When schools and companies want to determine how well a person will be able to adapt to new circumstances they frequently use aptitude tests. Aptitude tests gauge a person’s ability to apply knowledge they already have to handle situations they may have previously never encountered. An aptitude test may identify a certain skill set that a person has and usually the results are used to encourage someone to pursue a particular educational or career path.   Aptitude tests are often Entrance Tests such as the PSB, HESI, DET, or NET.  These tests assess if you are able to handle academic course load and challenges of the Nursing Program.

After all, the Nursing Colleges want their students to pass or even excel and so do you, so these types of tests are doing your a favor. 
Test Preparation Techniques

Since you usually can’t actually study material for an aptitude test it is important to make sure you are mentally prepared. Preparation for an aptitude test is much more general than say a content-based exam, where you know the specific information that will be on the test. It usually involves preparing more for the question types on the test, whether they are multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, essay, etc. The following suggestions will help you to prepare mentally and practically for an aptitude test:

Get a study guide. For most standardized aptitude tests there are study guides available either in bookstores or on the Internet. If there are specific subjects that are always covered on the aptitude test this will be outlined in the guide. It will usually also include information about the time you have to take each portion of the test as well as how the exam is scored. The guide may even provide sample questions so you can get an idea of the format of questions on the test.

Get practice tests. As was mentioned many study guides include Practice Test to allow you familiarize yourself with the question formats. Timing yourself during a practice test is an excellent way for you to get a feel for how you will handle the real test. It can also point you to areas where you need to brush up on some facts or formulas you may have learned a long time ago. Take advantage of what you learn from taking the practice test by following up with some extra study in the areas where you are weak.

Make a study schedule. Studying for the aptitude test for a short period everyday is an effective way to prepare. Make a list of your weaknesses and prioritize your time so that more of your study session is spent in these areas. A few minutes should be set aside every session to review everything you have covered. Write your schedule out and post it somewhere where you will have to look at it to encourage you to stick to it. Tracking your progress can be a real confidence booster as you see your test performance improve.

While aptitude tests are important a great deal of the anxiety many people feel over them will disappear with good preparation. More on Test Anxiety.  Identifying the type of information and the question formats on the aptitude test are a good start. Creating a good study schedule and sticking to it will allow you strengthen your weak areas. Through diligent effort in following the practical techniques outlined in this article you can do well on your next aptitude test.

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Test anxiety is a common phenomenon among students, especially since it can often determine whether you have to retake a class or not.  Not all test anxiety is bad though.  In fact, a healthy amount of test anxiety can actually encourage you to study harder and at least shows that you care about doing well on the exam. Especially a Nursing Entrance Test like the DET, NET, HESI or PSB.  Overconfidence, on the other hand, can lead to silly mistakes.  Test anxiety can become a negative factor when in creates so much anxiety and stress that you can’t concentrate on preparing for the test.  Stress can cause you not to recollect information that you have studied which usually leads to panic and even more anxiety.

Even though anxiety is a major stressor during exams, several emotions can affect your preparedness for an exam.  Anger or depression, even if they are caused by factors that have nothing to do with the test, may make you forgetful.   For this reason, good test preparation not only means preparing the material it also means being mentally and emotionally prepared for an exam.  Standardized tests are a special case where mental preparation is vitally important since you do not know the exact content of the test.   Let’s take a look at a few strategies to reduce your anxiety before your next exam:

1. Boost your confidence. It sounds clichéd but you really do need to believe that you can do well on the test in order to do well on it.  Don’t be a self-fulfilling prophecy.  If you assume doom you will usually be right.  One big confidence booster is being prepared for a test.  Don’t procrastinate because cramming is not the key to success on an exam.  Most things are much more manageable if you space your time appropriately to handle them.  A week of preparing material for an exam will allow your brain the time it needs to process the information.  You may need to enlist some help.  Studying in a group or getting help from a professional tutor are both excellent options if you really want to succeed.  Sometimes just knowing that you’re in it with someone else or receiving help from someone who has “been there, done that” may be just what you need to give you the confidence to approach the test with a healthy amount of anxiety.
2. Get comfortable. While you may not have control over all the specifics of the room where you will be testing there are things that you can do to make sure that you are comfortable in your testing situation.  If it allowed take the opportunity to get familiar with the room where you will be taking the test before exam time.  Take note of the temperature.  Being too cold or too warm during a test can be very distracting, so dress accordingly.  Give the room a good once over and you probably won’t be nearly as distracted as you would be in an unfamiliar setting on test day.  A brief chat with the proctor of the test may also do much to increase your comfort level.  Speaking from experience proctors are hardly ever as intimidating as they appear to be.
3. Get happy.  It’s not the end of the world; it’s a test.  School has enough drama without having a heart attack about every test.  Once you pass the Nursing Entrance Test, you will have many more tests!  Doing something to improve your mood before you take a test can make a big difference.  You want to go into the test with a positive frame of mind so set aside a little time before the test to indulge in something you enjoy.
4. Postpone, perhaps. While postponing a test is not always a realistic option sometimes it may be a good choice.  Standardized tests for college are offered several times a year and if you feel you’re just not prepared it may be a good idea to take the test at a later date.
5. Lose the attitude. As was mentioned earlier anxiety is not the only emotion that can get you in trouble on test day.  When you’re angry it is a lot harder to concentrate on the task at hand.  So the fight with your parents the other day or the fact that your favorite sports team lost, or any other negativity needs to be pushed to the side so you can focus on doing well on your exam.
6. Don’t let your imagination run away. Don’t let imaginary worries start popping up to distract you.  Like did you lock the front door or what if you break the lead on 5 pencils in a row or what if your desk breaks in the middle of the test.  Now if you haven’t looked over any information at all for the test you should be worried but of course you want to do well so you haven’t allowed that to happen. The point is deal with the real and you won’t even have time to worry about imaginary problems.
7. What if I have test terror? So when you have a test it goes beyond just regular anxiety.  You have panic attacks and you may even black out or become extremely ill before a test.  The help you need may best be found with a certified psychologist.  Since this is a legitimate handicap they may be able to offer you suggestions for therapy or may be able to fill out the paperwork to allow you to take the test in a special setting.  If part of your anxiety is taking the test in a large group you may be able to inquire about receiving the test in a format that you can take at home or taking the test in in individual setting with a proctor present.

What if these options aren’t available?  Go back to tip number three and recognize that having a positive attitude is very important.  Can you visualize yourself doing well on the test, answering questions with confidence, remembering key dates and events that you have studies in your preparation for the test?  Think about the last time you did an exceptionally good job on a test and recognize that you can repeat that.  Continue to dwell on positive thoughts throughout the test and before you know it you will have completed the test and had much more success than you would if you had allowed negativity to overwhelm you.  Remember; don’t allow negative test anxiety to get the best of you.

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Once you’ve made the decision to pursue a career as a midwife, the next task is figure out the correct path to take toward your goal.  No matter how you do it, though, three elements will be required:  you’ll be expected to pass the midwife exam, you’ll be expected to have proper accreditation, and depending on where you practice, you might be required to have a state license.  The midwife exam is administered by the American Midwifery Certification Board.  This three-phase approach is especially important in a time when midwifery, the practice of assisting women in childbirth, is coming under increasing scrutiny by the government.

Both the exam and the accreditation process are designed for the same purpose:  to ensure that the midwife has the proper skills to handle her tasks.  Specifically, those involved want to know that the midwife:

* is able to give the essential care, supervision and wife necessary for women during pregnancy, the birth process, and post-partum period;

* is able to conduct a delivery on her own;

* is able to accurately take the woman’s history and give her a physical assessment;

* is able to order the appropriate lab tests and procedures;

* is equipped to counsel patients regarding health-promotion as well as risk-reduction activities.

The midwife is an important person in medical communities around the world, because they offer more personalized attention, and more in-depth assistance, to the new mother, than a standard practitioner would be able to do.

All current midwife programs in North America are found at institutions of higher learning. Currently, about 70 percent of those who go full-time into midwife careers have received a Master’s degree, in addition to passing their certification exam.  Even after you’ve been certified, however, there is still the issue of being licensed–a process which, in the United States, is handled on a state-by-state basis.

The certification exam itself is administered by the AMCB — the American Midwifery Certification Board.  It provides certification for both Certified Midwives and Certified Nurse-Midwives.  The Actual test is given by AMP.

Once the midwife has the proper credentials, she will be allowed to practice in any suitable setting, including hospitals, clinics, health units, even in a private home. See Midwife Job Listings here

In preparing for this nursing certification exam, if you’re limited in how much studying you can do, or how much material you can cover, pay particular attention to matters of safety.  These more than procedure and technique are greatly emphasized on the exam–and an emphasis on these areas should help improve your score..

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• Nursing Career Option: Certified Diabetes Educator

In the healthcare world, CHES stands for “Certified Health Education Specialist Exam.”  It’s an exam which serves as a tool that measures a person’s possession, interpretation and application of knowledge in seven specific areas that are required of health educators.  See the Official CHES Site.  Passing the exam means that the person has at least an entry-level competency in these seven areas.

The exam consists of 150 multiple choice questions.  It’s done in standard pencil-and-paper form on college campuses throughout North America.  Although currently there are 120 registered testing sites, any college campus that has a testing service may become a testing site.

The seven areas of responsibility that are tested on the CHES include:

• Assessment of Individual / Community Needs for Health-Related Education
• Planning Effective Education Strategies, Programs and Interventions
• Implementation of Education Strategies, Programs and Interventions
• Conducting Research and Evaluation Pertaining to Health Education
• Administering Health Education Strategies, Programs and Interventions
• Serving as a Health Education Liaison
• Communicating and Advocating for Health Education

There are certain criteria which must be met before a person is eligible to take the CHES exam.  All qualifications are based primarily on his or her academic qualifications.

Specifically, a Doctoral, Master’s or Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited school is required.  Also, the candidate must provide an official transcript which shows a health-education major.  Accepted majors would include health education, public health education, community health education, school health education, etc.  The candidate’s transcript must include course titles.

If the candidate is not eligible because of his or her college major, then alternatively, he must have an official transcript which shows a minimum of 25 semester hours of course work with specific preparation that addresses the seven areas of responsibility covered in the exam.  The candidate must also have maintained a “C” average or better.

Normally, those who take the exam have already graduated. There is, however, a 90-day eligibility option.  This states that a student who will graduate within 90 days of a test date might in some situations be allowed to take the test.  He or she must be attending an accrediting school and show an official transcript that shows a minimum of 25 semester hours of course work with preparation that addresses the seven areas of responsibility covered in the exam.

Your medical school or your undergraduate school’s medical department should have more information about upcoming dates for the CHES

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Although the majority of people who become nurses do so because they like providing direct care to their patients, others prefer a more indirect route–the area of patient education.  A career as a certified diabetes educator, or CDE, allows you to do just that.

With obesity a growing epidemic in the west, more people than ever are suffering from type II diabetes.  To help deal with this epidemic, more nurse-educators are needed. A certified diabetes educator takes part in a career that is increasingly in demand.  Plus, you have something of a choice: You can decide whether to work in a hospital setting, for a private physician, or with a public health department.

A diabetes educator can work one-on-one with her patients, teaching them how to use blood-sugar meters, how to use insulin, and how to properly take medications.  These educators also help diabetes sufferers in making changes to their daily diet.

Although you might enjoy working one-on-one with a patient, you might also find a career in public health enjoyable. This could still include some work with individual patients, but would also entail making presentations and sponsoring community education events.

Certification for becoming a CDE comes from the National Certification Board for Diabetes Educators (NCBDE).  To become a CDE you must first work for a minimum of two years in the field of diabetes education; you also must have a minimum of 1000 yours of diabetes education practice.

For a complete list of qualifications for Diabetes Educators, see the National Certification Board for Diabetes Educators (NCBDE) and their FAQ.

Passing an exam is also required to become certified as a diabetes educator.  You can find places giving these exams throughout the country and at all different times of year.

After you’ve become a CDE, it’s important that you keep your certification current .  You do this by taking part in continuing education as it becomes available each year.  If you can’t find where courses are conducted, the certification board will  help you locate one near you.

Becoming a certified diabetes educator can be a considerable investment, particularly of time.  You can expect to spend a couple of years getting your initial certification. However, it’s worth the investment.  For the foreseeable future, as a CDE, you should have no shortage of work opportunities, and you can usually decide which setting you’ll work in.  Plus this is a career that will offer you much fulfillment.

Salary for a CDE is decent, too.  You can expect to make somewhere between $43,000 and $63,000, depending on location, experience and other factors. As always, the amount of training you get in the way of workshops and seminars will also play a role in salary determination.

If you’re interested in the field of health education, then consider a career specifically in diabetes education.  It’s exciting, in-demand and pays well.

Nursing Education is a great career choice.  See more information on Nurse Educator.  Job Listings for Diabetes Nurse Educator.

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If you like children and want to work with them you might want to consider becoming a pediatric nurse that will give you the opportunity to specialize in this area. A pediatric nurse is in direct contact with children every day and able to care and comfort them when they are ill or have another medical condition that takes them to the hospital.

Once you have obtained your nursing degree you can become certified as a pediatric nurse or CPN. There are other specialized advanced courses that you can also take such as Pediatric Advanced Life Support or PALS that is sponsored by the American Heart Association or the Emergency Nurse Pediatric Course through the Emergency Nurses Association and Emergency Medical Services for Children. These certifications will assist you in obtaining a position with a hospital that features a department especially for pediatrics.

A pediatric nurse works directly with the children to perform all the routine procedures that any nurse would such as obtain vital signs of temperature, heart rate and respiratory rate, perform catheterizations to collect urine, collect stool samples, administer medications, perform CPR, administer blood or assist with splinting of broken bones along with a myriad of other duties that are performed daily.

A pediatric nurse routinely comforts a child who has had an accident or is suffering from a disease which sometimes might be fatal. They work with the parents to assure them that the child is being well taken care of and to assist with education about medications or changing of dressings. A pediatric nurse is a person that the family can talk to and try to understand the scope of the medical issues they are dealing with. A pediatric nurse can be a very rewarding job because it is easy to know when you have made a child less afraid and calmed a parent’s concerns and offers a satisfying career choice.

Here is a great Pediatric Nurse FAQ

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Getting into nursing school wasn’t quite as easy as I expected although I knew there were entrance exams, I figured – how hard can they be? Well never underestimate tests! Like anything else, each school is different and some states require more or less than others but essentially three are three examinations that you must master to attend nursing school.

The Nursing Entrance Test or NET as it is commonly called encompasses a variety of subjects where your skills and knowledge are assessed. You are evaluated on your social interaction with other people and how well you do under stressful situations. You are also given a reading exam to test not only your reading but your comprehension of what you have read. You retention of reading is also tested in algebra along with science and your overall style of evaluating information.  More about the NET here

The TEAS examination or Test of Essential Academic Skills will test your knowledge in reading along with your English comprehension that includes vocabulary, spelling, punctuation and grammar. There are also science sections that include chemistry, biology, physical science and general science.

The NCLEX examination involves one hundred eighty hours of training in a nursing environment. Following completion of the 180 hours you are tested to determine your skill level and retention.

These three tests all determine whether you will have a future as a nurse in this country. Once you have passed these exams then you are eligible to go to nursing school – and face more tests every day as you go through the myriad duties associated with nursing. The next step is being accepted by a school and then continuing to study with the coursework for a nurse. If you want to specialize in any area you can do that by ensuring that your studies are focused in that direction.

People who were nurses in another country cannot work as a nurse unless they go through the same procedures as any other applicant for a nursing position.   Some Foreign Nurse will qualify if they take the CGFNS.  All of the tests must be taken and passed and then a final exam will be required at the end of nursing school before you can obtain a license as a registered nurse. The good news about a nursing career is that you should be able to obtain a job anywhere as a nurse although moving to another state might require a further examination to be licensed in that state.

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