JNcCole15

This is great! You learn so much more when you start to ask "why" and "how" Awesome tip!

This is great! We have to keep up with so much! Reading is a great way to stay current with medicine. My hospital started doing IV Lidocaine for kidney stone pain relief. They are trying their best to provide alternatives to narcotics. This is the first time I, as well as seasoned nurses, have heard of this. I've did some research, it is interesting. I love working in a teaching hospital. Doctors (residents and attendings) go out of their way to teach. No question goes unanswered! Great info, thank you!

Hello AN! It has been a long time since I've posted anything! I am wondering, how do you all make yourselves better ER nurses? Just looking for some discussion. What classes have you took? Certifications? I have the typical ER necessities, PALS, ACLS, BLS, CPR, ASLS. I am getting IV ultrasound certified and working on taking the CEN exam (talk about an expensive exam!) I would love to do TNCC. Unfortunately, my hospital doesn't pay for it and that class is WAY out of budget right now. I love taking care of critical patients and I LOVE the ER! Couldn't imagine working anywhere else. I've only been in nursing for 1 year and work at a smaller hospital. I am thinking about transferring to a level 1 or 2 trauma center next year. My city has a lot of opportunity for ER nurses. We have hospitals everywhere lol Anyhoo, what do you guys do to make sure you're the BEST ER nurse you can be?

Thanks everyone! I passed thank goodness!! The NCLEX was nothing like I thought it would be!! Lol

Hello AN, For those who have battled the NCLEX what did you think? I just got done testing and honestly have NO CLUE what to think. I had 75 questions, no hot spots, no ordered response, no EKGs, and more SATA than I could count. Nothing I studied was on the exam! I expected way more content. Now I wait anxiously to find out if I passed! I don't feel good about it because I don't think I was getting those upper level thinking questions. Either I did so good that the test shut off or I did horrible and the test shut off!! 75 is just an emotional number

Evelynnd that is crazy! At least none of my classmates have theirs either. I would be so upset knowing that others have theirs and I don't. I don't know how they are allowed to take this long! I would seriously pay them to process my paperwork. I am trying to stay positive! I just hope they don't keep me from my job offer! I'm not worried about passing at this point I'm worried about actually being able to test in time! UGH

The sad part is that I have to take it before October 19th! I landed by DREAM job and it is a fellowship so I cannot delay the start date. I know the BON in Ohio is about to learn my name lol It is ridiculous. how long they can make you wait. I am hoping that since it is not a "peak time" to graduate the process goes a little faster. Good luck to you! I'm sure you did great! A 4 week wait is KILLER! I would be going nuts

My school emphasized how important it was to take our NCLEX within 4-6 weeks of graduation! I wanted to get mine done quick, so I started studying for NCLEX back in July. I submitted all my paperwork that month and also paid the testing fees. Now the reality of how long it takes to get an ATT is setting in! My school sent in completion letters electronically about 14 days ago. I just thought it would happen so much faster than this. I constantly stock my email in search of this message. I feel like I am going crazy! To make things worse I have two potential job offers, one of which is my dream job! I can't start either of those positions until pass boards! UGH! Anybody else want to vent?!? This is like the last cruel joke they play on nursing students lol

Thanks everyone!! I usually do between 75-125 questions per day then I go back and review to make sure I understand. The Uworld people said they do not have a certain percentage to hit but, the people scoring 56% and better are passing the nclex

Thank you! Congrats on passing what a huge accomplishment! When I review I look at rationales for the right and wrong answers. I have a notebook full of notes from Uworld! I also use Saunders when I need more clarification. Sometimes I feel like I'm not doing enough but the success stories from Uworld are great to hear.

Hello AN, I am currently studying for my NCLEX! I graduated in August and have be studying since July. I completed the VATI and got the green light (YAY) and now I have completed almost the whole Uworld question bank. My scores have been gradually improving since starting the exams. For those who have taken the NCLEX, how did Uworld compare? Do you feel you can use Uworld as your main source of studying? I average a 65% on the Qbank and am feeling pretty good! I want to get this whole NCLEX thing over with but unfortunately my paperwork is still being processed by the BON (insert eye roll) Thanks all you nurses/future nurses

So, this is what I came up with! Affordable and easy! I hope they like it 😊

Awesome Ideas guys! Here's what I got Tissues - for (hopefully) happy tears Mini bottle - to calm the nerves (but not right before the exam lol) Tylenol - for all the headaches of studying Protein Bar - in case breakfast is missed Smarties candy - only a smarty pants could make it through nursing school Inspirational message and a personal message I like the idea of downloading that song! We used to play "Eye of the Tiger" before big games in high school! Although it's been a few years, it still gets me pumped up!

Hahaha I love it!!!! I've told myself I WILL NOT do the PVT! Stay strong and wait for quick results or my license to post!

All great ideas guys thank you!! JustBeachyNurse I saw that idea on pinterest but my school already made those for us during Nurses Week. I was trying to be somewhat original lol sadly I'm not the most creative person 😯

If you guys had to make an NCLEX survival kit, what would you put in them? I'm making some for a few students and including things like; granola bars, tissues and an inspirational quote. I'm not sure what else to put in them! Pinterest has a bunch for "new nurses" or "nursing students" but I want to make an NCLEX one since we are so close to graduation. Any thoughts? I know you can't take anything with you in the room, this is stuff for right before/after the exam. Thanks everyone!

I hope it went well for you @CiaMia :)

Thank you for your comments everyone! I have access to Hurst and I love it! And my school does a live Hurst review at the end of the program. I just heard the NCSBN was good for NCLEX questions. I was planning on doing the NCSBN in conjunction with my last class so I could be ready for NCLEX right when I am done. I would love to test within one month. Do you think that using the Hurst and ATI programs is enough?

I have been practicing NCLEX style questions since beginning nursing school. I feel like this helped me so much in preparing for exams in class. I have read great things about the NCSBN review and I want to use it as my final prep for the NCLEX. I want to take my test as soon after graduation as possible. I will be graduating in August and would like to use the 8 week review during my last session. Do you guys think this would be a good idea? Or should I wait until the last week of my class and do the 3 week review? Any info if helpful! Hopefully I am making sense Thank you!

Hi there! I actually go to Chamberlain and I LOVE IT! It is VERY expensive but you get the best of everything. I am about to finish the ADN program now and I am so glad I found this school. The SIM lab is amazing! It has the best technology used to learn and get hands on experience. Instructors care about the students and together they have many years of experience to share. A lot of people say "It's a for profit school so beware" but it honestly is a great school. I went on an interview at Riverside Methodist Hospital and the nurse manager's exact words were, "Oh I see you are graduating from Chamberlain. I just hired a Chamberlain nurse and she was the most prepared new grad I ever hired." I have not heard anything bad about our reputation. Clinical sites range from; OSU, Grant, Riverside, Children's Hospital, and Doctors. As far as transferring, there should not be a problem. I am going to Ohio University to complete my BSN and all my credits transfer. Anyhoo, I know I am a little bias but I don't want anybody giving you advice about the school that doesn't go there. I too had my reservations about the school, but I love it there and I am proud to be a Chamberlain Nurse (soon).

Hey there all you awesome future nurses! Before I took my mental health HESI I searched these threads to see if I could find any tips on what to study without any luck. Maybe I did not search hard enough but I still want to share my experience. The mental health HESI is 55 questions just like all the specialties I have had in the past. The HESI NCLEX Review book (mine is green) will be your best friend for this exam. This tip is also good for all the specialty exams! When studying for my HESI exams I only use this book. I do the questions at the end of the chapters and focus my attention on the "HESI Hints" in the green boxes. If you have time I would suggest making flashcards out of the HESI hints because those are ALWAYS questions on the exam. I would also suggest registering that book on Eolve.elsevier.com and doing the online questions. For this one, I came across 4 questions that were the exact same on the test! YAY for bonus points! This particular exam did not have any med calc on it. I would focus on therapeutic communication for this exam. It is such an important part of mental health. You will miss A LOT of questions if you do not know what to say and how to say it! AGAIN THERAPEUTIC COMMUNICATION know it! Love it! I would also know about the major problems in mental health; schizophrenia, depression, anxiety, OCD, substance abuse, and domestic/child abuse. Know the entire nursing process with these! Hope this helps someone! I know how challenging the HESI exams can be! Lucky for me my school is switching to ATI so I do not have to take the exit HESI!! YAY! One less thing to stand in my way! 69 days to go! Good luck EVERYONE!!!

So did you think that the ATI exam was like the NCLEX? Did you think it helped! Congrats on passing! That is such and awesome accomplishment!

I was wondering the same thing! I am in my last semester and my school made us take that exam. I got a 98% chance of passing NCLEX and I was like "there's no flippin way" lol Hopefully it is right! Good luck to you :)

UPDATE: So I sat down and took that LONG ATI predictor exam and ended up with a 78% which converted to a 98% CHANCE OF PASSING THE NCLEX!! I have no idea how the scores correlate but man is it a confidence booster! I might know a little something after all! If anyone has to take this exam I would do practice questions and at least try to do a 90 question practice run in one sitting. I honestly feel like the hardest part of that exam was doing 180 questions at once. I think that if you have done well in nursing school so far, you should be okay taking this exam and doing well. I didn't study that much since my school is not counting it for a grade. What helped me was listening to the Hurst Videos (I know not everyone has) on my weak subjects. UWORLD has a 30 day free trial and it is amazing for questions and detailed rationales. I think that is what helped me the most! It had a lot of meds, a couple med calcs, a TON of priority, and a few SATA. Hopefully this will help someone

Thank you guys!! If anything it was a confidence booster! I have been watching my Hurst videos on and off during school and they have been an amazing help. I haven't done the questions at the end yet. I'm glad to see that they compare to the nclex. @RN ready