NCLEX RN Strategies

[William2]

So I and fellow friends(students) are going to start preparing to write our boards. Now, we are going to be participating in the ATI live review for 5? days in May. Its free to us.

As far as content review Saunders has been excellent for us in the past and now if you need information. I have the Q&A book as well from them as well. We also utilize the ATI targeted reviews and learning modules which contain 30~90 questions per area and an NCLEX RN final. We used these last year for our LPN's. All 17 of us passed the first time.

One area that I look towards now especially since its impossible to know it all-every drug, side effect, adverse effects, diseases, patho etc- i am curious about NCLEX strategies.

Kaplan sells a book that's rated highly on amazon. But before going on a spending spree I am curious what actually these books have that make them so good what makes this statement ".... unique strategy guide with a comprehensive review designed to meet the challenges of this rigorous exam" hold true. What could we benefit from.

What type of strategies can one use that are actually useful. Can anyone contributed as to what is stated in these books that make them worthwhile.

Thanks

[PayitForwardHolistic]

I know this isn't a direct answer to your question...but I came across an old post on AN that shares some "Test taking strategies for NCLEX-RN"

[MissyNik]

In the Saunders book look at chapter 5..........it has the strategies that are recommended to utilize during the exam.

[AngelAsherah]

I have Kaplan Strategies book 2013-2014. It's a great book, you'll learn how test makers think and how to answer the questions using KAPLAN decision tree, it has Q&As every chapter and 2 practice test. It's not for every one though, others said that it made them confuse more than ever. You need to practice the strategies so you can get used to them and be part of your system when answering. However, you can not apply them with recall questions.

I agree, Saunders 5th ed book Chapter 5, It's similar to the KAPLAN strategies but less complicated. You might want to check that first.

[William2]

Thank you. I will be reviewing chapter 5 and looking at the .doc file within the next couple days. I'm just interested in finding out ways that may prove beneficial on boards or the few remaining tests i have and ATI's...

[RNTutor, BSN, RN]

Yes, the Kaplan strategies book is a good one...I recommend it to my students who want to improve their test-taking strategy for NCLEX.

If you're looking for ideas on how to master pharmacology, I think using a "prototype" method is the best way to study meds. Pick 1-2 common medications for each category (i.e. narcotics, diuretics, etc), then focus on understanding those specific meds. The majority of the time, those characteristics will generalize to the rest of the meds in the category. It's a nice short-cut method to understanding pharmacology!