Is it Possible to pass Exams Just by doing Lots of Practice Questions?

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There are many in my program who swear by doing tons of Nclex practice questions, instead of actually reading our textbook....What do you guys think about it?

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Specializes in SNU/SNF/MedSurg, SPCU Ortho/Neuro/Spine.

i play attention in lecture, google stuff, and read my ati book, and do tons and tons of questions.

do i have to required text ? no, coz i cant aford it!

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My BFF gets A's this way. I tried it and got a 78, so I quickly went back to what works for me.

There are many in my program who swear by doing tons of Nclex practice questions, instead of actually reading our textbook....What do you guys think about it?
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Specializes in Pediatrics, Geriatrics, LTC.

Our teacher made up her own tests from a school test bank. They were NCLEX style but how could I have passed without reading the books? No way!

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I read the chapters (twice) and do the practice questions on this website we have for our class. I just finished nursing 1 and got an "A"....so it works for me and hope it continues. I guess you just have to find what works for you, everyone learns differently. Good luck! :)

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Specializes in PICU/Pedi.

I do tons of NCLEX style questions to help study, and I do think they help me understand those questions better. And heck yeah, I read the text, too! You can't answer the NCLEX questions right if you don't know the information. :D

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Specializes in CVICU.

Our test questions come from our text book. I went and reviewed a test with one of my instructors and she showed me exactly where in the book she got her questions. All the instructors do that. However they all recomend doing NCLEX style questions.

I have the Saunders, Prentice Hall and the Reviews and Rationales series books by Mary Ann Hogan. I also have the ATI books. I read the chapter in the textbook at least once, twice sometimes. And then did as many questions as I had time for.

I really enjoyed the ati book questions and chapters cause they were quick and to the point. I think the questions helped me. I was two points away from an 'A' . I would have gotten those two points if I didn't change the answers on some test questions!

Study the textbook material first and then do the questions in the NCLEX books and read the rationales to get you used to the way NCLEX style questions work and how they are worded. That helps me. And I also do the questions in the back of the chapter in the textbook.

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Specializes in CVICU, CCU, Heart Transplant.

The class notes were crucial, and there were way to many notes to even get to the book. Besides, my med-surg text is 6 inches thick & would have been impossible even begin to cover all the chapters.

I studied the class notes and used an NCLEX Med-Surg specific question book. The questions were very similar and I believe that it helped me tremendously . I only used the text for a reference for things I was having difficult understanding (ie ABG's)

BUT- I would not use an NCLEX review solely for studying for tests.

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Specializes in ICU.

I've read a couple of NCLEX review books and definately benefited from the advice given and understanding the how's and why's of those types of test questions.

But at the end of the day, you still need to know the basic knowledge behind the question to answer it correctly.

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I think that it depends on you and your school. In my program there is no way that that would work. You have to know the information behind the questions not just the answer to that question. What works for me personally is to study class notes as well as extra study materials such as NCLEX books.

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Specializes in Emergency Dept. Trauma. Pediatrics.

Is it possible, hmmmmm maybe. I did this a lot but I more so looked at the rationale and tried to learn the material that way, so it wasn't about memorizing answers to me, it was understanding WHY. My biggest thing though was understanding lectures which is what most of our tests were over.

In the end, if you don't understand WHY the answer is what it is, you won't get very far.

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

I personally think that is a STUPID idea.. And you would only be setting yourself up for failure. Just my opinon. Nursing test are not just fact based they involve TONS of critical thinking skills and application as well as memorization. NO NCLEX review book will fully prepare you for an exam. I personally take notes in class, copy them again at home, study my patho pages, careplans and ppt's as well as reading from the text books used for that qtr. I also tend to use RELIABLE nursing websites.

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