My reaction to the NARM *Update: I PASSED!* - Page 2

[jenmidwife2b]

Originally Posted by Mina

Aaaah! I'm already nervous enough about taking the NARM and the more I hear the more freaked out I get!

Yep, this is me too, and I don't have $$$ to throw away to take and retake tests. Ugh! I'm really nervous about this dumb test, and I have at least a year before I have to take it.

[feminist~mama]

Originally Posted by moodyred01

I'm a nursing student and every one of our questions on our tests are like this... you wonder what sort of crazy person would write questions like that. If they want you to choose the best answer, why not OFFER the best answer as an option!

Ha! I'm a nursing student too and I was thinking the exact same thing! ALL of our tests are like that!

I just took the NCLEX and it was exactly like that too! Ugh!

[Charmie981]

Originally Posted by nashvillemidwife

There were several questions where I just stared at the paper and thought "the most appropriate answer to this question is to refer them to someone who should know the answer!"

I have found, though, that the less confident you are when you walk out of the test, the more likely you are to have passed, if that helps.

And yes, I remember thinking "strawberries? I never recommend strawberries..they're allergenic!" The nutrition questions really blew my mind.

ETA: I took NARM at the MANA conference, and my proctor was Ida Darrough herself. I think that she was very helpful and without her tip before the test, I might not have passed. She said that while many midwives will tell you that NARM is a "choose the best answer" test, it really isn't and every question on that test has ONLY ONE right answer. It really helped me to hear that, because I would look at the questions I was unsure of in reverse, asking myself, "why might this be the WRONG answer in this situation?" And yes, I did pass, though not with "flying colors" (I think my score was an 83 or 87?)

[MonkeyPrincess]

Subbing because I want to see how you do!

Good luck!

[nashvillemidwife]

Originally Posted by Charmie981

She said that while many midwives will tell you that NARM is a "choose the best answer" test, it really isn't and every question on that test has ONLY ONE right answer.

With all due respect to Ida, I think that's BS. There were questions on that test that had no quantifiable best answer (unless they were allowing multiple correct answers for certain questions).

[momileigh]

There was one question that I would say was equivalent to this:

A neighbor's dog is howling while your client is in labor. What should you do?

a. Ask the neighbor to stop the dog from howling
b. Turn up the music so she can't hear the dog howling
c. Tell her to channel the dog's primal energy for her labor
d. Call the police and report a disturbance of the peace

On what planet, exactly, could you say there is ONE and only one right answer to this question? Doesn't it depend on a lot of factors that aren't stated? There may be one and only one answer on the answer key that will get you credit, but I'm sorry, that kind of question is a judgment call, and you almost have to crawl inside the head of the person who wrote it in order to answer it.

[nashvillemidwife]

Yes! Exactly! While one of those answers can be eliminated right away, none of them are based on clinical judgment.

[riomidwife]

yeah i remember questions along the lines of: a pregnant lady has an upset stomach. do you recommend: rest, ginger tea, yogurt, etc.

i wrote a BOOK on the feedback form detailing all the questions i thought were rediculous. but then again a lot of people find the test rediculously easy.

i know some of my problem with the test was due to the fact that i'm not a great multiple choice test-taker, and i think there are a lot of us out there. it really is a skill that not everyone has developed--particularly if you haven't taken standardized tests your whole life.

but, i still think so much of the test should be re-written. i think there is a test writting committee. perhaps they need some fresh energy?

[Ellie'sMom]

Originally Posted by elriomidwife

i know some of my problem with the test was due to the fact that i'm not a great multiple choice test-taker, and i think there are a lot of us out there. it really is a skill that not everyone has developed--particularly if you haven't taken standardized tests your whole life.

Ok, I think this is key. I will probably never take the NARM (I am considering CNM, since I already have an MSN), but I have taken the NCLEX and the NP boards. The single best thing my RN/NP program did was to make every one of our exams look like those tests. We had tons of those terrible questions. I was an english major as an undergrad, and when I started nursing school I would write an essay next to each question about how it lacked clarity, and how there were several correct answers. By the end of nursing school, I was able to get into the minds of the test writers, and mostly figure out how they wanted me to answer.

Good luck, OP! I was certain I had failed the NCLEX (which inexplicably contained at least 7 questions about heroin withdrawal/detox), and I did quite well.

[momileigh]

Thanks Jenny... I'll let you know how I did. And your edit is very funny

[momofdavidandjulia]

I completely agree re:NARM exam

The flash cards that I purchased didn't help. Making my own helped a bit. Heart and Hands was a good review. Varney has too many details, though there were 5 questions or so that were incredibily arcane and detailed and not something I commonly run across.

I felt the exam was more opinion based than fact based i.e. one midwife would do "A" first and another midwife would be "b" first and both midwives would be correct. I commented on about 80 out of 350 questions that I felt were opinion based rather than fact based. The scenario questions in the second part weren't really that hard but the questions that asked what the best response to a particular woman would be, I felt, were either opinion or didn't give enough information to answer the question correctly. I almost wished for a couple of essay questions rather than mulitiple choice, particularly for the scenarios.

I've been practicing for 8 years - I cared for 40 women last year and caught 6 babies in the past 2 weeks - I paid $700 to take the test and paid someone $350 to cover a primip in labor so I could sleep the night before the test and be with the laboring primip while I took the test. I sure hope I pass but I'm not real sure that I did and I'm not sure I'll take it again if I don't pass. It doesn't seem like an accurate reflection of my knowledge and experience and it's an expensive day.

[momileigh]

My preceptor said that the only reason they passed her was because they were afraid to fail her. And no one can really argue with her experience and record.

[tmarina]

I was right there with you guys. I hope we see results soon as I hear they could start coming as soon as tomorrow (people got them at 2 weeks after the August 07 exam). I came back to "how'd you do?" and all I can say is "does anyone ever know right after they take that test!?" And it sounds to me like we all got the same test...

[riomidwife]

The back of the new NARM "CPM News" is a call for midwives to host and attend the NARM test question writing workshop. for info contact ida at [e-mail]

[momileigh]

Originally Posted by tmarina

I hope we see results soon as I hear they could start coming as soon as tomorrow

Oh boy. I feel a whole new ulcer coming on.

[nashvillemidwife]

Re: the test writing workshops... supposedly the workshop leader instructs you on how to write good questions, then the participants come up with them based on what they are told makes a good question. The questions are only going to be as good as NARM says they should be. Obviously they think the ones they already have are good and will continue to produce them. It's a great opportunity to raise hell, but I'm not so sure how effective they are at making the test better.

[momileigh]

What do you think would be an effective way to make the test better?

I ask purely out of curiosity. I'm not at a place to do anything about it, but maybe someone around here is.

[bionicsquirrel]

I was just helping a nursing student friend with some pretests and they were so convoluted, I couldn't believe it.

I hope you passed the test, can't wait to hear the results.

[nashvillemidwife]

momileigh - go to the test-writing workshops and raise hell? I don't know. I do know that they supposedly teach you how to write good questions, yet the questions on the test don't past muster compared to what I learned in my college education courses about writing a good test.

[olive&pimiento]

Here's an idea. Why don't they hire some professional test writers??? The fee to take the test should cover some of the cost!!!