TESTTAKINGTECHNIQUESFORBEGINNINGNURSINGSTUDENTS

Identifykeywordsinthestemthatindicatenegativepolarity
Readthestemslowlyandcarefully.Lookforkeywordssuchasnot,except,never,
contraindicated,unacceptable,avoid,unrelated,violate,andleast.Thesewordsindicate
negativepolarity,andthequestionbeingaskedisprobablyconcernedwithwhatisfalse.
Identifykeywordsinthestemthatsetapriority
Readthestemcarefullywhilelookingforkeywordssuchasfirst,initially,best,
priority,safest,andmost.Thesewordsmodifywhatisbeingasked.Thistypeof
questionrequiresyoutoputavalueoneachoptionandthenplacetheminrankorder.
Astrategyyoucandrawontohelpyouanswerpriorityquestionsistorefertobasic
guidingtheoriesthatarepartofthefoundationofnursing:
.Physiologicneedsgenerallyneedtobemetfirstbeforehigherlevelneeds
.Disbeliefanddenialaregenerallyapersonsfirstresponsetonewsofalossoranticipatedloss
.Meetingtheneedsofthepatientcomefirstoverothertasks
.Patientreadinesstolearnmustbeassessedfirstbeforedesigningateachingprogram
.Apatientsemotionalstatusmustbeassessedaspartofthefirststepinthenursingprocess
.Nursesneedtouseinterviewingtechniquestoeffectivelycommunicateinanonthreatening
waywithpatients
.Thenursemustdelivercareinanonjudgmentalmanner
.Maintainingapatientsairwayisalwaysapriority
.Thepatientssafetyisalwaysapriority
.Athoroughassessmentmustbecompletedbeforeotherstepsinthenursingprocess

Identifycluesinthestem
Generally,thestemisshortandcontainsonlyinformationneededtomakeitclearand
specific.Therefore,akeywordorphraseinthestemmayprovideahintforchoosing
thecorrectanswer.
Identifythecentralpersoninthequestion
Testquestionsusuallyrequirethenursetorespondtotheneedsofapatient.Youhave
toidentifythecentral(significant)personinthestem,andthesignificantpersonisthe
onetoreceivethecare.
Identifypatientcenteredoptions
Nursingisaprofessionthatisinvolvedwithprovidingbothphysicalandemotional
caretothepatient.Itemsthattestyourabilitytobepatientcenteredtendtoexplore
patientsfeelings,identifypatientpreferences,empowerthepatient,affordthepatient
choices,orinsomeotherwayputemphasisonthepatient.

Identifyspecificdeterminersinoptions
Aspecificdeterminerisawordorstatementthatconveysathoughtorconceptthat
hasnoexceptions(just,always,never,all,every,none,andonly). Frequently
statementsthatuseabsolutesarefalse.However,someabsolutes,suchasall
patientsshouldbetreatedwithrespect,arecorrect.
Identifyoppositesinoptions
Sometimesanitemcontainstwooptionsthataretheoppositeofeachother.Oneof
themwillbethecorrectanswerorbothcanbeeliminated.Whentheoppositesare
distractors(botheliminated),theyattempttodivertyourattentionfromthecorrect
answerwhichisnowoneofthetworemainingoptions(increasedyouroddstochoose
thecorrectanswer).
Identifyequallyplausibleoruniqueoptions
Sometimesitemscontaintwoormoreoptionsthataresimilar. Usually theseoptions
aredistractorsandcanbeeliminatedfromconsideration.Younowhaveimprovedyour
chancesofselectingthecorrectanswerto50%.
Identifytheglobaloption
Theglobaloptionisusuallyabroadgeneralstatement,whereasthethreedistractors
arespecific.Youpicktheoptionthatisdifferent(Whichoneoftheseisnot the
same?).
Identifyduplicatefactsamongtheoptions
Whenitemsaredesignedsothateachoptioncontainstwoormorefacts,identifyinga
factthatisincorrectwilleliminatealloptionscontainingthisfact.
Identifyoptionsthatdenypatient feelings,concerns,andneeds
Optionsthatimplyeverythingwillbeallrightdenypatientsfeelings,change
thesubjectraisedbythepatient,encouragethepatienttobecheerful,ortransfer
nursingresponsibilitytoothermembersofthehealth teamareusuallydistractors
andcanbeeliminatedfromconsideration.
ITEM: entiremultiplechoicequestion(backgroundstatement,stem,andoptions)
BACKGROUNDSTATEMENT:briefscenarioorframeworkforthestem
STEM: statementthatasksthequestion orcontainsaspecificproblemtoanswer
OPTIONS: possibleanswerstothequestion (stem)orsolutionstotheproblem
KEYEDRESPONSE: theoptionthatanswersthequestioncorrectly
DISTRACTORS: remainingoptionsthatareincorrectanswerstothequestion
(PatriciaNugentandBarbaraVitale,TestSuccess.Copyright2004byF.A.Davis)