1. Academic Support Coordinator Samuel Merritt University
PREPARING FOR SUCCESS:
MASTERING THE MULTIPLE
CHOICE EXAM
Katherine LeRoy
Academic Support Coordinator
Samuel Merritt University
: Introduce myself; will try to get through everything but if not – will be doing more workshops (including test-taking next week). Can always make an appt with me as well. See workshop as interactive – need your input for it to be most successful.

2. Workshop Agenda Overview: Study Strategies & Time Mgmt
Parts of the Question
Test Taking Strategies
Examples & Practice
Additional Tips

3. Test Prep Fundamentals
You need to have an effective study strategy & time mgmt system in place!

4. Study Cycle PREVIEW Look over PowerPoints Listen to podcasts
Answer study questions
Read assigned chapters/material (or at LEAST skim them!)
Take notes on the PPT’s or in a format that works for you

5. Study Cycle STUDY Review lecture notes within 24 hours
Intense study sessions: 3-5 short study sessions per day
Be as active as possible: talk-backs, practice tests, written summaries, group sessions, flashcards, charts and concept maps…

6. Study Cycle
ASSESS
Do I understand the material enough to teach it to others?
Can I successfully answer practice questions?
Have I memorized terms and vocabulary?
Keep a running list of concepts/vocab you aren’t retaining!
Study Cycle graphic on Canvas. Lady must be crazy – I don’t even have time to eat!

7. Time Management
Build in time within your study schedule for lecture prep
Schedule time for consistent (daily?) review of previous lectures
Use your “retention” list to help you prioritize and study smart

8. Learn to Identify Parts of the Question
Which of the following actions by the nurse would be considered negligence?
Obtaining a Guthrie blood test on a 4 day-old infant
Massaging lotion on the abdomen of a 3 year-old with Wilms’ tumor
Instructing a 5 year-old asthmatic to blow on a pinwheel
Playing kickball with a 10 year-old with juvenile arthritis (JA)
Question Stem
Options
P 283, #2 – “Correct Answer” means “Most Correct”
Distractors
Correct Answer

9. Test Taking Strategies
Cover the answers with a sheet of paper or a flashcard
Read the question aloud or mumble to yourself
Yes you look weird doing this
Yes it really works
Read it a second time and identify important information
Do a quick “teach back”: What do you know about the key concepts?

10. Test Taking Strategies
Zero in on the question stem
- Restate in your own words
- Come up with a possible answer
Look at each answer option one at a time
- Leave answers open if they are possible
or you aren’t sure
- Only eliminate answers if you can provide
a rationale

11. Test Questions Are Often “Qualified”
A physical therapist suspects development of endocrine disease in a patient she is treating. Which tissues would be MOST likely to be influenced by endocrine dysfunction?
Use the same test-taking strategy.
Prioritize possible answers according to degree of correctness.

12. “Select All That Apply” Questions
The nurse is preparing to discharge a client who is stable after a sickle-cell anemia crisis. Which of the following instructions should the nurse provide to the client to avoid future crises? Select all that apply.
Use the same test-taking strategy.
Treat each answer as a True/False option.
Don’t group or link the options to one another.

13. You’re finding the answer in the QUESTION!
Remember:
You’re finding the answer in the QUESTION!
(not in the answers)
How to adapt for online tests

14. Additional Test Taking Tips
Don’t read into the question:
If the information is missing in the stem, then you don’t need that information to answer the question
Do not assume missing information!
Remember to inhabit the textbook world (not the clinical world)
How to adapt for online tests

15. Additional Test Taking Tips
Don’t change your answer unless:
you remembered a key piece of information OR
a later question gave you new information
Statistically speaking, your first choice is the correct choice!
How to adapt for online tests

16. Additional Test Taking Tips
Look at general test-taking tips from a board exam prep resource:
Familiarize yourself with common concepts and start applying these to your course exams
Understand basic skill areas (eg Clinical Intervention, History Taking, etc)
Understand basic content areas (eg Cardiovascular, Endocrine, etc)
Memorize lab values & medical terminology (prefixes and suffixes)
Well…. But….if…..

17. Additional Test Taking Tips
PRACTICE QUESTIONS!!!
How to adapt for online tests

18. Additional Test Taking Tips
Immediately after the exam:
Take note of rationales during any in-class exam reviews…look for patterns
Meet with the professor to go over lingering questions
Schedule an exam review/coaching session – identify content vs. strategy errors
How to adapt for online tests

19. Thank you and keep in touch!
Katherine LeRoy Academic Support Coordinator x5612