As a student veterinary nurse, you have to undergo many exams throughout the duration of your course in order to qualify. Many students struggle where written and practical exams are concerned. Like any student, when it comes to the exam after studying hard it is easy to forget everything under pressure. It is really important to not stress or work yourself up if you don’t know an answer, this is where many students go wrong.

My number one tip is to breathe if you feel anxious or stressed before or during an exam. When approaching an exam, practice your breathing exercises as this will help to keep you calm in your exam.

Revision for a written exam and a practical exam may vary. I can only speak from my personal experiences, but for me I have found that using cue cards and condensing notes after lectures is a must in order to have time to really revise properly. From the cue cards written I will turn these into posters or write them up in a notepad and re read them.

For me repetition of reading the information is what helps it to stick. One lesson I have learnt throughout my 3 years at university is that no matter how much you try you will never know everything, this is something people tend to forget, and they end up feeling bad if they answer a question wrong or do not get the grade they had hoped for, let’s face it we have all been there! Of course, always try and aim for the best but don’t doubt yourself when you do not get what you were hoping for.

YouTube videos can also help, there is so much online but sometimes just a YouTube video can be of use. Most of the YouTube videos I watched were for my anatomy exam, and it really helped me to understand the nitty gritty parts that I couldn’t ever wrap my head around where the animal body and functions were concerned.

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Author

Abi Harvey SVN BSc (Hons)

Abi is a 4th year student, studying Veterinary Nursing Science BSc (HONS) at Hartpury University She has longed to study this degree and feels privileged to be able to do this now. In her spare time, she likes to spend time with family and friends whilst also playing with her two cats Lola and Bailey as well as walking her dog Monty

Email: harvey.abi@hotmail.com

DOI: 10.1080/17415349.2020.1844979

Veterinary Nursing Journal • VOL 35 • September-December 2020 •