How should I study for the NCLEX?

midcom · Mar 17, 2007

Does your school help you with that? Mine actually has a seminar for their about-to-be grads that lasts a couple days. It gives them all the tricks & tutors them on how to take the test as well as gives them access to practice tests.

You can also buy some of the test books & study on your own. My break starts on Wednesday. I'm only half way through but I intend to go through one of the books during my time off. You can't start too soon.

Dixie

Achoo!, LPN · Mar 18, 2007

I would get a good review book that comes with a CD. I hear Saunders reccommended alot, that is what I used for the LPN exxam. Go through a few questions a day. Read the test taking strategies that they offer. It's quite helpful I have found. You won't see the exact questions on NCLEX , but it will help break them down and eliminate answers etc..

cardiac.cure03 · Mar 18, 2007

I know that where I'm at (in Dayton, OH) there's this awesome professor who holds a NCLEX review class. He's Mark Klimek, and the class is all about reviewing the material in very easy-to-remember ways. He does a lot of pneumonics, pictures, and graphs that are easy to remember.

It's important to learn the technique of answering their questions... Like how to prioritize using Maslow and understanding there's a difference to picking the BEST answer vs. the FIRST thing-you'd-do answer.

Apart from learning the ways to answer the questions, don't try to learn everything you learned the last several yrs of nursing school. Go over things that you know you haven't retained much in. A lot of ppl need to review OB/maternity, peds, and pharm. Instead of doing drug cards that cover individual drugs, learn the general classifications and study them that way. For instance, all of the diuretics that end in "x" X out the potassium (i.e. LasiX, BumeX).

There's lot of neat tricks and ways to learn things w/o frying your brain!

Good luck to you, and there's a lot more info on this in the NCLEX forum.

Kabaka · Mar 23, 2007

Thanks for the helpfull tip I do have the saunders NCLEX study guide that I purchased this weekend to get started studying.

MikeyJ, RN · Mar 23, 2007

As far as I understand, at our school they actually have a class the last semester that is only 1 or 2 credits that is basically like a Kaplan class -- it goes over NCLEX review questions.

Also, our school teaches students to do well on their NCLEX. Their exams are in NCLEX format. I can't speak from first hand experience, considering I start May 2007. However, that is what other students have told me and my advisor.