Exam Anxiety

We take a lot of exams. And they are all multiple choice questions to prepare us for the NCLEX. I am not particularly good at multiple choice, mainly because I tend to overanalyze the question, read too much into the details, rather than simply choosing the best answer. But now that I am taking at least 2 a week, I am getting better.

Yesterday, which seems like 7 weeks ago due to the long hours of our work day, we had the second exam for our Fundamentals of Nursing class. (Based on the name, you would think this would be the first class we took this semester, but actually it is the third, following Community Nursing and Health Assessment. Health Assessment was fun. We learned to take vital signs, play with fancy equipment like pulsox machines, ophthalmoscopes & otoscopes. I have seen the inner workings of my lab partner's ears. But I digress. Back to the exam.

Being an accelerated program, most of the students are academic overachievers, much like myself. An A- is not good enough. So yesterday we had an exam. And it was VERY difficult. I usually leave an exam sure that I passed, confident I at least got a B, and hopeful that I got an A. Not so much after yesterday's exam. My feelings were shared by everyone else in the class. Our post exam break is usually filled with laughter, joking, and some obsessive answer checking: "What did you put for #34? Was it A) skin turgor or B) mucous membranes?" (Q: what is the best way to assess dehydration of an inhouse patient?) And a lot is at stake for us. If you don't pass a class, you are out of the program. End of story.

But after yesterday's exam, we were all strangely quiet. No one wanted to review the questions, because that would just confirm the number of questions answered incorrectly. But my favorite coping strategy came from this student: "I am taking a poll of everyone in the class. What are you going to be now that you are no longer going to be a nurse?"

It brought a much needed smile to my face.

And it turns out that I got an 88 on the exam. Not an A, but considering I left the exam not sure if I passes, I am relatively happy. Oh, that the best way to assess dehydration in your patient? C) their weight.