NCLEX Suggestion!

[PiedPiperRN]

Hey there,

A suggestion for passing the NCLEX:

I read a lot of posts from people who say "I took this and that class and I didn't pass."

Obviously we need facts to pass the NCLEX. Otherwise we would not need RN school. However, keep in mind that the NCLEX is both a test designed to test knowledge as well as critical thinking! When I took my test, there were many meds that I didn't know and even a few conditions that I never heard of. Rather then guessing, I was able to use critical thinking to answer these questions.

When you take classes, read books, adn do practice questions, remember that the most important part of the learning process is understanding why an answer is right or wrong. When you answer questions, we sure to read all of the rationales, even if you missed the question or didn't miss. More often then not, there are clues in the questions that will help you out.

A standard example is this:

A patient is taking Krofiphin and asks for something to drink. What should the nurse give them?

1. Coffee

2. Iced tea

3. Cola

4. Juice

Now, some of you might be thinking "I have no idea what Krofiphin is". Well, that is understandable, I just made the drug up. But by looking at the answers you should come to the correct answer. Here is another one that one of my Rn teachers gave me (again, the med is made up). You should be able to narrow the following down to wo answers:

The nurses gives a patient his Crobilan inhaler, and intervenes when he does the following:

1. Vigously shakes the inhaler before using

2. Breathes out slowly through his nose immediatly after taking a dose

3. Sprays a small bit of the solution into the air prior to using inhaler

4. Holds breath for ten seconds after taking a dose

Again, the answers here hold a clue to the correct answer. (Both the answers are at the bottom.)

To quote Dilbert, you don't want to study faster or more, you want to study smarter. Don't ask "did I get that question right" but rather "why is that the right answer" and "what evdince did I use to come to that answer." Also, take a second to learn why the other answers are wrong.

ANSWERS

For the first question, the answer is 4, as the other three options have caffinee. You might also have been tempted to pick 1, since the other three were generally served cold, but 4 is the better answer as caffine tends to be resricted more often.

For the second, notice that this is a "pick the WRONG" answer question. Then notice that it is NOT POSSIBLE to both breath out slowly and hold your breath for 10 seconds-- therefore, one of those answers MUST be the incorrect way to use this particular made-up inhaler. I would guess that the correct answer is 2, as I have never heard of an inhaler being used in that way.

Good luck!!

[caliotter3]

Thanks for this useful tip on how to approach questions.

[EMTtoGN10]

Thanks great advice!!!

[Murse901, MSN, RN]

Pretty good tips, but the first question would really throw me for a loop. Keeping in mind that most juice is acidic (and acid speeds up the action of a lot of drugs), that would have then thrown me into the thought process of... cola can be acidic, coffee (I think?) is acidic. I would have picked the iced tea as it would be the most acid-base neutral of those drinks. And I guess I'd be wrong.

But, like you said, the point is to use critical thinking and know why you're picking that answer vs the others. :)