Exit Exam HESI PN and Nursing School Tips

Updated: Jul 22, 2023 Published Apr 20, 2019

9 Posts

Hi Guys,

I am not known to the AllNurses Forum that much; however if you're like me and are extremely nervous passing your EXIT HESI PN test advice is always welcome. The things I mention will not just pertain to the HESI but to Nursing School in general.

That said, I passed my EXIT HESI PN first try on Thursday, April 18th 2019. With a score of 894, 850 is the schools benchmark.

Side note: I may bounce back and forth between HESI and Nursing school.

How do you prepare for this? My professors say keep doing practice questions? I don't have time! I have a busy life!

HESI:
Start by planning, if you plan you can succeed. But planning is not the only answer, dedication is the other part of this success recipe.

You don't have to spend hours on hours practicing questions, heck 20 mins a day keeps the dreaded failure thought away. If your school uses a program such as Evolve, do these questions daily!

Look at how you study, are you visual, listening, physical (as in drawing, writing, acting out a systemic function) or are you all of them? I am all of them. So you can imagine studying is quite an adventure for me!

When you study, DO NOT STUDY IN YOUR BEDROOM, this is where you rest and unwind. When you study you want to be focused and coherent to information. Know that studying does not immediately begin when you open a book. It takes around 20-30 mins of focused attention to start retaining information. Do not just memorize, the HESI and NCLEX is all about testing your knowledge on the following:

Nursing Process: (Assessment, Analysis, Planning, Implementation, Evaluation)

Client Needs: (Safe/Effective Environment, Management of Care, Safety and Infection Control, Health Promotion and maintenance, Psychosocial Integrity, Physiological Integrity, Basic Care and Comfort, Pharmaceutical and Parenteral Tx, Reduce Risk Potential, Physio Adaption)

Specialty Area: (Community Health, Critical Care, Fundamentals, Geriatrics, Maternity, Medical Surgical, Pathophysiology, Pediatrics, Professional Issues, Psychiatric/Mental Health)

As you can see you will be tested over EVERYTHING you learned in Nursing School. That being said, you're not going to be able to remember everything you learn in nursing school, its just a fact. The best way to learn in nursing school is by a systemic approach that involves the above subject at hand. If you understand the function of the Endocrine system and developmental aging you should be able to answer almost any question about diabetes in the elderly. It's not just knowing what, its the how and the why. Your professors will drill this into you.

Why is it important? Well, when you read test questions of any kind, you subliminally ask yourself, what is the question asking and why is this happening. Once you figure that out look at your options and rule out the first two incorrect answers, this is the easy part. Once you have two correct answers look at the question again and decide which is the most correct answer. The question will give you everything you need to know to answer the question.

Your EXIT HESI PN & NCLEX will have multiple choice, select all that apply, interaction (locate a body part from a picture) and fill in the blank (medication dosage are primarily these types of questions).

HESI & Nursing School:
How I prepared for my exam and success in nursing school:
Telling myself I am going to be successful no matter what.
I studied questions whenever I could where ever I could. Even shopping with my friends I was doing practice questions.
I set a time where I made sure I got my homework done and had time to relax (rare), and practice.
I bought a HESI PN PREP book from Elsevier (amazon has em for $20), READ IT! SERIOUSLY!
I sacrificed my beloved video game time considerably, infact I all together quit for most of my second semester.
I understood the seriousness of nursing school, its not a joke where you can just show up to class and expect to know it all. 85% of my learning came from reading chapters and studying questions. Teachers will lecture briefly on what you already read. So make sure ya read it! I know it's terrible, 5 chapters a week and they weren't just 10-20 pages. Some were 50+.
Let your friends know nursing school is not easy and a lot of your time will be dedicated to it. If they can't accept this then they're probably not the best of friends in your life.
Making sure my finances were in check so I could be able to take time out of work to succeed.
Make friends in your class and form a study group, but do not make it a clique.

Things to avoid if possible in nursing school:
Creating a clique
Saying it's easy, this makes you blow off whatever it is you're studying ending up in poor results.
Getting involved in relationships mid nursing school (I learned from this).
Making huge unnecessary purchases. Do you really need that fancy new truck if your vehicle is already doing the job you need it to?
Stressing your self out for no reason, seriously what's the point.
Not asking for help.
Not being involved with your teachers/ counselors for your educational and success needs. I visited my teachers and counselors every week at least once to make sure I was understanding content correctly. It's their job that you succeed.
Not eating/ exercising. Not eating a balanced diet will not help your brain retain, that doesn't mean load up on sugar, because glucose is brain food. Eat a balanced diet for your cultural and physiological needs. Exercising helps the brain retain information, however that doesn't mean 3 hrs of cardio everyday. 30mins a day will be beneficial in any activity.

Nursing school is not for those who do not take education seriously, as everything you learn is repeated in clinical, exams, exit exams and the NCLEX. Everything you learn in Nursing School is serious business because if you do any one thing wrong it could have drastic consequences. MEDICATION ADMINISTRATION IS ONE OF THE MOST SERIOUS OF ALL CONCEPTS IN NURSING SCHOOL.

If you do or do not pass your HESI first try remember to do remediation and keep doing questions because the HESI is one of the two major exams in your educational career; the second being the NCLEX. People will say if you pass the HESI you will pass the NCLEX easy. What that transcribes to peoples minds is "I passed the HESI, I don't need to study for the NCLEX!" WRONG! Preparation is the biggest thing for both HESI and NCLEX as I mentioned above. There have been hundreds of people who have done extremely well in the HESI and blown off the NCLEX and failed.

The HESI and NCLEX are similar but different, the HESI is a standard set of questions everyone in your class answers at the same time in the same format. The NCLEX adapts to your answers giving you an easier question if you got one wrong or a harder question if you get it right. This is called Computerized Adaptive Testing. The HESI will prepare you for the NCLEX and give you a good baseline of your strengths and weaknesses with probability of passing first try. Your HESI examination will give you a print out of what you're weak in. I've attached my personal score of my first exam for an example. As you can see I need to work on my clinical concepts. On the screen you can also see a PDF button in the top right area. Downloading this will break everything down for you in even more depth and tell you which questions you missed based on the subject.

HESI
The night before:
Get to bed early
Eat a decent dinner at a decent hour (5pm not 9pm, your body will keep you up)
Make sure you have everything ready to go for the morning, prep your breakfast, tea, or coffee.
Your nerves might be getting more intense at this time, I took a bath to help me calm down.
Set your alarm 30-45mins earlier than normal.
Set out comfortable clothes for the exam, you're answering 110 questions.
Do not cram information, do a quick 30-1hr review, focus on your weak area halfway through (peak learning).
Practice your religious ceremonies before bed (if religious), and tell yourself you're going to do well because you know and are capable of understanding material of the exam.

The day of:
Get up when that alarm goes off
Take a shower
Eat as much as you can of your breakfast and drink water throughout the morning along with your tea or coffee.
Take an apple or some fruit to snack on.
Get to your school/ testing site early. It's better to be there early than late.
Try to relax, it's hard I know
Tell yourself you can do this, and you're smart, because you can and are!
Be in the moment of the exam, do not overthink, you will be surprised at how basic some of the questions are and what they're asking. I had one that asked the first line of infection prevention, it's hand washing.

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Immediately after you complete the exam you will know your score, if you meet your schools standard or exceeded it well done! Be proud you did it! But don't turn off your brain!

If you didn't still be proud and know that you're capable of passing next time! Do not let this discourage you one bit! If you feel overwhelmed with all the people that did pass talk to your professors and counselor, it's okay to be upset and emotional. As I stated above remediation is key.

Typically you will receive the in-depth report the next day of the exam and can go in and see where you need to improve/ refresh on.

If you read this whole post I thank you from the bottom of my heart and I wish the best of luck in nursing and your career. Know that nursing is holistic and we are a team. If you have any tips for fellow students please post them below.

Remember you can do anything, you are meant for this life. It is not about gratitude or spotlight, it's about doing good for people who need our help and making the lives those less fortunate, fortunate.