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Good for u!!!! Its gonna seem a little overwhelming at first but have no fear, some of the chapters are 2 pages along (lol). Also some of the same q's are on the CD that are in the book (reinforcement). I am loving it so far. I think Im getting addicted to this book now.I have been on this site all day, keeping myself motivated and finishing up my 100 question review. Afterwards, I think Ill spend a couple hrs in the book. Keeping ya encouraged.

jess, I see you are on the right track, have you started reviewing yet?

I dont have the money to pay for Kaplan. Suzanne, the moderator on this forum, says that no matter what kind of question it is, if you know the content you will be able to answer the question. I have the Kaplan trainer and the book. The strategies just didnt work for me. Now Im not sayin Kaplan is bad, Im just saying that IMO Saunders works and puts emphasis on key information that I found when I took my NCLEX the end of July. It also asks the right questions. The majority of ?'s are of analysis/application type. So if I can save myself all that money and feel confident doing Saunders Im gonna continue. Im sure u remember what was on your test, just look in your book and see. Once I finish w/ Saunders MAYBE Ill use the trainers but honestly Saunders asks the same type of questions just in a longer form. I cant waste any more time trying to learn strategies. Id rather do the q's on the cd and in the back of each chapter and save myself the disappointment on test day.

I used KAPLAN and I only did (some) of the questions in the SAUNDERS book and Mosbys review cards too. I knew about Saunders a long time ago (recommended by the school I grad from). I spent the majority of my time w/ Kaplan TRYING to learn their strategies cuz nurses I knew said TAKE KAPLAN. To my disappointment, KAPLAN did not and would not have helped me NOT ONE BIT. Honey, when I took my NCLEX I was SO SURPRISED! Yeah I admit the FORMAT was the same as kaplan but every since Ive been reviewing w/ Saunders and doing their questions in the back of each chapter, I see questions that are only a few words short from my NCLEX test. I was getting priority questions which let me know I was on the right track. My nerves got to me that day. I had family issues going on the day before the test and when I sat down I tried to remember basic content from Saunders to answer my priority questions and I didnt realize how high my anxiety was til I left the test center. I knew I had answer so many wrong. I had questions on HERBS, 2 dosage calc ?'s, renal ?'s (BPH, acute glomeruler, prostate cancer,etc). I started getting rm assignements, who would I see first, I cant begin to tell you how disappointed I am now in myself. Check out your Saunders book, start answering some questions in the back of the chapters and you will see for yourself, guaranteed. I dont wanna be upset like this anymore, I wanna pass the next test and I will. For more testimonials, type in "thanks suzanne", suzannes plan and see how many passers. Sticking to one book this time.

No one knows like someone who is going thru the same thing. I found that out thru this website as well. I get most of my motivation and support from here too. I know GN's that graduated back in 2005 who have failed their boards at least once or twice and have given up and now its 2007 and still no license. Its definitely a hard pill to swallow. My 45 days are almost up now ( in less than 2 weeks). I am determined to FINISH Suzannes plan before I go take it again. I have found that its not as hard as I thought and all I can do now is shake my head when I see questions that contain THE SAME content from my NCLEX. Gosh, if I had done this plan earlier. Kaplan, imo, only resembles in format. Saunders is the way to go 4 me. Time to start reviewing for me... WE CAN AND WE WILL GET THRU THIS.

Oh there is no doubt you HAVE TO give yourself at least a week to accept what has happened. I thought Id never leave the house. Fortunately, I did and now Im back to studying. The reason why we keep u encouraged is because NO ONE knows what u r going thru except someone who has been thru it. So when you think of yourself not passing and staying up in the wee hours in the morning reviewing your SAUNDERS CD & BOOK, think of me too cause more than likely, Ill be up with you doing the same thing. And think of those that have DONE IT and passed. That will encourage you and motivate u more than anything. Take one day at a time and when you need support you know you can always come here to allnurses.com where someone will be listening and understanding and rooting for you. I always come here when I need support even if its just thru reading posts. Then when you get that RN behind your name, you can be an inspiration to someone else.

I just know thats the reason this book is "highly" recommended by Suzanne because "she knows" what it takes to pass and all is in contained in doing those questions and looking thru the book. Trust that. I just think of it this way... read each question and rationale carefully. You never know that question may contain the info needed for you to answer one of your NCLEX questions. I only wish Id have paid more attention to SAUNDERS in the beginning.. But that is OK, Im back to studying and I will reschedule my test when I am good and prepared. NO RUSHING HERE. The next time you hear from me Im bringing a success story. STUDY HARD and good. And dont be discouraged. Failure IS NOT an option here.

I just want to tell you that I know of a *nurse* who failed NCLEX 5 times before she got a hold of Saunders. On her 6th try...she passed w/ Saunders. I failed my NCLEX just this July and I am using Suzanne's study plan. This time I am taking my sweet time. I wish I would have followed thru with it before but I didnot. Now that I am back to studying, I can honestly say that I have seen about 6 or 7 questions from the questions on the SAUNDERS CD that asked almost the SAME questions on my NCLEX. This is very pertinent information that Saunders has in it. I am ONLY using Saunders now. I REFUSE to look at another NCLEX book cause I KNOW if I would have taken the plan seriously...I would have passed on my 1st try. Dont give up cause I have seen too many pass due to determination and GOD's help. Many people will read your post and giving up sends negative vibes to others who have failed. You are not a loser, you only lose when you give up. Get your Saunders book and CD and take your time and go thru it. I get a bit frustrated trying to do 100 ?'s a day but I manage to get some knowledge in even if its 30-40 a day. Its hard accepting the fact that u did not pass but please dont give up .. you never know who you could be an inspiration to. Happy studying. ( also dont forget about the 2nd part to suzannes plan- 3 of my NCLEX questions I answered were related to what was on it..I swear to you). I guarantee you I am taking it seriously now. lol.

I only have the Kaplan trainer CD (w/ the 7 tests on it). It has 1,000 questions on it. The more critical thinking questions are on test 5,6,7. I dont have the q-bank. Youll have to purchase that one from the Kaplan site. As Ive stated b4, Im only using the trainer for strategies in HOW to answer the question. If you know the CONTENT you can answer any question as Suzanne states. Id rather know the content. Friends of mine who took the entire Kaplan course (some say it helped and some say it didnt) and tell me to stick to Saunders 3rd edition. I also saw questions on my NCLEX that were r/t herbs which is definitely on Suzannes study plan. Im sticking to it this time. It was sooo hard cuz there are so many books to study from and so many giving advice. People have sworn by her plan. As a matter of fact, the school I grad from recommends Saunders and always have. I refuse to spend any more money. I also have that Prioritization, Delegation and Assignment Book." Its gonna be hard for you to go back to studying but Im taking the advice of the many who passed w/ Suzanne. If u really want the CD, you can have it. You can also use the Kaplan 2007 book (youd have to buy that one). It will have another disk w/ more questions in the back of it, prob bout 300 questions. Its up to you. First, you have to accept that u did not succeed on the 1st test and get back to studying. I know people who failed the 1st time as well, then passed on the 2nd,Im determined to make it. No matter how many times I fail.Its disappointing as hell but we cant just sit back and let these days pass w/out studying something. Believe you can and you will.

I am trying really hard to just stick to Suzannes plan (100 q's a day) but there are times I just do about 50. As I stated before, I only have the Kaplan trainer CD w/ the 7 tests on it and to me, the way the questions are asked are VERY SIMILAR to NCLEX. It uses words like immediate, initially, priority, etc. As far as Suzannes plan goes, Im sticking to it as my main study tool. I know folks who have passed NCLEX w/out Kaplan as well. After I do my 50-100 questions, I go to Kaplan trainer CD and try to figure out WHAT IS BEING ASKED on the questions (thats all I use it for).We are soo much in the same boat cuz I am still not over failing but honey I have 2 move on. This site gives me motivation, encouragement, and reassurance that people here understand my struggle and are not judgmental. I am giving u this motivation cause I am in your shoes now and its hard but everyday gets better. As just like someone else wrote here, no one really cares how many times you take this once u are a RN. And I can assure you, no one will even ask you. Nursing school is OVER and thats the biggest hurdle. We made it thru, others are still trying to get in. Thru all our feeling sorry for ourselves, we made it thru nursing school and every time I think about that I thank the lord. If you think the Kaplan CD trainer will help you I can send it to u if u like just so u can see what I mean when I tell you the way the questions are asked is similar to NCLEX. I hope that u r trying to stay motivated as I am. I know we can get thru this if we try. [ quote=summerbummer21;2330931]I most probably will take the Kaplan course when I've decided to take the boards again. Did you all take the complete online review course? I've read that Kaplan is the best, and I sure hope so because the Drexel one proved to be unhelpful. How much time did y'all spend on reviewing the Kaplan course? Has it been worth it for most of you? Because I read it is the most similar to the NCLEX one. And what are the chances of me passing the second time around with Kaplan? Coz I'm scared that the chances of passing NCLEX are slimming down as the weeks go by...

I can surely relate to this. I took my exam on the 24th w/ 75 questions and did not succeed either. I did not tell anyone that I took the test anyways however it had absolutely no impact on the way I felt. After about 3 days, I tried to study some. I know that nerves were my problem. I was sooo anxious. When I got home I knew what questions I answered wrong. I let anxiety get the best of me. Reading this forum encourages me and let me know that I am not alone. Some of us are in the same boat as you. I have decided that the more I sit back and feel sorry for myself, the days will pass by and before you know it, it time to test again. I must say I have my days. I have not left my house since I failed. I really just started doing questions from Kaplan CD trainer today (got it from a friend). Those questions are sooooo much like the actual test questions. Im also doing Suzannes plan. I tried to do it before and it help me some I felt. I just wanted to let you and others know that we have to get up and get motivated for each other. I am a single mom and its very hard to accept that I failed. But if I just sit here, tomorrow will come and that will just be another day I didnt take the time to study cause of how low I feel. Sorry this is soo lengthy but I am feeling the same as you are however I know my time will come, and yours will too. Keeping you in my prayers. We can do this!

I dont ever respond to these posts but I just want you to know that I prayed for you today! I am waiting to get my ATT now and I cant even imagine going thru all of that. I cant wait til I am able to do the same thing (put that RN behind my name). Some just dont understand us. It is a challenge going to school and putting our familes "on hold". In the end it all comes down to 1 test. I waited for you to post the wonderful news but when I checked for it I didnt see a response. I knew you had passed after I prayed for you. I am sooo glad for you. CONGRATS TO YOU!!! Some posts really touch me. This time my heart smiled for you. Best of luck. :balloons::balloons::balloons::balloons::balloons::balloons::balloons:

We apologize.

She emailed me back with the answers to the questions. I am sooo impressed with this site. I am gonna write my paper now. Thank you for looking out for me, you dont know how much I appreciate you for making this possible for me. I was really having a hard time finding a nurse manager to interview. Thank you again. I will be saying a special prayer for you and Liz tonight, cause you guys were a blessing to me this day. Thank u again.

Well, I tried to email her but I did not get a response yet. Lord, I hope I am able to reach her. Meanwhile, I have been still trying to get a nurse manager here to interview. But here are the questions: 1. Who is responsible for making work assignments? 2. What factors are considered when making work assignments? 3. How is work assigned? (e.g. by tasks or client) 4. Identify your stff mix. ( combinations of RN's,LPN's, UAPs, techs, etc) required to provide quality care. 5. How is communication regarding client care and issues managed? 6. How is case management used in your facility to provide client care? 7. What is your role in staff conflict management (as nurse mgr)? I also have to obtain a copy of her job description, my Leadership instructor says its mandatory but the nurse mgr can email it to me as well (she can just type it). I emailed her with these questions as well with my phone number if she doesnt want to type. I will be checking this site on and off during for the next couple of days. Paper due Tues morning, Thank u again.