Is there anyone who has done Excelsior RN program using only study guides?

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I have been browsing this site for quite some time and have been getting mixed reviews about which books and study guides are good to use for the tests.

I would much rather only purchase books and/or study guides that I really need. I highly doubt that I (or anyone for that matter) need to buy every book and study guide posted in the EC bookstore.

Any help and/or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!!

:bow:

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

Personally, I bought the fundamentals book, a med-surg book, and maternal-neonatal book, and a pharmacology book (not necessarily the recommended ones, but they contain about the same information anyway). I had a pathophysiology book from medic school that I also used for some exams. I also had Chancellor's study guides that I bought (and subsequently re-sold) on eBay, as well as notes from StudyGroup101 -- http://myworld.ebay.com/studygroup101 -- and Lisa Arends -- http://myworld.ebay.com/larends. I also took the EC practice exams for every single exam -- thought they were very helpful! Some people have passed only using notes, but I didn't want to try that myself. :)

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Personally, I bought the fundamentals book, a med-surg book, and maternal-neonatal book, and a pharmacology book (not necessarily the recommended ones, but they contain about the same information anyway). I had a pathophysiology book from medic school that I also used for some exams. I also had Chancellor's study guides that I bought (and subsequently re-sold) on eBay, as well as notes from StudyGroup101 -- http://myworld.ebay.com/studygroup101 -- and Lisa Arends -- http://myworld.ebay.com/larends. I also took the EC practice exams for every single exam -- thought they were very helpful! Some people have passed only using notes, but I didn't want to try that myself. :)

Hey thanks for your input Lunah! How old were the books that you used that weren't exactly Excelsior recommended? I see that people say they went to EBAY and www.half.com for cheap books but I am not seeing too much selection at all for the recommended books.

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.

They were pretty new -- I bought some of those "Made Ridiculously Easy" books at Borders. A big part of my "nursing bookshelf" looks like I really like it easy. LOL! I bought their A&P book, too.

I usually waited until I got a 20% off coupon from Borders, then used that for those books.

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This is my take if I know now what I didn't know then that is.

  1. Buy notes either Lisa Arends or Studygroup101, or get the free Yahoo group Lisa's notes ( which seem to be Lisa Arends before she decided to copyright and make a biz out of it). Know that notes are just that someone else's notations, short hand, and symbols that may take you a while to understand if ever. Studygroup101 is more comprehensive or wordy than Lisa's so I like them a lot, but if you already have a good grasp on the material in a certain exam, you can go with Lisa's. If you go with the Yahoo group notes, remember that these are old, so somethings will have changed, and they may have some info that was believed to be correct then, that has been proven untrue (but practice tests will help with this somewhat)
  2. Get an old used Kozier's FON. It can cost as little as $5 with shipping included on Half.com .
  3. Get a more recent but used Pharmacology book on Half.com
  4. If you don't have experience working in OB, Trauma, or Psyc you may want to get older used copies of those also, but that said I WOULD ONLY GET THE FON AND PHARM BOOKS.
  5. The net MUST BUY for me would be Saunders Comprehensive NClex Prep. This book has most of the info needed to study fro EC's exams. I say most because it doesn't cover much of the Fundamentals and some history. So basically it is really good for NC2-6. It is a large book, and you will go through most of it, don't let it intimidate you. It basically covers things in outline form, so it's usually easy to catch on. And the note from Lisa or Study group should help you focus in on what you need for the exam.
  6. EC's Content Outlines
  7. And last but not least EC's practice exams (that you can purchase after you register for the exam)

I would arrange study like this:

1. If you think you know a little of what is needed for the exam, take the practice test before you really study. If you know that you have NO CLUE about the particular subject area, do some rough study first just skimming over the material.

  • If you score 60% - 69% you have a good foundation and with little or no study you would most likely get a C on the exam.

  • If you score 70%-79% you know a good bit, and would probably get a B or an A on the exam with little or no study.

  • If you score above 80% you are really good in the particular subject area, and would most likely get an A on the exam.

  • If you score below 59% you are so not ready, so study hard.

  • *Be aware that these are not hard and fast scoring rules, they are just most likely. But there have been many surprises both good and bad.

-Go over the rationales, and plan your focused study on the area that you didn't do so hot in.

2. Use the notes that you purchased or the yahoo notes, and open up your Saunders at the same time, use the index to find things quickly. If a particular condition is not listed in the index, it may still be in the book so, go to the table of contents, to find the general study area. For example Pheochromocytoma, may or may not be listed in the index, but it's an Endocrine disorder, so I would go to he Endocrine chapter to try and find it. Use your FON and pharm book when your notes and Saunders aren't explaining enough to you.

3. Keep studying this way focusing on your areas of weakness aeb the practice exam results, letting the notes guide your study because they are based on EC Content Outline.

4. When you are done, go to the Content Outline, you should be able to elaborate just a little on everything that is named in it by now, or at least most of it

5. Take the second practice test now. Depending on the score on the practice exam and the grade you would like on the real thing, you may or may not need more study. For example if you score in the 50's unless you want to pay for that exam again go back to hitting books. If you score in the lower 60's and are okay with a C, you can take the real thig bust you are really borderline C/D so I would study more in my worst areas. If you score in the upper 60's are are okay with a C go ahead and take it, if however you want a B or an A study more. And it goes on like this.

You can do this as quickly or as slowly as you want.

That' just my :twocents:.

Ohh, and if you do it the way i would have you would wind up spending about $134 on study material for the Nursing exams, more or less depending on your situation, and is you choose to use the free yahoo notes.

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Plus the cost of practice exams around $400.

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Thank you so very much for your input!!! This is very helpful and seems as if it will save me lots of time and money!!!

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Specializes in Vents, Telemetry, Home Care, Home infusion.

Advice form a long term RN advocate:

Learn nursing to MASTER content knowledge, not just to pass a test. You never known when the details of a disease process will come back to help or HAUNT you in caring for a patient.

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Specializes in long term care Alzheimers Patients.
This is my take if I know now what I didn't know then that is.

  1. Buy notes either Lisa Arends or Studygroup101, or get the free Yahoo group Lisa's notes ( which seem to be Lisa Arends before she decided to copyright and make a biz out of it). Know that notes are just that someone else's notations, short hand, and symbols that may take you a while to understand if ever. Studygroup101 is more comprehensive or wordy than Lisa's so I like them a lot, but if you already have a good grasp on the material in a certain exam, you can go with Lisa's. If you go with the Yahoo group notes, remember that these are old, so somethings will have changed, and they may have some info that was believed to be correct then, that has been proven untrue (but practice tests will help with this somewhat)
  2. Get an old used Kozier's FON. It can cost as little as $5 with shipping included on Half.com .
  3. Get a more recent but used Pharmacology book on Half.com
  4. If you don't have experience working in OB, Trauma, or Psyc you may want to get older used copies of those also, but that said I WOULD ONLY GET THE FON AND PHARM BOOKS.
  5. The net MUST BUY for me would be Saunders Comprehensive NClex Prep. This book has most of the info needed to study fro EC's exams. I say most because it doesn't cover much of the Fundamentals and some history. So basically it is really good for NC2-6. It is a large book, and you will go through most of it, don't let it intimidate you. It basically covers things in outline form, so it's usually easy to catch on. And the note from Lisa or Study group should help you focus in on what you need for the exam.
  6. EC's Content Outlines
  7. And last but not least EC's practice exams (that you can purchase after you register for the exam)

I would arrange study like this:

1. If you think you know a little of what is needed for the exam, take the practice test before you really study. If you know that you have NO CLUE about the particular subject area, do some rough study first just skimming over the material.

  • If you score 60% - 69% you have a good foundation and with little or no study you would most likely get a C on the exam.

  • If you score 70%-79% you know a good bit, and would probably get a B or an A on the exam with little or no study.

  • If you score above 80% you are really good in the particular subject area, and would most likely get an A on the exam.

  • If you score below 59% you are so not ready, so study hard.

  • *Be aware that these are not hard and fast scoring rules, they are just most likely. But there have been many surprises both good and bad.

-Go over the rationales, and plan your focused study on the area that you didn't do so hot in.

2. Use the notes that you purchased or the yahoo notes, and open up your Saunders at the same time, use the index to find things quickly. If a particular condition is not listed in the index, it may still be in the book so, go to the table of contents, to find the general study area. For example Pheochromocytoma, may or may not be listed in the index, but it's an Endocrine disorder, so I would go to he Endocrine chapter to try and find it. Use your FON and pharm book when your notes and Saunders aren't explaining enough to you.

3. Keep studying this way focusing on your areas of weakness aeb the practice exam results, letting the notes guide your study because they are based on EC Content Outline.

4. When you are done, go to the Content Outline, you should be able to elaborate just a little on everything that is named in it by now, or at least most of it

5. Take the second practice test now. Depending on the score on the practice exam and the grade you would like on the real thing, you may or may not need more study. For example if you score in the 50's unless you want to pay for that exam again go back to hitting books. If you score in the lower 60's and are okay with a C, you can take the real thig bust you are really borderline C/D so I would study more in my worst areas. If you score in the upper 60's are are okay with a C go ahead and take it, if however you want a B or an A study more. And it goes on like this.

You can do this as quickly or as slowly as you want.

That' just my :twocents:.

Ohh, and if you do it the way i would have you would wind up spending about $134 on study material for the Nursing exams, more or less depending on your situation, and is you choose to use the free yahoo notes.

Hi Thanks fro all the info I got sucker into buying all the modules from TCN thought I had to dumb me but still might need more what is FON also how can i purchase Lisa Arends or study 101 notes

Thanks :bowingpur

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Hi Thanks fro all the info I got sucker into buying all the modules from TCN thought I had to dumb me but still might need more what is FON also how can i purchase Lisa Arends or study 101 notes

Thanks :bowingpur

I hear the study group 101 is better and more up to date.

Lisa Arends on Ebay:

http://search.ebay.com/_W0QQsassZlarendsQQhtZ-1

Study Group 101 on Ebay

http://stores.ebay.com/My-StudyGroup-101

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Advice form a long term RN advocate:

Learn nursing to MASTER content knowledge, not just to pass a test. You never known when the details of a disease process will come back to help or HAUNT you in caring for a patient.

Thanks this is so true, so let me add this note; I have found that for me, this method of study does help me to absorb, and master the content, and it show up when I am studying for the next exam. Everyone may not be able to master the content in the same way, because different people learn, differently. But at all times, please remember that you are not just studying to pass a test, but to save lives.

At the same time remember that you are ALSO studying to pass a test, and that should be kept in mind, because some people just don't naturally test well, no matter how much they know.

Also, IMHO, Saunders is like Nursing school in a book, and the outline format that is used makes things easy to understand, remember,and piece together.

Ohh, and for the person who asked FON = Fundamentals of Nursing.

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Specializes in pulm/cardiology pcu, surgical onc.

I had both nursing books and TCN study guides but have a hard time reading and just trying to memorize facts. What helped me to pull it all together is thinking back to patients I've taken care of in the past and applying what I've picked up from the reading to get that aha! moment of understanding. In my LPN program we also had to write a paper on a different disease process every week describing s/sx, interventions, meds, tx's etc. and this was really helpful in getting down the basics.

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