I received a question from a woman wanting to know what is the HESI test in nursing and if I could give her any advice on test in nursing school. She wanted to know how to study for tests in nursing school.

“Hey Sarah! I am in my second semester of nursing school. I was wondering if you had any advice on how to actually study for the tests during school. I seem to always border on barely passing. There is soooo much material, and I find it hard to determine what to focus on. Your website is pretty neat! How do you find the time? Of course, I am a mother of three with lots of guilt that I have to study so much! I just feel as I work doubly harder than most of the other students, (it don’t come natural…lol) and receive less success grade-wise!! I keep pushing forward b/c I believe nursing is God’s will for me! I love the blessing I can give to and receive from my clients!!!

Congats on passing the HESI! What’s the HESI??? I have just heard of the NCLEX! -Angela:)

Thanks, Angela “

Angela, thank you so much for your questions. First of all, kudos to you for getting through school with kids. I’m have always been so amazed at how you moms manage to do school and take care of your family. You guys are super moms….literally!! I’m married without any kids and I find it hard to  manage my time with my husband and school and I know EXACTLY what you mean when you say feeling the guilt.

However, in the end I swear those feelings of guilt will be worth it. I am finding all those endless weeks of studying, staying up late, and cutting out movie nights lol are fixing to pay off. Plus look at it as once you are done with school you can make up for the lost time and feel financially better about it.

What are Nursing School Exams like? Are they hard?

Now to your questions: Nursing school exams are different than just any regular exams in school because they require a higher level of thinking.

When I first started nursing school, I found the exams to be tough and my grades on them were barely passing. In order to pass the test you had to get a 75 or higher and I would scored like a 76-82 while my friends would score 90-100.  I really debated if nursing was my thing since everyone else done better on tests.

How to Study for Nursing School Exams? Review Books?

Then around my second semester of nursing school I started buying review books that covered the subject of the class I was taking. For example, I took a class called Fundamentals of Nursing and I in turn bought a book by Pearson called Reviews & Rationales of Nursing Fundamentals by Mary Ann Hogan.

The Prentice Hall review books are excellent and they have books that cover everything from mental health nursing to child health nursing to medical surgical nursing.

It really helped with the classes test because it filtered out the material that I wouldn’t be tested on and concentrated on items that are usually tested on. So if you are taking pharmacology or Pediatrics….etc I suggest buying one of the review books by Prentice Hall to help you study for the tests. Here are what they look like:

 

 

*See disclosure at the end of this post

These books are great and truly do help break down the material so you know what to study!

What is the HESI test in Nursing School?

Now to your second question: The HESI test is a test that my nursing school required for me to take in order to graduate so you can become a Nurse and take the NCLEX-RN. It is a lot like the NCLEX-RN. It covers every area of nursing. It is also like the ATI’s, NETs, TEAs tests….that other nursing schools require you to take but they just have a different name. Also the HESI is suppose to be a great predictor on if you will pass the NCLEX-RN the first try. It really is just another thing to stress out nursing students lol!

Angela, thank you so much for your questions and I hope I helped you out. Good luck with everything and I know you will do great. Please keep me up-dated on your nursing school journey.

Best of luck!

*Disclosure: The items recommended in this article are recommendations based on our own honest personal opinion and experience. We are an affiliate with Amazon.com, and when you buy the products recommended by us, you help support this site.