How To Overcome Test Anxiety as a Nursing Student

Many of us struggle with test anxiety, especially in nursing school. We have so much riding on making the grade. Nursing school can be hard enough on its own, but test anxiety can make it even more difficult. 

What Is Test Anxiety? 

Anxiety is a feeling of dread and fear. It can be mild or severe. Test anxiety is a form of anxiety that occurs in relation to an exam. It’s normal to experience a small amount of anxiety before a test. Most of us do!  

True test anxiety, however, is so intense that it interferes with your concentration. You may study really hard and know all of the information, but then you end up bombing the exam because you were so worried about it that you couldn’t focus.  

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Symptoms Of Test Anxiety 

How do you know if you have test anxiety? As always, it is best to be properly diagnosed by a physician. However, there are some symptoms to be aware of that can indicate test anxiety. You may experience some of the following symptoms before and/or during an exam: 

• Dread 

• Fear of failing 

• Headache 

• Increased respirations 

• Increased heart rate 

• Nauseated 

• Nervousness or jitteriness 

• Shortness of breath 

• Stomachache 

• Sweating 

In severe cases of test anxiety, you may even feel like you are going to pass out. 

When you are unable to calm down and control the symptoms AND they affect your concentration during the exam, you probably have test anxiety. 

Controlling Test Anxiety 

The good news is there are things you can do to control your test anxiety. It won’t happen overnight, but with practice, you may notice it becoming more and more manageable. 

One of the best ways to manage your test anxiety is to improve your test-taking skills. These are things you can do both before and during your exam. 

Taking color-coded notes is a valuable skill to have to help you retain information and study better. This guide teaches you a specific strategy to take color-coded notes.

Test-Taking Skills Before The Exam 

In the days leading up to your test practice the following: 

• Learn what study techniques work best for you, i.e., reading, listening to lectures, rewriting notes, etc. The only right way to study is the way that works best for you!  

• Make sure you have done all your assignments and kept up in class 

• Take practice tests so you know what areas you are struggling with the most. Then, work on those areas to improve upon them.  

• Do not cram! It is a waste of your time, and you will not retain the information.  

• Use the 45-15 study strategy. Study for 45 minutes and then take a break for 15 minutes. This will help you retain more information. 

• Prepare the night before. Getting everything ready the night before will lessen your anxiety the morning of your exam because you will feel better prepared. 

• Make sure you get plenty of sleep! Go to bed early so you have enough time to fall asleep and still get eight hours of rest. 

• Wake up early on the day of the exam so you do not feel rushed. Feeling rushed will only increase your anxiety. 

• On the morning of the exam, make sure you eat a good breakfast. This will fuel your mind. Eating protein and complex carbohydrates will keep you from feeling sluggish later. 

• Avoid sugar right before your exam. You don’t want to get in the middle of the test and have a sugar crash. This will cause you to feel tired. 

• Avoid caffeine as this can also increase anxiety. 

• Use guided meditation to help you relax the night before the test and the morning of the test. YouTube has a ton of them!  

• Keep a positive attitude. Don’t let the negative thoughts creep in. You studied hard and you are capable of passing the test! 

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Test-Taking Skills During The Test 

It’s game time now so these are some things to practice while you are actually testing: 

• Listen to any instructions the instructor gives and read the instructions at the beginning of each section of the test. 

• If there is specific information you are worried about forgetting, write it down on a scrap piece of paper, if possible, at the beginning of the test. This will allow you to focus on the rest of the test without worrying about forgetting that information. 

• If you feel yourself getting overly anxious, take several slow, deep breaths and try to relax. Do this throughout the exam if you feel the anxiety start to creep in. 

• Continue to think positively! Tell yourself you can do this! 

• Slowly read the question and focus only on the question you are reading.  

• Pick out the pertinent information needed to answer the question and do not focus on the additional information that is not needed. 

• If possible, answer the questions you are sure of first and skip the ones you are unsure of. You can come back to those once you have made your way through the entire test. Just be sure the test allows you to go back and make changes before doing this step. 

• Pace yourself accordingly so you have time to answer all the questions. 

• Don’t second guess yourself! Usually, your first instinct is correct. 

• If there are math problems, use any time you have left to go back and check your work for any mathematical errors prior to completion. 

• Check to ensure your test is complete before submitting it or turning it in. 

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When To Seek Help 

If you have tried everything you can and you are still having difficulty managing your test anxiety, speak with your physician. Your physician can make a proper diagnosis and offer other solutions to help you from a medical standpoint.  

You may also consider speaking with a counselor. A counselor may be able to offer other ways to help better manage your anxiety.  

Remember, instructors are usually willing to help when they can too. 

Things To Remember 

You may not do as well as you would like to on every exam. Don’t beat yourself up about it though. Instead, use it as a learning curve. Look at what you can do differently to improve next time. 

Don’t worry about how well others are doing or not doing in the class. Compete with yourself only. Become better than you were yesterday. The key is to do YOUR best! 

Also, remember to celebrate your victories, even the small ones. You completed that homework assignment early, so how are you going to reward yourself? Take a nap or a nice walk. Build your confidence! 

There are ways to conquer your test anxiety. You just have to find what works best for you. Don’t let anxiety stand between you and your dreams! You can do this! Believe in yourself!