Event 4: How to Crush Your Final Exams in Nursing School

00:00 Welcome to Lecturio. How to survive nursing school.

00:04 And today we're going to talk about crushing your final exam.

00:08 So I always tell students, you know, you can't get to NCLEX without finals, right? Everyone thinks they can jump over finals and exit exams, but you cannot get to NCLEX without your finals.

00:21 So finals are really important.

00:23 And so that's why we're going to talk about them today. Because we want to make sure that we can help you with anything that we can as far as organizing and and getting set for those finals. Even if you've taken, you know, a few before, maybe you'll learn something different, some different habits.

00:40 So I'm Nicole Shinn and I'm responsible for engagement.

00:44 Lecturio. So good to see you all again.

00:47 Um, and then we also have Prof.

00:49 Lawes here who is our expert, of course.

00:53 And so she's going to be, uh, doing all of the expertise on crushing finals. With that being said, I'm going to turn it over now and I'm going to take it away. Prof.

01:07 Lawes please go ahead and you can come back on camera and I'm going to go off camera and you can go ahead. Welcome, guys.

01:15 You'll see my camera firing up here now.

01:18 You've been so interactive.

01:21 Hey, do me a favor. We got, like, almost a hundred people.

01:24 So would you mind just blowing up our chat room? Would you tell us again? When are your finals? Okay, so tell me in the chat room, when are your finals? I want to get a feel for how much time you have to prepare.

01:37 There we go. Thanks, Betty. Jennifer. Jessica I mean good.

01:40 Lisa. Okay, good. You told me the topic.

01:43 Great. Okay, good. Oh, tomorrow.

01:47 Oh my goodness. Riley.

01:48 About two weeks. You're in the sweet spot.

01:50 Good. Okay, Damien. That's fine.

01:53 Alright. Well, thanks for telling us that.

01:55 For those of you that have finals coming up, would you mind telling me in the chat? What's the type of final you're most worried about? So what is the what is the subject of the final you're most worried about? Oh, Dawn. 11 month fast track.

02:11 You go, warrior. It'll be fast.

02:13 It'll be good. Oh! Exit exams.

02:15 Med surge fundamentals.

02:17 Okay, good. Mother baby farm next month.

02:20 Voila. I love that. Autoimmune fundamentals.

02:23 Good. Okay. All right.

02:25 So you guys have lots of things.

02:27 Well here's what we're looking at today.

02:29 Now we are very aware of the time.

02:32 So don't worry. We're going to give you great information in the sweet spot of time that we have with you today. So we're going to figure out what's most important for you individually. This isn't a generic session.

02:44 This is a session meant for you to spend some time and think through what is most important for you to raise your test scores.

02:51 I'm going to help you come up with a two week countdown that will maximize your success.

02:55 But don't worry if you have less time than two weeks.

02:59 Even if you're one of our friends who has just a day, I'm going to help you pick out what's going to be the best use of that time that you have left. I'm also going to give you my pointers on how to reduce your test anxiety before and during the exam, and especially on those stinking select all that apply questions.

03:18 All right. So tell me in the chat what is the biggest number of select all that apply questions you've had on a test. Something like it was half my test.

03:27 It was 10% of my test.

03:29 What percentage of your test was the largest amount of select all apply questions you've had? Oh, Regina, a third of your test.

03:37 Wow. About a quarter. Okay.

03:39 Half, maybe about 15%.

03:42 Okay, so we've had different ones.

03:45 Oh, Jeanette. 5%. Okay, Max.

03:48 Ten. Only five. Okay. Oh, God, I love it.

03:53 It's almost all of them at Jessica, I think you speak for all of us.

03:59 When you say too many for your liking, that's awesome.

04:03 Well, let's roll through, because I want you to take away some really helpful, practical things.

04:10 If you took your time to come and hang out with us today, I'm going to make sure that we get something for you that's really useful.

04:17 So you may want to grab something to write with, or you will receive a recording of this afterwards.

04:24 But it'd be great if you could kind of work along with us.

04:26 So if you have something to write with and it's close, I want you to grab it if you can.

04:31 Now, first of all, first objective, right.

04:34 We're going to figure out what's important to you.

04:37 So I mean, you Marlene or you Jessica or Val or Milton, I want you to figure out what's going to be the best use of your time, because let's face it, studying is hard, right? I can be surrounded by study stuff for a long period of time, but actually processing information is a totally different story.

04:55 So first thing I want you to do is start thinking about where you are.

05:00 Okay? So you need to make sure that you crank out that syllabus again and look at how your grades are calculated.

05:07 Look at your grade book.

05:08 If your faculty uses an online grade book, go in there and check it.

05:13 Make sure that the numbers that are in there accurately reflect your grades that you're aware of. Okay, so I want you to look at your grade book, look and see if there's anything missing from your grades or if there's any differences.

05:25 Let me tell you, it's a lot easier to resolve a grade question before finals week.

05:31 Okay, so you want to start early and your faculty are going to be a lot easier to work with and have more energy to listen to you.

05:39 If it's not finals week and everything else going on.

05:42 So look at your syllabus.

05:44 Make sure you're very clear on how your grades are calculated.

05:47 Look at your grade book and then figure out what your current exam averages is, because we're going to use that to figure out where you are and help you prioritize your energy and your resources.

06:00 Okay, guys, I know people say you should study eight hours a day.

06:03 Wrong. You can't. Your brain can't process information at that level.

06:10 Days and days and days at a time.

06:12 So I want you to pick what's going to be the most effective.

06:16 What's going to give you, we say biggest bang for your buck.

06:20 That's what I want you to be able to get, because I want you to recognize the difference between where you are and where you want to be.

06:28 And that's the gap in the middle.

06:30 So our goal, no matter how much time you have left or available, is I want to close that gap between where you are right now and where you want to be.

06:41 Okay. So if you're ready to do that, if you're ready to figure out what the gap is and practical steps you can take, just tell me in the chat.

06:49 Just say yes. Ready? Go whatever you want to tell me.

06:52 But I want to make sure you're still with me.

06:56 Sweet. Okay, I need about ten more, and then we'll keep going.

06:58 Yes. Okay, good. You know what? You gotta take the encouragement where you can get it, right. Good deal.

07:04 I like it, Betty. Let's do this.

07:07 Okay, so I'm going to talk about what it takes for you to mind the gap.

07:11 So first of all, no judgment here, okay? This is a completely judgment free zone.

07:19 And the more you spend time beating yourself up or wishing you'd done more, uh, it's not good. What we're going to do is figure out where we are and figure out how we can close that gap. Okay, we can do it, because I don't I don't want you to do this right. I don't want you to be crazy.

07:38 I don't want you to be running around stressed all the time, wringing your hands. I want to show you how to go through finals with some peace.

07:48 Right. Because your brain needs to be calm in order for you to take credit for everything that you do. No. See, too often you guys focus on what you don't know or what you're afraid might be on the test, but you don't unlock your brain to take credit for what you do know.

08:06 So let's look at that now before we move on, how many of you have ever been in the middle of a test and your brain just freezes? You forget stuff you know you knew before the test anyone had that experience? Oh. Last week? Oh, no.

08:24 I'm so sorry. Okay, well, I'm going to give you some strategies for when that happens. And what.

08:31 Yeah I know it can happen okay.

08:33 And it happens to everyone.

08:36 So I'm going to give you in your 112 exam okay.

08:39 I'm going to give you some ways that you can deal with that. As we're heading into this point of the semester, I want you to be thinking about reasons why you're feeling overwhelmed.

08:51 Okay. Why are you feeling overwhelmed? Well, first of all, I guess I just shouldn't assume.

08:56 Is anyone feeling overwhelmed about finals coming up? Oh, yeah. I'm an overthinker.

09:03 Yes. Okay, now I want you to even raise your hand.

09:09 You're awesome. Yes, Amy, I just had one of those deadlines with a writing deadline. It was make it or break it for me, too. So I understand that stress.

09:20 So I'm going to ask you about five questions, and I want you to think through. Remember, this is a no judgment zone.

09:27 We're here to figure out what you're dealing with.

09:30 What's the biggest challenge for you and how we can close that gap? Okay, here's why I feel overwhelmed sometimes.

09:37 I don't know where to start when I'm really worried about something.

09:41 I don't know what I should do to even get going.

09:44 And sometimes getting going is the hardest part.

09:48 Um, overthinkers not so anonymous.

09:52 I'm a major overthinker and I do my best overthinking about 245 in the morning.

09:59 Anybody else wake up in the middle of the night or worse, have nursing school dreams? Has anyone had a nursing school dream? Yeah, all nurses have had that dream where we got it's at the end of our shift and we're reporting off and somebody asks us, hey, Rhonda, what about so and so? And I say, I didn't have that patient.

10:17 And they say, yeah you did.

10:19 So that's a common nurse nightmare.

10:22 But when you're in nursing school you have those so overwhelmed because I don't know where to start. I'm overthinking about what kind of studying I should do.

10:33 Regina. Man, I wish I could give you a hug.

10:37 I get paralyzed by all that I think I need to do.

10:40 You're in the right session.

10:42 That's what we're talking about. And let me say, you are my people. Because that's where I live sometimes, too. And also, I skip around, I skip steps, I just want things to be over.

10:53 Like, I don't sometimes do things in logical order because I'm just not sure where to go.

10:59 I have difficulty prioritizing.

11:01 And like Regina, like you said, I just keep thinking about all I need to do, and I spend more time thinking about what I need to do than actually doing it, even if it's just a small, small step.

11:14 Alright, now the fifth one.

11:16 I can't even take credit or see what I've already done.

11:20 I'm just worried about not being able to do well on what's coming up.

11:24 Okay, now you know what I'm going to ask you when you hang out in sessions with us. Which of these five enter into the chat for me like one, two, three, four, five? Or which of those that you've done recently this semester? Okay, so Endriss in the chat.

11:41 Oh, some of you. Just one.

11:43 Wow. Cool. I can do all five, right? It's a gift. I know it's burying you.

11:54 Yes, you and I can hang out.

11:56 Right, Jameela? That's me.

11:59 Oh, good. Yeah, I get it.

12:01 Now. Let's talk about if you don't even know where to start, we're going to talk about all five of these.

12:07 Let's start together. Ready? Okay. If you have some paper, here's what I'd like you to do.

12:13 So first of all, I want you to list all your classes that you're getting ready to take finals in on the left side of your paper.

12:20 Right. Just like I've got them here.

12:22 Pharm med surge, clinical maternal health.

12:25 You've got those all right there.

12:28 Next what we're going to do is we're going to move over to the 4 or 5 columns I have for you there. But just quickly jot down your classes.

12:38 Now, after you jot down all your classes, I want you to go back later.

12:42 You don't have to do it now. Go back later and list your grades.

12:46 Now, I just guessed that you had approximately four exams in your courses.

12:51 Some courses have more, some have left.

12:53 But these are not the final exam grades.

12:56 These are just your exam grades up to the final.

12:59 Then I want you to go back and calculate your exam average again.

13:03 You don't have to do this now.

13:05 These are just the steps for when we're not together.

13:08 And you've got time to look up your grades.

13:10 Some of you like look them up.

13:12 Hey crazy lady, I got it all memorized.

13:14 What? My exam average is right up here.

13:16 And some of you do down to the hundredth of a point.

13:20 But you're going to calculate your current exam average.

13:23 Now, for some of you, this is going to be painful.

13:25 Don't let it be. We're just looking at a trend and just looking at numbers because that's what I want you to do.

13:32 I want you to look at each class at a time, just like I would teach you how to assess a patient. Neuro cardio respiratory.

13:39 I want you to assess where you are.

13:42 Did you notice I said where you are? I did not say how good a person you are.

13:49 How valuable a person you are, how smart you are.

13:54 No, because grades are not what tell you that, right? That's not where your value comes from.

13:59 All these numbers do is tell us where you are.

14:03 We're going to compare it to where you want to be.

14:05 And we're going to look at ways to close that gap.

14:08 Remember, your value is so much more than a number.

14:13 And it's hard to remember that in nursing school.

14:16 Now when you're looking at these trends.

14:18 I want you to think about, hey, look, for reasons that you have some lower scores, like maybe the second test really dropped your score or the third or fourth, whatever it is.

14:29 I want you to think about if I'm really brutally honest, what is it that caused me to not be as successful on that test? Now I say events, drama, trauma or no can do's.

14:41 So that would be what was going on in your personal life.

14:44 Was there some extra trauma going on in the program? Did you experience something traumatic? Or the no can do's was the nicest way to say I just ran out of time to study.

14:56 Either I was super busy with other things or responsibilities, or I just flat was overwhelmed and didn't study effectively.

15:03 I want you to be honest.

15:05 Okay, so you've got those, um, right there.

15:09 Write yourself some notes.

15:10 You take a look at your overall so far, how you've done your trends and patterns over the course of a semester.

15:18 That is going to give us invaluable information to make a realistic plan.

15:25 Okay, so let's get real.

15:27 I'm going to ask you some tough questions now.

15:30 So I want you to ask yourself, as you're being overwhelmed with your grades and what's coming up and what you have to do, will the final impact your overall grade? So will this final exam impact your overall grade? Now you tell me you would write yes or no.

15:50 And then I want you to elaborate.

15:52 For some of you, you are gunning into the final because you want a certain grade, right? You want the next letter.

15:58 Grade up so you know exactly what you want it to be.

16:02 Some of you like. Yeah, the final exam in most schools is worth a higher percentage than any one individual course exam.

16:10 So you know that it's going to impact your overall grade.

16:13 But is it going to be enough to knock you up or down into another category? But then there's some of you probably here today that it's going to be the difference between you passing the course or not passing the course.

16:24 Okay. That's when things get super serious.

16:28 So I want you to think through the worst case scenario.

16:32 That's what WCS is. See if you will face what you're most afraid of.

16:37 It's not as scary as it was before because face the worst case scenario.

16:42 What happens if you're not successful in this course or in earning the grade.

16:48 You want so little. Yeah, you summed it up for us.

16:51 What happens if you don't pass that course? And then the next question I want to ask yourself, could you survive that? Yeah I know. Oh, and Regina, you gotta grieve that right.

17:05 And it's nothing is more frustrating than when you get so close to that next higher grade. But like what you said there, it could make the difference between passing and failing a course. That can be a lot more serious.

17:19 But can you survive if that happens? If you can say yes, because of course the answer is yes.

17:28 Yes, you can survive it.

17:29 Will you like it? No. Will it be uncomfortable? Yes. Will you probably have some strong emotion? Absolutely. But you will survive it.

17:40 I've had many conversations with students over the years when they're nursing.

17:44 School didn't go the way they thought it would, but they still became fantastic nurses, right? They're still making a difference.

17:53 So I'm not telling you.

17:55 Hey, just go out there. What the heck? What I'm saying is, you can survive anything when it comes to school.

18:01 May not feel like it, but I promise you that you can.

18:05 And if you'll just say hey, instead of worrying about if I'm going to get that grade, or even if I'm going to pass this class, I'm going to choose to not think about that so that I can use all my energy, all the rim of my brain to focus on doing better.

18:20 But here's the deal. Some of us are so used to worrying that that almost feels more comfortable than trying to face our biggest challenge.

18:29 Okay, if you don't believe me, I've had to write a really big literature review lately, and I just I didn't want to do it.

18:35 Why? Because it's hard.

18:38 Because it's real hard.

18:39 Just like studying something you don't absolutely you don't understand, or you're studying and you're not sure how it's going to appear on the exam.

18:46 That can be really scary, right? So kind of let go of the chaos in your head and say like, listen, some of my stress is self-induced.

18:58 Some people might say A lot of our stress is self-induced.

19:02 It's how we think about the situation.

19:05 And Denise, that is a lot of pressure.

19:08 But thinking on that type of pressure, thinking about the worst case, if that's what you dwell on, you can't use the energy that you need to get smart. But I, I wish I could give you a real hug, not just a virtual hug, because that is a huge mind bender.

19:25 So I want to talk about how do you overcome when you feel like I can't do this? This is humanly impossible.

19:34 What do I do? Well, first of all, you do have to tell yourself, yes, I will survive it.

19:41 It may completely alter the next couple of years, but I will survive it.

19:47 Now, are you still with me? Those are some pretty heavy things, so let me know.

19:52 Jessica, I thank you for sharing that.

19:54 That's what it means. So let me know in the chat.

19:57 Are you still here? You are.

20:02 That's amazing. Regina, I like it.

20:06 Yes. Alright, so listen, we've ripped the mandate off.

20:11 We've already talked about the hardest things.

20:13 Now we're going to talk about the stuff that gets fun, because I'm going to give you some ways that we can build that back up. Now, these little critters, do you know what we call these? I call them automatic negative thoughts.

20:26 Okay, look, these guys are kind of cute.

20:29 And that's how I want you to start thinking about automatic negative thoughts in your mind. Because when you face nursing school, when you compare yourself to other people, you kind of end up having these types of thoughts like, if I don't do this perfectly, then I'm just rubbish.

20:45 Unless I do everything right or get an A on this test or a score.

20:48 I'm so disappointed in myself for not being smart enough.

20:53 Now let's see how transparent you feel like being today.

20:56 Don't have to, but I'm just asking.

20:59 Have it any time. How many of you in your nursing school experience have let what's happened to you in nursing school make you feel like you are not very smart? So how many of you had an experience in nursing school that made you feel like you weren't very smart? I got it, guys.

21:22 Yeah, you know it's not true.

21:25 And sometimes you got some mean kids in your class.

21:29 I'll call them kids because I want to say mean girls. That's gender specific. But, you know, when you have people that always want to know what grade you got on a test, or they're like little vipers wanting to compare themselves, all that stuff. Don't listen to them, okay? That's that's perfectionism.

21:46 That's an automatic negative thought where you always assume that you don't measure up.

21:52 You think you know what other people are thinking, right? This magical thinking or fortune telling. Oh, I know my faculty hates me.

21:58 I know she just thinks I'm about as dumb as a box of rocks.

22:01 We start filling those blanks in for people and they may not be thinking that at all.

22:06 Then we go into this catastrophizing, oh, if I don't do this, everything is over. I'm going to fail. I'm going to get it kicked out. We get focused on that. I mean, I hear what you're saying, and I think you're sharing something that a lot of people experience where clinicals, they rock and roll testing gets really difficult. Uh, you know what I say? Oh, please keep going.

22:29 That means you're going to do really well as a nurse at the bedside.

22:32 And that's what we need, because I want you to think about flipping your bias. Try not to focus on the negatives.

22:40 I'll never pass this class.

22:42 Things are harder for me.

22:44 I always have to work harder than studying.

22:46 Let those things go. They don't help you or encourage you.

22:49 But let's look at the biggest, the mother of all automatic negative thoughts. It's when it comes down to test taking.

22:58 And I see a lot of you guys saying speaking about what test taking gets you.

23:02 If you say this to yourself, I can always get it down to two answers and then I always pick the wrong one.

23:10 Okay. I want you to recognize that as an automatic negative thought.

23:13 Because you know what? I want you to reframe that thought.

23:17 If you say that to yourself, then you're making yourself, you're reinforcing. You're teaching your neurons to wire together and say, yeah, one is not a very good test taker.

23:29 I mean, she'll get close, but she'll never be there, won't measure. No. When you feel yourself, hear yourself lean towards saying that stinking thinking, Regina.

23:39 Right. I want you to say, hey, this is how it feels.

23:43 But really, sometimes it's easier to eliminate answers than others.

23:47 All I can do is slow down, think through the questions, and eliminate the answers to the best of my ability.

23:54 That's a way different emotional charge than I can always get it down.

23:58 I always pick the wrong one.

24:00 I just want to tell yourself, hey, some questions are harder than others.

24:03 What I can do, what I can control, is to do my best to answer the question.

24:08 So let's talk about that countdown.

24:10 Right. We looked at what are some things that you need to consider before you make your plan. Now let's talk about the countdown.

24:16 Now we did this chart before. Remember we got a realistic assessment of where you were.

24:22 So I just filled some numbers in there.

24:24 You can see them there. Well the same courses pharm med surge, maternal child and clinical.

24:28 Let me just say that would be a heck of a semester if you had all those classes in one time. But I filled this out for an imaginary student put in the exam averages.

24:39 Because what I want you to do is to start to get a real feeling based on data, objective, not emotions, not on fears, but objective data as to where you are. Because when I deal with that overthinking, here's how you avoid that analysis paralysis.

24:58 So you have to figure out what your best personal strategy is on data, not emotions. Okay. Look at your grades.

25:06 Look at your averages.

25:07 And then I want you to add in the date of the final exam because it does matter.

25:13 You've got we've got a wide range in here where some people are not taking finals this year. Some people are taking finals very soon, within hours. So look at your grades, your exam and the date of your final.

25:25 Now I want you to think about prioritizing your weaknesses.

25:28 Look at where you can make the biggest difference.

25:31 Well, you know, sometimes I've had to have the conversation with students that they're in this semester, and there was no mathematical way, even if they got 100% on the final that they were going to pass the course.

25:43 So I would always advise them, hey, listen, this didn't go well.

25:46 It's okay. You can come back and do this again.

25:50 Alright. But what I would encourage you to do is stop putting energy into this course and focus all of your energy on the ones where you can make a difference.

26:00 Now that doesn't happen very often.

26:03 When someone mathematically can't pass the course, they usually withdraw before then.

26:08 If they really are having a hard time or something's gone on in their family and it's just not a good time for them.

26:13 But I want you instead of studying where you feel most comfortable, I want you to go after the weaker spots.

26:20 Now let's go back and look at this course. So look at how this pretend student did.

26:25 Now look at their maternal child.

26:27 Average. Okay. This must be the group of students that just love maternal child.

26:31 That's their highest grade.

26:34 Now, if they have a certain amount of time, would that be wise to make that their priority of studying. So give me a yes.

26:42 Give me a no. Give me a thumbs up.

26:43 Thumbs down. But looking at this.

26:46 Right. But what's going to feel more comfortable.

26:50 Nice, Rebecca. What's going to feel more comfortable for this student.

26:55 Are they going to want to kind of gravitate toward maternal child.

27:00 Yeah they are. Why? Because it feels comfortable and they feel smart there.

27:06 You know what they're going to avoid like the plague. Yeah.

27:08 What most of us do. Farm.

27:11 Yeah. Right. Farm. So I'm going to need you to be honest with yourself and figure out am I am I doing that with anything? What am I looking at there? So look at your grade, your averages and know the date.

27:23 Prioritize your weaknesses.

27:25 Looks like they should spend some time in farm just to shore that up.

27:29 Now. Next one look for a a tutor, a study buddy, or meet with your faculty.

27:33 Or if you're lucky enough to have them, look for someone that is going to be productive for you to do that.

27:40 Study groups, unless you know the content, are not going to be your best bet, usually because if they get very large, whoever's in there, you might have some real challenges with that.

27:50 But if you find a study group and you already have learned the content, the majority of it, you just need to quiz each other.

27:58 They're beautiful. But study groups are not good for first learning the content.

28:03 So look at number five to some R and R.

28:08 Can you guys see what that says there? Refrain and refrain from pointless worry.

28:14 So when you start to worry, when you start to see your thoughts go in that automatic negative thought tornado, I want you to stop and reframe them and I'll show you how to do that.

28:24 But most of all, you need to stick to the plan, right? You've got to have a plan and you need to stick to it.

28:31 Now, what about when we're, like, skipping around and wishing things were better and just wishing? Could I not just fast forward through the next couple weeks of my life.

28:39 How do I fix that? Write a reasonable plan and stick to it.

28:44 Oh, Michelle, I completely understand, but when you find yourself wanting to jump around, not focus, not follow your plan, and you've got to have one written and you've got to stick to it, what about when you can't prioritize? See, you only have to prioritize once.

28:58 If you make a plan and you make it based on data and objective information, not your feelings, it's going to be reasonable and it's going to do you right.

29:08 So how does one write this reasonable plan? Well, this is what I want you to do.

29:13 Now, Nicole showed you a really cool way to write out your study plan, that you can do it electronically and you can do it through Lecturio.

29:23 I love that feature because it sets the dates for you when you just tell it.

29:27 When you want to be finished.

29:28 You can plug in when your test is and when you want to review things and you've got it out there, you may want to start with a piece of paper.

29:34 First. Just print out a calendar.

29:36 Write in the dates of each final exam.

29:40 Now, what I want you to do is, is look at the days that you're working.

29:43 Because how many of you are working while you're in nursing school? Can you tell me in the chat how many of you are working while you're in nursing school? Yeah, because you've got bills, right? Alright, well, if you can look at the days that you're working, then ask off if you can financially try and take time off work.

30:04 Oh, Betty 312. Wow. Okay.

30:07 Now next up now. So you notice we haven't put in any study times yet.

30:12 I want you to write in the non-negotiables that may be like, um, time with your children, time with a spouse or partner, time of worship in your place of worship.

30:24 Write in those non-negotiables and like lido, a time with your kids.

30:28 I mean, you can't have unlimited, but you can have very focused and important time. So write in your non-negotiables.

30:35 Then look at number five.

30:37 Would you guys do me a favor and just write the one word in there at number five is just write it in the chat for me. So I know that you hear it, because this is a discussion I have with students all the time.

30:49 Thank you. This is where most of us who are busy or stressed, either our sleep is interrupted because we are so busy or because we're we're just so stressed out. Now. Now we get to number six.

31:04 I want you to write in study times with topics and tasks.

31:07 Yeah that's right. Go through and actually write in after you have your most importance.

31:12 And Amica that was fabulous how you wrote that in.

31:16 Um write in the times you're willing to study and what topics like what are you going to do during that time that's really important.

31:25 So writing a reasonable plan that's going to take you at least 40 to 50 minutes to write out a decent plan. It's an excellent investment of your time.

31:38 If you want balance with your work life, your family life, and your school life. You need a written plan. Then you can take that written plan and pop it into Lecturio and use it to help you plan the topics of when you're going to study.

31:51 What about for those that say, hey, I can't even see what I've done? Like, all I can focus on is where I've not accomplished my goals.

31:58 Well, first of all, review your wins, right? Don't just worry about finals. Review the things that you have done. Well.

32:07 For those of you that have done well in clinicals, think about a patient that you've made a difference in. I want you to think about every time you go to clinicals.

32:13 Hey, how was that patient's experience in the hospital? Better because I was their student nurse, right? Number two, if you've got that plan, cross off items as you complete them.

32:27 So when you start feeling like a loser, I want you to look at that plan and go, uh, look at this. I've got Look at all these things that I'm working towards, doing the best I can to be prepared.

32:39 Now, at the end of every day, just evaluate yourself. Hey, how'd I do? Did I really give effort? Not how not how fantastic am I? But how well did I do in making this my priority to accomplish my written plan and just write it in on your calendar? Yeah. Michelle, I could bore you with the research because I'm a research nerd.

33:00 Absolutely. The research will tell us that makes a difference.

33:04 And number four, these are things I want you to say to yourself when we talk about reframing thoughts. Feelings are not facts and worry is a waste of time, okay? Feelings are not facts and worry is a waste of time and energy.

33:21 So when you are taking test questions and you start to feel yourself melting down, close your eyes count in.

33:28 You need to break that cycle in your brain.

33:31 Count for how many seconds you want to breathe in, how many seconds you want to hold it and how many seconds you want to blow out.

33:37 Is there any magic in that? No. But what you're doing is stopping the chain reaction that's going on in your brain.

33:44 So remember, if you are attacking nursing school based on your feelings, you are not going to be as successful as you could be.

33:51 You'll never close the gap if you function completely on your feelings.

33:55 So what about during the exam? Hey, get some sleep. I mean, do what you can to try to maintain your sleep because if you don't have good sleep, then you have brain function that isn't as strong as it could be, because that's when your brain puts all these relationships together.

34:13 That's when it processes information and it makes new pathways among your neurons.

34:18 Now, when they first introduced themselves, how do you do when you start making new relationships between neurons? The relationship is kind of tenuous.

34:27 It takes continued processing and encoding for those relationships between the synapses to become strong. Remember, neurons that wire together, fire together, and neurons need time and rest to make sure.

34:43 So all nighters before school are worthless.

34:46 I know some of you do it, but you actually could do better if you had planned that study time more than like a couple minutes before your exam starts.

34:56 So I know that is really, really difficult.

35:00 Yeah, I would guess you see your exams, your books and your sleep.

35:05 One thing that can really help with sleep problems is, um, exercise. So exercise and watching the caffeine.

35:14 A lot of us drink way too much caffeine.

35:17 So keep those things in mind.

35:18 And there's lots of things out there on the internet to help you.

35:21 They call it sleep hygiene.

35:23 Just Google that because you'll notice sleep adds to your stress.

35:28 It doesn't make you respond well to things.

35:30 You react and you have a really short temper and you don't make the best decisions.

35:36 So know that getting your sleep, having some diffuse brain time is just as important to your brain as studying.

35:44 Now, that doesn't mean nap all day.

35:46 I'm just saying get good quality sleep is really important to your nursing school success. Now let's talk about them.

35:54 I love this meme. This is like a guy trying to defuze a bomb.

35:57 But that's what select all that apply questions feel like, don't they? So what do you do when there's more than one right answer on an exam? Hey, just so you know, there's more than one right answer on nursing school exams and on the NCLEX on four option multiple choice.

36:17 When you're on a select all that apply according to NCLEX rules.

36:22 If it has six answers on a question, you can have all six be right.

36:28 Just five. Be right Eight four be right three.

36:32 Be right, two be right or one.

36:34 So any of those are Army.

36:38 Take out the word always and say it again for me.

36:41 Say ah or you can say anything else, but you can't say always.

36:46 So give me that. Give me that phrase again.

36:48 I want you to reframe that.

36:51 I'll wait for you because I want you to already start that.

36:57 Okay, again, another one of my favorite memes.

37:00 Like which orange be the loudest? Orange? Yeah. Any exam question.

37:05 Let's start talking about it. I don't care if it's community, maternal health, med surg, pharm, whatever you're looking at, it's all about safety because that is the key to prioritizing what's particular about this patient.

37:18 What's particular in the setting? Hey, we've set a time.

37:22 We've we've done a whole session on that if you caught other ones.

37:25 So I didn't want to repeat that here, but we talked about how you rip apart the stem of the question. But for sure, if I can give you one piece of advice, is looking at what keeps this patient the safest.

37:40 If I'm not sure if it's Amy or Amy, but beautiful.

37:45 Yes, yes, that's the bomb.

37:49 So I know it's a lot more words to say, but that's the kind of grace I want to give yourself, because you're worth that.

37:54 You wouldn't talk to other people like that.

37:57 So try not to tell your own brain that because you can do it.

38:00 I love it. So everybody together.

38:03 What's the s word that matters on every question? Okay. What's the S word that matters? You got it. For this particular patient in this particular setting, what keeps them the safest.

38:16 Now any of these variables can be particulars.

38:20 This can change how you answer a question.

38:23 We call it the context.

38:25 What about variables that are particular.

38:28 Again these can change.

38:30 What is the safest answer? We treat patients differently based on what setting they're in.

38:36 If I'm on an elementary school field trip, I treat them differently than if I'm in an ER or an acute care hospital.

38:43 So always keep in mind when you're answering your final exam questions.

38:47 What does this patient need right now to be safe? Is there an imminent danger? Are there any airway like airway not able to breathe or circulation issues? Those become priorities.

39:01 Now, we talked again in our other session about how you can take notes and how you can prepare yourself. If you guys are taking a med surge test or if you're taking a maternal child test, think about if there's a diagnosis you're studying.

39:15 What puts your patient in danger or WCF? Worst case scenario? Then think about how would you recognize if a patient was going into that and what would you do? Okay. If you write out notes this way and think through this process.

39:31 When you're testing, I promise you it's going to change your scores.

39:36 So when you start getting stressed on a test, remember to tell yourself, breathe.

39:40 Close your eyes if you have to and then think, wait a minute. I've studied to my best ability for this test, so I'm going to try and calm myself down and take advantage of what I do know and go into every test know. Hey, there's likely something you're not going to know on the test, and it's okay.

40:00 You know, I use this really cheesy thing with myself. When I face that situation, I have to remind myself, hey, that's a feeling.

40:07 Not helpful, Rhonda. And then I say, Elsa, that, like they say in frozen, let it go.

40:13 Just Elsa that. Okay, so we talked about the first strategy be particular. Right. So I'm going to talk three key strategies on any nursing school exam.

40:23 And on Saturdays select all that apply.

40:27 Be particular because it will help you know the context of the question.

40:30 There's often more than one right answer.

40:32 The context matters, and no one question is right across all situations.

40:39 Okay. Put the stem of the question, the words before the answer choices into your own words. Last, eliminate.

40:48 Don't gravitate. Alright, so we know that no one answer is right on all situations. Um, NCLEX people have a write on wipe off board.

40:57 Some nursing schools will use that.

41:00 Otherwise nursing schools may let you have a piece of scratch paper.

41:04 If you don't have scratch paper on your exam, it's okay. All right. But when you're taking practice questions getting ready for the final, then I want you to use scratch paper and write down the answer choices and eliminate them as you go.

41:16 But tell yourself why you're eliminating that question, right? So look like this. You write down one, two, three, four and say it's not number one.

41:24 Here's why. It's not number two.

41:26 Here's why. And here's not number three now, Jessica.

41:30 A lot of times you won't get a test review, and let me tell you how you fix that.

41:34 You can take practice questions.

41:37 We have tons of them. We are launching some new ones on Thursday at Lecturio.

41:43 But those practice questions are your time to learn, right? This is how you come to your answer.

41:49 You. When you're going through the question.

41:52 This is what I'd like you to do. And when you've eliminated three of them, or you've gone through all those answers and you're left with the correct answer, ask yourself, does this make sense? Okay, so that's what you do on a test.

42:04 When you're preparing for the test, you do get to see the questions and you do get to see the answer choices. And I highly recommend that you do it.

42:12 Go back and look at the answer choices.

42:14 Look at the rationales.

42:16 I know our questions at Lecturio will have rationales for you.

42:19 Then you can go back and see, hey, what tripped me up in that question? What do I need to remember next time on a question? Denise, it's okay if you don't have scratch paper online, but practice with it when you're doing practice questions before the exam.

42:33 Now we have practice questions with every one of our videos so it can help test you right on that content. So that's why eliminating and not gravitating is the best way to do it.

42:44 How many of you are answer changers? Like tell me in the chat, how many of you are answer changers like you pick an answer. Yeah, this is how you stop being an answer changer you. By the time you get to the test, if you don't have scratch paper, you're able to do it mentally and you get rid of that one and say why? You get rid of the next one and say why.

43:05 Keeping in mind that all answers are relative to the context or the stem of the question.

43:11 Once you eliminate them, don't change it, right? Because you've given yourself the rationale of why that is wrong.

43:18 Now the obvious question is what if I don't know? Then just own it. Hey, I think I'm going to eliminate B or number two. I'm not exactly sure why, but for some reason I feel better about C than I do about B. That's acceptable because you don't always know, but that's what I really want you to do.

43:39 So these three strategies I know we went through them fairly quickly today, but you have our other session where we have we'll go through that in significant detail but be particular about the context.

43:53 Recognize what makes a patient unique a situation unique.

43:57 Put the sentence before the answers, the stem in your own words and then eliminate answers. Don't allow yourself just to go, ah, I like that one. Make sure you don't gravitate.

44:09 You eliminate it. Now let's take that and apply it to select all that apply.

44:13 Because I know all of us hate that.

44:17 So, um, nine things I want you to think about with select all that apply.

44:23 Okay. So first of all, do the same thing.

44:28 Write down all the numbers on your scratch paper or your write on wipe off board when you're practicing. Second thing, follow the same steps for the stem.

44:38 Look at the particulars about the stem of the question.

44:41 Right? Look for the particulars, the variables about the patient.

44:44 Put it in your own words.

44:47 But I want you to put it in your own words for us.

44:49 Select all that apply. Question in the form of a yes no question.

44:54 So look at that stem of the question, the words before the answer choices.

45:01 And I want you to put it in your own words and a question that you can ask yes or no.

45:08 So then you look at each answer choice.

45:10 And usually there's 5 to 6 on a on a.

45:14 Select all that apply. Question I'm going to ask myself that question six times.

45:22 What Why would I do that? Because I can tell you, I've worked with, oh, thousands of students getting ready for the NCLEX, which is, you know, the ultimate standardized test.

45:35 And I've worked with students in nursing school.

45:38 And here's the number one thing that people do on select all that apply.

45:42 One, they're not clear on what that question was asking.

45:46 Two they flipped halfway through.

45:49 They're looking for the yes answer.

45:51 And then the last three, they're looking for the no answer.

45:54 So technically they knew the information, but because they didn't keep their eyes on the prize and they lost track of what the question was really asking, they ended up getting wrong.

46:05 So look at number five.

46:06 Repeat that question every time you look at an answer choice, and then you have to say yes or no.

46:13 If you say yes to that question, you circle it.

46:15 If you say no, you cross it off and say why? Always say why you're saying yes or no.

46:21 Then after you've worked all the way through those six answers, I want you to look at it and say, what's the question again? Do these answers all make sense? And then say no to analysis paralysis.

46:33 If you get to the point where it's not productive, you just have to make cut it off.

46:37 Right. Don't just keep go.

46:39 Yeah. When you get stuck on a question and it's no longer productive, you're just really shooting yourself in the foot with that.

46:48 So that is my best advice for you on what you should do to crush this time before the finals. How you identify what's most important for you, raising your own test scores, shortening that gap.

47:02 You've got a two week countdown that'll help you maximize your success, or less or more, whatever you have.

47:08 And remember, those are the tips to reduce your stress before during the exam and how you can crush those. Select all that apply.

47:17 Nicole, I'm going to leave it up to you to wrap us back up.