Is Saunders easier than other books?

Grace_RN2005 · Jul 9, 2005

I am just wondering if others found that Saunders questions are easier than other texts. I was using Saunders, which I was averaging about 75% correct in the questions and finished the book.
However, I just purchased the NCSBN website for 3 weeks and am finding it very difficult to answer their questions (I'm only getting about 60% right, 65% if i'm lucky). Has anyone else noticed this or is this just me? Did I just get too familiar with the way Saunders asked their questions and the content material?
Saunders seems to get a lot of praise on this board so I'm just wondering what other people's experiences are. I'm really nervous about the test now - I thought I was doing fine until now

Hi,

I also use Sandra and NCSBN. At beginning, I felt the questions on NCSBN are harder because there are no rational for each answers. Sandra has much better explanation than other books.

But NCSBN has different types of questions than Sandra; it's still a good source to practice.

Get Kaplan 2005-2006 RN-NCLEX Review. It has very good strageties for critical thinking skills.

suzanne4, RN · Jul 9, 2005

Saunders does an exceptional job with explaining the rationale behuind each and every answer. This is as important as the questions themselves... :)

futureRNMG · Jul 9, 2005

Saunders does an exceptional job with explaining the rationale behuind each and every answer. This is as important as the questions themselves... :)

I think Saunders did a great job of explaining all of their answers. I think that it really helped me alot with the test

atlanta · Jul 9, 2005

Saunders does an exceptional job with explaining the rationale behuind each and every answer. This is as important as the questions themselves... :)

"Kaplan Question Bank Online" and "Sample" test already did a good job at explaning rationale while kaplan question trainners 1-7 do not (but good questions). To me, Kaplan question is harder..... mostly priority question...not content knowledge..

However, I think for "content review" purposes, Saundras might be better.

But for test-taking strategy, Kaplan is better. There are lots of "priority" question on Kaplan... so don't get discourgae if you get low score...

Hopefullrn1day · Jul 9, 2005

I also did NCSBN and aveveraged 60-70%. Passed Nclex first time

celle507 · Jul 9, 2005

HopefulRN, I completely feel your pain! I've been studying for about 3 weeks now and have two more weeks left to go but I feel like it's all been useless! Everytime I do another set of questions, there are diagnosis, complications, or priorities that I just stare at and think "what?!!" :angryfire From reading this forum, I'm almost tempted to stop studying since no matter what, the NCLEX is going to be ridiculously hard with questions I have no clue about anyway! Thanks for sharing your percentages on the NCSBN as well. I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one scoring so low on these tests and that others have scored so low and still passed the NCLEX. How are everyone else's scores on the website?

I did really like Saunders for the rationale and the format as well but if the NCLEX test questions are much harder than the Saunders questions, then I desperately need to step up my game.

xokelly2 · Jul 10, 2005

NCSBN, I am scoring in the 60s and 70s as well, very discouraging. I also use saunders and lipencott. NCSBN does seem a lot harder, and I feel like I learn more from the books because half of my NCSBN exams/quizzes, I am spending too much time fiquring out what they are really asking, and maybe over analyzing. The questions are asked ina more difficult manner, but more of what i would expect on the NCLEX, I also scored in the 80th percentile on the HESI and I am hoping NCLEX will be similar because it was a little easier the NCSBN but more challenging then saunders and lipencott......

Goodluck in youre studying guys!!!