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! :) 

Welcome everyone!!

WELCOME to my blog! 

I am so glad you stopped by.  I would like to take a moment to introduce myself and my blog. 

My name is Casey and I recently graduated from nursing school in Virginia.  For the past several years my life has been consumed by nursing school and all that entails, simply put, I had no life out side of my studies :) 

I have taken ACED my NCLEX and I am officially an RN!! I am very proud of my accomplishments (if you couldn't tell) and I am waiting to find a job in the nursing field.

WHAT?! Why am I waiting? I'm so glad you asked! I have had a series of unfortunate events happen since my graduation and I am weathering an unplanned storm until I get back on my feet! GO ME!

First things first- I did NOT plan on any of these things happening after my graduation, but I am miserable taking it with a grain of salt and learning from everything that has happened.  What has happened?  I've kept you in suspense for long enough- here it is: 

After graduation I took a Kaplan class to prepare for the NCLEX, so even after graduation I felt the pressure of studying STILL! I took the test and PASSED! I was in 7th Heaven and extremely proud of myself.  In an attempt to spread the joy I went to purchase my (at that time) fiancé some concert tickets.  On my way to the venue my car was rear ended by a HUGE SUV! My car was demolished, and my body didn't come out so good either.  I was taken to the ER with the neck brace/backboard combo.  After the accident it was a while before I could function again- I had terrible whiplash and tears in my tendons along my spine.  All in all, if you saw my car, I was VERY lucky!

So now you're probably wondering why I am thankful for this event. Simple!  I now have the TERRIBLE first hand knowledge on what it is like to be the patient in an emergency situation.  It. Plain. Sucks!  I feel like this experience will help me be more empathetic to patients in the future.  The worst part of the accident was that it was 6 days prior to my bridal shower and 2 weeks before my wedding! 

After my wedding and honeymoon (some fun in the middle of some stinky situations!) I had to have surgery (WOMP WOMP!).  The recovery from the surgery has taken WAY longer than planned and I am coping with some excess pain.  And yet again, I am learning what it is like to be on the patients' end of the stethoscope rather than the nurses end!  

Ok- so that's my sob story.  While I am sitting here healing, I thought I would make use of my time!  Which brings me to the conclusion of this post but the introduction of my blog!  This blog will be reminiscent of nursing school and (hopefully) follow my journey to find employment my DREAM JOB!

I am hoping that by sharing my stories about nursing school, unemployment, and life in general, I will inspire someone to have the strength to finish nursing school or give seasoned nurses and my fellow nursing peers some laughs about the memories of nursing school and finding a job :) Join me on my journey to employment!! 

Chit chat... 

Now that you know me a little let me get to know you some.  Are you a nurse? Still in school? I'm listening :)