vbarger28

That's terrible, I am very thankful for how our school ran the curriculum. They were very realistic. I can say the apea review in person course was the best thing. My exam had questions exactly how they were in my review booklet and they they educated us in which guidelines had changed and how to answer those questions specifically.

So, im not at WG, but a friend of mine was. She got a 73 on her predictor and failed her boards. I went to UOP, and they only require a 62 ans you take it 6 mo before graduation and then one month before graduation. I scored 65 the first time. Then 64 the second at end of term and graduated no problem. I took one on my own and scored a 69 about a week later. I then passed my boards 2 weeks later first attempt with the AANP in about an hour. If they make you fail out, maybe consider switching schools of that's even possible? Uop had been amazing my entire program and stressed the predictor really isn't that predictive of anything except anxiety.

So I took my AANP exam yesterday and passed in one hour. I saw questions almost verbatim from the practice exams on exam edge, and several question on my exam were practice question topics on exam edge. Here is my advice. I took my predictor and looked at the categories I was below in. I looked those areas and read about them in my Fitzgerald book. I did take the live apea hollier review, and literally everything on my exam was from that. So I would do there live review because they give you a study book. Whatever sections you are getting wrong, look them up in your study guide from their review. Leik was a waste of time, too many errors and incorrect information and the guidelines were out of date. Fitzgerald was great for me to look up material I didn't understand to go over but I wouldn't read the whole book or use their questions it's information overload. Go to the APEA Hollier live review and study your guide they let you take home and do exam edge practice tests..I also used UWorld and FNP Mastery. I did NOT find the apea question banks helpful just soul crushing. I did look up a YouTube video on murmurs that had pictures to correlate and it saved my life. I found the exam easy now that I look back, but my anxiety had me an absolute wreck to where I puked twice at the test center. Best of luck all.

I've taken it 3x. I graduated in January. First one I took was required for school and I took 6 months before graduation, then we were required to take one the last week of school. First time I got a 65, then 6 months later got a 64. I went back and studied a lot of topics that threw me and I took one on my own like a week ago and scored 69. I would just study those weak areas the test points out. Don't put too much into it. My friend got a 73 and failed their boards. Lots of others have never scored above 65 and still pass. Just focus on topics the exam flags. My school required you to score above a 62 since that is national average.

I am a new FNP grad as of this January, and am struggling to gage whether I am likely to pass my AANP exam. My school required the soul crushing predictors from APEA, I scored a 65 my first go 6 months before graduation and a 64 for my final...today about 3 weeks later I took one for personal use and scored a 69. (My school required us to score above a 63 as that is national average). I felt like the live in-person Hollier APEA review was almost too easy, I did well during the questions/discussions and overall knowledge base. I bough 5 exam edge tests and scored a 522 twice, 532 twice, and got a 507 on my first one (you had to have above a 500 to be considered passing for the scaled simulations). I am so worried, yes I know read explanations etc...I have been doing it until my eyes bleed, and have also completed FNP Mastery with a score of 71 and I'm a 66 with UWorld FNP...I am having a REALLY hard time gauging which resource is best to align myself with to determine if I'm ready. I found Leik full of too many errors as a lot of guidelines changed that will be changed on the exam per the live Hollier Review. I'm doing Fitzgerald and finding it too aggressive/in depth. Anyone who has passed can you tell me which source you found most similar to your exam?

Thank you all for some words of encouragement, APEA really is soul crushing. Congratulations to all!

Oh wow!! Congratulations!! Holy cow 9 months after you graduated? Now that's some dedication! I am currently using FNP mastery, the first timemi completed it I scored only in the 60s for the qbank, and I'm halfway through a second go at it with the reset, and am averaging 69 percent with the qbank.. Leik I keep finding so many errors that has me discouraged... Im actually using UWorld, and wondering what the norm is for that qbank score? I'm not finding anyone talk about UWorld for FNP.. Congratulations again! APEA is just soul crushing...

I am 6 months out from graduating...I have to say I am usually a sharp student and critical thinker. Nursing school was not ridiculously hard, I had a study like everyone else but not near the amount of hours, I had a new baby during my RN bridge program and managed to pass everything and stay on schedule with my classes despite having my baby on holiday break (lucky timing). I have been a nurse for 10 yrs now, between being an LPN and an RN and am now almost done with an FNP program. I took the APEA predictor as a first assignment for my final 30 week course, and I scored a 65%. I feel sooo defeated. I'm wondering what anyone's experience is for this? I have a friend who scored a 73 on theirs, but failed their boards. I have been studying Leik, FNP mastery, as well as the Fitzgerald beast book. Anyone score below the 70% mark but still pass their exam? I am planning to test for the AANP. I definitely have the jitters like most FNP students. This program I have literally poured every waking moment of studying and question taking for the last 2.5 years... HALP!!

Honestly, in my opinion, I swear by Kaplan and Lipincott. People have a hard time with Kaplan, but it's because all of their qbank questions and trainor's 4-7 are NCLEX pass level questions, so yea it is really hard. In my experience, Linpincott and Kaplan are taught at a higher level of thinking, and if you can get onboard with it, and pass with 60% you are almost guaranteed 1st time pass in 75q. Everyone is different though.. For me, Saunders is way too easy, I have known several who have failed ONLY using Saunders. I had a ton of typos and misinformation in my Saunders text as well. I hear good things about UWORLD< but they aren't cheap. There is a reason most schools use Kaplan, lol...but you have to figure out which level of madness you are willing on embark on ? May the odds be ever in your favor

Im in the same boat, my Kaplan's are in the 52-60 range. The ask a teacher peeps in the Kaplan online chat said they want you at a 60%, because the new exam says you need to pass with 50% correct. Im on the fence...I know ppl who have scores in the 50s who passed in 75 qs, but Kaplan doesn't recommend this, not sure what to do either. I went to a good school, graduated cum lade while having a baby in the second semester without taking time off, and have been an LPN for 7 years...im not sure how it will go. I hear great things about UWORLD though, just really pricey in my opinion.

No our wonderful system was thrown on us all at once, no beta testing, nothing nadda. Providers were not mandated to attend training, and nurses were only given 2 hours to learn outside of work in a small workshop. We are not assigned patients. Yes I agree the blood should have been redrawn the first time, I am an LPN, that's why I had informed my charge nurse to begin with that we may need to do something about the blood because of the abnormal result. She however, stated because it was only the potassium level that was off, the blood probably did not hemalyze, otherwise other portions of the chem panel would have been off as well, and so she thought the tube should just be mixed again and re-ran. It's hard being an LPN in Urgent Care, our RNs all have the final say, and we have to report everything odd to them, which is why I told her to begin with. I am frustrated because I had brought to her attention that the blood should have been re-ran, and she had wanted me to just flip the tube around a few more times and re run the same sample, then re-draw a new sample if the second one was weird. I am just glad she at least had my back when the provider tried to blame me for him not paying attention.

So we started a new computer system about 2 weeks ago, which has had a MAJOR impact on patient care. NOw, there is no paper charting at all, and all orders go through the computer, and documentation on such orders is also done in the computer. Now, of course, the nurses all went to training even on how to input orders for the providers, because of course, they could not be madated to learn the new system. Which has also caused quite a commotion with patient care. (I work in Urgent Care) I have been at the same location for over 2 years now, and have worked with one provider in particular for those 2 years. Never had an issue, not one. Never been written up, never have had a coaching or even a 1:1. Never had even had a med error/procedure mistake. That is, until this new system came in... "Mistake" #1 Provider puts in an order for a CT scan. Order reads exactly: CT w/contrast. In our job, unless otherwise annotated or commented on, CT w/ contrast is always oral. So, of course, I gave the patient their cups, and they complete 2/3 contrast drinks. I annotated in the chart, and put a flashing comment for the provider to see on their computer screen, that stated "CT with oral contrast started 1400" Around 1630 I am notified by CT that the doctor has inquired to him just now why did the patient get oral contrast. Of course, I inform the Doctor that unless otherwise specified, ct w/contrast is always oral. Doctor wanted IV. When I inform the doctor that he put the wrong order in, of course I was given the 3rd degree on how I am supposed to be a mind reader and just "know" that he wanted IV, even thought I told him he must put in the administration instructions or at least an annotation that says IV contrast only, which he did not. I file an incident report, no harm done. Lady had better kidney function that I did so there wasn't anything to worry about. Management sided with me of course after reviewing the order, and the fact that there was a bold faced comment of the time I started the 'oral contrast' that the provider neglected to acknowledge. Management informed him that had he gone to the training, he would have known which order to place, and I was not at fault by any means. "Mistake" #2 About 2 weeks pass since the contrast incident. Now, the doctor orders routine blood and chem orders for a pt with abd pain. Blood is ran, easy draw without complications. Blood shows a potassium level of 5.1, while other numbers were in range. Per my charge nurse, I was instructed to re-run the same blood, because had it been heamalyzed, she stated other values would be off. So I ran the same blood. Again, potassium level is 5.1is to 5.2 without other abdnormal ranges. Provider comes to me and asks why there are 2 ranges, and I inform him that per charge, I was instructed to re-run the same blood. He orders me to draw new blood just to triple check. I use a different arm, easily draw a second sample and run it. Strangely though this potassium level is 4.3 without nothing else out of range. I inform my charge nurse. I also PRINTED a copy of the latest 4.3 result, and give it to the doctor who acknowledges I gave it to him. 20 mins go by and here sed doctor comes stomping from the office demanding to know which potassium level is correct. I let him know the 4.3 level is the latests, and he was given a copy of it, which he took from my hands himself. He had treated the patient based off of the 5.1 range, and again, blamed me for his carelessness. My charge nurse was by my side, and told him to be more careful and that it was not my fault, as she witnessed me give him the new blood results. Now, this jerk off has threatened to report me hahahaha.... What a day...

My adviced would be, if you don't have a good grasp on content by now, you won't get an amazing grasp in time for your boards. Practice questions trump content in my opinion, nclex is unlike any other test you will take. If you are stuck on a content question, you can still get it right if you know how to break down the question to figure out what fits and what doens't, even if all answers seem correct. Kaplan shows you how to answer, break down, disect the questions and shows you how the nclex questions are formulated. If you can, do both. The more questions you see, the better you will do.

I know out here in Las Vegas anyone who is on probation isn't even considered for most positions. Most places want clear and free licenses. Nurses who have issues with their licenses are a liability and a magnet for facility blame if anything were to ever happen with a patient. If it was for something small like forgetting to renew, (got a friend who got nailed for that) most places will at least ask you what happened, but most won't hire you when there is a pool of applicants who are free and clear ;( Good luck to you.

You will not lose your license over something like this. You may get a little 'hey be careful and don't do it again' from work, but the BON has much bigger fish to fry than an arrogent family member complaining about a phone call. Normally, board isn't involed unless something has occured, like an injury or medication error and even then, if no harm was caused, it's very unlikely that anything more than a slap on the wrist will happen.

O i have heard about the last question right myth. They actually have a book that breaks down the way the exam is structued, so if you are slick enough, you have a good idea if you passed or not For example, when I took my LPN, the book on the exam showed us a 'table' of types of questions and their difficulties. Of course, SATA are the hardest level of thinking on the NCLEX and since the test is set up to get more difficult the better you do, if you are getting nothing but SATA chances are you are well above pass level bar. You can get all of your SATA questions wrong and still pass, because in theory, if you keep answering correctly to get to the SATA, you are well above pass level already

I went to Kaplan in Nevada and only paid 16k for my LPN, and I'm making 4x that. sorry for your experience

I have 2 1/2 yrs experience, and am an LPN in Las Vegas. I work in urgent care, and just made 62000 gross, 53000 take home without murdering myself in hours. I usually work a paycheck of about 110-120 hours. However, I also have TBI peds acute experience and am IV certfied, so it was easy for me to negotiate a pay rate above 23 and hour. I am making more than the new grad RN in my job. Experience is key, being an LPN first allows you to make those new nursing mistakes, as an RN there is little to NO wiggle room for those beginner mistakes especially when working with a team that has LPNs who regardless of the amount of time, still have more experience than a new grad RN. You will get eaten alive sadly if you try to push your weight around because you are the "RN and so so so is the LPN" I am also in the middle of finishing my RN BSN right now, and won't be paid as a new grad RN so I will be making 30+ and hour when I get my RN because of my LPN experience.

You cannot use it in Colorado and be actively practicing. Just because it's legal, doesn't mean it doesn't cause impairment. It would be similar to a nurse hyped up on opiods, just because it's prescribed doesn't mean you can work while on it. Hope that clears it up a little

your scope varies state by state, the thing you have to be careful of is the word "assess" that is a major NO NO for ALL Lpns, that differentiates us between RNs. I work in urgent care, and triage, which is assesing, but we are technically 'monitored closely' by the RN staff, so we are not techinically assessing.

I was luckily IV certified as part of my initial LPN program, a lot of LPNs have to get certified on their own. I can tell you having that certification and actually using it has given me negoitiating advantages with my pay as an LPN, due to the fact that a lot of LPN are not IV certified.

I would highly suggest getting your lpn first, you will have a better handle getting your feet wet per say, and you still have room to make those 'new nurse' mistakes as an lpn, as a brand new RN there is very very little room if any for error regardless of you being new or not, it's a whole new level of leadership and responsibility. It's not a walk in the park if that's what you are asking, being a medical assistant has very little to do with being a nurse, there is an entire world difference, you will learn the reason WHY you and give what you give. Just curious, in my state of NV it is out of scope of practive for an MA to give a neb treatment due to the risk of bronchospasm, what state are you certified in to do that>

if you give a patient a cookie.... they will ask for a hit of Dilaudid to wash it down. O did I type that?!?! I meant morph- MILK MILK> I honestly meant MILK. :)

Thank you!! Out here they require the BSN. O I never thought of boarding at the ASA checkpoint, I'll have to ask about that cause then I won't feel like a wreck trying to finish the 2yrs and remeber everything from 2 yrs for the boards. I point blank asked during my orientation interview with school if they could please keep it quiet that I am a nurse to my classmates, I do not want to 'baby sit' in clinicals and don't want to be overly picked on either by professors for 'you should know this' I want to be treated like a new student too like everyone else :)

So I have been an LPN for almost 3 years now, landed an awesome job in urgent/critical care and have been able to do a year in a TBI peds facility. I am now starting my RN BSN in January, and am absolutely stressing...It's like I have PTSD from the first go...hahaha...I passed my nclex first time with flying colors and did very well in school. Anyone who started off as an LPN and is now an RN, how was it the 2nd time? My friends who are all RNs say its way easier because we already have the 'jist' of the human body, and know what the teachers are talking about for the most part this time, but my other lpn who are now RN friends have also said it was worse than the first time. any experiences??