Preparing to take HESI

TweedleDee · Jan 15, 2009

Hi shrasberry,

Congrats on making it to your final semester. I know firsthand how difficult it can be, as I too am in my final semester. At my school, we have to take a HESI every semester and last semester we took 3. So far they have been content specific..ie after Peds we took a peds hesi, etc. My exit hesi is coming up in March as well. I have prepared for these by using my NCLEX cd's and have done really well on all of HESI's I've taken. The Saunders cd that came with the book has a study mode on it so I can get immediate rationales to the questions. All in all the individual hesi's haven't been that bad, you just have to get into NCLEX mode before taking them. I had a really hard time in my second semester trying to pass my instructors tests and I was really worried about passing that class, but I passed the hesi with flying colors. I guess what I'm trying to say is, sometimes instructors in their infinite wisdom try to be NCLEX book authors and come up with their own type of questions for their exams. Some are good at it and others should stick to test bank. The hesi is a little different in that it is pretty straightforward in my opinion. Try not to worry about it too much and good luck!!!

mynewlife4real · Jan 15, 2009

good luck!!!! I took the hesi 6 times:cry: Not because I failed it by HESI's standards but my scores were not high enough for my schools standards, My school set the exit score of 1000. My lowest score was 945 and that was not enough for the school. The last and final time I took it I got 1052.... THANK GOD! The HESI is a good tool to help you in the area where you may be weak at, so if you dont pass it the first time don't give up! Go over the explanation sheet which you can print at the end of the test and review it and learn from your mistakes.. Good Luck.

lovehospital · Jan 15, 2009

Check this site,I think it will help you with HESI http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/arthritis/htm/_no_50_no_0.htm

sbyramRN · Jan 15, 2009

I made C's all through my theory courses and passed the HESI the first time I took it. We took 5 HESI exam's before the final one, though, so I knew what to expect. We took the Pharm, OB, Pedi, Psych and Med Surg I HESI after completion of the courses. Out of the 16 of us graduating, all but four passed it on the first try. Your instructors are full of you know what to tell you most to not pass it the first time. Also, the NCLEX questions are nothing like the HESI questions, so I am not real sure why we are required to take HESI! Good luck.

Riseupandnurse · Jan 15, 2009

HESI questions are very logical. Concentrate on the question stem and do not look at the answer choices until you can answer the question, "What is wrong with this patient? Or, what could be wrong with this patient? What is the root cause for what is wrong with this patient? How would I address that root cause?" If the patient they give you appears to be having an asthma attack, for instance, ask yourself, "What causes asthma attacks? What is the treatment for asthma attacks?" Only then look at the answer choices to see if any of them address an important cause. There are plenty of easy HESI questions along with the harder ones. But they are all logical, and IMHO a lot more like practice than some of the typical review questions.

lovehospital · Jan 15, 2009

Well in order to pass Hesi exam you do really need to understand the disease processes...and lab values and the side effects of meds,the med surgical,and pharmacology is a major portion of the Hesi so hit those areas as much possible as you can,psych shouldnt be a big deal,OB and peds-not as many questions as for med surg,know your cardiac stuff like atrial fibrillation,EKG,medication toxicity levels,etc but from what I saw in practice test they do put a lot of emphasis on heart diseases for some reasons.

NeoPediRN · Jan 15, 2009

I don't think I'm exactly what you're looking for because I'm the opposite...I didn't do well in high school but got almost straight As in nursing school... however, I did pass the HESI the first try. We had HESIs after every single major quarter course (fundamentals, med-surg, psych, maternity, pedi, critical care, an entrance hesi, and an exit hesi). We needed 900 or better to pass I believe and I passed all but fundamentals the first try. I would recommend studying from the NCLEX 3500 cd. It helped me the most. You can do the practice questions online here: http://198.146.4.5/nclexrn3500/mainMenu.do;jsessionid=78D87026BDB43AE42F8DEB0FC4F821C3

You can also buy the HESI book/CD on Amazon. For what it's worth, my good friend really struggled in nursing school, failed/repeated courses the max amount of times and petitioned to get back in. She failed every HESI and had a learning disability. She worked her butt off and never gave up, though, and it paid off. She knew she was meant to be a nurse and she fought for it. She retook the exit HESI four times, but she passed her NCLEX the very first time. If that doesn't encourage you I don't know what does. She is one of the sweest, most gentle nurses I've ever met, and someone who truly encompasses the spirit of nursing. Even if it takes you a few tries, don't get disheartened. The HESI is just one way of measuring clinical accuement, it is not a tool to measure determination.