Exit HESI test prep, strategies, opinions, general questions

[fathertod, ASN, BSN, MSN, APRN, NP]

hi,

i am about ready to take my final exit hesi exam. to prepare for the exam i have the following materials/resources:

1) hesi study book from evolve

2) hesi case studies from evolve

3) hesi practice test cd which comes with the hesi book

4) hesi practest 2009 questions from evolve

5) hesi related flashcards, not from evolve

6) hesi study notes compiled by faculty and previous adn students (lab values, meds, etc.)

7) hesi related powerpoints for remediation and instructional purposes, not from evolve

to prepare for the test itself:

1) become an expert at the nursing process r/t questions, answers, and related processes

2) determine my optimum learning style

3) practice visualization and guided imagery

4) practice and refine test taking skills

5) stress relief and coping skills developed and utilized

6) determine areas of weakness in previous hesi exams (via the statistical report provided after taking the test)

7) i practice the practice tests on the computer until i memorize/understand the questions and related material (until i have it down cold via repetition)

8) i review the rationales on the practest questions, case studies, and practice test cd relentlessly (usually start with this first... essentially reverse engineer the questions starting with the rationales and working backwards)

9) memorize hints, meds, lranges, lab values, etc. as outlined in the hesi study book (with an intent to not be caught off guard by material i haven't seen before and to not forego any easy points)

10-a) block off two weeks or more to constantly review the hesi book

10-b)alternatively, study the hesi book as the semester progresses.

11) foregoing studying from other non-evolve resources such as the saunders book temporarily (rationale: hesi test comes from hesi/evolve related products, normally).

12) host/goto hesi review sessions with other students about to take the test (rationale: if you can teach it, you get a better understanding=proficiency, eventually)

where to get some of the above resources:

austin community college. test taking strategies. available at:

http://www2.austin.cc.tx.us/adnlev2/tutoring_web/documents/testtaking.htm

link for the hesi book + practice test 2009:

[color=#0000cc]http://portals.elsevier.com/portal/hesi/productaction?isbn=9780323055710

hesi online case studies only:

[color=#0000cc]https://evolve.elsevier.com/productpages/s_994.html

hesi case studies + practice test 2009:

[color=#0000cc]https://evolve.elsevier.com/productpages/s_1641.html

thoughts and opinions? what have you used, tried, and or using to prepare?

[motivated2nurse]

I TOO am about to take Hesi, but you have more information than I do. Let me know how you do.

[Thecolorpurple]

That's all fine and dandy, but you need to talk to some previous students and find out what kind of questions were on their exam. Nursing school has already taught you saunders, saxon and mosby question, but HESI questions are like no other questions. I.E. (A pediatric pt with hypothyroidism, what would indicate treatment was effective = the child was laughing and turning from side to side). HESI requires a lot of critical thinking. The HESI book and all of its cds, casestudies are a bunch of crap so don't rely on it.

[jollydogg_RN, ADN, BSN]

That's all fine and dandy, but you need to talk to some previous students and find out what kind of questions were on their exam. Nursing school has already taught you saunders, saxon and mosby question, but HESI questions are like no other questions. I.E. (A pediatric pt with hypothyroidism, what would indicate treatment was effective = the child was laughing and turning from side to side). HESI requires a lot of critical thinking. The HESI book and all of its cds, casestudies are a bunch of crap so don't rely on it.

I agree COMPLETELY. Some of the questions were SO random and just ridiculous. Our nursing clinical instructor, who is an NP and has been an instructor for years was thrown back when we told her the type of questions on the exam.

This explains why our ADN program is on its third time coming up and still around 70% of the students havent passed. We've done review material.. we've done Saunders, and stuff like that.

Im about finished with the Hurst review online myself. I think it will help.

I also heard the HESI books themselves were a complete waste of time.

I dunno what to tell you, except be ready to put serious thought into each questions. Really look at critical thinking, because thats all the test is. It's 160 questions of intense critical thinking! You know how Saunders and others has all the methods of eliminating answers? Not in HESI. Not unless you KNOW the material back and forth and can teach it in your sleep. For the average student, on the majority of the questions, there will be at least 3 questions that look great, and none of the simple answer eliminating strategies will work.

Goodluck to you! Let us know how you do.

[lovehospital]

I didnt study too much for Hesi,I only did 800 questions from the CD NCLEX 3500 and I went over questions in the book called "Prioritization,Delegation,Assignment" Practice Exercises for medical-surgical Nursing by Linda A. LaCharity.I also went over the CD from Hesi Book,however I did not went over the book itself,I just did the questions from their CD,but the questions on the HESI exam are more like the ones from the NCLEX 3500.I was surprise that Hesi exam was so easy,I expected that it would be harder.

[KAYBDT6, BSN, RN]

I for one i dont like Hesi after making me to fail my exit exam twice........but i learn form hesi and kaplan how to solve question. I think the test is a complete waste . The test company need to be cancel forever!!!

[jollydogg_RN, ADN, BSN]

new york has the right idea. already banned in the state. i thought the nclex was the determining factor in safety?

stupid.

[motivated2nurse]

I TOOK THE EXIT HESI TODAY AND GOT A 920!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I studied from Sanders, Hogan's Comprehensive NCLEX-RN and Hesi book. It helped but not by much. You just need to know the stuff!

[jollydogg_RN, ADN, BSN]

i took it again today and got a 764. felt like i was narrowing down the answers better. i reviewed the rationales this time and the ones i missed were always down to the last two, so its an improvement.

you cant just say you have to "know the stuff". its way too much information to know. i reviewed some answers and reading the question i was like "o duh i should have marked that one". probably 25% of the ones i got wrong were dumb mistakes.

[motivated2nurse]

What I meant is that I felt that reasoning the pathology of diseases and the disease process helped a lot. Lab values, hypo, hypervolemia, S&S of various diseases, priority was heavy on the hesi. I learned a lot doing practice questions. Surprisingly some question were very similar to Hogans Comprehensive NCLEX-RN reveiw disk.

[Thecolorpurple]

Congratulations! I told you the cd's are good for content only. They did not give me anything that I didn't learn in nursng school. Good luck on Boards.

[jollydogg_RN, ADN, BSN]

i got my review back from the HESI services, like the breakdown of questions and what content i missed what in.

the past two times i missed a LOT in med surg. i feel that doing the hurst review GREATLY increased my understanding of how to reason through and piece together medsurg questions. i got 60/75 questions right labeled med surg this time!! so now, i think i'll be ok next time. i missed a lot (again... sigh) on maternity, and peds. and a few on psych. go figure. also on profesional communication. (some of those were strange situational questions though we've never been presented with though, so its just a learning experience)

also, the HESI DOES have numerous questions on delegation, room assignments, and prioritizing, so review that.

good luck to everyone with their HESI.