Sciencelover

I took the Kaplan course, and found it to be good in explaining the thinking behind the test and in giving test questions which were more difficult like the NCLEX (Not exactly). However, the subject review was very poor, so I bought the Saunders book which I found much more comprehensive and helpful to actually review. The questions at the back of each chapter were much easier/obvious compared to what was really on the NCLEX, but they checked for recall and understanding. There was a lot of detail in the Saunders book, and it took me a month to get through it. Some of my classmates and I also paid for the online access to the NCBSN review modules and the questions ($50 for 3 weeks) which were very difficult, and since they were put out by the people who wrote the test were most like the exam. Just don't do what I did and start them as a post-test on the day before the exam because they destroyed my confidence and made me question myself at the last moment. Despite the stress, it worked out ok because I passed at 75 questions. Good luck.

Several of my classmates went directly into OB new grad positions and most are happy. If that is where your heart lies, then you need not start in med/surg, but it is true that most of the new grad programs in OB begin in July or August. What about going to the hospitals where you might want to work in OB, and ask them if they can put you into a new grad pgm in July, but allow you to start now in med surg (or even postpartum, since that may be the basic training ground for OB)?