[studentnurse67]

Can someone help me with how to study for Nursing Foundations 1? Are there books I can read, websites I can access, or practice tests that can help me?

I am a SN, enrolled in an LPN program. I have limited experience in the health care field.

I am doing OK--but not really understanding NCLEX preparatory exam questions.

They say this class will help us develop critical thinking skills, but our teacher is not teaching us that. She's a sweet lady, but she reads the book to us. I've asked for tutoring.

How can you study for "situational" test questions when you have no medical background?

I'm reading my chapters more than once, doing my study guides, and feel like I listen actively during lecture, but am missing more questions on my test than I would prefer.

Any advice from seasoned nurses?

Thanks in advance!

[vjcgirl09]

do you have the time to get a part time job as a "sitter" or a CNA? I was a sitter in a small hospital for a year and I learned a lot by just watching the nurses interact with the patients.

Once you begin clinicals you will get a better idea of situation questions.

[studentnurse67]

Originally Posted by vjcgirl09

do you have the time to get a part time job as a "sitter" or a CNA? I was a sitter in a small hospital for a year and I learned a lot by just watching the nurses interact with the patients.

Once you begin clinicals you will get a better idea of situation questions.

Thanks! I'm not qualified to be a CNA yet--they say I have to finish 2 quarters of nursing school, and I'm in the middle of the first quarter. I want to, but can't yet. I might volunteer, just to be in a hospital environment.

[MBA2BRN]

Originally Posted by studentnurse67

Thanks! I'm not qualified to be a CNA yet--they say I have to finish 2 quarters of nursing school, and I'm in the middle of the first quarter. I want to, but can't yet. I might volunteer, just to be in a hospital environment.

Volunteering is not a bad idea but "sitters" get paid and have patient contact. You will also have time to study depending on the patient and the shift. I think all you need is a GED! Check into it along with other jobs that will give you patient contact so you may practice some of your skills. GL!

[Daytonite]

NCLEX questions are what are called application questions. In general, they give you a situation and you have to use information you know about the disease process and treatment and the nursing process as well as nursing fundamentals in order to choose the correct answer. If you "apply" any of the information incorrectly, or forget to include information when deciding on an answer, you will choose a wrong answer. Nursing instructors who are seasoned nurses tend to know which pieces of information students will tend to forget about or ignore and take that into consideration in writing the wrong answer choices.

I have a couple of pieces of advice for you:

1. Check to see if the publisher of your textbook has an online companion website. Many seem to these days. On those websites they put NCLEX type questions as well as flashcards and other helpful study activities. You sometimes need a special PIN number to access these websites. You can get them from the bookstore or your instructor. Be assertive about asking for this access if your textbook has it because you paid for this study assistance when you bought the textbook.
2. Purchase a NCLEX review book. They publish them for both RN and LPN NCLEX tests. I am not familiar with the LPN review books, but I do have a copy of Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN Examination, 3rd edition, by Linda Anne Silvestri that I use for reference. What I like about it is that it lists signs and symptoms and nursing interventions in nice logical ordering from simple to more complex as well as includes NCLEX type questions about these subjects. It also gives you the strategy on how to approach choosing the answers to these types of questions. If a couple of students in your class get together and each purchase a different NCLEX review book and you pool what you have as a study group, you'll be all the better for it.
3. There are two websites that post a free NCLEX type question on them each week that you can get:
   • http://www.learningext.com/students/qofweek.asp - question of the week. Every Monday a question from the online NCLEX-RN examination course from NCSBN and its answer is posted here on this page. Copy and print the question each week because once it is removed, you'll never see it again.
   • http://www3.us.elsevierhealth.com/cgi-bin/Mosby/CDOnline/Saxton/Question - Mosby's Question of the Week from Mosby's Comprehensive Review of Nursing. Also has archived questions that you can access.
4. http://allnurses.com/forums/f205/nclex-test-review-websites-test-taking-tips-86651.html - "NCLEX Test Review Websites and Test Taking Tips" an extensive and exhaustive listing of websites with free NCLEX questions. This is a sticky thread on the Nursing Student Assistance Forum.
5. Always strive to know the rationale ("why") you are doing the specific nursing interventions you are learning about for patients. There are underlying reasons why you do one thing as opposed to something else. You can be sure that you have test questions that explore if you know this difference or not.

Good luck to you.