Does Nursing School Prepare you?

[TLC RN]

I have a question and would like some input from anyone in the process of becoming of who is an RN.

Is nursing school supposed to prepare you to take the NCLEX exam (cold or with little prep) or does it prepare you to study for the NCLEX exam (ie, you study/review for at least 6 weeks preparing to take it)?

Thanks :)

[Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN]

I did not study for either NCLEX. I passed both the NCLEX-PN, and the NCLEX-RN on my first tries, although each was taken several years apart.

By the time I was done with my programs, I was too burnt-out to study.

I did not study much in school, either. But, I think the way my brain works, too much studying just confuses me!

Different approaches work for different people.

[suzanne4, RN]

All depends on where you went to school.

[RN5000]

So true that it depends on where you went to school. I did the RN on-line in an 18 mo program. Both the online and "face to face" courses were very directly geared to teach to the NCLEX. Most instructors designed their testing in NCLEX format, which I believe really helped program the students to think NCLEX from start to finish. I did not find the NCLEX to be very difficult. The questions are designed to test the basics of what a new nurse should know, generally. There will always be a few questions that one has no idea about, but that's the nature of the beast. IMO, the best strategy is to do as many questions, from all areas as possible, and hope for the best!

[Queen2u]

I did not study for either NCLEX. I passed both the NCLEX-PN, and the NCLEX-RN on my first tries, although each was taken several years apart.

By the time I was done with my programs, I was too burnt-out to study.

I did not study much in school, either. But, I think the way my brain works, too much studying just confuses me!

Different approaches work for different people.[/QUOT

Good for you! Wish I could say the same. I am currently studying to retalke the NCLEX RN; I did not pass the first time. I have already graduated from nursing school, and needless to say, I am burned the heck out! I am taking a KAPLAN review class now, and I am having the hardest time because of the burn out. Wish I were in your shoes!

[Nickle]

Well, nursing school should prepare you to take the NCLEX, though not without additional study. It should also prepare you in terms of technical skills. But school just can't teach you time management on the floor, charting, or the clerical routines (like printing tele strips, 24 hour reports, filling out incident reports, chart checks, knowing when to check for new orders, etc.) That stuff, unfortunately, just comes with experience. It was hard to make that transition for me (still working on it, in fact.)

[Hellllllo Nurse, BSN, RN]

I remember back when I took the NCLEX-RN, there were a bunch of questions about both nursing care for the pt w/ carbuncles, and questions on delegation. My program never mentioned either!

[st4wb3rr33sh0rtc4k3]

My school was definately known to have great passing rates on the NCLEX. During our last semester we used the Saunders book. Then all of sudden the professors told us we needed to take a preperation class, by paying more money($250 and up depending on where you go and what you get). Most of my classmates did Kaplan and passed. Unfortunately, I did too but it still didn't help me pass. So now I am sticking with Saunders. Good luck!!!

[cardiacRN2006, ADN, RN]

Well, nursing school should prepare you to take the NCLEX, though not without additional study. It should also prepare you in terms of technical skills. But school just can't teach you time management on the floor, charting, or the clerical routines (like printing tele strips, 24 hour reports, filling out incident reports, chart checks, knowing when to check for new orders, etc.) That stuff, unfortunately, just comes with experience. It was hard to make that transition for me (still working on it, in fact.)

I have to do all that stuff in clinical. Although it will take experience to be proficient at it, don't most schools make you do this?

My school writes all tests in NCLEX format (so they tell us). They told us in the beginning of the program that the easiest test we will take will be the NCLEX.

[Nickle]

Yes, we did it in clinical. But it's integrating it all and developing your own routine that's the tough part, for me anyways. Perhaps this is just a weakness of my particular program. Another local program seems to turn out much better clinically-prepared new nurses, since they spend so much more time in clinical than we do. Hence all my desperate posts eager for people to share routines and cheat sheets with me!

[Mommy2Maddy]

Nursing school prepared me more than enough to work in a hospital and excel, but as for the NCELX, not really! School tests are NOTHING like the NCLEX.

[PreggersRN, BSN, RN]

I agree,

I think nursing school prepares you to work but for me not for the NCLEX-RN. I was doing great critically thinking on the floor. The questions on the exams are suppossed to be like the NCLEX. I got A's and B's on those but failed the NCLEX-RN in 75 questions. Go figure. :)