SAN JOAQUIN DELTA
COLLEGE
Find Success on
Nursing School
Exams!!
So…What are We Talking About Today?
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Answering all types of test questions…even
alternate item
So I took the ATI test….now what?
NCLEX preparation…HELP!
Nursing School is Like Drinking Through a Fire Hose
Types of Test Questions
A.
B.
C.
D.
Multiple Choice
How to Answer a Multiple Choice Test Question
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The first step in analyzing a test question is to
separate what the question tells you from what it is
asking.
Each test question consists of 3 parts:
 Introductory statement
 Stem
 4 options from which you must select the answer.
How to Answer a Multiple Choice Test Question

Introductory statement
 Gives you information about
A
clinical problem
 Present data
 May state a nursing topic
 Always
includes a specific question that you must
answer using your nursing knowledge
 Stem
How to Answer a Multiple Choice Test Question

The stem asks you
 to solve a specific problem
 select one of the 4 options as the answer.
A client is receiving care at the clinic. Her doctor has prescribed
an iron supplement and an increased intake of Vitamin C in her
diet. The nurse understands that the best rationale for
increasing Vitamin C in the client’s diet is to :
Critical Elements
•Learning to identify the critical elements in a test question is
crucial to interpreting the question correctly.
•The 4 critical elements in each test question are:
 The
key words
 Early
or late
 Immediately
 Post operatively
 Least likely
 The
client
 What
about
the question is
 The
issue
 Specific
problem
 Always about the client
 The
type of stem
 True
response
 False response
Positive Response Stem
Negative Response Stem
Example

An elderly client was admitted to the hospital with
pneumonia. He is receiving oxygen at 6 liters per
mask. In obtaining vital signs, which nursing action is
inappropriate?
 Taking an axillary temperature.
 Listening to his lungs when counting respirations.
 Listening to an apical heart rate.
 Taking an oral temperature
Distracters
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Most multiple choice questions have 4 options
Of these, 3 are distracters, and 1 is the correct
answer.
Distracters are designed to resemble the correct
answer
Example

A client returns with a foley catheter after surgery. In
providing catheter care, which is the best nursing
approach?
 Preventing infection and maintaining a patent
catheter and drainage system.
 Keeping the collection bag above the level of the
bladder.
 Using soap and water to clean the perineal area.
 Maintaining a closed system without any kinks in the
tubing
Example

A client who has right sided weakness needs to be
transferred from his bed to a wheelchair. In
transferring the client, the nurse must remember to:
 Keep the client at arm’s length while transferring
him.
 Bend at the waist to get down to his level.
 Maintain a straight back and bend at the knees.
 Try to transfer the client alone, before determining
that help is needed.
Charts and Tables
Charts and Tables

Based on a review of the client’s chart, the nurse
speaks to the client’s health care provider about
holding the morning dose of:
 Furosemide
(Lasix)
 Potassium (K-Dur)
 Clindamycin (Cleocin)
 Heparin
Charts and Tables
Charts and Tables

Based on a review of the client’s chart, the nurse
speaks to the client’s health care provider about
holding the morning dose of:
 Furosemide
(Lasix)
 Potassium (K-Dur)
 Clindamycin (Cleocin)
 Heparin
Charts and Tables

Based on a review of the client’s chart, the nurse
speaks to the client’s health care provider about
holding the morning dose of:
 Furosemide
(Lasix) (Loop diuretic)
 Potassium (K-Dur) (Low)
 Clindamycin (Cleocin) (not addressed on charts)
 Heparin (not addressed on charts)
Hot Spot
Hot Spot
Hot Spot
Fill in the Blank
Fill in the Blank
Fill in the Blank
Fill in the Blank
4 oz
3 oz
1 oz
240 ml
Fill in the Blank
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Use good math skills
Write out the equation
Show all of your work
Bring up drop down calculator
Double check your work
No need to enter units
Drop and Drag
Drop and Drag
Drop and Drag
Multiple Response
Multiple Response
True
Multiple Response
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Consider each response choice separately, as you
would in a true-false question.
Look for mutually exclusive responses which could
not both be true.
No partial credit is given
When in doubt, go with what you know
Alternate Item Strategies
I’m Getting Ready to Take the ATI Test
Computer will score first response
Equally as important for the student to
understand why the response is INCORRECT!!
This is Kathy’s customized
remediation guide…
She should follow this
outline to address her
deficits!!!
Review Modules—NOT textbooks
•
Fundamentals
• Medical/Surgical
• Maternal/Newborn
• Nursing Care of Children
•
• Mental Health
• Pharmacology
• Community Health
• Nutrition
Streamline Faculty Workload!
• Nursing Leadership
Chapter Content Guided by
NCLEX® Blueprint
At least
two
learning
formats,
including
NCLEX®
format
items
Let’s Practice
www.atitesting.com
NCLEX Preparation
Why is NCLEX® Preparation
so Important?

You gotta ask yourself~
 Would
you go on vacation without making a list of what
you need?
 Would you try and make a dress without a pattern?
 Would you try and make your favorite dish without a
recipe?
If you wouldn’t do these things…why would you NOT
prepare for the one thing that will impact your
entire career……NCLEX ®!
NCLEX Success
RN 2008 Pass Rates
First Time: 118, 444
86.7%
Repeat:
20,975
53.3%
PN 2008 Pass Rates
First Time: 48,315
85.6%
Repeat:
Source: www.ncsbn.org - 2008
9,312
41.3%
421,739 U.S. Educated RN students
tested for the first time b/w 2003-2005
Days of Eligibility
Pass Rate
Within 21
90.1%
22 - 33
88.1%
34 - 54
85.0%
55 - 365
77.0%
Source: www.ncsbn.org NCLEX Delay Pass Rate Study. Jan 2007
Where’s the Magic Fairy Dust??
NCLEX Success
RN Comprehensive Predictors
180 Questions
2 versions written to the 2007 NCLEX testplan
Online Comprehensive Assessment
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150 Questions – two versions
Immediate feedback on right and wrong answers –
1st version
Can be taken anywhere with Internet access
Written according to the 2007 NCLEX Blueprint
Can be taken as many times as necessary to
achieve mastery
Linked to Focus Review
New Alternate
Item :
Drag & Drop
New Alternate
Item :
Exhibit Chart
Thank you!!
Assessment Technologies Institute, LLC
(ATI)
Overland Park, Kansas
(800) 667-7446