Hesi

agilitydogs · Mar 17, 2009

I have taken Hesi's each semester, and am about to take the exit Hesi next week. My best advice would be to get the Hesi review book and read through it and do their questions. Hesi questions are not like many of the other NCLEX type review questions, and I have had the best luck with the Hesi review books. Good Luck!!

Midwest4me · Mar 17, 2009

I won't be much help as I've never heard of the HESI---is this an exam that is required for nursing shool admittance these days? At any rate, I do wish you the best!

Calibean · Mar 17, 2009

I took a Hesi each semester (or more than one) and a final one at the end. Passed them all easily. The Hesi book is good to prepare, but you will most likely fail the tests on the CD. Do not worry if you do, I failed many of the tests on the disc, but never failed a Hesi. My goal all during nursing school was to do a minimum of 50 test prep questions a night. Prior to the Hesi, I did 150 to 200 questions a night. Good luck, I know there are some people in my class (several years later) who have still not passed the Hesi and not received diplomas or been able to become RNs.

corky1272RN · Mar 17, 2009

Something to keep in mind while taking Hesi: Most answers are based on a perfect universe. Meaning, you only have one pt and as a nurse you have 24hrs to get everything accomplished. An example would be a question I had on my LVN Hesi. It was about an elderly man that is dehydrated, you need to get him to drink fluids. I think the answer had something to with the nurse going in every hour to give him a cup of water. I thought, how in the world do I have time to come in every hour for fluids. But I did not have the mentality that he was my only pt and I had all the time for him. Another thing, when it is a question on therapeutic communication, focus on the answer that involves sitting with the pt or something like that. Remember that these recommendations are based on my experience of taking it. Hope this helps. Are you taking LVN or RN? If I think of anything else I will post.:chuckle

amy0123, BSN, RN · Mar 17, 2009

I was not a good test taker. I became a better test taker with practice. While some of my classmates were out with friends, I was in my dorm room studying and practicing questions to pass the HESI.

We had to take a HESI exam at the end of each semester. What helped for me was to do 50-300 practice questions per day, and I timed myself. I gave myself 1 minute (the maximum) to answer each question. I used the NCLEX practice questions mainly from Saunders Review and the big blue Mosby's comprehensive book. I also ordered the HESI Review CD from their website and went through all the questions.

What helped the most was my personal punishment: For every question answered incorrectly, I had to look up why and write the rationale for the answer. Not only did I understand the answer better, I remembered it.

jollydogg_RN, ADN, BSN · Mar 17, 2009

If you have done a kaplan course and a hurst review.... then all you need to do now is review that material and keep doing the 50 or so questions a night! The MOST important thing to do the day before you take the exam.... is to do NOTHING!! Relax and go watch a movie or have some fun =p you've prepped better than most at this point so stay positive! I'm on my third time myself, so goodluck to you! The questions are hard but you've prepped well

detroitdano · Mar 17, 2009

I took mine a few weeks ago, didn't study a lick, and got 10% higher than any of my other friends in the entire class. I passed obviously.

Anyways, gloating aside lol, the reason I passed is that I didn't freak out about it and didn't study anything beyond test-taking strategies. I didn't look at meds, old notes, anything, only used the MEDS program our school makes us use. They've got a tutorial on test-taking strategies that might seem assinine, but it will help with your exam more than you'll ever know.

I wouldn't bother memorizing meds and stuff, there's just way too much and you'll displace everything you need to be remembering by studying the meds hardcore. Read up on test-taking strategies.

Some key points for you:

1) Know your nursing process. Assess before intervening, etc. This is a HUGE portion of the exam and you must have this mastered or things will be challenging for you.

2) Remember your ABC's. It's always in that order, no exceptions. In real life there are exceptions but the test is not real life and you have to think that way to pass.

3) Pick the most cliche answers (i.e. sit with the patient and hold their hand while they cry) even if they don't make sense. This is just the nature of how the test is set up, don't think into things too much.

4) If you're having a truly hard time with meds or disease processes, you've been studying wrong the entire time you've been in school or you're just a poor test taker. Figure out which is the problem and try to adjust appropriately on your next attempt. By your senior year you shouldn't need to look at all of your notes over again to have a grasp on this stuff, it should be second nature by now.

OrthoRN09 · Mar 17, 2009

I never studied for the HESI exams. I always passed them. Our instructors didn't make a huge deal out of them. They told us they were used to determine what you needed to study in order to pass the NCLEX.

detroitdano · Mar 17, 2009

I never studied for the HESI exams. I always passed them. Our instructors didn't make a huge deal out of them. They told us they were used to determine what you needed to study in order to pass the NCLEX.

This is exactly what the point to the exam is, yet people force themselves to study every slide from every lecture since the first day of nursing school. That's not what you should be doing. It's simply a wake-up call to what you need to focus more on before boards.

shrasberry · Mar 17, 2009

Thank you all for your advice....I am going to be an RN for those who want to know....once again thank you all.

TWUSN10 · Mar 25, 2009

For some schools (mine being a BSN program) they school requires that you pass HESI to receive your diploma. We are given 2 chances to pass the HESI exam and if not you have to enroll in nursing school all over again. That is why some of us are making a big deal about the exam and study hardcore. Our school requires us to take practice HESI exams at the completion of each semester, but not for a grade. I do really well on those without studying. But when it comes to my nursing career on the line I think I will be a little more uptight and tend to second guess myself. Thank you for the tips and I just wanted to clarify why some nursing students are making a huge deal about this HESI exit exam...because it is basically our last 4 years of our college career at stake. OUCH!