Rumor about NCLEX

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Specializes in Telemetry.

I wanted to know if it's true that the NCLEX will continue to ask questions on someone's so called weak spot? For example if I missed six peds questions, will they continue to ask peds questions or will they just move on? I don't want the NCLEX to exploit a weakness that I might have and I end up failing the test.

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They are always going to focus on your weak spot or spots, that is not a rumor. If you get a couple of questions in an area and answer them correctly, then it goes onto the next area.

They will probably move on if you are not getting any in an area correct, but that is not usually the case for most. If you prepare properly for the exam, you should not have any weak areas. All should be covered during your review.

Best of luck to you on your exam.

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They are always going to focus on your weak spot or spots, that is not a rumor. If you get a couple of questions in an area and answer them correctly, then it goes onto the next area.

They will probably move on if you are not getting any in an area correct, but that is not usually the case for most. If you prepare properly for the exam, you should not have any weak areas. All should be covered during your review.

Best of luck to you on your exam.

The lady that created the nclex review course that i am currently using says that it is not ture, that the test does not focus on your weak areas. She says that it is all in our mind that if we are weak in an area it will seem that they are asking a lot of those questions. I myself believe this to be true. I recieved quite a few infection control on my nclex-rn exam it seemed like 100 questions b/c i was not strong in this area, but it may have been about anywhere from 5-10 questions. So i don't really feel it focuses on your weak areas. Like the review lady said (and she's been doing this nclex stuff a long time) the computer does not have a "soul" or a "mind" it just comes up with questions. So who knows!!!

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It focuses on your weak areas as those are the ones that people usually have problems with answering the questions the best in. The exam is a CAT exam and it will give you questions based on how you answered the previous question. And each person will have different questions given to them based on how they responded to the previous answer, this is a computerized exam and the computer knows exactly what it is doing. Same way that no matter which state that you wrote the exam for, or the location in the world that you wrote the exam at, your questions are going to be the same that day as it goes by what you are doing in terms of answering. They will only be different if the time of year is different as the questions are changing that is why one can rewrite the exam in just 45 days vs the mandatory 90 days in the past for every single state.

And I have been preparing nurses for years for this exam as well. And after enough research thru the past years, I stand by what I have written.

That is why it is always so very important to make sure that you are up to par with areas that you consider to be weaker in. You are entitled to your opinion, and I am entitled to mine. And I have much research as well as time invested to know what I am speaking of.

The exam is going to give you questions until it feels confident in you in that area if you are going to pass the exam.

And for those that are weakest in meds, then they usually have a tendency to see more of those.

If infection control was not your stronger area, then chances are that you would get more in this area so that it can check you out on it.

Everyone that writes this exam gets 50% correct and 50% incorrect, the level that one is getting the majority of the correct answers at determines if one will pass or not.

Just noticed that it looks like you tested before and are now preparing again for the exam, best of luck to you. And this is why I always do a full review with everyone before they start my program so that there are no weak areas. This is the way that I teach.

Best of luck on your exam.

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Specializes in Telemetry.

Thanks for you your replies. Now I'm even more nervous, I take the test this Monday, July 28th. And I would like to think that I don't have any weak areas, but of course I doubt thats completely true. Now, if the test does find a weak spot, do they ask those questions in succession, or do they ask one go to another topic then go back to the weak spot?

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I would not focus on this, as each and every exam is different and goes by how you answered the previous question.

Best of luck to you on your exam.

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Specializes in Telemetry.

Ok will do. Thank you for your help.

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This would explain why I got so many med questions I had no clue to. I know pharm is my weak spot. Any suggestions on studying pharm. I took Nclex with 265 questions and failed so I want to be ready when I try again.

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Specializes in Telemetry.
This would explain why I got so many med questions I had no clue to. I know pharm is my weak spot. Any suggestions on studying pharm. I took Nclex with 265 questions and failed so I want to be ready when I try again.

Well for meds I'm just trying to learn them by class. Also to learn common prefixes or suffixes so I can group them together. I wish I could give you more, but I'm just as lost as you are.

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