EXIT HESI Help

DavidDudley · Jun 7, 2013

My class had the same problem. Only 5 out of like 30 something people in my class passed the exit hesi on the first try, and people still failed several times after. In my opinion, one of the things that helped me pass the first try was the case studies (I'm aware that they don't help you so bypass that tip), but the case studies don't work equally for everyone. Some of the people who failed had utilized them more than I did and it didn't help them.

A day prior to taking the exit hesi I read a book called NCLEX in a flash within a few hours.. Here's why I think a book like that is a good idea: Nursing is too vast and theres really no way you can study and learn everything to be adequately prepared. The key is to know a little bit about all things and develop the critical thinking skills to utilize that little knowledge to analyze questions to what is the probable answer. That book contributed significantly to my success and i even had my teacher recommend it to the entire class who didn't pass.

Another thing that helped me was I focused and did well on prioritization questions in my leadership class. Understanding how to decipher through different conditions and prioritize the most important to the least will help develop your critical thinking skills.

You said you did kaplan, did you do the online kaplan q-bank? I cant imagine someone who is hitting online kaplan hard and they are still failing. Kaplan questions are intense. If you can master Kaplan then I dont see how you could fail anything.

But above all, my advanced med-surg class is what really pushed me over the edge. The teacher in that class challenged me greatly, her exams were tough, her lectures helped me to learn how to think hard and properly analyze because they gave me the foundation of critical thinking. After I finished that class I passed everything: exit hesi, ati predictor test, kaplan exam, and NCLEX. You have to find a way to push yourself hard to where you have no choice but to greatly develop your critical thinking skills. I suggest finding a classmate or tutor who can challenge you greatly in ways that will make you sweat.

You are right to say that NCLEX and HESI are not the same. So certain books which are geared towards NCLEX preparation may not help too much with hesi prep. I personally found ATI questions to be useless in my prep for HESI. The style of questions are different.

Aside from online kaplan q-bank, have you tried Saunders Q&A ? When you do your practice questions, get a question wrong, and read the rationale for the answer, do you feel that the rationale helped? The purpose of the rationales is to help develop your critical thinking skills, so if you dont feel that the rationales for one book helps then immediately try another book, unless of course you have already gone through every book imaginable with practice questions.

michigannurse1 · Jun 10, 2013

What exactly is the HESI and what is it going do to help you?

killiabritish · Jun 10, 2013

wow same here i dont want to give up but everytime i take it i have to pay ...kmt

Tennis247 · Oct 9, 2013

I attended Herzing University in Orlando, FL. We had to take a Kaplan exit exam. The score that we had to get was a 68 or higher. I ended up with a 65. I was three questions away from passing!! I did everything under the sun to try and pass that exit exam!! I took the diagnostic and received a score of 72! I am now where no nursing student ever wants to be!! I am looking at other schools to attend so, that I can do an LPN to RN transition.. Don't feel bad that you didn't pass it doesn't mean that you don't know anything.. Keep your chin up!!:-)