Nclex in 2 days...some ???s

k1p1ssk, BSN, RN · Jul 12, 2011

1: They do tell you how many decimal points to round to. In my experience (i took NCLEX-RN on June 23rd), i had to wait a second or two between pressing the buttons on the computer's calculator before each digit was recognized, so take your time and make sure you're entering the values correctly. You should ALWAYS write 0.5 instead of .5. Anything else is a JCAHO violation.

2: I studied Saunders' Lab values and did fine. I only had two questions where it mattered, but the values are either going to be obviously normal (within any source's range) or very obviously out of range. You get a white board and marker to write on. What I did was as soon as it was ok to, I wrote down all the normal lab values on the board (you can't do that until AFTER the tutorial - it is considered "brain dumping" and they will know since they video tape you). That way I didn't have to think about it when it came down to remembering the values. It made me soooooo much less nervous and is completely legal in NCLEX land.

You'll do great. Just remember to read through the questions and that there is always a clue to the answer within the question. You just have to find it :) GOOD LUCK!!

BlessedNurs, BSN, MSN · Jul 12, 2011

1: They do tell you how many decimal points to round to. In my experience (i took NCLEX-RN on June 23rd), i had to wait a second or two between pressing the buttons on the computer's calculator before each digit was recognized, so take your time and make sure you're entering the values correctly. You should ALWAYS write 0.5 instead of .5. Anything else is a JCAHO violation.
2: I studied Saunders' Lab values and did fine. I only had two questions where it mattered, but the values are either going to be obviously normal (within any source's range) or very obviously out of range. You get a white board and marker to write on. What I did was as soon as it was ok to, I wrote down all the normal lab values on the board (you can't do that until AFTER the tutorial - it is considered "brain dumping" and they will know since they video tape you). That way I didn't have to think about it when it came down to remembering the values. It made me soooooo much less nervous and is completely legal in NCLEX land.
You'll do great. Just remember to read through the questions and that there is always a clue to the answer within the question. You just have to find it :) GOOD LUCK!![/quote
THANK YOU SOO MUCH!!! Just what i need to hear :)

*LadyJane* · Jul 12, 2011

I had NO math calculations in my exam. I also had very few questions with lab values. I did have about 25 or 30 select all that apply, and questions testing my ability to spot serious complications with two early symptoms. Studying all the first signs of serious complications with various diseases was very valuable to me. Perhaps you too?

BlessedNurs, BSN, MSN · Jul 12, 2011

Thank uu.. I hope it will not be as bad. Did u do Hurst review too? I did it and I hope it will not be in vein.

*LadyJane* · Jul 12, 2011

I did hurst review, and Marilyn's advice to worry about your patient all the time was very valid. There was always something to worry about. I think that the $$ for hurstreview was very well spent!

Savvy20RN, BSN, RN · Jul 12, 2011

So my exam is in two days. I am soo nervous but I do want to get it over with. I've been doing practice questions for the last few days and I have some questions.
1. Does Nclex question let you know how may decimal points your answer should be or if there should be a zero behind the decimal point. (i.e. 0.5 instead of .5). I got few calculation question incorrect during practice because of these mistakes. So i was just curious :heartbeat
2. There are different lab values in different sources. I am not sure which one to follow. I am taking Hurst online and the lab values indicated by the package are different than what i have in Saunders and my med surg book..etc.. Not sure which one to memorize
Thanks.

I had two math questions on the NCLEX. One was a simple ml/hr I believe and they told me the answer should be rounded to the tenth place. The other was a critical care type math problem. It was something along the lines of: The patient weighs 123 lbs. The doctors orders 3 mcg/kg/min of Nipride. You have Nipride 50mg in 250ml D5W. Calculate ml/hr. They didn't tell me anything about decimals because the answer was a whole number.

For the record, you'd never answer a question .5 because that could lead to medication errors. Even if they don't tell you how to give your answer, you ALWAYS, put a 0 before a decimal. You leave the 0 off after the decimal to minimize confusion if your answer is a whole number. Ie. 6 instead of 6.0. Hope that helps. :)

2. I can't even remember if I had lab values on my exam. Hahaha. If there were they were values everyone should know, such as K, Na, glucose, WBC etc I agree with the poster above. The values would be either really off or within range.

caliotter3 · Jul 15, 2011

Don't get hung up on these details. Almost any question will have sufficient info available to answer it correctly.