nclex studying

Julie, RN · May 4, 2000

Hi, at my school they recommended either Saunders or Lippincott NCLEX books. However, I saw on a poll that people ranked Mosby as being the most helpful.

Good luck on your test!

Julie M.,SN

[This message has been edited by Julie,SN (edited May 04, 2000).]

Nancy1 · May 4, 2000

I used Mosby and Lippincott. It is a good idea to use the manuals as a study guide. I had them from about my 3rd year and reviewed the questions as apreparation for instructor tests.

Good Luck. NA

Tracy · May 6, 2000

Get a book like Mosby's from the book store and go over test strategies and do some sample questions. The test is not hard at all. For me it was mostly being able to prioritize patients. I studided for 2 weeks prior to taking the test and I think that I would have done just as well if I had not studied at all. Test strategies like remembering that airway is the most important and Maslow's hierarchy were the most beneficial. The NCLEX is not a test of content. It is a test of if you will be a safe nurse. Do not sweat it and do not study for 3 months. Nursing school (at least mine) does a great job at educating people to be skilled, safe, and cmpetent nurses.

Julie, RN · May 28, 2000

I am just curious.....

How long did other nurses study before taking the NCLEX?

And did you feel your studying was beneficial?

mandroid · Jun 19, 2000

Have you heard of the NCLEX Online review course by the national Council? Does anyone know if that is a good review, I hear that it is....any more advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

[This message has been edited by mandroid (edited June 19, 2000).]

ltm · Jun 21, 2000

i used kaplan and mosby's books to study for the nclex. i studied for about two weeks to put all of the information in perspective. after my final week of school about 15 of my friends and i took a kaplan course. i found remembering their strategies was the most helpful thing. as it was stated before, the nclex is not a test of content, but instead a test of your competency and safety as a entry level nurse. more than anything kaplan gave me a lot of confidence by pointing out that we had all the material in our head to pass the test, we just needed to pay close attention to what the questions were asking and prioritize. best of luck.

HoJo · Jun 22, 2000

I used a Mosby CD-rom ($45) I found at Barnes and Noble bookstore. The main thing you want to do is go through AS MANY! NCLEX style questions as you possibly can. And on the ones you miss go back to your old nursing books and look up why you missed that question (if you didn't sell them!). This is a fairly cheap way to study and I did just as well as those who bought books and audio tapes that cost $100-$400. You probably still have your old nursing books. If you go back and look up why you missed each question it will help you remember vastly this is a great que when you actually go to take the NCLEX. Besides the nursing books have more information in them than the review books anyhow (its just a matter of finding it) and you can go through a systematic review by using the CD-rom.

Another thing is that make sure you go over your other stuff besides the core nursing. This includes things such as Leadership (i had a lot of ?'s on this one, but every test is different), teaching, malpractice, delegation (lots on this one too), etc. So make sure that you cover all of your bases and not just study Med/Surg or Peds. Just make sure that whichever review program you choose has some material on this!!

LISSA · Jun 30, 2000

I have a question. I have heard that there are many questions on the NCLEX related to prioritizing patients, assements, and implementations. Does anyone know the best way to study/learn to answer these types of questions?

ltm · Jun 30, 2000

the best way to study for these questions is to remember the ABCs, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, and always see/treat the most acute patient/life threatening illness first. Always take care of a person's most potentially life threatening problem first. there is truly no book or class that can show you how to do these things. just always think in priority & initial action questions that you the nurse can walk in the patient's room, perform one task and walk out. the majority of my 75 questions were priority/initial action questions, but everyone's test is so different. both my mosbys disk and kaplan book had a lot of these questions. best of luck.

hopeful_nurse · Jan 16, 2007

Good luck to all.

hopeful_nurse · Jan 16, 2007

Practice many NCLEX type questions , that's what they say that is effective