Nursing Student Coach
Join Lauren Chapnick, RN, as she takes you through the journey of becoming a nurse! On Nursing Student Coach, Lauren, who is a new nursing professional, along with her knowledgeable guests will give you the tools to succeed in your nursing career. They will discuss ways to reduce anxiety and stress, share tips on studying and preparing for your NCLEX, and so much more - you won't be alone in this adventure! New episodes air every Thursday.
Nursing Student Coach
Think But Don't Overthink: Mastering Multiple Choice Nursing Exams
This episode is a goldmine for anyone aiming to conquer the NCLEX, infused with strategies that will morph your test-taking from tentative to triumphant. Nurse Lauren doesn’t just offer advice; she offers a mindset overhaul, arming you with critical thinking skills that will make you the Sherlock Holmes of the nursing exam world.
Join us for a riveting session where we don't just preach theory but put it under the microscope with a real-life practice question. Nurse Lauren puts you in the hot seat, simulating the pressure-cooker situation of a nursing scenario, and teaches you to dissect the question and prioritize like a pro. You'll emerge from this episode not merely ready but raring to face your next nursing exam with the precision of a seasoned veteran, your instincts sharpened and aligned with the wisdom of Nurse Lauren's exam-room tactics.
is the nursing student coach, giving you the strategies you need the most. Hey everybody, welcome back. This is Nursing Student Coach. I'm your host, nurse Lauren Chapnick, and, as I discussed last week, I am going to focus this podcast exclusively on how to rock those nursing exams. We are going to go through tips, strategies for success when you answer each and every question, because the language of nursing exams is tough and your job, between now and the day you pass your NCLEX, is to take a series of multiple choice exams and I want you to love those exams. I want you to master taking those exams. So today's episode is called Think, but Don't Overthink Now.
Speaker 1:Last week, my advice was to read the question and determine. Ask yourself what is this question asking? What is this question asking me? And today we're going to take it a step further. Once you know what it's asking, I want you to stop and I want you to think critically. Think like a nurse for just a minute, less than a minute, 30 seconds. Think what are the potential answers here. Read the question, know what it's asking you and think. All right, before I even look at those answers, and if you are allowed a piece of paper in there or you can use your hand, hold it up against those answer choices. Don't even look at them. Think for a minute. What am I looking for? What are some? What do I know? List everything you possibly know about what the question is asking. You either write it down or, in your head, think about the answer before you even look at that list. And then I want you to read the answer choices. Read them through one at a time and pick the answer based on how you thought critically. Did you think of the answer before you even saw it? No, of course, you're not going to be able to do this with every question. Sometimes you just don't know and you're going to figure it out by looking at the answer choices. But I'm just giving you strategies this can work based on if you, if you can list things about the question that you already know, look for the answer that you thought of. Think.
Speaker 1:Now here's the second part. Don't overthink. Pick your answer. Pick your answer based on your critical thinking, what you already know about what it's asking. You Trust your instincts. You know that my number one do and my number one don't. My number one do when it comes to exams is read the question twice. My number one don't is don't change your answer. Trust your instinct. Your first instinct is almost always correct. You will get it wrong if you start second guessing yourself. So it's a bit of a dance that you have to just maneuver and figure out, and that takes time and that takes practice. You have to think, you have to think critically about what the answer is, and once you've picked it, once you've landed on it, you have to not overthink. Okay, trust your instincts, be confident and move on to the next question. Don't beat yourself up, overthink things. Think about what the potential answers are and then look at those choices. Read them all twice, pick the one that you feel is the correct answer, based on your critical thinking, and don't think about it too much. After that, pick it, trust yourself and move on. Let's do one. Okay, let's do a practice question together. I'm going to bring this one up here. For those of you watching, you can see it. For those of you listening, I'll read it to you.
Speaker 1:A nurse is admitting a client who has reported recent weight loss, night sweats and bloody sputum. Which of the following actions is priority? I'm going to read it again. A nurse is admitting a client who has reported recent weight loss, night sweats and bloody sputum. Which of the following actions is priority? There's a lot to unpack here. First of all, what is this question asking? Okay, what is this question asking? Which of the following actions is priority? That means, what is the most important thing that you, as the nurse, can do Now? Nursing school questions are testing, safety, right. So what this question is really asking is what is the safest thing, the most important thing that will keep you and the patient safe in this instance? So that's what we're going to be looking for.
Speaker 1:But let's look at the stem of the question. A nurse is admitting a client who has reported recent weight loss, night sweats and bloody sputum. Well, what does that sound like to you? Do those signs and symptoms suggest anything to you? For those of you who maybe don't know, okay, but let's think about it Is anything jumping out at you with these three signs and symptoms? Well, it is suggestive of tuberculosis.
Speaker 1:So, knowing that, what would you think would be the safest thing you can do for your patient? And start listing them. What would you do for somebody with tuberculosis? What do you know about TB? So let's look at the answers and then let's think our way through it. And then let's land on an answer and not overthink it. Would you initiate airborne precautions. Two administer antibiotic therapy. Three initiate contact precautions. Or four teach the client about symptom management? I'm gonna read through the answer choices again and I want you to pick the one, based on what you know about TB, that you feel is the correct answer and trust your instincts.
Speaker 1:Number one initiate airborne precautions.
Speaker 1:Two administer antibiotic therapy. Three initiate contact precautions. Four teach the client about symptom management. Do you have your answer, what you would choose. Let's land on it and let's be confident. The answer is you wanna initiate airborne precautions. Tb is very contagious. You want to initiate airborne precautions. You'd also wanna put the client in a negative pressure room, but based on the answers here, you would initiate airborne precautions. It is not contact precautions. That's there to try to throw you off.
Speaker 1:So this question is really asking you two things. First of all, can you identify these signs and symptoms? What does this client potentially have? Tb, and maybe it's not diagnosed yet, but that's suggestive. So you wanna take precautions to protect other patients from getting this highly contagious disease. You wanna protect yourself. So that's what the answer here is.
Speaker 1:So we want to read a question we want to ask ourselves what is this question asking me? Then you wanna think critically through what you know, what do you already know, before even looking at the answers. Let's not get distracted by looking at the answers and start getting confused and panicked. Let's think what do I know about TB? And let's say all of your knowledge was thrown out the window. You forget, you're nervous, whatever. Then you can look at your answer choices and think critically through those, but first stop and think. Stop and think critically for a moment.
Speaker 1:It's asking you the priority. What is your priority? What is the most important thing? And when a nursing exam is asking what is the priority, what is the most important, it's really saying what could kill your patient or what is going to keep your patient safest? You wanna protect your patient at all costs. You do not want your patient to be harmed. So what is going to protect your patient? What's going to protect their airway, their breathing, their circulation? What's going to prevent bleeding? What's going to prevent a fall? Look through that list of what they're giving you, based on what's happening with your patient. What is the worst case scenario here? That's what it's asking, because in the end, the NCLEX nursing exams. They want you to be a safe nurse. So in this case, with TB, you would want to initiate airborne precautions. So that's it for today, guys.
Speaker 1:Tune in next week for another tip, another strategy to help you nail those nursing exams. You can follow me on Instagram. I'll be posting more tips and advice and practice questions that are not on the podcast. That is, at Nursing Student Coach, and, as always, it is my personal mission to help put more great nurses into the world, and we will do that one question at a time. So I hope you nail your next exam. I want you to be confident. I want you to trust yourself. Do not change your answer Once you have landed on the one that you feel is the correct answer, based on everything that you know. I wish you the best. I want you to be the best nurse you could possibly be. I'm so excited for you and until next time, have an amazing day Bye-bye. Thanks for tuning in to the Nursing Student Coach podcast.
