Yes, it's been a fun-filled week in nursing school. I had the privilege of taking three exams back to back in one week. That's right, Friends and neighbors, my brain got a workout. Fifty or so hand-written pages of notes from my "how to be a nurse" class. After studying close to 72 hours total for it, all I got for my trouble was a 76. While that would be passing in regular classes, the range for a C is 78- 83 in nursing school. I missed passing it by one question. We covered: asepsis, infection control, nutrition, range of motion, order for putting on and taking off, personal protection equipment, glucometer skills, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and how it applies to nursing...I think that was it. It was pretty intense. My teacher told me I did better than alot of people on this test, but there was no comfort in her words.
Pharmacology was much better, I got a B. And the online Intro to Nursing class I got an A.
I think I realized my problem regarding my studying. I spent all my time dissecting the textbooks and comparing them to the outlines. Basically, I couldn't see the forest for the trees and made it much more complicated than it needed to be. Not playing on my strengths hurt me, too. My thing is visual learning. I've been trying to rewrite notes, and use auditory learning with an Echo Smartpen. What did help me were sites like
Study Blue,
Quizlet, and
Flashcard Exchange. I can make my own study guides and the sites will quiz me on the definitions or theories.
I saw this on a t-shirt that I want to get. It pretty much summed up my week. Day of the exams, I had gone to bed at midnight and got up at 3:30 AM to study until 6:30 AM. I left early and sat in the parking lot to study. Nobody had on any makeup and nobody cared, either, including me.
I get to do it all again in 2 1/2 weeks......YEA! But at least I know now how to approach it.
And for those of you wondering, yes, the bag with the wheels
is working pretty well. I went with the Samsonite because the company is as old as me.....lol! Anyway, it holds about 7 books, nursing that is, 6 or 7 composition books, and two nookbooks, plus all my extra pockets of stuff. Thanks for asking! I would get another one!
I'm glad you made it through the first set of exams. Believe me when I say you're not alone with the lower score on the exam. A lot of us students did poorly because it wasn't about memorizing the rules; it was more outside the box thinking. All the answers seem correct, but you have to find the "best one". First exams are never easy and now that you've got it out of the way, just move onto the next one. Like you said, now you know a little more about what they're looking for as far as what to focus on for the next exam. I’ll be thinking about you!
ReplyDeleteYea I got my share of back to back to back exams lol. My brain was throbbing after all that studying. But it looks like you're doing great :)
ReplyDeleteHappy studying!
Ms Beth, I'm making this comment based on a post you made that no longer exists, and since you may not want that content out and abouts, I'll make my reply a wee vague. Hopefully you'll still 'get it'. ;)
ReplyDeleteI transferred out of pre-nursing and back into Biology, so I knew that I was putting myself back into a realm dominated by people who just want their C average to get their degree and get out. Sometimes it's almost funny, getting an email the day before an exam from a girl who claims her computer crashed and wiped out all her notes from this past unit, asking someone to send her theirs. I used to be the person who, when getting an email saying someone missed a day, would send them my notes. I quit after one semester where the same girl sent the same email every week, for three weeks. She wasn't even attending, but was getting my detailed, touch-of-OCD notes! I felt silly for letting myself be used. The same kind of thing happen in group projects. I just finished one where the others in my group sent me 'what they had' two days before it was due, and it was obvious they'd cranked it out in 10 minutes. I spent 8 hours yesterday 'fixing' a project we had 2 weeks to do because I had to do the work of three people. And, I'm going to get an A on it... but they will too.
Why the long story? I complained, at length, to my husband who gave me great advice on it... All the work I do, even if it benefits someone who doesn't deserve it, benefits me. I've learned whether or not I can depend on certain people, and I'll know not to next time, which also benefits me. So, while frustrating, in the end, I did well, I'm doing well, and they won't be able to skate by forever. Someday these coat-tail riders will have to do something themselves, and then it will be painfully apparent to their superiors (who don't give C's in the real world!) that someone else is willing to work hard for the chance they're throwing away.
Call it karma or come-uppance, they'll get their life lesson. You and me, we'll just keep working hard to make sure when OUR chances come around, we're worthy of the challenge!
Janna,
ReplyDeleteI was afraid I had hurt someone's feelings, so I took the post down. I was just bent by the same reasons you mentioned. Your hubby was right...tell him I appreciate his insight. And thank you so much for posting this. I don't feel so alone now.