Did anything really help you pass nclex?

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Ive read a few post about what the best book to buy for nclex review, and seems like noone really says how much they helped, more like how nothing really compares to the real test. Maybe there is another way to study? Its seems like nclex must be more about how you feel about safety than what you know about med surg since ive heard that nclex test on stuff you havent really studied... maybe that kaplan decision tree is better than people think when you add in maslow/abc's.

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Those of us who have passed are usually helped by our study methods. There are some nurses who, either because they are super bright or because they graduated from a program who left them super prepared, manage to pass without studying anything. Others are helped by a variety of review courses and books. I do not think I would have passed without Kaplan, pharm flash cards, and Saunders. Those things really helped me, but others have used them and failed, swearing they didn't help at all.

Everyone is different, it all boils down to how prepared your nursing program made you, how you learn, how well trained you are with critical thinking, and how you interpret various question formats. No one just walks into the NCLEX without some sort of help and studying, even if they limit preparation to what they learned in school.

Short answer-yes! The review sources do help some people, but not every source helps every person.

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Specializes in GI Surgery Step-down.

I am going to take nclex next month. I think the success is know how to analyzing the questions and also practicing a lot questions. I don't think so no one get 100% kaplan qBank or trainer questions. But who ever get above 60% usually indicate you are capable to pass unless you got so nervous and blackout. We will take kaplan course and I really don't know they gonna teach us but I guess they will show us technics and tricks the way read q and solve them.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.

I think that scaredsilly hit the nail on the head.

The NCLEX is not just about content; it is about the application of thinking critically with the knowledge you have and the situation presented.

Some people get wrapped up in content, instead of going beyond content and actually applying the situation and "thinking like a nurse".

The issue may not necessarily the source of the review, but how one approaches the NCLEX itself: understanding the four concepts of becoming a competent, entry-level nurse:

1. Safe, effective care;

2.Health promotion;

3.Physiological Integrity;

4.Psychosocial integrity

Will determine WHAT the question is asking you; the question may be Respiratory related-but is it a Health Promotion or a Safety, or a Physiological or a Psychosocial one? Would you know the difference and choose the BEST answer?

Once one understands the concepts of NCLEX, they can do so successfully.

The NCSBN website has a breakdown of what questions are categorized in the four concepts; also Kaplan gives strategies on those particular concepts; I didn't use the decision tree at all; I used NCSBN for questions and used Saunders NCLEX flash cards which broke down questions specifically to the four

concepts.

I also reviewed the Success Series Pharm Phlash cards to review medications and classes so even if I did receive an obscure med (which I did) along with what the use of it was for, I could at least figure out what category the question was asking, and what would be the best answer, whether it would be monitoring, teaching, or intervention-which could be a safey, health promotion, physiological or psychological question, respectively.

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Specializes in ICU.

those books helped me to pass nclex rn

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Ready-to-pass NCLEX review was quite helpful and made the NCLEX RN easier for me to pass.(at 76 questions) Their content review is AWESOME and their strategies are helpful especially for priority questions! Way better than overrated Kaplan(which didnt help the first time i took nclex)...

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Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.
Ive read a few post about what the best book to buy for nclex review, and seems like noone really says how much they helped, more like how nothing really compares to the real test. Maybe there is another way to study? Its seems like nclex must be more about how you feel about safety than what you know about med surg since ive heard that nclex test on stuff you havent really studied... maybe that kaplan decision tree is better than people think when you add in maslow/abc's.

The biggest factor is the quality of the program you attended.

Sent from my iPhone.

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Specializes in Oncology nursing and patient navigation.

^^^ I agree. My program always had us take exams on the computer and always used application questions, so taking the nclex felt like just another nursing school test. And our pass rates are high. I didn't take Kaplan or hurst but I did do a lot of study questions and studied the hesi review book. Content is important but most questions require much more than just content. Safety is a big thing they're looking for. And legal stuff.

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Using ANY study method or study program will help you pass; if you don't pass you will say that it didn't. Fact is, they ALL are designed to help you study, but will not "make" you pass when you are not ready to pass.

What I mean is a nursing school program that prepares its students poorly for the NCLEX have A LOT of work cut out for them if they hope to pass it. Those students will have to teach themselves what they did not learn, and will have to utilize far more study tools than most.

Those who attended good programs that prepared their students well for the NCLEX will have relatively little to do to study for the exam, although it would behoove all students to study well. Those who say "I don't have to study, I didn't have to study, and I still passed NCLEX", well, bully for them. Most DO need some review, some help with strategy for the exam itself, if they are unfamiliar with the format of the NCLEX. Some nursing schools do a good job of making their grads ready, and some do not.

I could name EVERY SINGLE study guide out there and tell you about the people who claimed it did not help them, it was overrated, it was not worth the $$, and on and on. Those people failed at that time. I can name EVERY SINGLE study guide out there and tell you about the people who claimed it was the thing that finally helped them, made them 'see the light', how it 'worked' to help them pass (some after multiple attempts). These are the people who passed after those programs.

What does it mean? That how you are prepared PRIOR to graduation is the biggest factor. That how YOU focus on your weak areas, how YOU look at the study materials, what YOU learn from them is what determines if you will pass.....NOT the guide you choose.

All that said....Best of luck to everyone still studying! :)

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Specializes in Psych, Substance Abuse.

What helped me the most were lectures, labs and clinicals. My school's pass rate is in the high 90s. I used Saunders book, Mosby flashcards, Kaplan drug cards, and the Lippincott app, but I feel as if I could have passed without all the extra study materials.

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This question was mine exactly. I also keep hearing that a study partner is a great help too. But what is the best way to find someone else to study with once you're out of school?

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My school's pass rate is in the high 90s.
I envy you. My program's pass rate is in the 60s. And they take 80 students three times a year so that is a lot of students failing. I'm half way through the program and am very fearful of when the time to take NCLEX comes. I know what I've got to do; it's just a bummer that the program I attend is causing me so much more work since I'm not getting it during theory or clinicals.
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