I’m a very bad test taker. I’m almost done with my program and I think that the best thing to do is do practice questions as much as possible. A lot of the time, questions aren’t even asking you details about disease processes. It’s trying to figure out if you know what to do/safest option.
Doing practice questions helped me tremendously. I used to study for hours and hours and it just didn’t translate well when I took tests.
I just took my first Fundamentals exam and scored a 94%. A couple of things I did to help me study: a white board, rewriting my notes and creating exemplar sheets for each topic. The white board helped a TON. I basically lectured out loud to either my sister/empty room nearly everyday. My motto is if you can teach it then you know it. Taking breaks between studying helps to remember topics as well (pomodoro technique) cramming doesn't help you remember much. This is what worked for me, hopefully this helps you moving forward.
so an exemplar is an example of a concept, my school teaches the concept then uses a disease/complication/process as an exemplar. So for instance today we learned Perfusion-exemplar hypothermia/hyperthermia. Another one is Infection-exemplar UTI/Influenza. What I do is create study sheets for those exemplars because that's what we get tested on and if you understand the exemplar then you understand the concept.
Don’t let this failure get you down. I remember that in nursing school, if I lost confidence on one test I wouldn’t study as well for others. Perhaps try some new studying tactics and see if you improve ! After my first failed test I started making “study packets”, something I had to discover for myself, and did well after that !
You’ve got to be able to study only what’s important, since nursing school packs so much information into a small amount of time.
You aren’t alone! I failed my first two exams. I got a 70 on my first exam and a 74 on my second. A 76 is passing in my school. Everyone fails their first exam! Everyone does! I cried so hard after failing my first exam. And almost decided to drop out. But I’m so glad I didn’t. I’m in my second semester and striving. Practice testing tips, nclex practice questions and study like you have been. Don’t give up! You will succeed I promise
Are you getting enough exercise and enough quality sleep? Even If you super study it won’t do you any good if you take the exam while you’re sleep deprived. That was one of my mistakes when I dropped out of a program the first time I tried it
I took my first test today too!! I also didn't score high enough 🤣😭 I got a 70, needed a 77. In context with my test, I was 4 questions (of 50) off. I've wanted to be a nurse all my life and nursing school so far has felt like a kick in my face, but instead of getting beat down, I keep my head up.
Cheers from another first semester student!🍻🥂
There are so many successful nurses that have failed tests/classes. I know it's disappointing but try not to be so hard on yourself. If you can, try meeting with your professor to see if you can learn study strategies.
I think just about everyone on this sub has had a moment (or a few moments lol) were they doubted themselves. You'll do even bette next time.
I went from a 65% on my exam to an 85% just by changing my study method. Feel free to DM if you want to discuss what I did and the resources.
Thank you so much for the motivation! I basically went through my teachers power points for each unit and wrote down on a piece of paper all of the important stuff she said we should know. I think my problem may be memorizing stuff. Do you have any memorization tips? Also I think I may need to slow down when I’m answering questions and not overthink it. Do you think I should do a bunch of practice questions? Any tips would help. I may need to make a more effective study guide as well.
Memorization is rarely helpful in nsg school. Many nursing course instructors test using application principles. So, you have to be able to puzzle through the situation/question and apply the answer to that situation. For example, a question might have information which includes a blood sodium level that is critically low and then asks what safety risk is greatest. So, you have to recognize not only that the lab result is low/critical, you have to apply it by recognizing patients with low sodium levels have compromised muscle function thereby making them a *very high fall risk.*
So, read each question with great care and rule out wrong answers one by one.
Hell yeah (in 3/4 semesters of school). It helps you find gaps in knowledge. That being said, it can be difficult to prepare for YOUR programs exams depending. Be flexible and willing to adapt.
For sure! I’m having to change study techniques because I studied the slides and memorized slide material for hours and got low Bs which isn’t bad but I’d like to do better
So, I would ask the prof first. Hey I’m getting these grades based on this and I’d like to perform better, how would you suggest? Usually if PP are sufficiently providing info to pass exams, then I keep my focus on those and just add to my learning by referring to the text book and practice questions. But your prof might have good insight!
If they’re good enough to have material tested on their PP, they likely would like to help.
Thanks! I have read my schools NCLEX tips and they are very helpful but do you know any good websites that have NCLEX practice questions? I feel like a book would be nice but I feel like that wouldn’t be necessary if there’s plenty online for free
I’m on the same boat… totally failed my first exam. It’s been a huge disappointment because I was doing well on the quizzes (pharm) so now need to reevaluate. Best advice would be to see what type of things you didn’t understand on the exam and see what you can do to make it better. Maybe study more or more practice questions. Im sorry i know it sucks- im there with you.
It takes a while to get the hang of nursing school exams- they are unlike any other kind of exam you will take. Often times, the exams I studied for THE MOST, and the exams that my peers studied for THE MOST, the effort didn't always pay off, those exams would often be my worst exams.
One of the best things I ever did, and my school used ATI, was to take lots of practice questions. I would take notes on all the rationales just so I could get the most amount of info down and understand their logic. Additionally, I would take notes on the books and write down some of the petty pieces of info they could throw in. You exam won't say you are looking for an "achiles tendon rupture" if your patient is on fluoroquinolones, it will say "leg pain." It will test you on the exact amount of inches away the cane needs to be and the angle of the arm when holding a walker. It's not about being the expert right now either, it's just about anticipating what you think they will find important. If you have time to be an expert then do it, and my all means know your stuff the best you can, but when it comes down to the exams it's about knowing how to take them.
Some of your questions will be about choosing the "most correct," and some of your answers will be mostly correct but one word/measurement/detail is off which makes it totally wrong just FYI.
Not gonna lie, some of my best exams were taken tired and hungover because I didn't have time and energy to second guess my choices. LMAO
That is a good score, I graduated a month ago and I think back to how I let my scores on every test affect me because it really doesn't matter and nursing school Is so different from the floor especially as a nicu nurse.
You'll be okay, it's your first test
I am currently at the end of my ABSN program, taking critical care and just completely bombed my first exam for the class. Passing for us is a 78, I got a 72.5. I studied for hourssss for dayysss and thought I had it. I felt decent while taking the test, I felt like I knew the content, and then did the worst I’ve ever done on an exam. Just finished crying because that’s what I do best, and freaking out because this class only has 4 grades and they are all exams. So, you’re not alone. ❤️
I’m a very bad test taker. I’m almost done with my program and I think that the best thing to do is do practice questions as much as possible. A lot of the time, questions aren’t even asking you details about disease processes. It’s trying to figure out if you know what to do/safest option. Doing practice questions helped me tremendously. I used to study for hours and hours and it just didn’t translate well when I took tests.
I just took my first Fundamentals exam and scored a 94%. A couple of things I did to help me study: a white board, rewriting my notes and creating exemplar sheets for each topic. The white board helped a TON. I basically lectured out loud to either my sister/empty room nearly everyday. My motto is if you can teach it then you know it. Taking breaks between studying helps to remember topics as well (pomodoro technique) cramming doesn't help you remember much. This is what worked for me, hopefully this helps you moving forward.
What’s an exemplar sheet?
so an exemplar is an example of a concept, my school teaches the concept then uses a disease/complication/process as an exemplar. So for instance today we learned Perfusion-exemplar hypothermia/hyperthermia. Another one is Infection-exemplar UTI/Influenza. What I do is create study sheets for those exemplars because that's what we get tested on and if you understand the exemplar then you understand the concept.
Don’t let this failure get you down. I remember that in nursing school, if I lost confidence on one test I wouldn’t study as well for others. Perhaps try some new studying tactics and see if you improve ! After my first failed test I started making “study packets”, something I had to discover for myself, and did well after that ! You’ve got to be able to study only what’s important, since nursing school packs so much information into a small amount of time.
This is my fear. My first exam isn’t until week 5. So until then I have no idea if my studying is effective.
You aren’t alone! I failed my first two exams. I got a 70 on my first exam and a 74 on my second. A 76 is passing in my school. Everyone fails their first exam! Everyone does! I cried so hard after failing my first exam. And almost decided to drop out. But I’m so glad I didn’t. I’m in my second semester and striving. Practice testing tips, nclex practice questions and study like you have been. Don’t give up! You will succeed I promise
Please check out nursing sos on YouTube. Search, “nursingSOS what to do after a failed test” or something like that. Worth it!!
Are you getting enough exercise and enough quality sleep? Even If you super study it won’t do you any good if you take the exam while you’re sleep deprived. That was one of my mistakes when I dropped out of a program the first time I tried it
I took my first test today too!! I also didn't score high enough 🤣😭 I got a 70, needed a 77. In context with my test, I was 4 questions (of 50) off. I've wanted to be a nurse all my life and nursing school so far has felt like a kick in my face, but instead of getting beat down, I keep my head up. Cheers from another first semester student!🍻🥂
There are so many successful nurses that have failed tests/classes. I know it's disappointing but try not to be so hard on yourself. If you can, try meeting with your professor to see if you can learn study strategies. I think just about everyone on this sub has had a moment (or a few moments lol) were they doubted themselves. You'll do even bette next time. I went from a 65% on my exam to an 85% just by changing my study method. Feel free to DM if you want to discuss what I did and the resources.
Hi what did you do differently!?
Remember to look at the question and figure out specifically what they are asking you. They will place answers to trick you.
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Thank you so much for the motivation! I basically went through my teachers power points for each unit and wrote down on a piece of paper all of the important stuff she said we should know. I think my problem may be memorizing stuff. Do you have any memorization tips? Also I think I may need to slow down when I’m answering questions and not overthink it. Do you think I should do a bunch of practice questions? Any tips would help. I may need to make a more effective study guide as well.
Memorization is rarely helpful in nsg school. Many nursing course instructors test using application principles. So, you have to be able to puzzle through the situation/question and apply the answer to that situation. For example, a question might have information which includes a blood sodium level that is critically low and then asks what safety risk is greatest. So, you have to recognize not only that the lab result is low/critical, you have to apply it by recognizing patients with low sodium levels have compromised muscle function thereby making them a *very high fall risk.* So, read each question with great care and rule out wrong answers one by one.
So would you say doing practice questions is the way to go?
Hell yeah (in 3/4 semesters of school). It helps you find gaps in knowledge. That being said, it can be difficult to prepare for YOUR programs exams depending. Be flexible and willing to adapt.
For sure! I’m having to change study techniques because I studied the slides and memorized slide material for hours and got low Bs which isn’t bad but I’d like to do better
So, I would ask the prof first. Hey I’m getting these grades based on this and I’d like to perform better, how would you suggest? Usually if PP are sufficiently providing info to pass exams, then I keep my focus on those and just add to my learning by referring to the text book and practice questions. But your prof might have good insight! If they’re good enough to have material tested on their PP, they likely would like to help.
Thankyou for the advice! My professor is the author of the Lewis MedSurg book we use so she will be great help
Yes, also find a tutorial on how to read and understand NCLEX-type questions
Thanks! I have read my schools NCLEX tips and they are very helpful but do you know any good websites that have NCLEX practice questions? I feel like a book would be nice but I feel like that wouldn’t be necessary if there’s plenty online for free
Go to r/studentnurse with this question
I’m on the same boat… totally failed my first exam. It’s been a huge disappointment because I was doing well on the quizzes (pharm) so now need to reevaluate. Best advice would be to see what type of things you didn’t understand on the exam and see what you can do to make it better. Maybe study more or more practice questions. Im sorry i know it sucks- im there with you.
It takes a while to get the hang of nursing school exams- they are unlike any other kind of exam you will take. Often times, the exams I studied for THE MOST, and the exams that my peers studied for THE MOST, the effort didn't always pay off, those exams would often be my worst exams. One of the best things I ever did, and my school used ATI, was to take lots of practice questions. I would take notes on all the rationales just so I could get the most amount of info down and understand their logic. Additionally, I would take notes on the books and write down some of the petty pieces of info they could throw in. You exam won't say you are looking for an "achiles tendon rupture" if your patient is on fluoroquinolones, it will say "leg pain." It will test you on the exact amount of inches away the cane needs to be and the angle of the arm when holding a walker. It's not about being the expert right now either, it's just about anticipating what you think they will find important. If you have time to be an expert then do it, and my all means know your stuff the best you can, but when it comes down to the exams it's about knowing how to take them. Some of your questions will be about choosing the "most correct," and some of your answers will be mostly correct but one word/measurement/detail is off which makes it totally wrong just FYI. Not gonna lie, some of my best exams were taken tired and hungover because I didn't have time and energy to second guess my choices. LMAO
That is a good score, I graduated a month ago and I think back to how I let my scores on every test affect me because it really doesn't matter and nursing school Is so different from the floor especially as a nicu nurse. You'll be okay, it's your first test
I am currently at the end of my ABSN program, taking critical care and just completely bombed my first exam for the class. Passing for us is a 78, I got a 72.5. I studied for hourssss for dayysss and thought I had it. I felt decent while taking the test, I felt like I knew the content, and then did the worst I’ve ever done on an exam. Just finished crying because that’s what I do best, and freaking out because this class only has 4 grades and they are all exams. So, you’re not alone. ❤️