Took the NCLEX-RN a couple of weeks ago and failed. Half the questions were about things I had never even heard of, not even during school. I know that anything is game for the test and there's sooooooo much to study for. I hit the big things that we had in school and during the blasted HESI:
-anatomy
-lab values
-more common medications
-CAD, heart disease, arrhymthmias, most common procedures
-diabetes, hormonal disturbances...
Yada yada, I think you get the idea. I also used the Kaplan NCLEX-RN strategies guide book and the CD in the back of the book. Can't afford to take class. So my question is... how do I or anyone answer a question when you have no idea (because you've never heard of it, so how study for it?) what the medication/disease process/condition/whatever is? Even using the Kaplan strategies?
the websites that i have been sending are for the nclex-rn. i'm not sure if they will be useful to you. i know they will not be helpful to you.
also, if you do not feel "ready/prepared" to sit for your boards, i would suggest that you do not!! reschedule for another date. also, do not do rn type nclex questions if you are sitting for the pn exam. ...doesn't make sense!!...
suggestion: if you can't afford to buy any more books/cds, take a trip to barnes and noble (...or whatever bookstore you have in your area...), buy a cup of coffee/soda and sit there in the store and do some practice questions from the books they have right off the shelf!!! it's free, it's relaxing and you can see how well you are doing.
to those of you that cannot find the organization that has the website with the seven kaplan question trainers with rationales:
do a search of....
"nclex question trainer explanations"
"nclex question trainer"
"kaplan nclex trainer notes"
...and you will find the nursing organization (* .org) in the web adress.
the web address will appear within your top 10 links on the google page. please do not expect to see kaplan plastered all over their web pages. you will need look on the right-hand side of their main page and you will see the kaplan information along with a wealth of other study material if you are preparing for your rn exam.
Specializes in Hospice, LTC, Supervisor Assist. Living.
helper/gwenny...
i just sent both of you a pm message with the web addresses.
good luck with your studying!!
thank you soooooooo much for all of your help. i am taking my pn boards this monday & i did get your message.
i tried to write back to you that way but it said i couldn't ??
not sure if that's because i have a "free" account or if i did something wrong??
i will look over what you sent me & decide from there what sites can be helpful or not.
i do have a ton of books from nursing school that i did buy when i had the extra cash.. some of them are ones that have lab values in them & i noticed that some differ from the exam cram & i was told that each book may be off a bit on the lab values but on the board if a lab value is off you will know it because they will be off enough to acknowledge so if you "know" your labs & i do.
the director of our program gave us a lot of handout that we later found out was right out of the kapl. book..
i was told to read over the "maslow is a verb" one and that it help tremendously to decide which answer to choose even if your not sure of the disease.
i hope this is true....
i know we were taught to go with the a,b,c's & then maslow & always whichever is of the highest priority..
i have been doing all of that & when i do the ncsb tests i am scoring an 85 each time so i think that is good??
when i do the simulated exam cram i do great.. i even save the pic using my "paint" program as proof so if something doesn't go right on monday i can show my teachers at school & they all feel that i will do just fine since i did really great in nursing school.
i was told my downfall might just be the "test" anxiety so the director is worried about that since the only 2 people that have not passed the boards have the same problem.
but, when we did our pre boards the week of graduation i scored an over passing grade & was in the top 3 of the class for that test. my concerns is that we did that in june & it's now sept. i had plans on taking my boards much sooner (in july) but i had financial set backs & took a job as an lpn supervisor right out of school & i think that was my biggest downfall.
i work so much that i didn't have the energy in the summer to study every night like i thought i would. but, i did study!
so, if i can just stay calm & focus i think i'll be ok.
i am having dinner tonight with a dear friend that is an rn & a former co worker that is going to ask me some ?'s after dinner to try to help me out & calm me down & she is very religious like me so i think that will help a lot too...
it helps to have a place to come to & vent & everyone here is so nice & positive too..
i really want to say thank you & let you know that i do appreciate that you took the time to send me all of that stuff..
everyone has anxiety when taking their boards...whether it is rn or pn...you are no different. if you did not feel anxious in any way, i would wonder if something might be wrong with you. :imbar but you are human like the rest of us!!
Specializes in Hospice, LTC, Supervisor Assist. Living.
Thank You again.. I have had better days.. I was warned about the "days before" and really thought I'd be fine.. I guess I was wrong!
I look at it this way, I survived all of my mid-term tests, the finals for each level in nursing school & then the pre-boards where the whole class felt like we didn't know any of the questions that were being asked & the Psych. Meds they asked on the exam were older meds that are not used as often & at least I had a background as a pharm. tech so I knew they were psych meds & what to look for.
If for some reason I don't pass on Monday I will look at it as a bigger incentive to take it again & that I will know what to expect when I get to the testing site.
I have to keep things positive since work needs me to pass & I need to pass!
I can't afford to take a cut in pay that would bring me down to less than I have ever made in my life! So with that in the back of my head I guess I am a little stressed out.
My boss graduated from the same program as me & she is wonderful! We have a seminar next Friday for our company & she is taking me so I know she believes in me & I don't want to let her down.
I'm off to do another test in the exam cram book since I think I only have one left!
I have done way over the 2,000 questions since I did the NCSB once already & I bought it again & I did the other Cd's I have on my laptop for PN. I have 2 that were from school & I use them to take a break from the exam cram CD & the NCSB site.
I don't think anyone can be prepared enough and since we all want to pass I will just keep on testing until I fall over or asleep:)
Thanks again for your help & the one site that you gave me a link to has a chat program that I somehow already belong to?? I thought that was a bit weird but hey, at least I said "hello" to the chat room.
I liked how that site had a pop up of useful tips & info in red right under the chat box!
As an ADN graduate from South Puget Sound Community college in Olympia, WA I want to thank Laurie Brown for her dedication in mastering the RN NCLEX review prep course... Many of you know the NCLEX can be one of the most difficult tests to complete to get your license... and it is frustrating when you have taken the test several times and had no success. When I had heard of Laurie's class I couldn't believe that her technique could actually work. After attending her class I felt as I had more knowledge in what was needed to pass the NCLEX exam... I went to 2 more classes with Laurie and afterwards I took the test couple days later and passed with 76 questions ... For those who have given up to all hope with unable to pass the NCLEX, don't because you can do it.. And for those going into the test for the first timeor re-taking the test.....believe me this course helps you focus on the important information to know for the test and help you feel much more confident in passing the test.
try reading smn2009's reply above mine she mentioned how to find it easier & a site that could help u for the review. i tried downloading it but it won't work on my computer. .
smn2010, BSN, RN
260 Posts
gwenny:
you are preparing the the pn exam???
the websites that i have been sending are for the nclex-rn. i'm not sure if they will be useful to you. i know they will not be helpful to you.
also, if you do not feel "ready/prepared" to sit for your boards, i would suggest that you do not!! reschedule for another date. also, do not do rn type nclex questions if you are sitting for the pn exam. ...doesn't make sense!!...
suggestion: if you can't afford to buy any more books/cds, take a trip to barnes and noble (...or whatever bookstore you have in your area...), buy a cup of coffee/soda and sit there in the store and do some practice questions from the books they have right off the shelf!!! it's free, it's relaxing and you can see how well you are doing.
good luck!