Great Review Book through Nursing School??? PLEASE respond :)

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I'm about to go onto my 3rd semester of nursing school (RN program), and I will be in Med-Surg too. The school issues us ATI books as a review to help us prepare for the NCLEX. I personally don't really like the ATI books, and I don't think they are that helpful, and I don't like the way the books are set up. Is there anything I can get right now that can help me through nursing school as well as prepare me for the NCLEX? Maybe a study guide, or certain NCLEX review books? I've heard of Saunders and Kaplan, but I have no idea which one would be better or if I should just buy both. Please respond if you can, I would like to purchase something ASAP. Thanks so much in advance :)

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Saunders and Kaplan are both good...I have both and use them a lot!

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I used Saunders Q&A and Pearson. Saunders was great for focusing in on NCLEX style questions for each topic. However I loved Pearson's review materials. I got it late in my program and we studied from it for our tests. You can't sort their questions by topic though. I also purchased the Memory Notebooks by Zerwekk and Claborn on CD so I could put the illustrations in my notes.

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Saunders and Kaplan are both good...I have both and use them a lot!

Do you know the name of the Kaplan book and what the latest edition is? There were a few different ones coming up on the bookstore's websites and amazon.com. Thanks :)

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It's this one, but if I were you I get a current one; I started nursing school in Fall of 2007.

http://www.amazon.com/Kaplan-NCLEX-RN-Exam-2007-2008-CD-ROM/dp/1419550985/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1249794696&sr=8-1

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I found the saunders book to be really helpful For class, I also used the Lippincott's Q&A review. It really helped me to practice questions before the tests

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Specializes in L&D/Maternity nursing.

I just had my Med-Surg ATI exam yesterday. Saunders saved my life. I swear by that book.

(and I too didnt care much for the ATI books themselves)

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Thanks for the replies :) Also, with the Kaplan book, are there a lot of Pharmacology questions? Or should I get the Kaplan Pharm book for that?

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I personally use the Saunders Q&A Review for the NCLEX. It's an orange book published by Elsevier. I like it because it has mostly Q&A, not a whole lot of review (text). If you like a text review, grab Saunders regular RN NCLEX review (it's a BIG blue book). I did not have much success with Kaplan, but that is just personal experience!

Hope this helps,

Amber N.

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Specializes in L&D/Maternity nursing.

I too am not a huge fan of the ATI books. They help, but only if you know the patho-phys behind the disease processes and the like because the ATI books are very abbreviated.

I just had my ATI Med-Surg exam on Friday. I scored a level 3...with a 99% chance of passing the NCLEX. I was shocked because when taking the practice exams, I was scoring a a high level 2. What really helped me I think was my Saunders review book. It so thorough and really helped me review the material and they just have tons and tons of review questions. I swear by that book.

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Specializes in L&D/Maternity nursing.
I personally use the Saunders Q&A Review for the NCLEX. It's an orange book published by Elsevier. I like it because it has mostly Q&A, not a whole lot of review (text). If you like a text review, grab Saunders regular RN NCLEX review (it's a BIG blue book). I did not have much success with Kaplan, but that is just personal experience!

Hope this helps,

Amber N. - Elsevier Student Ambassador

Yes, the big blue one! It also comes with a CD with additional practice questions.

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Specializes in L&D/Maternity nursing.

and I just realized that I replied twice to this thread already.

durrrrr

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