Test Taking

Techniques
How to Prepare

Nursing Exam Questions

Tests a Students comprehension of content

and concepts related to nursing and health.

Tests how you apply your nursing Knowledge
Tests your competency for practicing Nursing
safely

The Phases of the Nursing Process

Keep the phases of the nursing process in mind with

each scenario
What should the nurse assess? (Observe, Monitor, Check)
How should the nurse analyze and interpret information to

arrive at a nursing diagnosis?

How should the nurse plan for the clients care? (goal
setting)
What should the nurse keep in mind when implementing
care? (Safety Precautions)
How should the nurse monitor and evaluate the clients
response? (Impact)

Reading a Test Question

A multiple choice test question is composed of
3 parts:
Introductory statement provides information

about the scenario

Stem asks you to solve the problem
Four Options from which you must select an
answer

Tips for Answering

Questions
Determine what the question is asking

READ

the question carefully

What is the problem?
What is it asking of me versus What is it telling me?
Who is the client?
Underline Important Words
Find Key Words (Not, Except, Avoid, First, Best, Most)
Dont add information
Dont make assumptions
Identify Distractor
Is the question requiring prioritization of action (the nurse would first.)?
Visualize the situation

Examine your Choices

Read all choices before answering
Refer back to underlined important words
Dont add information to choices
Relate a choice to just what is being asked
Focus on your level of learning that is being tested
An option may be correct but not have anything to do with

what is being asked

Eliminate choices that obviously do not answer the
question
Make educated guesses after eliminating options
All answers must be within the practice of nursing (no
prescribing treatments or medications)

Find Keywords that set a Priority

and look for the most important
answer
A client is confused and disoriented when admitted to the hospital. The
doctor ordered bed rest. Before leaving the clients room, the most
important nursing action to provide for the clients safety is to:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Put all of the clients belongings in a safe place.

Place the bed in the highest position with the side rails up.
Place the bed in the lowest position with the side rails up.
Explain where everything is in the room.

Note: Remember ABCs for Priority questions not involving CPR (airway, breathing,
circulation). For CPR administration priority questions CAB (circulation, airway, breathing)
Keywords: First, Initially, Best, Safest, Most, Immediate, Most likely, Most appropriate,
highest.

Find keywords that indicate a

negative answer look for an
incorrect answer
When giving a partial bath, which nursing
action is the least appropriate?
1.
2.
3.
4.

Arrange equipment and linen for easy access

Open the window to let fresh air in
Pull the curtain for privacy
Rinse off all of the soap

Keywords: Not, except, never, avoid, least appropriate, least likely, violate, unrelated, lack,
inadequate.

Look for clues or hints in the question

What should the nurse do to help meet a
patients self esteem needs?
1. Encourage the patient to perform self-care

when able.
2. Suggest that the family visit the patient more
often.
3. Anticipate needs before the patient requests
help.
4. Assist the patient with bathing.

Look for absolutes in the answers

(only, always, never)
The nurse is giving a patient a bed bath. How
can the nurse best improve the patients
circulation during the bath?
1.
2.
3.
4.

Apply soap to the washcloth

Keep the patient covered
Use only hot water
Use firm strokes

Identify Central Person in the

Question
A patient is friendly, has many visitors and
appears happy. However, when the patients
daughter visits, the patient cries and complains of
pain. When the daughter becomes upset, the
nurse should:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Explore the situation with the daughter

Encourage the patient to be more positive
Continue to observe this situation from a distance
Tell the daughter that the patient usually does
not cry

Eliminate Wrong Answers

When providing perineal care for patients, by
what action can nurses most appropriately
protect themselves from microorganisms?
1. Washing their hands before giving care
2. Wearing clean gloves during perineal care
3. Discarding the contaminated water in the

toilet
4. Encouraging patients to provide all of their
own care

Eliminate Similar
Answers
Immediately before performing any patient
procedure, the nurse should plan to:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Shut the door

Wash the hands
Close the curtain
Drape the patient

Select All that Applies

A new graduate nurse is being mentored by a more experienced
nurse. They are discussing the ways nurses need to remain active
professionally. Which of the statements below indicates the
graduate understands ways to remain involved professionally?
Select all that apply
1. I am thinking about joining the health committee at my church.
2. I need to read newspapers, watch news broadcasts, and search

the Internet for information related to health.

3. I will join nursing committees at the hospital after I have several
years of experience and better understand the issues affecting
nursing.
4. Nurses do not have very much voice in legislation in
Washington, DC, because of the shortage of nurses.

Lets Practice
Twenty minutes after administering pain

medication to the client, the nurse returns to

ask if the clients level of pain has decreased.
The nurse documents the clients response as
part of which phase of the nursing process?
1. Diagnosis
2. Planning
3. Implementation
4. Evaluation

Lets Practice
Which nurse is demonstrating the assessment

phase of the nursing process?

1. The nurse who observes that the clients
pain was relieved with pain medication
2. The nurse who turns the client to a more
comfortable position
3. The nurse who asks the client how much
lunch he or she ate
4. The nurse who works with the client to set
desired outcome goals

Lets Practice
A nurse can best evaluate a clients ability to

self-administer insulin by using which of the

following methods?
1. Have the client write the procedure
2. Demonstrate the techniques on a
mannequin
3. Have the client tell the nurse the steps to
take when administering the insulin
4. Observe the client self-administering an
insulin dose

Lets Practice
A 45 year old male Hispanic client who speaks

very little English is scheduled for surgery

tomorrow. The nurse is concerned that the
informed consent signed by the client on
admission may not be valid for which of the
following reasons?
1. The surgical consent form was not notarized
2. It was witnessed by an unlicensed personnel
3. The client may not understand the document
he signed, which outlines treatment and
associated risk

Study Tips
Plan Study Time and Set goal (hourly with breaks)
Read Text Book and Notes (highlight information on nursing care)
Use your textbook resources early and often
Look at illustrations and charts
Use Flash Cards
View audiotapes, Videos
Ask questions to clarify
Practice Test Questions/Read Rationales, Time yourself
+)

Form Study Groups, Attend Peer Led workshops

Go to Tutoring
Verbalize thoughts, rationales
Vary your studying methods to increase retention

(Prep-U, Hesi, Cours

How to Prepare for the day of the

Exam Reduce Anxiety and Establish Control
Make sure you are prepared and know

material
Dont stay up late
Give yourself enough time to arrive early
Get what you need for exam the day before
Wear comfortable clothing
Take care of basic needs
Think positively
Practice controlled breathing

Understand Testing
Procedure
Read Instructions carefully
Understand Test Format
Style of Questions
Number of Questions
Be aware of Testing Time
Make sure you answer all questions
Dont rush at the end to fill in scantron
Dont change answers unless you

misunderstood question