How To Cope If You Failed The Exam
- By (6 articles)
Finding out you have not achieved the results you need in an exam is a dreadful feeling and deeply upsetting especially if you, like most of our learners, have a lot riding on your results. It’s not an easy thing to pass every test you take; some of our medics and nurses have taken their respective exams multiple times. At some point, you will face failure either in an exam setting or another setting. It is normal to fail at things, and it’s typically a good way to learn. It is a part of life, serving as a stepping stone for personal growth.
The most important thing is how you deal with failure. Feeling upset or frustrated is normal, but it’s crucial to keep going rather than giving up because it will help you improve and achieve success. Giving up early is the real failure.
First Reaction
Your first reaction is important, and everyone deals with the news of failing differently. However, firstly, you must calm down and allow yourself time and space to absorb what happened.
Try these:
· Get rid of frustrations through physical activity, like walking or intense exercise
· Listen to music
· Practice mindfulness
· Express your feelings to people close to you
· Take a moment to appreciate the good things in your life
· Allow yourself to indulge in escapism
Preparing for a retake
After taking the time to unwind and process failing the exam, you should start preparing for the retake. Take a moment to reflect upon the exam and which areas were your weakest and also the areas which were your strongest. This will help in putting together a revision plan – allocate more hours towards your weak points and less towards your strong points as you already know the content.
There are many revision methods you can incorporate, such as flashcards, mind maps, past papers, teaching the subject to another person, and more often than not you should incorporate different learning styles together. Don’t forget to keep yourself in good shape as well. Exercise improves memory and a healthy diet will keep you energetic and ready to revise.
Although you can theoretically take most exams several times, multiple failures can have some consequences such as cool-down periods where you must wait a set amount of time before attempting the exam again. For example, if you fail the NMC OSCE exam a second time, you may sit the exam only after a three-month waiting period to allow you to prepare further. Unfortunately, if you fail to pass the third time, your application will be closed and would need to re-apply by submitting a new application form and can sit the exam again after a minimum of six months. You would also lose your right to remain in the UK.
If you are looking to prepare for either IELTS, OET, NMC CBT, NMC OSCE or PLAB, we are more than happy to help you prepare to pass. You can attend our courses here at IELTS Medical in-person or online.
If you have any questions, you can also speak with our friendly Registration Executives on 02036376722!
