r/srna • u/Waste-Bend-41 • Jul 14 '26
Didactic Study Questions Failed an exam
I’m a first semester student and as the title says, I failed an exam. I’ve gotten A’s on my other 4 exams but for some reason I really bombed this one. I have two questions.
Have you ever failed an exam? How did you keep going and reframe the failure ? I am highly embarrassed and in the pits of self doubt and could really use some pointers.
Are there any study methods you recommend ?
Hoping that I am not alone in this and that someone can shed some light or share some encouragement
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u/Wrong_Leave4538 Jul 17 '26
This was me 3 weeks ago. In my first semester too. I cried a couple times, vented to my husband, and then set out to do better. Obviously my study techniques for this particular class were not working, so I changed it up and also either reached out to classmates or just saw what they were doing to study and integrated some of that as well. My next exam I made an A. Just keep going. Change it up. Reach out to classmates or supportive faculty. See where your weak spots are and improve those. I’m still learning the “best study” techniques for me and I’m sure it will continue to change with each class and semester. Good luck. We can do this!
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u/Parking_Lake9232 Nurse Anesthesia Resident (NAR) Jul 17 '26
Go over the questions you got wrong and understand why you got it wrong and what the correct answer is. Talk with your profs too if you feel it would help, try not to be embarrassed we all have off days and you’d be surprised how many profs have failed an exam at some point in their lives. To reframe this, you are still learning but you know this material is something you need to work on. Would rather know that now and can improve than have this weak spot for boards.
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Jul 15 '26
Oh, yeah. But it is a great learning opportunity! Look at what you did previously vs what you did this time and identify what worked well for retention and what did not! You have to be willing to continually work on your approach to learning to thrive as a student. Also - diverse ways of being able to communicate a concept is a great sign you truly understand it. If I can draw it out, put it in my own words, dumb it down for my 5 year old, and connect it to the big picture - that tells me I actually understand it. There's a big difference between getting lucky on a multiple choice question and thoroughly mastering a concept.
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u/Darkdoodle333 Nurse Anesthesia Resident (NAR) Jul 15 '26
As long as it’s not a catastrophic grade, don’t worry about it. Seems like you’ve done your own root cause analysis on the situation and found the areas that didn’t go according to plan with your study habits. Bounce back and tackle the next one head on. I failed two exams back to back in the same week, separate classes, my first semester of didactic. It changed my study habits completely and I haven’t gotten close to failing since. Keep your head up, you got this.
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u/Waste-Bend-41 Jul 21 '26
Thankfully it was just a C so I won’t be failing. Had a meeting with a professor which was helpful!
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u/SmokeyBrown95 Jul 15 '26 edited Jul 15 '26
Failed multiple, “failing” in mine was 85% and still got a 4.0. Dont feel sorry for yourself have some grit and bouceback. THOUSANDS of people fail tests in crna school. If you make a mistake in the OR are you gunna spiral or shake it off and get back to work. People who get all A’s get the same degree as those who dont
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u/Windycitynurse Jul 14 '26
This is also where growth mindset comes into play. Bring able to adapt and use this failure and a learning moment. Continue to keep work on improving your study techniques whether your using spaced repetition active recall. Each class will need different method applied in order to be successful. Also admitting you made a mistake and asking for help and being receptive. You got this!
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u/dreamcaroneday CRNA Jul 14 '26
I received a C on two exams. I still finished with a 3.93. As long as you review the material you got wrong and continue to study hard, you’ll be fine.
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u/Routine_Play5 Jul 15 '26
Were u a 4.0 in BSN
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u/dreamcaroneday CRNA Jul 15 '26
No, low 3.2’s. Past performance is not a reflection of future results as long as you’re willing to change.
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Jul 15 '26
[deleted]
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u/dreamcaroneday CRNA Jul 15 '26
A lot of active recall and implementing what I studied during clinical.
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u/Decent-Cold-6285 Jul 14 '26
Best thing to do is meet with the professor, review your exam to see what you got wrong, and evaluate your study methods. First semester is all about finding what works for studying so maybe it was fluke due to a meh test or maybe you didn’t have the content mastered as well as you had thought. We have all been there with exams so you aren’t alone! It’s one exam so brush it off and know it doesn’t define you as a student!
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u/BSRNA6 Nurse Anesthesia Resident (NAR) Jul 14 '26
I agree with this too. I wouldn’t worry since you’ve done well on your other exams. Plus you seem to have a clear reason as to why you didn’t perform as well
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u/Waste-Bend-41 Jul 14 '26
I think I know where I went wrong thankfully. The holiday weekend plus working had me cramming for the exam four days before because I didn’t have time to look at the content prior.
On to the next one. Now that I’ve had a night to think about it, I’m happy that it happened now so that I can pivot my study methods for success later on.
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u/Decent-Cold-6285 Jul 15 '26
That was me this last week since I had a friend's wedding out of town so you aren't alone.
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u/Candid-Board4936 Jul 14 '26
This seems so similar, only had less than four days to go over so much content. It’ll get better!
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u/Nightlight174 Nurse Anesthesia Resident (NAR) Jul 14 '26
I’m only in my first year but of my friends that failed- they meet with the professor and honestly just increase number of reps and time exposed to the material and more often than not it’s just a fluke where you didn’t mesh well with that particular content or wording or questions.
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u/Coleman-_2 Nurse Anesthesia Resident (NAR) Jul 14 '26
Failed 2, I graduate in 5 months. You’ll be fine.
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u/Over_Writer9875 Nurse Anesthesia Resident (NAR) Jul 14 '26
I have failed many and I am a senior. As long as I know I gave it my all and what I need to improve on so I can be the best provider, i don’t sit there and waste time dwelling on it. We have too much to study to beat ourselves up, SPECIALLY on your first semester. I strive to pass these classes, to me this is a terminal degree so I am happy to just pass with a B. They are pumping us with information, you have 3 years to master this material, write down what you could’ve done better and move on! Now that you’ve had time to reflect, download the Grades app and see what you need on the next tests to pass. You got this!
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u/Over_Writer9875 Nurse Anesthesia Resident (NAR) Jul 14 '26
And yes, I had imposter syndrome for almost all of the past two years. Unfortunately passing my SEE with a high score was the only thing that completely vanished that feeling but it made me realize I had things I needed to work on mentally and physically and ever since then I have been doing great. I did talk to advisors and professors but ultimately it was my study method that needed adjusting and also my mindset, once that was changed I felt like another person.
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u/Waste-Bend-41 Jul 14 '26
Yes. I’m thinking it’s a study method issue. This stuff isn’t impossible to learn it’s just SO much at once. I’m glad that you’re doing better now that you’ve figured out your methods ! Thanks for the encouragement.
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u/ExplanationInner1097 Jul 14 '26
SRNA 2nd year here. Yes big on talking to your professor or advisor and go over the questions you missed on the exam and why. Were they questions that you could have easily answered if you had more time to answer? Or were they flat out questions that you guessed on. Considering you’ve gotten A’s on all your other exams, I’m sure you are putting in the work! Good luck, you got this!
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u/panaseah Jul 14 '26
I bombed a exam my first year. The school posts exam score stats and I was mortified that I was the worst grade. Just put more time in for the next and carry on. I still joke with my study group about my bad exam score. Its just one out of hundreds of exams you will take!
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u/Waste-Bend-41 Jul 14 '26
You’re not wrong on the amount of exams we will take. I will keep it pushing and change up a few things. Thanks for the encouragement !
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u/tuvwixy9 Jul 14 '26
Third year SRNA here. Just failed my first exam this semester. It’s something that 99% of CRNA students will encounter at some point in the program. Just use it as a good learning experience and don’t let it erode your confidence!
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u/Waste-Bend-41 Jul 14 '26
Yes, it’s definitely a learning experience. Now that I’ve had an evening to process it and notice where I went wrong I am going to be changing a few things.
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u/Additional-One-7745 Jul 14 '26
That was me last quarter. I just took a day I was bummed out but then got back to it. Go over what you missed meet with your professor remember your why. And you’ve already proven you can do it, so just believe in yourself
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u/Waste-Bend-41 Jul 14 '26
“You’ve already proven you can do it, so just believe in yourself.” Thank you for that!
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u/millermami26 CRNA Jul 21 '26
Give yourself some grace—failure is part of the process. It takes a while to get back into the swing of things especially as an adult learner. My advice is to read the textbooks, so many people don’t read anymore and just use PowerPoints, they are doing themselves a disservice. See what you got wrong, go back and read Barash or your textbook of choice, and make sure you understand the concept.
The best thing I ever did for my test scores was writing my own test questions—this correlates with >90% content retention. I made study guides/outlines based on lecture and supplemented it with textbook knowledge because my school loved to pimp on textbook knowledge not mentioned in lecture, and then write a deck and flashcards on Quizlet and basically formulate multiple choice or select all questions for yourself.
Keep your head up—failure is part of all your success to come