Each time I feel like I try a new strategy. This is my way of finding out what works best for me I guess. This time my strategy was to not have a strategy. I made sure to still have a testing environment set up with no distractions, but other than that I just did what felt right. At some points I would answer 20 questions without a break others I was taking a break every 2 or 3. It all depended on how I was feeling. I also tried to make sure that I was not changing my answers but also not that I was taking my time and reading thew all my options. I think of all the tests this is the one that I new the most content on. This is most likely due to the fact that I am currently in maternity and we are learning this content so it is fresh in my mind. Another reason is of all the topics, I am most interested in maternity so it comes a littles more easily to me. I did find that I was getting more frustrated while taking this exam because it seemed to be never ending and although I was able to reason through the questions as well as understanding why options where not correct, I struggled to find the ones that where correct. I kept getting caught up in the wording of the questions and trying to pick out individual words and ended up making it more complicated for myself. From this exam I learned that when it come time to take the NCLEX, I believe that I will be able to study and review a lot of the material that we have learned and be able to refresh my memories. This exam as well as the med-surge one where the freshest topics in my mind and thus the ones that I was able to recall more information on. I have found that these exams as extremely helpful in preparing me for the NCLEX as well as providing me with the topics that I need to refresh myself on.
Julia, these practice assessments are providing you with great opportunities to try out various strategies and “non-strategies” to see what works best for you – you are using this to your best advantage! Well done!