Proactive Tools for Acing Your Written State Exam
It is important for you to remember that your
score on the written exam does hot determine how
smart you are or even whether you will make a good
nursing assistant. There are all kinds of things a written
exam like this can't test: whether you are likely
to show up late or call in sick a lot, whether you can
be patient with a trying client, or whether you can be
trusted with confidential information about people's
health. Those kinds of things are hard to evaluate on a
written exam. Meanwhile, it is easy to evaluate whether
you can correctly answer questions about the job duties
of a nursing assistant/nurse aide.
This is not to say that correctly answering the
questions on the written exam is not important! The
knowledge tested on the exam is knowledge you will
need to do your job, and your ability to enter the profession you have trained for depends on you passing this exam.
Combating Test Anxiety
The first thing you need to know is that a little test anxiety is a good thing.
Everyone gets nervous before a big
exam-and if that nervousness motivates you to prepare
thoroughly, so much the better.
Stress Management before the Test
If you feel your level of anxiety rising in the weeks
before the test, here is what you need to do to bring the
level down again:
Practice self-confidence. A positive attitude is a
great way to combat test anxiety. This is no time
to be humble or shy. Stand in front of the mirror
and say to your reflection, "I'm prepared. I'm full
of self-confidence. I'm going to ace this test. I
know I can do it." If you hear it often enough, you
will come to believe it.
Fight negative messages. Every time someone
starts telling you how hard the exam is or how it
is almost impossible to get a high score, start
telling them your self-confidence messages. If the
someone with the negative messages is you telling
yourself you don't do well on exams or you just
can't do this, don't listen.
Visualize. Imagine yourself reporting for duty on
your first day as a certified nursing assistant.
Think of yourself helping patients and making
them more comfortable. Imagine coming home
with your first paycheck. Visualizing success can
help make it happen-and it reminds you of why
you are working so hard to pass the exam.
Exercise. Physical activity helps calm down your
body and focus your mind. Besides, being in good
physical shape can actually help you do well on
the exam. Go for a run, lift weights, go swimming-
and do it regularly.
Stress Management on Test Day
There are several ways you can bring down your level
of test anxiety on test day. They will work best if you
practice them in the weeks before the test, so you know
which ones work best for you.
Deep breathing. Take a deep breath while you
count to five. Hold it for a count of one, then let it
out for a count of five. Repeat several times.
Move your body. Try rolling your head in a circle.
Rotate your shoulders. Shake your hands from the
wrist. You may find these movements relaxing.
Visualize again. Think of the place where you are
most relaxed: lying on the beach in the sun, walking
through the park, or whatever makes you feel
good. Now close your eyes and imagine you are
actually there. If you practice in advance, you will
find that you only need a few seconds of this exercise
to experience a significant increase in your
sense of well-being.
When anxiety threatens to overwhelm you right
there during the exam, there are still things you can do
to manage the stress level.
Repeat your self-confidence messages. You
quietly to yourself, and believe them!
Visualize one more time. This time, visualize
yourself moving smoothly and quickly through
the test answering every question correctly and
finishing just before time is up. Like most visualization
techniques, this one works best if you have
practiced it ahead of time.
Find an easy question. Skim over the test until
you find an easy question, and answer it. Getting
even one circle filled in gets you into the test taking
groove.
Take a mental break. Everyone loses concentration
once in a while during a long test. It is normal,
so you shouldn't worry about it. Instead,
accept what has happened. Say to yourself, "Hey,
I lost it there for a minute. My brain is taking a
break." Put down your pencil, close your eyes, and
do some deep breathing for a few seconds. Then
you will be ready to go back to work.
Try these techniques ahead of time, and see if
they don't work for you!
~ Make a Plan
Construct a study plan.
Maybe the most important thing you can do to get
control of yourself and your exam is to make a study
plan. Too many people fail to prepare simply because
they fail to plan. Spending hours poring over sample
test questions the day before the exam not only raises
your level of test anxiety, but also will not replace careful
preparation and practice over time.
Don't fall into the cram trap. Take control of your
preparation time by mapping out a study schedule.
Even more important than making a plan is
making a commitment. You can't review everything
you learned in your nursing assistant course in one
night. You need to set aside some time every day for
study and practice. Try for at least 20 minutes a day.
Twenty minutes daily will do you much more good
than two hours on Saturday--divide your test preparation
into smaller pieces of the larger work. In addition,
making study notes, creating visual aids, and
memorizing can be quite useful as you prepare. Each
time you begin to study, quickly review your last lesson.
~ Learn to Manage Your Time
First, you will take control of your time on the
exam. Most nursing assistant exams have a time limit,
which may give you more than enough time to complete
all the questions--or may not. Texas has a time limit
of 2 hours to complete the written portion of the exam.
It is a terrible feeling to hear the examiner say,
"Five minutes left," when
you are only three-quarters of the way through the
test. Here are some tips to keep that from happening
to you.
Follow directions. If the directions are given
orally, listen to them. If they are written on the
exam booklet, read them carefully. Ask questions
before the exam begins if there's anything you
don't understand. If you are allowed to write in
your exam booklet, write down the beginning
time and the ending time of the exam.
Pace yourself. Glance at your watch every few
minutes, and compare the time to how far you
have gotten in the test. When one-quarter of the
time has elapsed, you should be a quarter of
the way through the test, and so on. If you are
falling behind, pick up the pace a bit.
Keep moving. Don't spend too much time on
one question. If you don't know the answer, skip
the question and move on. Circle the number of
the question in your test booklet in case you have
time to come back to it later.
Keep track of your place on the answer sheet. If
you skip a question, make sure that you also skip
the question on the answer sheet. Check yourself
every 5-10 questions to make sure that the number
of the question still corresponds with the
number on the answer sheet.
Don't rush. Though you should keep moving,
rushing won't help. Try to keep calm and work
methodically and quickly.
~ Learn to Use the Process of Elimination
It is standard test-taking wisdom
that you should always read all the answer choices
before choosing your answer. This helps you find the
right answer by eliminating wrong answer choices.
And, sure enough, that standard wisdom applies to
your nursing assistant exam, too.
Key Words
Often, identifying key words in a question will help
you in the process of elimination. Words such as always, never, and must, will often make statements
incorrect. Words like usually, may, sometimes, and most may make a statement correct.
Even when you think
you are clueless about a question, you can
often use the process of elimination
to get rid of at least one answer choice. If so, you
are better prepared to make an educated guess.
More often, you can eliminate answers
until you have only two possible answers. Then you are
in a strong position to guess, when you don't know the answer.
~ Know When to Guess
Armed with the process of elimination, you are ready
to take control of one of the big questions in test taking:
Should I guess? The first and main answer is yes.
It is better to guess than leave a blank answer.
~ Reach Your Peak Performance Zone
To get ready for a challenge like a big exam, you have to
take control of your physical, as well as your mental,
state. Exercise, proper diet, and rest prior
to the test will ensure that your body works with, rather
than against, your mind on test day and during your
preparation.
Exercise
If you don't already have a regular exercise program
going, the time during which you are preparing for an
exam is actually an excellent time to start one. And if
you are already keeping fit--or trying to get that way don't
let the pressure of preparing for an exam fool you
into quitting now. Exercise helps reduce stress by
pumping feel-good hormones called endorphins into
your system. It also increases the oxygen supply
throughout your body, including your brain, so you will
be at peak performance on test day.
A half hour of vigorous activity-enough to raise
a sweat--every day should be your aim. If you are really
pressed for time, every other day is OK: Choose an
activity you like and get out there and do it. Jogging
with a friend always makes the time go faster, or take a
portable radio or CD player. But don't overdo it.
You don't want to exhaust yourself. Moderation is the key.
Diet
First of all, cut out the junk. Go easy on caffeine and
nicotine, and eliminate alcohol from your system at
least two weeks before the exam. What your body needs
for peak performance is simply a balanced diet. Eat
plenty of fruits and vegetables, along with protein and
carbohydrates. Foods that are high in lecithin (an
amino acid), such as fish and beans, are especially good
"brain foods." The night before the exam, you might eat a
big plate of spaghetti, rice and beans, or whatever your
favorite carbohydrate is.
Rest
You probably know how much sleep you need every
night to be at your best, even if you don't always get it.
Make sure you do get that much sleep, though, for at
least a week before the exam. Moderation is important
here, too. Extra sleep will just make you groggy.
If you are not a morning person and your exam
will be given in the morning, you should reset your
internal clock so that your body doesn't think you are
taking an exam at 3 A.M. You have to start this process
well before the exam. The way it works is to get up half
an hour earlier each morning, and then go to bed half
an hour earlier that night. Don't try it the other way
around; you will just toss and turn if you go to bed early
without having gotten up early. The next morning, get
up another half an hour earlier, and so on. How long
you will have to do this depends on how late you are
used to getting up.
Get Your Act Together
Plan on arriving at least 40 minutes early so
you can get the lay of the land,
use the bathroom, and calm down. Then figure out
how early you will have to get up that morning, and
make sure you get up that early every day for a week
before the exam.
Gather Your Materials
The night before the exam, layout the clothes you will
wear and the materials you have to bring with you to
the exam. Plan on dressing in layers; you won't have any
control over the temperature of the examination room.
Have a sweater or jacket you can take off if it is warm.
BRING:
1.) State Issued Identification
("ORIGINAL" No copies, Non expired ID)
2.) Social Security Card
(Your name on your SS Card must match identification)
3.) Four #2 pencils
4.) Wear your clinical uniform:
(Scrub set, shoes, gaitbelt, stethoscope, name badge).
5.) Watch with a second hand.
Don't Skip Breakfast
Even if you don't usually eat breakfast, do so on exam
morning. A cup of coffee doesn't count. Don't eat
doughnuts or other sweet foods, either. A sugar high
will leave you with a sugar low in the middle of the
exam. A mix of protein and carbohydrates is best:
Cereal with milk, or eggs with toast, will do your body
a world of good.
~ Do It!
You are ready. You made a
study plan and followed through.
You are in control of your physical, mental, and emotional
states. You know when and where to show up and
what to bring with you. In other words, you are better
prepared than most of the other people taking the
Go into the exam, full of confidence,
armed with test-taking strategies you have practiced
until they are second nature. You are in control of
yourself, your environment, and your performance on
the exam. You are ready to succeed. So do it. Go in
there and ace the exam. And look forward to your
future career as a nursing assistant!
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