asteroidcat

I just want to share how I'm feeling right now about having 2 med errors in just 2 days, and I have only been working at my first job for less than a month! It's been 2 days now since the error and I am still afraid of the phone call that might come from the DON firing me or something. The 2 med errors I committed involved the drug Levetiracetam (prophylaxis for epilepsy) and albuterol and ipratropium (nebs). For both meds, I gave the wrong dose. For the levetiracetam, I only gave one pill instead of two and for the nebs, I only gave albuterol and not ipratropium. I monitored the patients and both have not displayed any adverse reactions and vital signs were stable. It was a busy day for our facility and I am basically still an orientee. There were 3 nurses (including me) and 14 patients plus the ER. One of the nurses went to the ER and I was with another nurse and we took 7 patients each. I admit that I was quite overwhelmed with the number because the most # of pts I've taken care of is 6. Not to mention that it was the weekend so there was no one in the pharmacy and no RT (I'm working in a small, rural hospital) so we do the med refills and administration of nebs. I do not exactly know HOW it happened, but I misread the MAR both times even after double-checking it and when I was comparing the MD's orders with the MAR, I was horrified to realize that I have made TWO med errors! I can still feel the chill down my spine and I am still very scared. The nurse that was with me told me that the important thing was I caught the error in time and I filed a report for it and that both patients are stable and have not shown any adverse symptoms. Both patients were non-critical but I can't help but think of what the outcome of my error would be for me and my patients. Will it eventually affect them in a few days? Will it affect my nursing license? I'm so confused.

I felt the same way after getting the good pop-up! It felt so surreal and I saw the skies brighten up again for the first time in months! Haha! Congratulations!

I don't know if everybody will agree with me on this, but I think 10 days is not enough time for you to switch into or add another review course. I took Kaplan and got low scores too, and what I suggest is to REVIEW the questions (even those you got correctly) and study the rationales ON THE SAME DAY you took the test. Are you taking the Kaplan Live course?

My friend took the test on Saturday and got 265 questions too. She didn't do the trick until Sunday but she got the good pop-up. She got her license number today. CONGRATULATIONS!!

I have been planning to join a review class even before I graduated nursing school. I could not stress out enough how important it is to join one. I know there are people out there who say that as long as you study, you'll be fine. I don't fully disagree with them, but the thing is NCLEX is more about knowing the content. It is knowing how to ANALYZE the question. This is where the review courses come in. In our school, we had to take the HESI in order to determine our "competency status". Based on our scores, our instructor recommended two review programs: Kaplan and NCSBN. According to her recommendation, if we scored 950 AND higher, NCSBN is enough. This review course is pretty cheap. If I'm not mistaken, it's $50 for a whole online course. If we scored lower than 950, she strongly recommended Kaplan. Since I scored 903, I decided to take Kaplan which, in my opinion, is a pretty good choice. It wasn't cheap though. But since our instructor is also a Kaplan instructor, we only paid $350 instead of the full amount of $499. The course was tough, but it helped me prepare for the exam. I believe 100% of our class took either Kaplan or NCSBN and all of us passed.

My friend just took the NCLEX and had 265 questions... She is about to do the PVT trick. Please pray for her.

Hello! Any updates on your results?

Yep, that's the good pop-up! :ancong!::dancgrp:

My bad.. the computer stopped at 75 Qs, not 65. XD @Himal: I used the Kaplan book (the one that came with the review course). It's my only resource in preparing for the NCLEX. I also have Mosby's Pharmacology Notecards.

For all those who will be taking the NCLEX soon, you have to remember this: the NCLEX is a test that checks if you're safe to practice nursing. This is the thought that I have always instilled in my mind and gave me motivation to review. It is not a test that we "simply need to get over with". Reflect on yourself: do you think you're ready to be a nurse? Do you know what to do if a patient's potassium dips down into a 2.0? How would you even know if a patient's potassium is this low even without looking at the lab results? This client who will be taking Parnate loves pepperoni pizza. Do you need to do anything about it? Months ago, I did a self-assessment and realized that if I were the NCLEX itself, I wouldn't pass myself because I know I am not "safe". So I studied as best as I can to be "safe" and to be deserving of that license. My only resource for this test was Kaplan. My college instructor (who is also a Kaplan instructor) told me to NEVER EVER use any other resource for practice questions. I would have to agree with her. As for me, I only had Saunders as another resource in nursing school, but I've noticed that the questions were written differently compared to Kaplan's and I know that if I used both programs for questions, I would be really confused. Kaplan has a study plan and although I would have to admit that I didn't follow it to the last detail, I did my best to practice questions EVERY DAY. I think studying everyday is very important. Never let a day pass by without studying. If you got off from a 12-hour job, have kids, and find yourself too exhausted to study, pick up an NCLEX/nursing book, sit on a recliner, and skim though it. I have this book which was quite entertaining to browse through when I'm relaxing. A week before the NCLEX, I reassessed myself. Do I consider myself safe now? YES, I do. That's when I knew I was on the right track and I continued my study routine. The day before the NCLEX, I followed my instructor's advise and didn't do any questions. What I did was review the rationales in my Kaplan questions and went through lab values in what I call a "relaxed mode". I wasn't cramming. I just didn't want to immediately stop reviewing. I slept early that night to rest my brain. I strongly believe in the power of sleep. It can do really amazing things to your brain. So make sure you get really good sleep. Don't worry too much about the NCLEX the night before. Be positive. If you know you're ready to handle lives, the NCLEX will recognize this. While taking the test, READ THE QUESTION CAREFULLY. This is very very important. READ THE ANSWERS CAREFULLY too. I think these two are the most important things I learned from Kaplan. Kaplan teaches you to analyze the question/answers. Sometimes, the answer choice is more than what meets the eye. Don't assume too much though, because this can also hurt you. Also, while taking the test, remember that there will be breaks. TAKE THEM. If you find that you couldn't concentrate any longer, take a break, stand up, stretch, and take a deep breath. BE FAMILIAR with the testing center's rules. You wouldn't want to get in trouble with Pearsonvue and BON. It's not going to be pretty. And then after the test, do the PVT. :) I hope I helped those who will be taking the test soon. And just in case you're wondering, I have LOW Kaplan scores but I studied the rationales really well. Good luck and God bless to everyone who would be taking the NCLEX soon. I will be praying for you. Stay positive and believe in yourself. YOU CAN DO IT.

I really haven't heard a lot about immunizations coming out in the NCLEX. As far as I can remember, mine didn't even have pediatric/maternal nursing. I could be wrong of course. Be sure to memorize INFECTION CONTROL procedures. What diseases need to be in contact/droplet/airborne precx.. Etc...

Same here about getting the easy questions in the end. I was almost crying in the beginning because I can't get anything right and at the very end, I was all like, are they seriously asking me these questions? I swear my last 5 questions were so easy and "simply written" so I was so scared that I failed.

I can add myself to those testifying to the truth behind PVT. Before I took the NCLEX, I promised myself that I will NOT use this trick because I was afraid to know the results that soon. And since my testing center is 6 hours away from our house, I decided that I do not want to spend the next 6 hours in the car crying and feeling depressed if it turns out that I failed. However, when I took the test last Thursday, I was so sure I failed that I've decided that it wouldn't hurt to use the trick as soon as I come out of the testing center. So we drove to the nearest store with Wifi, opened my laptop, followed the steps, and got the good pop up. I couldn't believe it, so I checked this forum to see how accurate the trick is. It was the only thing giving me hope that I passed. The next day, I looked up the official results and found that I passed. :)

OMG that's terrible. Even with the 15 experimental Q's, that much SATA is just crazy.

Thank you pitxurri! It's official... I passed! I am so thankful to God. I was not really expecting this because I felt like I only got about 5 correct answers on the test and I was crying while waiting for my parents to pick me up at the testing center because I knew that I failed because I got very easy questions near the end of the exam and I was hoping the computer would give me more questions but it stopped at 65. I know it might not seem a lot of help, but believe me when I say that positive thinking can get you a long way on this test. For everyone who lives in states where it takes FOREVER for the official results to come out, the PearsonVue trick works wonders.. And yes, it's 100% accurate. The only probable reason why PV is not endorsing this type of method is because they will be losing money if people start doing the PVT instead of the Quick Results. Good luck and God bless, everyone. Remember, you've spent YEARS studying this stuff. You KNOW it, it's just a matter of retrieving the information and analyzing the question.