Do I need to memorize durg toxic levels for NCLEX?

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Just wondering if anyone knows if we need to memorize Therapeutic Drug Levels and Toxic Drug Levels?

Therapeutic Drug Levels:

Aminophylline:10-20 mcg/mL

Carbamazepine:5-12 mcg/ml

Digoxin: 0.8-2.0 ng/mL

Gentamicin: 5-10 mcg/mL

Lidocaine: 1.5-5.0 mcg/mL

Lithium:0.4-1.0 mEq/mL

Magnesium sulfate: 4-8 mg/dL

Phenobarbital:10-30 mcg/mL

Phenytoin: 10-20 mcg/mL

Quinidine:2-5 mcg/mL

Salicylate:100-250 mcg/mL

Theophylline:10-20 mcg/mL

Tobramycin:5-10 mcg/mL

Toxic Drug Levels

Acetaminophen > 250 mcg/mL

Aminophylline> 20 mcg/mL

Amitripyline:>500 ng/mL

Digoxin: > 2.4 ng/mL

Gentamicin: > 12 mcg/mL

Lidocaine:> 5 mcg/mL

Lithium: > 2.0 mEq/L

Magnesium sulfate: > 9 mg/dL

Methotrexate:? 10 mcmol over 24 hour

Phenobarbital: > 40 mcg/mL

Phenytoin: > 30 mcg/mL

Quinidine: > 10 mcg/mL

Salicylate: > 300 mcg/mL

Theophylline: > 20 mcg/mL

Tobramycin: > 12 mcg/mL

Does the above have to be memorized for the NCLEX. I am in florida.

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will not hurt, but what you will most likely see is a question dealing with a specific disease cardiac, cancer ect out of the four meds which one would you give. 2 will have nothing to do with cardiac 1 will have to do with BP the other is for cardio conversion example Lasix Lopressor Cardizem and Ativan.

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I am going to say no. Lithium and Digoxin, absolutely you need to know, but the rest of those? I highly doubt it.

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I was told to know the S/S more. Haven't taken yet though.

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Specializes in ED; Med Surg.

Heavens, no, child! :)

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If you ask me not really. When I took NCLEX it never asked any questions on specifics. Every question was more on broad concepts and analysis. Tiny details that I memorized were useless since nothing even showed up. Yeah sounds easy? THINK AGAIN. But then again if I had to memorize some I would memorize digoxin and lithium since its the most common one to pop up in my opinion. You can't pass NCLEX by memorization. Work on your stamina for sure and answering questions. On my first take I memorized the entire Kaplan book, both of them actually cover to cover and got 265 questions and failed. I barely did any questions and my stamina was weak which made me so fatigued during the exam. It messes with your mental capabilities.

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I memorized all kinds of stuff for NCLEX and didn't use any of it! The NCLEX is written in such a way, I believe, that they put you in situations you don't know the answer to from memory, and they expect your to use critical thinking, the nursing process, Maslow and every other priority sequence you've learned to get yourself out of it. I'm a great fact checker and that was not what my 75 questions were about at all. Practice NCLEX-style questions and be sure to understand why you miss any question.

I have to say that I don't think the bar for passing is very high. I'm saying that from my own experience because I felt as if I didn't know any of the answers, yet I passed. Use your strategies and read EVERY word carefully with lots of prayer and deep breathing to have the best possible outcome.

There are probably thousands of questions in the NCLEX test bank and I only got 75 of them, so it would be bad practice to base your studying/reviewing on what anyone says was on their test. I actually read where one person said they didn't have any meds on their test. Mine was over 1/3 meds. See...the bank is just too big for that info to be reliable.

Best wishes and keep us posted.

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Thanks so much. Any idea of how to study for the pharm section?

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Thanks so much. Any idea of how to study for the pharm section?

I wasn't prepared for that many pharm questions to tell you the truth. I had read through a zillion of NCLEX allnurses.com posts and many, many of them said they didn't have any pharm...or next to none so I thought, "Well, if there isn't going to be any on there, then I'm not going to waste precious time studying meds". See how well that worked out for me lol.

I would look over drugs, but do it categorically. Recognize that Beta Blockers end in -olol and Ace in -pril...stuff like that. There is no way to remember all the inclusions in each category without driving yourself crazy, so don't lol. Recognize toxicities and drugs that can't be taken with certain foods etc. Also, antidotes. The major teaching points, really. If you can recognize what category a drug is in, then you will pretty well be able to remember major teaching points or adverse effects and get the question right. When you come across a drug you've never seen before...and you probably will....leaning on your grouping skills will help guide you in the right direction.

Remember....I said I had a lot of meds, but many, many people on here didn't have any or only a few. Spending a day or less getting categories straight in your head won't be a bad idea, but memorizing every drug you can when you don't know flip about what infection protocol (contact, droplet, airborne) or prioritizing airway, breathing and circulation would be bad....very bad. Hit your weak spots and fall back on your hard work in school.

Best wishes.

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Thank you for the guidance.

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