Pre-nursing: How to answer NCLEX q's before RN school (or mastering them)

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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Hello, all!

I am a semester away from applying for nursing school, and I am concerned as to how I am going to be able to answer NCLEX style questions which I'm sure are on exams, yes or no?

Does anyone have advice as to what a prereq/pre-nursing student should do to prepare for these or where they can go to learn about NCLEX style questions? Like a crash course? Somewhere you can go to learn about the first things nursing students learn in nursing school and how to prepare for NCLEX style questions. For example, I don't know what the ABCs are and how to apply them to the questions.

I have read an NCLEX style question. For example, an active shooter is in a hospital, a baby was shot in the head (Glasgow coma III), two people were shot in the legs, and then the shooter was shot in the abdomen by police, and then out of those shot at, who was the first to be seen by the nurse? Ans: Shooter. I thought about that question, and it made me think "Start in the center of the body and work your way out in levels of importance, the center being the most important." I don't know if that's a good way to look at it, but it seems the sky is the number of questions possible. Is there a way to narrow every NCLEX question you're thrown at or should I have to worry about NCLEX questions in nursing school and do they teach you NCLEX questions and how to answer them? Is there practice?

So many questions!!!! Good, educational answers can help remove the plaque of anxiety caked into my cortex!!!!!! :cry::)

Ps. I didn't even know what a Glasgow coma III was...but I thought it was the baby being most important, until the nursing students that were helping the other student answer the question said Glasgow coma III means the baby is brain dead or literally dead and it's pointless to try and save it. The shooter was shot in the organs which is more vital than the legs (where the other two were shot at).

Also, another scenario that I always complained about how to answer NCLEX was I would ask my fellow friends who were/knew nurses things like "How do I know what is most important to answer if I'm giving a question where a patient has a sprained ankle, bruising, and problems breathing, which would be more important?" And they said breathing would be more important. Also, I think someone on here was once told "You can live with pain, not without oxygen".

But this information that I'm starting to get isn't nearly enough for nursing school, is it?

I am also taking a class for the BSN program called nutritional development across the lifespan and it's online, teacher doesn't teach, power points have voice overs from a previous instructor that use to work there so they're unchanged, and there is no tutoring for it. Exams are somewhat NCLEX style. All you can do is read from the book and power points. There's a file we were given on the first day of class that had advice from students in the past that took the class on how to succeed. They mentioned using Quizlet, but the wording wasn't "use it for the exams". I use quizlet for flash cards, but when I take the test, I see the questions from there so I think why don't I just use quizlet for the exam questions? I don't want to but the book is very vague with typos and it's very dificult to comprehend. Plus, I'm not even in nursing school yet, this is just required for the program.

I hate the habit of using google for answers on an online test, but I still read my book and power points out of integrity of trying to be a good student and learn the material. 2 nursing students who graduated the same program I"m trying to get into and took this class and advised Quizlet but for the exams, unlike the sheet of advice that didn't specify to use them for the exam.

These questions on the exam are NCLEX style, but maybe I'm not reading enough or studying enough, but I don't want bad habits not know a better choice.

Trying to retain the information from the books is difficult. There's practice questions, over 250 of them, and I don't know if they're helpful. Fellow students say they don't help the exam. All I have left is A&P II, so is worrying about NCLEX style questions a big deal now or is pre-reqs more important? Do nursing schools give you a lot of resources on how to answer NCLEX questions? Or is it pretty much "Here's your wings, now go fly"?

Is it possible or wise to practice NCLEX questions once you've finished nursing school? Or is it easier or advisabel to do them while you're in nursing school? How much of it do they teach it to you? Enough to get you to be able to do them while in or is it just best to wait after you finish? I hate this nutrition class. It just makes me wonder if the two students who graduated told me I could use quizlet were being nice to say yeah it sucks or use quizlet so you can't get in? Has anyone else taken a pre-nursing nursing class required for your program that was online like mine is with no tutoring but from the teacher and the class was helpful for nursing school?

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Specializes in Oncology.
... my time managing is horrible at the moment. Things will be different "enviornmentally" once I get accepted into nursing school.

Why will things be different when you start nursing school? If your current habits are bad, I would assume that these same habits would continue.

But as far as NCLEX questions go...at this point you do not have the knowledge base to answer them. There is nothing wrong with that. You will get there, but you haven't been taught the information just yet. Really, all NCLEX questions are is questions written in a format that require some critical thinking on your part (sometimes they add information to the question that is just for distraction) and then they have answers were there is more than one possible answer, but one is "more" correct. You will see many of these in school. And books have question banks to help you.

My pharmacology class was a joke. I have limited nice things I can say about it. But I had to get through it, regardless of my feelings, and I was responsible for learning the content. I had many classmates that spent far to much time and energy talking crap about the professor and class. That is just waisted energy that could have been spent on productive things. Your Nutrition class may be the worse class you take, but you have to get through it. Keep your eye on the prize and get through it.

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Specializes in Critical care, Trauma.

I have bridged each step along the way in nursing (CNA, CMA, LPN, ADN, BSN). When I started LPN school we bought an NCLEX book the first semester (of two semesters) but were told that we needed to focus on the lectures and reading our chapters from our textbooks until the second semester. This was said because the first semester was going to give us a basis of the knowledge so that we could answer the questions more appropriately. Then we increased our NCLEX questions over time so that the last couple of months we were answering X number each day in class, then the last week was an NCLEX review.

You don't yet know enough to answer the questions, they're a waste of time. Focus on your current classes and build the appropriate studying and school/life balance skills so that they're solid by nursing school. Let go of complaining about classes and drama, because your nursing school instructors are going to expect you to be a professional in the classroom and at clinicals.

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Why will things be different when you start nursing school? If your current habits are bad, I would assume that these same habits would continue.

The bad habits I'm concerned with myself are using quizlet for the online exams even though we were given a handout online with advice from students who took the course and at the bottom of the page it said "use quizlet". You can use quizlet in two most common ways: searching for the answer or flashcards. But the problem is you don't know where in quizlet is the correct class "nutritional fundamentals across the lifespan" and you don't want to google search the answers from the online exams if it's your first nursing class before even applying in nursing school. My teacher 99% of the time does not teach us AT ALL. It's not "attend class, have power points ready, record lectures, etc", it's "you're on your own at home when a new module opens up".

I've also had two students I knew who graduated from the program I want to get into tell me "you can use quizlet for the exams", but they didn't say anything like "If you do it that way, you won't be successful in nursing school", so is it okay to use quizlet? I don't know, I'm not sure.

That's what I'm trying to find out in my post as well is if you took an online course and two students have told you you could use google, would you? But if you don't, you risk getting a poorer grade if you can't figure out the questions even though you studied book and power points instead of taking their advice.

And this is after they advised it but didn't describe what nursing school is like. Like for example "oh the nutrition class you're going to have to take was a joke, it's better academically once you're in the program" if they said something like that, then I'd know what I'm dealing with for this class.

I've used quizlet before and I noticed the answers from the flashcards on the exam, so I thought why not just look for the answers if you know you'll see the flashcard quesitons?

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I have bridged each step along the way in nursing (CNA, CMA, LPN, ADN, BSN). When I started LPN school we bought an NCLEX book the first semester (of two semesters) but were told that we needed to focus on the lectures and reading our chapters from our textbooks until the second semester. This was said because the first semester was going to give us a basis of the knowledge so that we could answer the questions more appropriately. Then we increased our NCLEX questions over time so that the last couple of months we were answering X number each day in class, then the last week was an NCLEX review.

You don't yet know enough to answer the questions, they're a waste of time. Focus on your current classes and build the appropriate studying and school/life balance skills so that they're solid by nursing school. Let go of complaining about classes and drama, because your nursing school instructors are going to expect you to be a professional in the classroom and at clinicals.

I can show maturity in class if I feel conscious about the class I'm in, I like being in it, and I want to learn and feel comfortable and competent. If I don't feel any of those, I get lazy, distracted, hypocritical, and dependent. That's what I meant by "environment". If I feel good and comfortable about the class I'm in, I'm fully independent. My home life plays a large role in environment too. Once I'm physically in nursing both by paper and in classrooms wearing scrubs or whatever, I'll feel more competent and conscious with being able to manage my time and not being distracted while the instructor is teaching. Believe me, I'm planning on using my GI bill and it's like a woman letting a man in to her life and choosing to spend her life with him. She doesn't want to waste her life away with a waste of time on someone she feels isn't very effective and I don't want to waste my GI bill educational resource on a waste of time on something I don't feel is effective. That is my burden. That is what makes me worry and post my anxiety.

I'm still sitting on my GI bill as we speak before applying for nursing school and using it, but I hope the teachers at the program I'm planning to apply at are passionate about their job and are really good at teaching. Those who say "Ok, here's your wings now go fly" is not teaching. That's showing up for a paycheck and not working very hard within the demands and expectations of the job you are being paid to do unless they have a lot of office hours to compensate for the lack of teaching they spend in the classroom. This was a good answer too btw, thank you! It was direct, pinpointing, straight forward, and answered the question.

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Googling test questions and using Quizlet to answer them = cheating, IMO. I wouldn't recommend that path.

I would, however, google test questions AFTER you've done the test, find the author of the quizlet that matches your exam and use those sets to study before the next test.

I had a crappy online teacher, too. I had to work a lot harder for my A, but I got it. Online learning is 90% teaching yourself. Perhaps those types of classes are best avoided by you in the future. The information is there, you just have to work harder for it.

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Perhaps those types of classes are best avoided by you in the future.

This class is required. If you want in their program, you have to take it.

The information is there, you just have to work harder for it.

Now I see what sucks about nursing school. It's like you're trying to read and learn the material but it's something that isn't easy to stick in your brain so you kind of feel like you'll fail the material once you take the exam.

Ugh..in a way I hope there won't be any classes in nursing school like this. I like being in class and actually doing the work. Or studying with others and learning things.

Then we have these practice questions that I need to take a look at but there's so many of them and I feel like I'll be spending the whole day looking at them. School is such a pain in the ass.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Ortho, ASC.
This class is required. If you want in their program, you have to take it.

Now I see what sucks about nursing school. It's like you're trying to read and learn the material but it's something that isn't easy to stick in your brain so you kind of feel like you'll fail the material once you take the exam.

Ugh..in a way I hope there won't be any classes in nursing school like this. I like being in class and actually doing the work. Or studying with others and learning things.

Then we have these practice questions that I need to take a look at but there's so many of them and I feel like I'll be spending the whole day looking at them. School is such a pain in the ass.

Honestly, you have had so many complaints and harsh comments regarding your pre-nursing classes/school/instructors that I'm not certain why you're still in school.

You seem to have very rigid pre-conceived notions about how instructors should look/act/teach and how nurses should look/act/practice. It is impossible that your assumptions and requirements will all be met in your future nursing school and potential employment.

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I completely second roser13. Honestly after seeing several of your posts the only thing I would tell you is please do not even go into nursing school. Every class you take is "terrible" and you always blame the professors for your inability to study and learn. You're not going to make it through even one semester of nursing school with your attitude.

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I think I was the one who told you to practice NCLEX style questions....probably I'm not the only one but I feel a little responsible for NCLEX panic!

When I said practice NCLEX style, I meant emphasis on style, not on the material exactly. So with NCLEX questions there's 2 things to think about: 1. The style. 2. The information/background knowledge you need to know in order to answer correctly.

Knowing the style will help you with every exam in nursing school. Much much much more than googling the questions on quizlet. I suggested using Kaplan's NCLEX-RN premier (2016 edition is fine). Forget the content/knowledge part and just learn how to answer the questions first. I guess everyone is different, but that's how I learned and I will tell you the truth that I can answer questions without even being able to remember the background info. I am not saying that's a good thing, but that's how well knowing the style of the NCLEX questions will help you.

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This class is required. If you want in their program, you have to take it.

Now I see what sucks about nursing school. It's like you're trying to read and learn the material but it's something that isn't easy to stick in your brain so you kind of feel like you'll fail the material once you take the exam.

Ugh..in a way I hope there won't be any classes in nursing school like this. I like being in class and actually doing the work. Or studying with others and learning things.

Then we have these practice questions that I need to take a look at but there's so many of them and I feel like I'll be spending the whole day looking at them. School is such a pain in the ass.

Type of class = online class.

If you find an online nutrition class a pain in the ass, I really question your success in nursing school. I don't say that to be unkind, but the way you approach learning is concerning, and you don't seem interested in taking any sort of personal responsibility.

But I think I'm done trying to help you for my own mental health. Best of luck to you.

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This class is required. If you want in their program, you have to take it.

Now I see what sucks about nursing school. It's like you're trying to read and learn the material but it's something that isn't easy to stick in your brain so you kind of feel like you'll fail the material once you take the exam.

Ugh..in a way I hope there won't be any classes in nursing school like this. I like being in class and actually doing the work. Or studying with others and learning things.

Then we have these practice questions that I need to take a look at but there's so many of them and I feel like I'll be spending the whole day looking at them. School is such a pain in the ass.

Bad attitude to have. With this attitude, you're going to struggle and be unhappy all the way through graduation if you make it that far. It's ok to vent definitely. You are taking it a bit to extremes though, but if you try to change it to a learning experience and something hard that you will overcome, it will go much easier for you.

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