Nursing, Nursing RN, Exam Prep
Prep Strategies for the Gero Nurse Exam
Jan 22, 2019
Preparation Strategies for the Gerontological Nurse Exam
Preparing for a standardized exam can cause some anxiety and fear, but it’s important to remember that you’re already an experienced registered nurse who has practiced full time as an RN for the equivalent of 2 years or you have a minimum of 2,000 hours of clinical practice in gerontology in the past 3 years. Either way, you have some excellent expertise that you can draw on while studying for the gerontological nurse exam! You also have experience using the nursing process in many situations with older adults, so you’re well versed in:
Everything you do in your mind when using the nursing process in your clinical practice you will continue to do as you reason through the test questions.
A question may be designed to evaluate your assessment expertise or how you would prioritize and schedule care; a question may ask you to plan for a specific patient outcome given the data presented in the question, or you may be asked to choose the best way of caring for a condition. Some questions will depict a patient situation that needs evaluation.
For all the questions, you will be using the nursing process to critically think through the scenario. Your thought processes will mirror what you would have done in similar real-life situations in your work setting.
The table below outlines the similarity of the thought processes that occur when taking the exam and being in practice.
Table: Performance in Clinical Practice Mirrors Thought Processes for Taking the Gerontological Nurse Certification Exam
Resources
Kris, A. E. (2015). Gerontological Nurse Certification Review, Second Edition. New York: Springer Publishing.
Preparing for a standardized exam can cause some anxiety and fear, but it’s important to remember that you’re already an experienced registered nurse who has practiced full time as an RN for the equivalent of 2 years or you have a minimum of 2,000 hours of clinical practice in gerontology in the past 3 years. Either way, you have some excellent expertise that you can draw on while studying for the gerontological nurse exam! You also have experience using the nursing process in many situations with older adults, so you’re well versed in:
- Assessing situations and outcomes
- Analyzing situations and prioritizing
- Planning
- Implementing the plan of care
- Evaluating patient outcomes
Everything you do in your mind when using the nursing process in your clinical practice you will continue to do as you reason through the test questions.
A question may be designed to evaluate your assessment expertise or how you would prioritize and schedule care; a question may ask you to plan for a specific patient outcome given the data presented in the question, or you may be asked to choose the best way of caring for a condition. Some questions will depict a patient situation that needs evaluation.
For all the questions, you will be using the nursing process to critically think through the scenario. Your thought processes will mirror what you would have done in similar real-life situations in your work setting.
The table below outlines the similarity of the thought processes that occur when taking the exam and being in practice.
Table: Performance in Clinical Practice Mirrors Thought Processes for Taking the Gerontological Nurse Certification Exam
| Clinical Practice | Analyzing Test Question |
| Assess the patient with a comprehensive review of symptoms during admission or episodically. | Take the data that are significant for patient assessment from the question stem and match them with the point of the question. |
| Analyze all of the data you collected in assessment and use it to plan the patient’s care. | Take the significant clues from the question stem and prioritize all of the information so you can make the most appropriate plan. |
| Plan the care necessary to meet the patient’s needs; remember to make priorities. | Review the stem of the question and choose the information that tells you the patient’s diagnosis, current status, and whether there is a priority situation that needs immediate attention. Analyze this together and select from the possible answers that best fit the patient’s needs. |
| Implement the plan with a possible need for rescheduling some actions given the patient’s needs. | Take the significant clues in the stem of the question that indicate what the patient needs now and in the future. Analyze all the information and choose the sequence of actions that you would take if this was your patient in practice. |
| Evaluate the patient’s outcomes with respect to the appropriate plan that was implemented. | Review the stem of the question and brainstorm about what you would be evaluating given the diagnosis and patient status. Choose the answer based on the standards of care and evidence-based practice you follow in clinical practice. |
Resources
Kris, A. E. (2015). Gerontological Nurse Certification Review, Second Edition. New York: Springer Publishing.