MUST-HAVE NCLEX RN Review Book

Nurses New Nurse

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Specializes in Acute Care - Cardiology.

hey all! i took my test july 7, 2003 - passed! i feel that i passed because of a great purchase i made. now, i am not here to be any kind of sales rep or anything like that, but i thought if there were some of you that had not taken the nclex yet and wanted another prepartory guide (one that is worth your while), or that needed to retest - that you would benefit from purchasing this book as well. it is the 2003-2004 kaplan nclex-rn book. the isbn is 0743241193, and you can order it from barnes & noble, books-a-million, etc. it is only a 300-400 page book with a paper practice test, as well as a disk that allows you to test twice. (i made 60's on my tests - so do not get discouraged if you do not do well. read the rationales.) some of you may already have this book and may not have found it very helpful. i however, did. i did not attend a review course, nor did i spend a significant amount of time in preparation for the nclex. my adn school, fortunately, prepared me with requiring the hesi (and making an 88 on it), and lots more computerized type quizzes. i was nervous about the nclex because i did not know what to expect. so, i talked to some people at work and they suggested the purchase of this kaplan book. i bought it the thursday before i took the test (on monday), read it - did the paper test and one on the disk. i will tell you right now that i had 2 questions on my nclex that were near verbatim from the ones that were in that kaplan book. anyway - it was about $38, worth it in my opinion. in case you are wondering - i had 4 of the new questions, and they were not bad at all. 3 were basic dosage calculations and 1 was a check-all-that-apply question. please feel free to email me [email protected] if you have any questions or anything. even if you just need some encouragement. you can do it!!! :)

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Thanks for the recommendation. I had planned on getting a kaplan review guide in addition to taking the course if I can afford it. On amazon.com, Kaplan usually gets 4-5 stars.

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Specializes in tele, stepdown/PCU, med/surg.

Congratulations Daisy on passing the NCLEX!

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Specializes in Acute Care - Cardiology.

Thanks Zach! :) It is really fun to sign "RN" behind my name... *hehe* I know that when I got my license it was my license to work for the rest of my life... but for right now, I am still enjoying it. :) Dreamon - you're welcome, and you are right. Kaplan is a very reputable review course/guide/company. Best of luck to you!

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It is a good book, I agree... but to spend all that money to only be able to test twice? I got the book from the library instead, took the tests and then used Mosby's and Saunders books each and every day. New tests, lots of different questions. It was good to be able to test anytime I wanted.

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Specializes in Acute Care - Cardiology.

redwinggirlie - I understand that only being able to test actually 3 times, including the paper test, is not very many times. BUT - the information included in the test questions covered a lot more than what I found inluded in the Saunders book or my other books. Saunders does a good job at providing rationales for the answers... but not for "WHY" the wrong ones are "wrong"... that is another thing I really liked and found helpful about the Kaplan. The thing that got me the most (after testing) about the Kaplan was that their questions were the MOST SIMILAR to the NCLEX than Saunders or others. A LOT of the questions in Saunders, etc. are more knowledge-based questions and the NCLEX is definitely NOT knowledge-based. They are just much simpler in Saunders. I know that the Kaplan book has its limitations - but included in my posting was that - I purchased the book 4 days before I tested, and I had a pretty good background from nursing school. The Kaplan book would make a very good "supplement" to ANY individual... that better?

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Congrats Daisy!

I myself have the Kaplan book, along with Mosby, Davis and a Chicago Review Press review strictly for pharmacology.

Out of all of them, for sheer readability and valuble information, the Kaplan book is great.

For questions though, I suggest NCLEX amde Incredibly Easy I believe it is called. It is only questions with over 3,000 in the book. A friend and I have been using it to study.

I take boards Aug 11, guess I will know then how all these books really helped!

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Specializes in ED, Forensic, Long-term care.

Although I tended to get frustrated with my performance with Kaplan, I liked the way they explained how to eliminate wrong answers and how to reason out what was correct, and why.

They gave invaluable advice for how to think in "NCLEX LAND", something none of the other review books did. The only thing the other review books did for me (I had five different ones) was to review content, not how to critically think my way through the questions.

Truth is, I didn't really appreciate Kaplan until I took my boards. Then I realized how easy the boards seemed by comparion. Not only did the computer shut off at 75 questions, but I had a high level of confidence that I had passed (though to be sure, I wasn't absolutely certain of it).

I honestly believe Kaplan is worth the money, and many work places reimburse the cost once you've passed the boards. Mine does, at least.

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I started taking a Kaplan review class online, and I love the way that they teach teh strategies on how to eliminate answers and how to critically think. You can see how you are doing according to knowledge base, comprehension. and application and analysis questions (since application and analysis are what NCLEX is about). The course book that goes with it also reviews the nursing content, which is helpful. I am going to be taking my boards for the 2nd time in October and the first time I got more of the knowledge based questions right nad not enough of the analysis and application questions in order to pass teh NCLEX. I think Kaplan is a great resource compared to Q&A books.

Christine

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For those concerned with the price, maybe they have them on half.com. Kaplan must just be a really good test prep company in general because I ordered the Kaplan ACT test prep book off half.com and really like it. I hope it helps !! :)

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DaisyRN,

CONGRATS!!! U deserve it! I found out I passed boards this past Wed,7-23-03. Isn't it GREAT 2 sign RN after your name?!?! I agree with your comments on the Kaplan'03-'04 book. 4 those studying NCLEX-RN, I couldn't afford those review courses. I basically studied with Kaplan, mosby, and Saunder's. I highly recommend all 3 to anyone studying NCLEX-RN. Best of luck 2 all taking boards soon!!!

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Specializes in Acute Care - Cardiology.

warhawk320- Thanks!! Yes... it is GREAT to sign "RN" behind my name. I thought that day would never come. Congrats to you on passing boards as well!! :) Yeah... good luck everybody!!! and congrats to the others that have passed too!!! :)

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