NCLEX-PN prep...what helped you the most???

[CharleeJo.RN]

For those of you who have taken the NCLEX-PN, i need some help!!

What study materials were most effective and similar to the NCLEX style of questions??

Did you use Meds PUB online prep - and was that helpful??

If taking prep courses are NOT an option, what is the best way to prepare? Certain books, online preps, etc??

Any help would be amazingly helpful!!!!!!!!!!

[solneeshka, BSN, RN]

I did practice questions from a great variety of sources and I have to say that none of them were especially close to the actual NCLEX questions. It's true what we were taught in school -- they know you know the major points, they will test you on the less-obvious stuff. You might be able to list the top 5 most important interventions for CHF; they will ask you about #8. This is why it's more important to get down concepts instead of trying to memorize facts. I passeed with 75 but felt confident about a whole 2 of my answers. I just did the best I could with the concepts I knew to narrow down the possible answers, rule out that or that based on concepts.

The most important thing I did to prepare was to do a lot of practice questions. I think it was about 1,000, which actually is not a whole lot. Reading the rationales for the ones you get right as well as the ones you get wrong will go a long way toward helping you get in the frame of mind of answering based on concepts rather than rote memorization.

The Kaplan book was not expensive (maybe $25 or $30) and was fantastic for offering test-taking strategies. Believe me, these are very important! You can't possibly memorize the entire body of knowledge they will test you on, so learning techniques for taking the test can really make a big difference.

[BartC_RN]

I think Meds-Pub has ATI, am I right? I can't remember for sure. I was required to do ATI all through school and then I had access to it online after graduation for about 3 weeks before I took NCLEX. Basically I reviewed the material I felt weak in which I have on DVDs, then I'd take practice tests covering med-surg, then all the specialty areas. I agree with solneeshka in that the actual NCLEX questions were not really close to the practice questions. But I feel like they're in the ballpark. It's like the same style. I passed with 75 questions as well and couldn't believe it when it cut me off. I probably felt confident with less than 5 of the answers I submitted. From what I've heard and read about others' experience, that's the way pretty much every body feels after they take it.

Good luck!