Test taking in Nursing School

Multiple Choice MADNESS! 

When I started nursing school, I figured the test would be just the same as they were in my previous college classes. Oh no, I couldn't have been more wrong!

Our professors (and the people who write NCLEX q's) have this horrid brainy idea that they should include more than one correct answer within the answer choices.  I HATED hearing "this one is correct, but answer C is MORE correct" - More correct?! Are you KIDDING ME?

After I had passed nursing school and moved on to prepare for my NCLEX, I took a Kaplan class to do so.  Kaplan's big selling point for me was the "Decision Tree".  It is a system they have devised for students to better evaluate answers to test questions- what else do us nurses do better than evaluate? ;)

When I was learning the Decision Tree I thought to myself "Why did no one mention this while I was IN nursing school?" It would have made a HUGE difference in my test scores! 

While I am not here in any way to let you know what tests will be hard (assume they are all hard and KNOW the information!- Reading is easy!) I will let you in on a tip about test taking: the Decision Tree from Kaplan was life changing! It takes a bit of practice to learn the steps, but once you do, you will see such a difference.  

I am NOT saying that you no longer need to know the information being taught- but rather, if you know the information and have the Decision Tree in your arsenal you will be able to weed out the "trick" answers.  

On Kaplan's website they give you a demo of the Decision Tree at www.kaplannursing.com 

Some people in my class could not get the hang of it- in order for me to master it I made a cheat sheet to carry around with me to memorize the steps. Once I did it was on!!! I passed the NCLEX with the minimum number of questions you have to answer and I was so relieved! 

I hope this not only helps you with the NCLEX, but also with regular unit tests in school! Good luck everyone!

Chatty Cathy's....

Did you look at the Decision Tree? What did you think? Would you use it for test taking in the future? I'm listening! :)