questions always seem to trip students...the ones where 2 answers CAN be right, but one is better. In the end, your thought process on these is what will determine whether or not you are a good CLINICIAN (read: able to keep your patient alive..) ONE answer is always the "best". It is the one that you'll get asked on the witness stand, if you fail to follow what the state boards consider "what a prudent nurse would do," and end up testifying during a negligence trial.

Consider the patient, consider all the information you have at your disposal about the patient and their individual disease process and consider where they are at the moment in that disease...What do they look like? What are their vitals signs, labs, etc...Take all the information you are given, then based on that, choose the best and often the first course of action you should follow.

Doing what is BEST for the patient at a given time will not always be a simple choice, but one that can be made (and will hold up to scrutiny) if you look at the whole picture.

Good luck to you. You CAN get through this and you will. Trust your instincts, but don't forget the facts!

[Scatty]

Jesse and all, thank you so much for all of your replies, your encouragement, and support.
I had my Nutrition final Wednesday and my Med-Surg final yesterday (the last part of A&P today)....I wanted to let y'all know that I passed. I managed to finish Med-Surg by the skin of my teeth but, well, I couldn't have been happier if I had gotten a perfect score. My instructor was in tears, my classmates were in tears....I feel I was their miracle. I'm not only glad I didn't let myself down but them as well. Yesterday was a beautiful day.....one of miracles. Had to share.
Again, thanks for everything.

[Aaron C.]

Congratulations! Keep it up!

[1mg.epi]

I hate to bust your bubble here, but there was no miracle. No such thing when it comes to nursing school. You passed on hard work, the drive to get what you want, and not giving up.

I tell you, there is no job application out there that will ask if you passed med-surg by the skin of your teeth. You passed and that is what counts. Keep up the good work. There is a light at the end of the tunnel.

[serra]

Hello,

As stated above" C=RN". That's what an instructor told me too!I was in my final semester, before graduation, and I was put on academic probation because of my grades. This was STRESSING me out, big-time! I thought" I might not graduate". That would have been awful. However, I pulled it thru and passed with flying colors. I graduated in August 2003 and passed my NCLEX on the first try! I was scared to death! I'm also a poor test taker. Kaplan helped me with test taking skills. When you are faced with a question, there will always be a "better" answer. One of my instructors said" What will the nurse do?"
Remember the nursing process? Well, just remember what CAN the NURSE DO? This improved my test taking skills. It's not that I didn't know the information, but I was unable to understand the test questions. Good luck to you!
Dina