March 2008 NCLEX support group

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A thread for all those in March who are planning to take the NCLEX offering both support and any hints or tips that help

Good luck to all :D

hi guys...i like your ideas! i wanna join in!

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Hi igmirnor,

Thank you! Yes, I'm doing the Suzanne's plan. But I also enrolled in Kaplan's Complete for International Nurse. Their classroom program will start on the 26th. I hope it will work for me. Thanks! TC! :)

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Specializes in OB/GYN/OR.

urwlcm: sure!!!...wishiwereanurse

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Specializes in med/surg/tele/neuro/rehab/corrections.

Hi. I graduated in January and will be taking the NCLEX in March per my study plan from my NCLEX study class. Did anyone else take a class after graduation? My school didn't require it but it was strongly recommended and I'm so glad I did take it. :)

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Specializes in PACU.
Hi. I graduated in January and will be taking the NCLEX in March per my study plan from my NCLEX study class. Did anyone else take a class after graduation? My school didn't require it but it was strongly recommended and I'm so glad I did take it. :)

hi, i am taking Kaplan. Our school required us to take a reivew. i have access to Kaplan until April, but will take the NCLEX asap as long as my scores are consistenly above 65% on kaplans qbank and trainers.

Best of luck to you, and please stick around for our group:cheers:

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Here are some notes on cardiac meds that I made. Also wanted to share a way to remember side effects for anti-cholinergic meds that a prof taught me: Can't pee, can't see, can't spit. It's pretty easy and has helped me with a few q's

DRUG CLASSIFICATIONS: cardiac

Beta-blockers: A drug, such as propanolol, that opposes the excitatory effects of norepinephrine released from sympathetic nerve endings at beta-receptors and is used for the treatment of angina, hypertension, arrhythmia, and migraine. Also called beta-adrenergic blocking agent.

Thiazides (Diruetic): Any of a group of drugs that block reabsorption of sodium in the distal tubules of the kidneys, used as diuretics primarily in the treatment of hypertension.

They inhibit Na+/Cl- reabsorption from the distal convoluted tubules in the kidneys. Thiazides also cause loss of potassium and an increase in serum uric acid. The side effect of hypokalemia has motivated combining thiazides with ACE inhibitors, which also lower blood pressure but cause hyperkalemia as a side effect.

ACE inhibitors: A group of drugs used to treat high blood pressure. These drugs work by decreasing production of a certain chemical in the kidneys that causes constriction of blood vessels. ACE inhibitors are used for controlling blood pressure, treating heart failure and preventing kidney damage in people with hypertension or diabetes.

Calcium Channel Blockers: Calcium channel blockers are a class of drugs that block the entry of calcium into the muscle cells of the heart and thearteries. It is the entry of calcium into these cells that causes the heart tocontract and arteries to narrow. By blocking the entry of calcium, CCBs decrease contractions of the heart and dilate (widen) the arteries.CCBs are used for treating high blood pressure,angina, and abnormal heart rhythms (e.g., atrial fibrillation). They also may be used after a heart attack, particularly among patients who cannot tolerate beta-blocking drugs, have atrial fibrillation, or require treatment for theirangina. (Unlike beta blockers, CCBs have not been shown to reduce mortality oradditional heart attacks after a heart attack.)

Aldosterone Antagonist: Aldosterone antagonist refers to drugs which antagonize the action of aldosterone at mineralocorticoid receptors. This group of drugs is often used as adjunctive therapy, in combination with other drugs, for the management of chronic heart failure. Spironolactone, the first member of the class, is also used in the management of hyperaldosteronism (including Conn's syndrome) and female hirsutism.

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Specializes in OB/GYN/OR.

Hi Miss Kellied 1983,

Thankyou for sharing... appreciate it...the mnemonic is awesome. I'm sure I will remember anticholinergic s/e henceforth...:yeahthat:

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that mnemonic was quite funny, kellied!

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Specializes in OB/GYN/OR.

This was posted by Pagandeva 2000....just copying it here..check this out..

Originally Posted by pagandeva2000 viewpost.gif

Insulin, Coumadin, Heparin, antihypertensives, viagra, digitalis, ritalin, actonel, accutane, anti-ulcer medications, nitroglycern, to name a few. Try to look at the suffixes:

ace inhibitors end with 'pril (eg: captopril) *note that this drug increases potassium in the blood,

angiotensinogen 2 inhibitors end in 'sartan (eg: losartan),

beta blockers end with 'olol (eg: metoprolol) *caution with patients who are diabetic or who are asthmatic,

cholesterol reducing drugs usually end with 'statin (eg: atorvastatin) * note that if the patient experiences muscular pain, they should stop immediately and report it to the doctor, also not to consume grapefruit juice,

impotence drugs end with "defil (eg: sildenefil-hope I spelled it correctly...if not please excuse the typo) *note that you cannot take this drug if you are taking nitrates such as nitroglycerin or isosorbide and go to the doctor if an erection last longer than 4 hours,

accutane is an acne drug, where a pregnancy test must be done on females before prescribing them

actonel (again, this may be a typo) cannot be taken unless a person is able to sit up for at least 1/2 hour to an hour after adminstration.

Know the acting times of insulin, which is fast acting, long acting or the lente. They may ask when will a person become hypoglycemic, and that would be during peak hours.

penicillin: if a person has an allergy to penicillin, they may be at risk for an allergy to a cephalosporin, in that case suggest a macrolide such as clarithromycin. Macrolides are known to cause severe stomach pain for some people. Also, if a nurse administers penicillin or cephalosporin, that the patient should remain with the nurse for 1/2 hour afterwards to intervene with allergic reactions.

Most drugs that end with 'mycin may cause nephrotoxicity or ototoxicity

Parameters for digitalis administration, and also that if potassium is low and calcium and magnesium is high, there is a higher chance for digitalis toxicity.

corticosteriods usually end with 'sone (eg: predinsone), may cause medication related diabetes, increase chances of infection, cause Cushoid symptoms (buffalo hump in back, thin skin, easy to bruise, etc...)

Aspirin should not be consumed with alcohol, increases bleeding, causes ulcers, should be taken with food to diminish gastric distress

Antidote for tylenol is Mucomyst.

There may be many more and also, there is a high chance that many drugs that you never heard of may be on the NCLEX exam. I was fortunate, I knew most of the drugs except two (had 11 drug questions, one calculations question), but, I know many that saw 'drugs prescribed in planet Mars" A good summary of the drugs and the suffixes I mentioned are in Delmar's Comprehensive Exam Review for NCLEX LPN or RN. I heard that the RNs got some chemotherapeutic drugs. I hope that this helped. Pharmacology was a major nightmare for me as well. It was never explained to me in this manner and I didn't discover this until I took a review course specific for pharmacology as well as purchasing the Delmar's book I mentioned. Now, pharmacology has almost become an obsession for me. I carry my PDA everywhere I go to work. Good luck! I know this was long (sorry about that

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Specializes in OB/GYN/OR.

I made a list .. any additions are welcome...

1) Cardiovascular

2) Renal

3) Gastrointestinal

4) Endocrine

5) Neurology

6) Musculoskeletal

7) Respiratory

8) oncology

9) Integumentary

10)Immune/hematologic

11)Maternity

12)Pediatric

13)Psych

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Specializes in LTC.
Hi Miss JKm,

Great Idea!!...:yelclap: I am all for it... it would be a good way to revise and also get to know strategies and rationales too...how do you want to go about it?? Any suggestions or ideas?? I see a lot of us are using the Suzanne plan and some of us.. Kaplan... how about following a chapter wise revision.. so say like today is Jan 15th..so you could post that everybody revises the lab values and then everyone posts whatever they feel like sharing , or ask questions on lab values then we could do med surg/paeds/maternity etc.. just my :twocents:

Awesome idea!:w00t:

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Specializes in LTC.

i look at it like this, if i fail; i fail and will do it again. i just want to take it to see what its like and get it over with. i am really not that nervous.

This is a good way of thinking:cheers:. I look at it like if I fail, there is always another chance, I'm not nervous about it nor am I going to stress about it. Although I'm allowing myself three months to study for this, because yes I do want to pass the first time but if I don't then I know I will eventually.

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