Need positive vibes!

happylush · Jun 18, 2004

Im taking it on thursday too! :)

Fergie · Jun 18, 2004

:) You will both do fine. Just use your common sense and you knowledge base. Take a deep breath before you start. I know you can do it!!!! Let us all know.

short-one61 · Jun 18, 2004

I took the Kaplan course....it made a huge difference for me!

Here's my tips from taking the boards last week:

Know your labs; K+, NA, RBC's & diff's, acidosis & alkalosis.

Know your drugs: esp Lanoxin, Hep, coumadin, (PTT, etc)

Infection control was HUGE on my test....know when to use gloves, mask,

ALWAYS assess pt and Stay with your patient!!!!

Call MD only if life or limb is in danger.

Distraction is for toddlers and psych patients.

theblondeone · Jun 18, 2004

Happy, Good luck to you!!

Fergie, Thanks for the vote of confidence!

Shorty, Thanks for the heads up!!

happylush · Jun 18, 2004

Happy, Good luck to you!!
Fergie, Thanks for the vote of confidence!
Shorty, Thanks for the heads up!!

Good luck to you too! :) I can feel the anxiety level building each day.... sometimes I wish I would have signed up to do it earlier to get it over with! :) I have also been going through review questions from Saunders, Lippincott and Kaplan, but its hard to tell how much I am remembering and what Im learning, my mind is starting to feel jumbled lol.... Anyhow, I plan on studying a little bit each day, and take wed off completely and relax, if thats possible! What time is your test at? I think mine is at 8:30am...

Anyhow, have a great weekend! :)

-Jamie

rainbows4me · Jun 18, 2004

Good luck to all of you who are feeling that nervous anticipation. I took my boards on Wednesday 7/16 - got 75 questions and should find out today (!!??) whether or not I passed. I'm hopeful.

I would agree with what was posted about knowing your labs, remembering ABCs, infection control, etc. I thought that doing test questions and reading rationales was probably most helpful for preparing the test. That and understanding (and believing) that about half of the questions will be too hard for you to answer correctly and that is NORMAL. Psychologically, that's a tough thing to experience.

I also thought that the questions differed from traditional review book questions in the following way:

In most review books, questions are grouped by system, so your review questions all relate to that area. You are asked to prioritize, make nursing judgements, etc. within that subject area. In the NCLEX, the systems/areas (GI, GU, Cardiac, OB, Neuro, Psych) are blended together into the same question. So... when you get the "you just took report on the following patients - which patient will you see first" or "which of the following doctor's order would you question"...the question then lists patients with many different diagnoses that are not related. You have to really integrate your knowledge of the different subject areas and assess the acuity, stability, ABCs, labs, meds, etc. accross the boards. I guess that's what they mean when they say 'critical thinking'. I don't remember my review books (Mosby, Sylvestri/Saunders, Kaplan, etc.) asking questions in this way. Many of the questions themselves were very comprehensive, as far as subject goes.

Anyway... I've babbled on enough about that... Hope it is helpful to consider. I hope you all find a way to review productively and breathe effectively!! And keep your fingers crossed for me today!!!

:uhoh21:

Love-A-Nurse · Jun 19, 2004

here's wishing you all the best!