[ateam]

I took the Kaplan course about 2 weeks ago and have been doing the Kaplan tests along with the NCSBN (Nat'l Council of State Boards of Nursing). In doing so I have come across a couple of contradicting info. Any suggestions on who to follow more- Kaplan or NCSBN- in preparation of the NCLEX? I am taking the boards in about a week and a half and am quite nervous!
For example: Kaplan says follow RACE when there is a fire- removing the patient from danger first. NCSBN says you should follow ACRE- activating the fire alarm.

[eliza_mae017]

Hello, I didn;t enroll in kaplan online. i just have the old kaplan book to answers some question. thats sometimes is the disadvantage of havin 2 or more resources, and i personally encountered wherein in kaplan it said this is the first thing to do but in ncsbn this is the right thing to do FIRST.......

Its good ur here in allnurses, and can asked people here. NCSBN is a very good resource for me since i took the NCLEX exam the first time, but then i failed. I do notice in NCLEX they have the same type of question such as in triage.. So i still recommend NCSBN! Kaplan as they said, is good in strategies...

I encountered ur question about fire in NCSBN, and i think it depends on the situation, AS they said in the event of Fire, Nurse act as ARCE, or PRC. If theres no people to rescue, i encountered that activate the fire alarm is the next thing to do. PEople is the main concern first..... Any comments from our members here will be well appreciated...

[SkateBetty]

I studied from the Kaplan book, and am doing the NCSBN now, and you're right, correct answers on NCSBN seem to conflict with Kaplan rationale sometimes. The NCSBN questions are really tricky. There've been times I've wanted to throw my computer right out the window when I get so many wrong on NCSBN. I've concluded sometimes you just have to pitch Maslow out the window and use good, common sense. For example, a question I had today had to do with choosing between safety and nutrition with a psyche patient. If you Maslow that question you're goinna pick nutrition (wrong) since it's a basic physiologic need, but the correct answer is keep the patient safe, which is one level up on the pyramid. There's no real question about it, safety makes sense. This whole thing is a head game, and at times you feel like it's a total crap shoot. I do remember the question you mentioned, and I had to say after I thought about it ARCE makes more sense! Pull the alarm, start getting patients out. If you have 15 patients to rescue the whole building could be ashes by the time you pull the alarm if you follow RACE. I have found a couple answers to be wrong on the NCSBN, f/e which has more potassium, tomatoes or watermelon, and I chose tomatoes but got it wrong. (I can't find one list of high potassium with watermelon on it.) You just have to put the sum of all your logical reasoning and body of knowledge together, and try so very hard to pick a logical, smart answer! You don't have to get them all right to pass.

[IS_fizzle]

A-team, I studied with both the Kaplan and NCSBN learning extension courses. The Kaplan book was very helpful in understanding the questioning structure of the exam. The NCSBN is the closest thing to the exam in terms of questioning (as they are supposedly the "brains" behind developing the NCLEX-RN). There are many priority questions on the exam (it is definitely not cut and dry like practice exams). NCSBN questions help by familiarizing you with those tough NCLEX-RN priority questions. Just my 2 cents for all those people who are contemplating these classes. Goodluck!

[nursemomruns]

Originally Posted by SkateBetty

I studied from the Kaplan book, and am doing the NCSBN now, and you're right, correct answers on NCSBN seem to conflict with Kaplan rationale sometimes. The NCSBN questions are really tricky. There've been times I've wanted to throw my computer right out the window when I get so many wrong on NCSBN. I've concluded sometimes you just have to pitch Maslow out the window and use good, common sense. For example, a question I had today had to do with choosing between safety and nutrition with a psyche patient. If you Maslow that question you're goinna pick nutrition (wrong) since it's a basic physiologic need, but the correct answer is keep the patient safe, which is one level up on the pyramid. There's no real question about it, safety makes sense. This whole thing is a head game, and at times you feel like it's a total crap shoot. I do remember the question you mentioned, and I had to say after I thought about it ARCE makes more sense! Pull the alarm, start getting patients out. If you have 15 patients to rescue the whole building could be ashes by the time you pull the alarm if you follow RACE. I have found a couple answers to be wrong on the NCSBN, f/e which has more potassium, tomatoes or watermelon, and I chose tomatoes but got it wrong. (I can't find one list of high potassium with watermelon on it.) You just have to put the sum of all your logical reasoning and body of knowledge together, and try so very hard to pick a logical, smart answer! You don't have to get them all right to pass.

I think on the tomatoes vs. watermelon, it may depend on the amounts and the preparation of the tomatoes. Also, on the NCLEX exam, questions are not going to be as simple as, "Which of the following has more potassium?" with four choices listed. If you get a question as simple as that, then it is a knowledge level question and it is not a good sign. There will be other things to consider before you answer.

[nursemomruns]

Originally Posted by ateam

I took the Kaplan course about 2 weeks ago and have been doing the Kaplan tests along with the NCSBN (Nat'l Council of State Boards of Nursing). In doing so I have come across a couple of contradicting info. Any suggestions on who to follow more- Kaplan or NCSBN- in preparation of the NCLEX? I am taking the boards in about a week and a half and am quite nervous!
For example: Kaplan says follow RACE when there is a fire- removing the patient from danger first. NCSBN says you should follow ACRE- activating the fire alarm.

Personally, I prefer NCSBN, but then I am biased!
However, keep in mind that NCSBN is the author of the NCLEX examinations.

[SkateBetty]

Originally Posted by nursemomruns

I think on the tomatoes vs. watermelon, it may depend on the amounts and the preparation of the tomatoes. Also, on the NCLEX exam, questions are not going to be as simple as, "Which of the following has more potassium?" with four choices listed. If you get a question as simple as that, then it is a knowledge level question and it is not a good sign. There will be other things to consider before you answer.

The question was not exactly pick the high potassium food , it was which food would be most appropriate for a patient taking Lasix. You'd have to know hypo K is likely with a non-K sparing diuretic.

[loryces]

I emailed the NCSBN about the ARCE and RACE situation and here's the reply:

From the Instructor, in regards to NCLEX and the RACE/ARCE topic:
My advice is to read the question closely if it is about rescue when a fire. If you look at PRC and RACE the first steps are essentially the same - protect the client either by rescue or removal. For ARCE, if they tell you the alarm is ‘down the hall’ this is a clue to protect the patient first.

The second point is that with conflicting protocols such as these I think will unlikely be a specific test question on the NCLEX. What you would more likely be asked is ‘which patient would you remove first?’ Think in terms of disaster and that the most likely to survive are attended to first and those least likely to survive would be last.

I hope this has answered your question fully. If not please feel free to contact me.
Warmest regards,
Instructor


they also told me that they're going to revise the module and include RACE instead of ARCE.

[nursemomruns]

Originally Posted by SkateBetty

The question was not exactly pick the high potassium food , it was which food would be most appropriate for a patient taking Lasix. You'd have to know hypo K is likely with a non-K sparing diuretic.

You may need to also consider the sodium content and why the patient is taking Lasix.