Test Taking Tips for Nursing Students

• The key is to move quickly but carefully through each question. If you miss one important word, the whole meaning of the question could be changed.
• Don't spend too much time on any one question -- skip the hard questions (or take a guess, and mark them) and then come back, if you have the time.
• Before you look at the answer choices, try to understand what the question is asking – is it an assessment question? Does it relate to another stage in the nursing process? Is patient safety an issue? Identify key words in the stem that may set a priority, indicate negative polarity, etc.
• Also – before looking at your choices – try to think of what YOU would do, THEN look at them. Maybe the one you thought of is there.
• There are many people who will advise that your first choice is usually right. If you find that you're second-guessing yourself, and going back to change answers, only to discover that you've changed to the wrong choice, this one may apply to you!
• Maslow's hierarchy of needs is a good guideline, where basic physiological needs come first.
• Remember your ABCs (airway, breathing, circulation). Anything related to oxygenation is usually the #1 priority.
• Positioning can be big, too. Especially if the patient is at risk for aspiration.
• Therapeutic communication is also an area you'll encounter again and again. Be sure you recognize the hallmarks of therapeutic communication. The answers that sound client-centered, respectful, and promote maximum client independence are usually your best bet.
• Practice doing NCLEX-style questions every day (Bonnie Boss recommends a minimum of 10 a day). For starters, do the questions in your textbook, accompanying study guide and using online resources from the publisher that relate to the chapters you're studying.
  
  Other good resources for test-taking:
• Book: Test Success – Test-Taking Techniques for Beginning Nursing Students (authors: Patricia M. Nugent and Barbara A. Vitale). The whole book is good, but Chapter 7 (Test-taking techniques) is especially good for helping you to analyze questions.
• Free online: Top Ten Test-Taking Tips (Link to: Evolve student development videos) with Linda Anne Silvestri
• Interactive tutorial: MEDS Successful Problem Solving and Test-Taking for Beginning Nursing Students (This tutorial software is available on the medspub.com site or free in the computer lab)