March 26, 2024 • 11 mins
Ever felt your heart racing at the mere thought of an upcoming exam? I've been there, and I'm here to tell you that it's possible to turn that dread into anticipation. Join me, Lauren Chapnick, on Nursing Student Coach as I unpack the transformative journey from exam anxiety to a genuine excitement for the challenge. Drawing from my own experiences as a registered nurse, this episode is brimming with tactical advice to help you approach your exams with confidence. We'll talk about reimagining pre-exam routines—no more last-minute cramming—and the daily practices that can evolve your mindset from fearful to fearless.
Get ready to learn how to brainwash yourself for the better! This isn't about forgetting who you are; it's about remembering how capable you truly are. We'll explore how an empowering mindset shift can be your most potent weapon in the battle against exam stress. Through the power of positive visualization, finding your pre-exam zen, and building a consistent practice regimen, you'll discover that you're not just preparing for a test—you're preparing to be the best nurse you can be. So come along, let's tackle this together, and transform the way you think about exams forever.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Is the nursing student coach giving you the
strategies you need the most.
Hi everybody, and welcome toNursing Student Coach.
My name is Lauren Chapnick, I'ma registered nurse and I am
your host.
I started this podcast becauseI want to help put more great
(00:23):
nurses into the world.
I want to take nursing schooland help make it something that
is more attainable, so that moreof you who are struggling or
who are not living up to yourfull potential in nursing school
can find your way through tothe other side, because I
(00:43):
promise you, being a nurse isone of the best things I've ever
done.
So I want to talk today.
The rest of this season two ofthis podcast is all about exams,
different strategies, tactics,and today I want to talk about
brainwashing yourself.
Now, first, I want to share aquick little story about how I
even came about this.
(01:04):
I was in nursing school.
This was my first semester Now.
I did an accelerated programnot too long ago and my first
semester, like a lot of you outthere probably, was very
overwhelming.
It was just like learning awhole new language with these
exams and the amount of materialwas just madness and balancing
(01:30):
everything.
I have two young kids and itwas just so much, and every time
I would take an exam for atleast the first couple of months
, I would just lose it.
Like I would be so nervous andI'd be sitting in class taking
this exam my heart beating soloud in my chest I thought other
(01:53):
people could hear it.
I was sweating, I was flushed,literally like the only thing I
could hear was my heart beatingin my ears and my own voice
saying the questions out loud inmy mind and second guessing
(02:15):
myself, reading through theanswers and thinking is that it?
No, oh God, I thought that wasit and now I forget.
I was just.
I was a hot mess and one dayI'm driving home it was after a
farm exam and I'm just replayingevery question in my mind,
(02:36):
looking stuff up frantically onmy phone, like what did I miss?
How could I get that wrong?
What did I put?
I can't even remember thatquestion and I was just driving
myself crazy and I thought tomyself I looked up at the sky,
it was a beautiful day and Ijust thought I cannot live the
(03:01):
rest of nursing school in thisstate of constant anxiety Like
this is this is crazy.
Like I want to be a nurse, somuch.
There has to be an easier way.
And I just kind of zoned outand just started brainstorming.
I thought, okay, taking examsmakes me very nervous.
(03:24):
I have to flip that around.
I have to turn this around intoI love taking exams.
Taking exams is something I getexcited for.
It's really, really fun.
And the next time I go into anexam I am going to just change
up my routine.
(03:44):
I'm going to literallybrainwash myself into loving the
entire experience.
Because let's think about wherethis is all headed.
This is all headed towards mydream of becoming a nurse, and
in order to get there, the onlyway they've figured out so far
is to take this series of exams.
(04:07):
So everything that I used to doto prepare for exams, I decided
I was going to do the totalopposite.
So I used to go into class andI'm sure you've seen this on the
day of an exam and have mynotes out until the very last
moment.
I'd be reading over every lastnote, maybe looking over
(04:32):
practice questions.
I would basically be studyinguntil the last possible moment.
So that was the first thing togo.
I said At least 30 minutesbefore.
I'm not even gonna look at mynotes If I want to when I wake
up in the morning, I can look atthem at home, but once I get
into my car to get to campus, orhowever you get to campus, you
(04:54):
don't look at them anymore.
I have a rule at least 15minutes before, put the notes
away, don't even be in thatclassroom, go in, put your stuff
down, get your spot, whateveryou wanna do, and then go
outside, walk around, go into adifferent building, put on
headphones, talk to somebody,whatever it is.
(05:15):
Do not look at your notes,because you're gonna start to
drive yourself crazy andwhatever is not in there is not
gonna get in there in the last15 minutes, 30 minutes.
So put that away and also getyourself in the game, like get
yourself in the mindset ofgetting ready for this exam,
(05:37):
whatever that means to you.
So I used to just listen tomusic.
That was really fast, made mereally happy.
I would take a brisk walkaround the building, wherever I
was taking the exam, and I wouldjust get myself excited and I
would just tell myself I am soexcited to take this exam.
(05:59):
Another way you can think ofthis is that this exam is like a
performance.
You have been practicing, youhave been whatever analogy you
wanna use.
I talk a lot about each exam asits own mini race.
So you're getting ready to goin to run this race and your
adrenaline is up.
But it's exciting.
(06:19):
You can think of it as aperformance like you're a
musician, and when the lightscome up, that's when the first
question comes up and maybe youlisten to classical piano music,
maybe you think of yourself asa piano player and you're going
in to play this big concert.
When you're taking this testwhatever, something really
positive that has some weight toit your adrenaline is gonna be
(06:43):
going on the day of a big raceor a big performance.
But this is fun.
This is something that you'vebeen preparing for.
You've been drilling thosepractice question.
It is in your muscle memory,those daily 10 practice
questions that I talk about allthe time that you are training
your brain into just knowing howto answer test questions.
(07:08):
You've been practicing.
So when you go in there, youare thrilled.
You are so excited to be there.
I've shared this tactic beforetoo.
Bring somebody in with you inyour imagination.
Obviously, you're not gonnabring friends in with you, but
let's say you find your momreally supportive, or your
(07:28):
husband, your grandmother, yourbest friend.
Let's say you have thesesupport people in your life.
Bring them into the exam withyou.
Set them up around you in yourmind.
Imagine that your wholecheerleading section is there.
They'd be there for you at abig performance or a big race,
right?
Imagine that they're there withyou when you're taking that
(07:49):
exam.
There's no question you'regonna be nervous.
That's fine.
But take a breath when thatfirst exam question pops up.
Take a breath and say everybodywho loves me and supports me is
here.
I am so excited.
This is my big day.
I am ready for this.
Let's go.
(08:10):
Let's do this.
And when those exam questionsstart coming, you read them
twice, you select your answerand you move on and you get
through it.
And with each one you stop andyou say I'm doing an amazing job
and remember my strategy oftaking each exam five to 10
(08:32):
questions at a time, treatingthat as its own little mini test
, stopping, clearing your mindand then moving on to the next
five, to the next 10, to thenext 10, to the next 10, and so
on and so forth.
Exams are daunting, but you cantackle them by brainwashing
(08:56):
yourself.
Brainwash yourself into lovingthose exams and I promise you,
things will start to shift.
If you Let the anxiety havethat power over you, you're not
going to do as well.
But if you take back that powerand you say no, I am just going
(09:18):
to brainwash myself into lovingthis entire experience and just
walking right into it.
Walk right into whatever scaresyou and I guarantee you it's
going to lose its power andyou're just going to realize all
(09:39):
this is is a series ofquestions, and the more prepared
I am, the more I've practiced,the more excited I am for the
big day.
So remember anything you weredoing before.
Throw it out the window.
You are allowed to just startfresh, start clean and start
doing the opposite of everythingyou used to do.
And if it's working for you,share it with your friends, just
(10:02):
say you know what?
Listen to this podcast episode,share it with them and just say
guys, let's brainwash ourselvesinto loving these exams because
they're not going anywhere.
You're going to have exams fromnow until the day you graduate,
until the day you pass thatNCLEX, and if you go back to
grad school or you getcertifications, more exams are
(10:24):
coming.
So do you want to hate them andsuffer through them and dread
them and get anxiety and losesleep over them?
Or do you want to flip yourmindset and say no, you know
what I'm going to trick myself.
I'm going to trick my braininto loving this and I'm going
to start doing better and betterand better.
I hope this helps you for yournext exam and any exam you have
(10:45):
in the future, because thoseexams don't hold any power over
you.
You are the one in control.
You are in charge of your ownlife.
You are the one that is goingto be the best kick-ass nurse
that this world has ever seen.
So go out there and crush thatnext exam.
Until next time, have anamazing day.
(11:06):
Bye-bye.
Is the nursing student coach giving you the
strategies you need the most.
Hi everybody, and welcome toNursing Student Coach.
My name is Lauren Chapnick, I'ma registered nurse and I am
your host.
I started this podcast becauseI want to help put more great
(00:23):
nurses into the world.
I want to take nursing schooland help make it something that
is more attainable, so that moreof you who are struggling or
who are not living up to yourfull potential in nursing school
can find your way through tothe other side, because I
(00:43):
promise you, being a nurse isone of the best things I've ever
done.
So I want to talk today.
The rest of this season two ofthis podcast is all about exams,
different strategies, tactics,and today I want to talk about
brainwashing yourself.
Now, first, I want to share aquick little story about how I
even came about this.
(01:04):
I was in nursing school.
This was my first semester Now.
I did an accelerated programnot too long ago and my first
semester, like a lot of you outthere probably, was very
overwhelming.
It was just like learning awhole new language with these
exams and the amount of materialwas just madness and balancing
(01:30):
everything.
I have two young kids and itwas just so much, and every time
I would take an exam for atleast the first couple of months
, I would just lose it.
Like I would be so nervous andI'd be sitting in class taking
this exam my heart beating soloud in my chest I thought other
(01:53):
people could hear it.
I was sweating, I was flushed,literally like the only thing I
could hear was my heart beatingin my ears and my own voice
saying the questions out loud inmy mind and second guessing
(02:15):
myself, reading through theanswers and thinking is that it?
No, oh God, I thought that wasit and now I forget.
I was just.
I was a hot mess and one dayI'm driving home it was after a
farm exam and I'm just replayingevery question in my mind,
(02:36):
looking stuff up frantically onmy phone, like what did I miss?
How could I get that wrong?
What did I put?
I can't even remember thatquestion and I was just driving
myself crazy and I thought tomyself I looked up at the sky,
it was a beautiful day and Ijust thought I cannot live the
(03:01):
rest of nursing school in thisstate of constant anxiety Like
this is this is crazy.
Like I want to be a nurse, somuch.
There has to be an easier way.
And I just kind of zoned outand just started brainstorming.
I thought, okay, taking examsmakes me very nervous.
(03:24):
I have to flip that around.
I have to turn this around intoI love taking exams.
Taking exams is something I getexcited for.
It's really, really fun.
And the next time I go into anexam I am going to just change
up my routine.
(03:44):
I'm going to literallybrainwash myself into loving the
entire experience.
Because let's think about wherethis is all headed.
This is all headed towards mydream of becoming a nurse, and
in order to get there, the onlyway they've figured out so far
is to take this series of exams.
(04:07):
So everything that I used to doto prepare for exams, I decided
I was going to do the totalopposite.
So I used to go into class andI'm sure you've seen this on the
day of an exam and have mynotes out until the very last
moment.
I'd be reading over every lastnote, maybe looking over
(04:32):
practice questions.
I would basically be studyinguntil the last possible moment.
So that was the first thing togo.
I said At least 30 minutesbefore.
I'm not even gonna look at mynotes If I want to when I wake
up in the morning, I can look atthem at home, but once I get
into my car to get to campus, orhowever you get to campus, you
(04:54):
don't look at them anymore.
I have a rule at least 15minutes before, put the notes
away, don't even be in thatclassroom, go in, put your stuff
down, get your spot, whateveryou wanna do, and then go
outside, walk around, go into adifferent building, put on
headphones, talk to somebody,whatever it is.
(05:15):
Do not look at your notes,because you're gonna start to
drive yourself crazy andwhatever is not in there is not
gonna get in there in the last15 minutes, 30 minutes.
So put that away and also getyourself in the game, like get
yourself in the mindset ofgetting ready for this exam,
(05:37):
whatever that means to you.
So I used to just listen tomusic.
That was really fast, made mereally happy.
I would take a brisk walkaround the building, wherever I
was taking the exam, and I wouldjust get myself excited and I
would just tell myself I am soexcited to take this exam.
(05:59):
Another way you can think ofthis is that this exam is like a
performance.
You have been practicing, youhave been whatever analogy you
wanna use.
I talk a lot about each exam asits own mini race.
So you're getting ready to goin to run this race and your
adrenaline is up.
But it's exciting.
(06:19):
You can think of it as aperformance like you're a
musician, and when the lightscome up, that's when the first
question comes up and maybe youlisten to classical piano music,
maybe you think of yourself asa piano player and you're going
in to play this big concert.
When you're taking this testwhatever, something really
positive that has some weight toit your adrenaline is gonna be
(06:43):
going on the day of a big raceor a big performance.
But this is fun.
This is something that you'vebeen preparing for.
You've been drilling thosepractice question.
It is in your muscle memory,those daily 10 practice
questions that I talk about allthe time that you are training
your brain into just knowing howto answer test questions.
(07:08):
You've been practicing.
So when you go in there, youare thrilled.
You are so excited to be there.
I've shared this tactic beforetoo.
Bring somebody in with you inyour imagination.
Obviously, you're not gonnabring friends in with you, but
let's say you find your momreally supportive, or your
(07:28):
husband, your grandmother, yourbest friend.
Let's say you have thesesupport people in your life.
Bring them into the exam withyou.
Set them up around you in yourmind.
Imagine that your wholecheerleading section is there.
They'd be there for you at abig performance or a big race,
right?
Imagine that they're there withyou when you're taking that
(07:49):
exam.
There's no question you'regonna be nervous.
That's fine.
But take a breath when thatfirst exam question pops up.
Take a breath and say everybodywho loves me and supports me is
here.
I am so excited.
This is my big day.
I am ready for this.
Let's go.
(08:10):
Let's do this.
And when those exam questionsstart coming, you read them
twice, you select your answerand you move on and you get
through it.
And with each one you stop andyou say I'm doing an amazing job
and remember my strategy oftaking each exam five to 10
(08:32):
questions at a time, treatingthat as its own little mini test
, stopping, clearing your mindand then moving on to the next
five, to the next 10, to thenext 10, to the next 10, and so
on and so forth.
Exams are daunting, but you cantackle them by brainwashing
(08:56):
yourself.
Brainwash yourself into lovingthose exams and I promise you,
things will start to shift.
If you Let the anxiety havethat power over you, you're not
going to do as well.
But if you take back that powerand you say no, I am just going
(09:18):
to brainwash myself into lovingthis entire experience and just
walking right into it.
Walk right into whatever scaresyou and I guarantee you it's
going to lose its power andyou're just going to realize all
(09:39):
this is is a series ofquestions, and the more prepared
I am, the more I've practiced,the more excited I am for the
big day.
So remember anything you weredoing before.
Throw it out the window.
You are allowed to just startfresh, start clean and start
doing the opposite of everythingyou used to do.
And if it's working for you,share it with your friends, just
(10:02):
say you know what?
Listen to this podcast episode,share it with them and just say
guys, let's brainwash ourselvesinto loving these exams because
they're not going anywhere.
You're going to have exams fromnow until the day you graduate,
until the day you pass thatNCLEX, and if you go back to
grad school or you getcertifications, more exams are
(10:24):
coming.
So do you want to hate them andsuffer through them and dread
them and get anxiety and losesleep over them?
Or do you want to flip yourmindset and say no, you know
what I'm going to trick myself.
I'm going to trick my braininto loving this and I'm going
to start doing better and betterand better.
I hope this helps you for yournext exam and any exam you have
(10:45):
in the future, because thoseexams don't hold any power over
you.
You are the one in control.
You are in charge of your ownlife.
You are the one that is goingto be the best kick-ass nurse
that this world has ever seen.
So go out there and crush thatnext exam.
Until next time, have anamazing day.
(11:06):
Bye-bye.
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