TikTokk

The thing with Saunders is that it is a MASSIVE amount of info crammed into a single volume. The book essentially condenses two years of nursing school into its pages...and it does this very well. However, I'm not sure that reading this cover to cover is the best use of time for someone that JUST graduated and will be taking their test within the next couple of months. I agree with the OP...this is an AMAZING resource for someone that has been out of nursing school for several years and needs to refresh. Your focus directly out of nursing school (as it relates to NCLEX) should be on how to answer NCLEX style questions and NCLEX answering strategies. Saunders will definitely not give you this. The questions in the Saunders book are NOT nclex style questions - trust me. The questions in Saunders are simply to test your knowledge on the information from a chapter that you just completed. This is why you will almost always hear people say they felt the Saunders questions were "too easy". One thing that Uworld does better than any other studying material I've used (and I used a lot!) is SATA. Uworld SATA questions are, bar none, the best of the best. About half of my NCLEX test were SATA questions and Uworld really helped me with this. No matter how many questions you set for yourself in Uworld, it feels as though about 20 to 30% of your practice test will always be SATA). After completing their 1,900+ question bank, you will feel very comfortable answering these types of questions =)

Hello ! Studying pharm with just 5 days till your test date is pretty futile. The thing with pharm is that you could honestly study this subject for years upon years and STILL get a drug on your NCLEX that you have never heard of before in your life. =) Many of the pharm questions on NCLEX (from my personal experience and passed on 2nd attemp) have some sort of context within the actual question that allows you to make a fairly educated answer based on the knowledge that you will already have acquired from nursing school and from your kaplan studies. But then you will also get NCLEX questions that literally just tell you the name of some random drug and ask you what to watch out for (risks, side effects, etc). You would think that this style of question would be knowledge based and "below the competency line", but I had two of these types of pharm questions near the end of my test (and passed @75 questions) - never heard or seen these drugs in my life and will probably continue to never hear or see them for the rest of my nursing career. People say to learn classes of drugs rather than individual drugs. This is good advice, however it too has its limitations. This will only work if your NCLEX question provides context and you can deduce the classification of the drug from reading the stem. If the question has no (or very little) context, this doesn't work - you still would basically need to memorize the NAME of every single possible drug WITHIN the class that you are studying in order to identify it - which is completely impossible. Studying suffixes is helpful too, but there are MANY exceptions to the suffix rules. However....having said all that...that are certain drugs that you should definitely take the time to learn and memorize, or make sure you already know before your test. * Digoxin (know this drug backwards and forwards) * Lithium (know this drug backwards and forwards) * Nitroglycerin (know everything there is to know about this drug) * Methylphenidate * The name of all the antiplatelets and anticoags (including prusagrel, rivaroxaban, apixaban, etc, etc) * Beta blockers, ACE's, ARBS, Calicum Channel Blockers * Asthmatic drugs (fluticason, salmeterol, albuterol, ipratropium, tiotriopium, etc, etc) * Statins * Benztropine * Radio active iodine and levothyroxine backwards and forwards (most commonly prescribed drug in the US) * drugs ending in -fil, like sildenafil and tadalafil (these are some of the most commonly prescribed drugs in the US) * MAOI, SSRI, benzos * the 4 drugs given for TB (rifapentine, isoniazid, ethambutol, pyrazinamide) * common antidotes: vitamin K, flumazenil, naloxone, protamine sulfate, activated charcoal for salicylates, etc, * common diuretics: bumetanide, hydrochlorothiazide, chlorthalidone, spironolactone, etc, I understand that pharm can seem like such a monumental subject....but just put faith in the pharmacology content that you know is already up in your head...and brush up on the most important stuff (above). You got this!! Good luck on your test. Please keep us posted!

I was going to finally break down and do that today...but no need....just found out I passed!!

This is test just boggles my mind....I don't get it at all. I took the NCLEX back in February and used Kaplan to its fullest capacity. Walked in to the testing center feeling super confident. I was positive that I'd be shut off at 75 questions and was fairly sure of my answers up till that point. But it didn't shut down at 75. Well 6 hours and 265 questions later, I felt like I had been taken out to a back alley and beaten to the point of death. Over 50% of my test was SATA, about 20 infection control questions, zero med calculation question and an insane number of OB questions. I gave up on counting the number of questions that began with, "Your patient is at ## weeks gestation.......". 4 weeks later, I found out I failed. I was a straight A student all throughout school, graduated with high honors, and even tutored 1st semester students. I really just didn't understand where I went wrong with this test. It was the absolute worst feeling and I felt completely defeated, especially when all my classmates around me were passing left and right. So after an extended pity party, I got back on the band wagon in October. I switched to UWORLD, LaCharity and a moderate amount of Saunders. I did the entire UWORLD bank twice (and had a 70% pass rate with a 92 percentile ranking the first time around). I typed up about 120 pages of notes while completing UWORLD, and studied those notes backwards and forwards. I studied pretty much 8-10 hours a day, 7 days a week. So I just retook my test today...and again, I am completely baffled. This experience was completely different. And the difference was - the test shut off at 75 questions AND the questions seemed REALLY difficult....questions on topics that I never saw on UWORLD, nor Kaplan. Questions where I was like, "uhhhhh, I never heard of this before in my life"...drugs that might well have just have been written in Chinese. And the WORST kind of drug questions too. The ones with no context....just "Your patient is given some random drug, what should you watch out for". In fact, I think there was only like 3 questions that I could answer in complete confidence and whose answers I could pull from my memory of those 120 pages of notes.....and the rest were educated guesses. Never even got a chance to use the countless number of mnemonics and memory tricks that I made up...because, yeah absolutely none of it was on my test. I was ready to go to town on my little whiteboard with all those graphs, charts and tables that I memorized. But nope, didn't need any of those either. I had about 40 SATA, 1 ECG, 1 drag and drop, 6 meds, and zero OB and zero calculation questions. Then there were other questions that just seemed insanely specific. Questions where I would be thinking...."yeah, I guess I WOULD HAVE known that answer IF I had memorized that one single sentence from the Saunders book on page 1024 in the 16th line of the 18th paragraph!!". I basically left feeling like I studied for a completely different test. I guess that I really just don't understand how to study for this thing. People say all the time that they leave feeling like they failed...but then passed. Really...that reflects a test design that I cannot wrap my head around. Licenses are handed out left and right to test takers that consistently claim they felt they had "guessed" on a large number of questions. Again, it's just such an odd design and appears flawed on the surface. Is this simply luck that they passed...or some element of Bloom's taxonomy at work that is completely beyond my comprehension. So anyways....kinda frustrated and just had to vent, lol :) I'm in CA, so it could actually take weeks to find out my results unfortunately. Thanks for reading this far...and wish me luck!! If I pass, I will be completely dumbfounded.

Hello, I have a question regarding the Breeze website. I keep hearing people talking about seeing a "pending" application status when logging on to their Breeze account. But for some reason I don't see this. I took my NCLEX back in January and failed. I retook the test today. When I processed my renewal application....I never used the "START A NEW APPLICATION" thru the Breeze website. I was required to print a reapplication form from the BON and then snail mailed my payment and application. The only thing I did "online" was make a payment to PearsonVue and schedule the exam thru their website. I'm in CA btw. I took a screen shot of my breeze screen 2 days before the test....and then took another screenshot about 30 minutes after I took my NCLEX. But absolutely nothing has changed...the screenshots are exactly the same....there is absolutely no indication whatsoever that I just took a test today. Under the "Applications" section of Breeze, all it says is "Start a New Application or Take Exam". At the top it say "Manage Your Application" and says "Registered Nurse - RN File #####" directly under it. And from the dropdown box, I have the option to "change address" or "repeat/reapply". At the top right, it says, "No License Information Available" Where exactly are you supposed to see this "pending status"?? Should everyone be seeing this status directly after taking the test?? Another weird thing...on the Breeze website, there is a section called "Payment Receipts". When I click on it, it only has a record of my payment for the NCLEX I took back in January....it does not have any history of payment for the NCLEX I just recently took. It's as if the test I took today just all happened in my head, lol Does this sound weird? Is it because I used snail mail for my re-application, and did not pay for it directly through the Breeze website? I was hoping to keep an eye on this pending status, because I seem to remember seeing that there the first time I took the test....it stayed there for about a week and then was "deleted"...which I interpreted to mean that I had failed (which, of course I did...but i did not find this out definitively until I received a snail mail 2 weeks later). Any help would be appreciated =)

Ahhhh! That post answers my question to a T! Thank you so much. So with the final question (aka final ability estimate), the 95% goes out the window and does indeed determine pass or fail. Got it! Thus, it truly is a coin flip. So my original question still stands. You wanna coin flip at 265, or just let the time run out before hitting the end and bank on the ROOT rule?

Ahhhh! I getchya now! Makes sense...thank you!

Excellent info! Thank you mrsboots87 and amysiuk! I'll definitely look at those videos from Jake and the FAQ's on NCSBN. However, just a quick response to the following comment: Just to clarify, I did not state that getting the 265th question correct is an auto-pass. Rather, the type of question (analysis/application vs. content/knowledge) and how you answer that question determines pass or fail. And again, this info is not from me. This info is put forth by Kaplan and is explained quite extensively through their program, not to mention there are countless threads regarding this exact topic here on allnurses (albeit, with no real consensus). The idea is that if you reach 265, the computer has NOT BEEN ABLE to determine if the test taker is above or below passing standard with a 95% confidence interval (because you have continuously remained on OR near the line of competency, yet never staying above or below this line for the required amount of time to determine that 95% confidence interval). Thus, the computer must simply use the last question to make its determination because the computer has NO ALTERNATIVE in determining if minimum competency was met . I'm simply trying to corroborate the info. Hopefully, I will find that on NCSBN's faqs. Thanks again! Fingers crossed on my results!!

I'm confused about people that are saying they are getting a good pop up with an expired card. If you put in an expired card, all that happens is you cannot continue until you put in a valid expiration date. Literally, all that happens is you immediately get a tiny little line of text that says, "Please enter valid expiration date". Is this what you guys are interpreting as being the "bad pop up?...that tiny little message that tells you to enter a valid expiration date?? Thx!

Hello all. I recently took my nclex and went all the way to 265 and took the entire time to do it (without any breaks). Now, I'll admit, I went into the test with the (incorrect) understanding that you would auto-fail if you did not fully complete the test in the time frame given. So once I knew that I was in for the long haul, I basically rushed during the last quarter to make sure I did not run out of time. This is my own fault, but now I know that you do not necessarily fail just because you ran out of time. Now before I ask my question, I need to preface a few things - I used Kaplan for my studies, and they were very clear on the following: if you reach 265 questions, your pass or fail is based COMPLETELY ON THE VERY LAST QUESTION due to the fact that the computer was unable to determine your competency because you were unable to consistently remain above or below the minimum competency line. Thus, if the last question was an analysis/application question and you got the answer correct - you pass. If you got the answer wrong - you fail. Conversely, if your last question was a content/knowledge based question (i.e below the minimum competency line) - you fail regardless if you answered this question correctly or incorrectly. Now, the other thing I've read is that if you run out of time, the computer somehow averages out your competency based on how you answered the last 60 or so questions (this 60 is arbitrary - I really don't know if it's 60. It could possibly be any number for all I know). In my case, once I got to about 150, I just knew I was going to go to the end. The problem here is that I knew my ability to stay focused and accurately critically think out each question would diminish as the clocked ticked by. I mean seriously, at around 220, I think I was slowly going insane, having to read a single question multiple times just in order to comprehend it. So now here are my questions: 1)Assuming the "last question" rule and the "last 60 questions rule" are both accurate (and not simply myths)...........why in the world would ANYONE allow themselves to get to the last question?? Essentially, if you allow yourself to answer the last question, you are flipping a coin. In Kaplan's own words, "If you get to 265, you have a 50/50 chance of passing". I mean, why not just stop at 264, take a break and go eat a Slim Jim and let the clock run out? Would you rather have your fate determined by the flip of a coin, or have your fate determined by your faith in how you answered the last 60 questions? 2) Another thing I don't get about this "last 60 questions rule" when you run out of time is this: If the computer can determine you were competent (or NOT competent) at the moment you run out of time, why wouldn't the computer have just shut off anyways prior to this moment? You could even take this to the extreme: why not purposely stop around 150 (if you think your in for the long haul) and just let the clock run out? I would be much more confident in my last 60 questions at 150 rather than my last 60 questions at 265 (again, this is due to critical thinking abilities decaying as the hours tick by). Again, I could be completely wrong on everything I'm saying. I'm posting this here, because I'm just looking for some understanding and want to be educated on the facts of how the test determines competency when you either a) you hit question 265 or b) run out of time. I've read several posts where people get to 265 and know "for a fact" they answered the last question wrong and still pass. So I wonder now if Kaplan is correct on this "last question" theory?

Thank you for this tip...it worked! And yep, I'm at Holy Cross. If I remember correctly, it was on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Non bridge program students should be starting clinicals on April 1st. However, "skills lab" will start on Feb 11. I'm quite certain that uniforms will be required for skills lab. Dove states a ship date of two weeks prior to "clinicals" on 1/27...which is exactly two weeks before the day of our first skills lab. Crossing my fingers that these things fit! lol!

Update: nvm...the nursing dept has announced that this is a known issue and that they are working on it.

Anyone else having problems accessing the sections numbers on the Spring '14 class schedule catolog online? I can see all subjects EXCEPT nursing. I would just like to see dates and times for clinicals, since the email we received did not seem to mention them.

Personally, I will be working 30 hours a week during this program (gotta pay the bills and put food on the table ). I just spoke with two CoC nursing students who are finishing their two years this week. I asked both of them to give me their honest opinion about working during nursing school. They both said that working was TOTALLY do'able. They also knew several students in the current cohort that had been working full-time during the program. Additionally, they couldn't speak for other nursing programs, but they felt that the CoC program was not completely life-consuming, as is usually the stigma of nursing school. Even our own Dean said during our orientation that this program did not meet full-time status, and that we should feel free to pick up any additional courses we may need or want to take. Are you in the bridge program? I have not yet received any schedule or registration time. (Although I do have my standard Spring registration date and time for general classes. I'm just not sure if this is supposed to be the same date that I will be registering for the Spring nursing classes). Has anyone here, who is not in the bridge program received their schedule of classes yet?

I agree with Whispera, If what your sister "thinks" doesn't jive with what the school "says", I would personally err on the side of the school. You definitely want to call the school and get that bit straightened out, because if you really don't have to study for the TEAS test your gonna want to be jumping for joy. Also, keep in mind that 64% is just the "passing" percentage in order to be considered for acceptance. To actually be accepted into the program, your college will undoubtedly require a much higher percentage. Understanding how competitive your program is will help you judge what kind of score to shoot for. -TikTokk

Honestly, I think it really depends on how competitive it is to get into the program your applying for. You should call your school and see if you can get an idea of the average number of applicants that apply and compare it to the number they actually accept. Personally, I completed the TEAS with a 77% and was still accepted (on the first attempt) to my schools program...of which many people spend years on the "waitlist". However, I also had a 4.0 gpa, which I'm almost positive helped to offset my not-so-hot TEAS score. What CSU are you referring to....CSUN?

I took 102, and if I remember correctly it was exactly like 101....you will read several different mediums (play, short story, full novel, poem, etc) and will write an essay on each one. And even though I took this class online, a large portion of the class consisted of peer reviews and group discussions about each others essays. It will probably be a "walk in the park" compared to your statistics class that you told me about! :)

Hi 2dawn I got my email earlier today and was accepted into the CSUN program. However, the email made it very clear that CSUN had the final say based on their review of your transcripts. CSUN will require additional copies of your transcripts for this winter and spring of '14 if you are planning on taking pre-reqs during this time. For the record, I do not have statistics nor chemistry. However, the dean emailed me to make sure that I was going to take stats this winter. She also made it clear to me that chem was not required for entry...but was in fact required to graduate. I already have communications and critical thinking complete. .....also, not looking forward to 6 hours of fire class tomorrow, lol

My counselor kept telling me only 30 out of the total of 60 would be given offers...which I thought was strange 'cause I could have sworn the cohort was only 50 along with 30 alternates for a total of 80. I could be wrong though And erick...your exactly right...not everyone will be interested, which definitely works in our favor . Also, that's good news about the uniform website. When I first logged on several weeks ago, I was like, "umm, am I missing something here? there's no sizes to choose from!"

I just took the TEAS myself not too long ago...and I also have fairly severe anxiety and panic attacks. I'm a total train wreck a week before any test...can't eat right, can't sleep right, can't focus on anything but the test. But once I actually start the test, my anxiety starts to ease up. So I'm always eager to just start! What made it worse for me was we had a student who couldn't sign onto the ATI website, so we had to sit there for almost 40 minutes for the proctor to resolve the issue...ugh! In regards to time, I did all of the practice tests out of the ATI book and had tons of time to spare...however on the actual test, I came right up on the time limit for each section. The reading excerpts seemed to much longer on the actual test than on the practice tests...so just keep that in mind. Also, on my computer test, there was a special little box that popped up with the reading paragraphs which blocked all of the questions. This was quite annoying since I couldn't look at both the questions and paragraph at the same time...I would either have to close the box or move it completely off the screen in order to read the questions...very frustrating! For the math section, I think I was thrown off by the amount of geometry questions...a class that I've never taken. The grammar section was very straightforward as well as the science section. I'm sure you'll do just fine!! :) My advice would be to not study the day before...don't cram...and just let your brain give itself some time to relax. If you can, try to go to bed super early so you can get as much sleep as possible the night before your test. Also...this may sound a little stupid, but really try to force yourself to eat something before the test (because usually food is the last thing you can think about when your full of anxiety, right!?). I didn't eat anything before the test, and an hour into it, my stomach was growling...very embarrassing, lol! I was there for almost 4 hours, and we were only able to bring water. You also asked about whether we were given the choice between paper or computer. At my particular college, there was no option - just the computer. Again, I'm sure you'll do great. Make sure to post back here after your done and let us know how you did!! Good luck!

jessil427 - thanks for that book recommendation. I just checked it out and it has glowing reviews! I added it to my Christmas wish list! :) erick2768 - thanks for the heads up on the "3 chance" bit. I didn't know this, and that definitely puts my mind at ease. 2dawn - ugh! I kinda had a feeling stats was gonna be a nasty little class...can I ask what instructor you took? All three instructors that are teaching the class this winter have horrible ratings on ratemyprofessor.com. 2dawn is correct. I just talked with my counselor today and she said only half of the cohort will be offered the CSUN program, however she wasn't able to explain to me how that "half" were chosen. She said that several will either decline the offer or drop out because they realize they've bitten off more than they can chew. Those that decline or drop will allow more spaces to open up. What kind of sucks about this whole thing is that you have to pay the CSUN application fee ($55) without even knowing if your going to be selected. But I personally emailed ---------------- and stressed to her that I was extremely interested, lol....not sure what good that'll do!

erick2768: Yes, I have already had ------------------ email me directly about this. She has already gone over the "interest" forms that we filled out. She had a question for me about statistics. I guess this course is required BEFORE you can take your nursing research class at CSUN, however it is not required to enter into the program - kind of like psych 101 for ADN program being a pre-req for taking psychiatric nursing. So I'll be taking stats this winter - yuck! I still need chem too, but I'm glad it's not required for entry...its just required for the degree. Question for anyone else that may be reading this thread: I know we should be taking this time to just kind of relax...since life will be pretty much put on hold starting February...but I've been thinking about getting a book on dosage calculations to read this winter - I think I saw a very cheap "For Dummies" book on amazon with excellent reviews. Do you think this is a good idea? From what I understand, we will need to take a dosage test every semester, and its pretty much pass or fail - and if you fail, your out of the program. I'm just not sure if there is going to be a class that focuses purely on calculations and this subject makes be a bit nervous.

I just got in too.....I'm actually very very surprised given my TEAS test score. Good luck to all!! -Cam

thanks steph! i think i see what your saying...so in other words, the following would be more accurate: eleven units from the following options: biosci-221introduction to microbiology . . . . . .5.00 engl-101 englishcomposition . . . . . . . . . . . .3.00 or engl-101hhonors english composition . . . . .4.00 and psych-101 introduction topsychology . . . . . . .3.00 or psych-101hintroduction to psychology - honors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .3.00

Hello all ! I was wondering if someone can give me their thoughts/interpretation of the pre-reqs listed below. I feel that I have a pretty good working knowledge of the words "or" and "plus", but for some reason, this one baffles me lol ! The way that I read this, is that the 11 units required MUST come from the first 8 units listed (221and 101) and MUST include 3 units from the bottom (communications): 5+ 3 + 3 = 11. However, INSTEAD of taking 221 and 101 you may take101H English and 101 Psych in addition to communications (this will NOT add up to 11 though). The way that this is listed leads me to believe Psych is NOT actually required. To confuse matters, I went into the admissions office the other day and asked if Psych was required to graduate with an ADN and she said, "absolutely". Then she clicked on her keyboard for a few moments and then said,"Oh, actually, I guess its not required at this school for the RN program." Consequently, Chemistry is not required to enter the program, nor graduate with an ADN either. Does this seem odd?? This is for College of the Canyons in Santa Clarita. Also, take a look at the requirements I posted below the astericks. These are for students enrolled in the program prior to 2011. The way they are listed is MUCH MORE CLEAR. There is no question that PSYCH and MICRO are required. Eleven units from the following options: BIOSCI-221Introduction to Microbiology . . . . . .5.00 ENGL-101 EnglishComposition . . . . . . . . . . . .3.00 OR ENGL-101HHonors English Composition . . . . .4.00 PSYCH-101 Introduction toPsychology . . . . . . .3.00 OR PSYCH-101HIntroduction to Psychology - Honors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .3.00 Plus three units from the following: COMS-105Fundamentals of Public Speaking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . .3.00 COMS-105H Fundamentals of Public Speaking -Honors . . . . . . . . . . . . .3.00 COMS-223 Small GroupCommunication . . . ..3.00 ***************************************** BELOW ARE REQUIREMENTS FOR ADN FOR STUDENTS ENROLLED PRIOR TO THE FALL2011 Eleven units from the following option BIOSCI-221Introduction to Microbiology . . . . . . .5.0 PSYCH-101Introduction to Psychology . . . . . . . .3.0 ENGL-101 EnglishComposition . . . . . . . . . . . . .3.0 OR ENGL-101HHonors English Composition . . . . . .4.0 Plus eight unIts from the following options: BIOSCI-201Introduction to Human Anatomy . . . .4.0 BIOSCI-202Introduction to Human Physiology . .4.0 OR BIOSCI-204Human Anatomy and Physiology I . .4.0 BIOSCI-205 Human Anatomy andPhysiology II .4.0 OR BIOSCI-250Human Anatomy and Physiology . . .8.0 Plus three units from the following COMS-105HSpeech Fundamentals - Honors . . .3.0 COMS-223 Small GroupCommunication . . . . . .3.0 COMS-105Speech Fundamentals . . . . . . . . . . .3.0