My Kaplan Journey Nclex-PN

dafishman · Sep 22, 2014

Update:

Took my PN readiness test last night. 100 questions, 2 hours. Took me 1:30. Scored a 66%. Not sure how good that is. I emailed them and am awaiting a response. Cool thing is it breaks down the questions into the categories. Bad news, you dont see the exact question with your answer and the answer choices, it just gives you the topic and the definition and what you should know about it.

I wish it showed me what I chose, what the choices were for review. I hope the Q-bank does it that way!!!

Plan on starting the Q-bank as soon as I hear back on the readiness results.....

dafishman · Sep 25, 2014

instructor got back to me said that's doing good and keep it up and focus on areas under 60%.

Started the Q-bank and I love it. Shows the ?, shows the right answer, and tells you why and all about what the question is looking for.

I decided to break the tests into 25 questions at a time.

1st test 28%!!! I didn't know what to expect and honestly wasn't ready, was really nervous like my nclex!!!!. That was 9/23

2nd test 9/24 25 questions, 64%.

3rd test 9/24 25 questions, 60%.

I have a notebook and after every test I remediate like they say to do. Some of the med ones I have gotten wrong, I honestly have never, ever heard of. A few others I changed the answer and I shouldn't have. Some I had narrowed down to 2 and just picked the wrong one....So, I could easily be at 50% or 75%+.

Even after qbank im going to remediate them all again and make sure I totally understand...You need to know why you got it right or wrong.

For example. Client had renal failure. I didn't know that meant low calcium which is hypocalcemia, which causes numbness and tingling in the hands which can then be a sign of an impending seizure....So, I am learning to put things together which is what you HAVE to do in order to get through this. THe answer sometimes on NCLEX is black/white but most of the time you need to critically think and work through it.....

Will update as I go! So far, I will say Kaplan is hands down the best I have used......

Dcmom · Sep 25, 2014

So how does it work really? Do they tell you what to do daily? Or give you a strict outline to do each day? When do you exactly read the book and watch the videos? Isn't it the qbank needed to be last? Do they require you to devote a cerrain # of hours? Sorry for the ignorance, but I really wanna know how it works and make sure I can go through it before signing up. Just like you I have two babies and a stay home mom, husband work full time but unlike you, I have no mother or anybody to leave my kids even just for few hours.

Just so you know your situation resembles a lot like mine. Lol. Good luck to us!?

dafishman · Sep 25, 2014

So how does it work really? Do they tell you what to do daily? Or give you a strict outline to do each day? When do you exactly read the book and watch the videos? Isn't it the qbank needed to be last? Do they require you to devote a cerrain # of hours? Sorry for the ignorance, but I really wanna know how it works and make sure I can go through it before signing up. Just like you I have two babies and a stay home mom, husband work full time but unlike you, I have no mother or anybody to leave my kids even just for few hours.
Just so you know your situation resembles a lot like mine. Lol. Good luck to us!

Hey,

Yes, you are supposed to watch the content videos and read the book. The book is very in depth and about 500 questions. The vids are probably about 12-14 hours in total. I do lack in content but overall my biggest problem was finding out what they wanted and how to go about eliminating the wrong ones. Remediating is teaching me why I got things right/wrong.

They do give you an outline, I am not following it 100% but by remediating, I learn what I don't know, sort of filling in the blanks.

I am not sure how one could read and retain 500 pages and hundreds of drugs and diseases, its nearly impossible. But as I described above in my example about renal failure, I am starting to put the puzzle pieces together!

You see you can know pretty much everything for content and still fail. Don't get me wrong, that isn't me, but on my initial exam, I scored a 66%, my problem was reading into the question too much and not answering what they wanted. Take the question and answer what they want, don't add to it, don't add steps to how to prepare a sterile field. Take what they give you and answer accordingly. In your head you know there is a "better" answer, but if its not there, you have to take what they give you and choose the "best" answer that fits accordingly. Whatever you choose, ask yourself, does this answer, answer the question they are asking?

I plan on doing another 50 questions tonight and I will post an update.

One last thing in regards to content, I have a hard time reading something one time and understanding it. Values are different, but I need to repeat it and repeat it. That Simplynursing videos I watched 3 weeks ago, I STILL REMEMBER!!!!!!!!!!

Myasthenia Gravis, Pancreas, APGAR, Its like I watched it last night!!! So, I guess I am a visual learner. I think I am going to use him starting this weekend (40/month with no contract) to help me with pharm, peds, and OB. Those are my weak areas.

Again, what works for me doesn't for others. I spoke to a classmate yesterday and she swears to god she didn't study for the boards, she left crying, 2 days later, she passed!!!!

I had higher grades than her in school! So, a lot is luck depending on what questions you get. One other classmate had all 205 questions, she swears half were SATA and she passed, she thought she failed!

Doing the best I can with the time I have. Will update later.....

dafishman · Sep 26, 2014

Update for 9/25

Bad scores. 52% on 1st and 36% on 2nd. Lacking in content. No way to sugar coat it. Questions were 90% on these last 2 tests about content and obviously I thought I knew more than I did.

Going to dive into content and take a few days off from the q-bank.....

Will update.....

dafishman · Sep 29, 2014

Quick update:

Bit the bullet and joined simple nursing for 39.95/month, cancel anytime, no strings attached. Cant say I have ever seen a better site for content if you're a visual learner like myself.

Kaplan is amazing for breaking down the question and how to answer them, SN is amazing with content and how he breaks it down into such simple terms and it all makes sense and he ties it all together....

Watched probably 10 videos today and like the videos from 3 weeks ago, just sticks with me. I take notes in a notebook and I will transfer them to note cards.

Gonna try a test in a few days or a week and see if increased. Will update then....

Dcmom · Oct 4, 2014

Hmmmm... These makes me wonder whether Kaplan content will be enough for my liking. Since you purchase another source to supplement your content review. I know you said that the book did not quite fit for you, so what about the videos? TIA.

dafishman · Oct 21, 2014

Updates:

Went on vacation for 8 days, never studied. I know, it's ******* terrible!!!!

Tough though, had the trip planned since June, not much I could do. Brought my books and everything, just never got around to it...

I did take one test down on vaca, scored a 62%.

Took one yesterday scored a 52%. So, not where I need to be...

DCMOM, I have not watched any of the kaplan vids. I have subscribed to the simplenursing and I like his much better BUT I dont know if he provides the intricate details. Soooooooo, yesterday I put in 3 hours and today I will also, im shooting for 5 days a week here. I have to take my test by jan 19th, havent scheduled it yet because the anxiety will kick in. Want to make sure I am getting adequate scores and learning.

I am learning, thats for sure....Filling up my notebook, breaking everything into categories like Neuro, Adrenals, Psych, etc and then going to put on notecards and really try to study off of them....

So, im really focused now being back from vaca and no excuses. I will get this done....

DC mom, I will watch a kaplan video and I will compare it to simplenursing and I will tell you my opinion how well they pertain to nclex. I will try one tonight as I plan on heading to the local college about 5-6pm for some serious study time....

blue82 · Oct 21, 2014

do you like simplenursing over Hurst?

dafishman · Oct 21, 2014

100000000% better. I am a visual learner and Mike at SN breaks stuff down into simple terms. Again, I dont know IF the info he gives digs down into what is needed for the NCLEX.

One example I know he did for sure was for Parkinsons. He had a video on Parkinsons and he said you would want a HIGH fiber, I think high protein, (have to check notes). I had this same question on my NCLEX that I failed.

The other questions I remember on my NCLEX were a lot of priority and safety and stuff like that so he doesnt have much for that stuff. But if you want to know about the heart, respiratory, etc, hes been good for me....

I am going to watch some KAPLAN vids tonight and see how they compare and update.

I am as UNBIASED a person as you would ever meet...

Stay tuned............

JustBeachyNurse, LPN · Oct 21, 2014

do you like simplenursing over Hurst?

I think it's personal preference. More visual learners seem to prefer simplenursing. Price point is similar from what I understand. He has some free you tube videos to try before you buy to see if the style meets your needs.

Rubz, BSN · Oct 21, 2014

100000000% better. I am a visual learner and Mike at SN breaks stuff down into simple terms. Again, I dont know IF the info he gives digs down into what is needed for the NCLEX.
One example I know he did for sure was for Parkinsons. He had a video on Parkinsons and he said you would want a HIGH fiber, I think high protein, (have to check notes). I had this same question on my NCLEX that I failed.
The other questions I remember on my NCLEX were a lot of priority and safety and stuff like that so he doesnt have much for that stuff. But if you want to know about the heart, respiratory, etc, hes been good for me....
I am going to watch some KAPLAN vids tonight and see how they compare and update.
I am as UNBIASED a person as you would ever meet...
Stay tuned............

I would watch his videos and I notice that there were mistakes on what he was saying; from that point forward I decided not to watch his videos. I like what he is doing but he needs to be more professional about it, specially if he is charging money!

I used this videos for my nclex and they were helpful and accurate!

I love this videos!

https://www.youtube.com/user/MEDCRAMvideos/videos

They have their videos as a review...got to love them.

MauiMaryRN - YouTube

I like how she explain the material and how she teaches you how to approach questions.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwozjkRz1ddYmozmjynxLPQ/videos

If you are having trouble with med calculations, this link is helpful and Rona is very funny!

I hope they help!