SATA's and Pharma are my problem...HELP!

NaomieRN · Aug 6, 2009

I went to a nursing where I never took pharmacology. I studied the meds by different classes and remember the bad side effects. I had about 10 meds, I knew most of them. Make sure you pay attention to meds you see on TV commercials, like Zoloft, Viagra and Cialis.

The key to success: think positive, practice as many questions as possible and go over each rationale. Take notes and read contents in weak areas. Try to understand the concept rather than memorization. You can pass....I read your previous post

Please do not give up, you reach too far. Hang in there, I am praying for you. Keep me posted with some good news soon!!!!

brichielpn08, BSN, RN · Aug 6, 2009

I had a tough time on this journey. I wanted to be an LPN so bad. I was on the top of my class. And now here, I am wondering what i did wrong. I took the exam twice and both stopped at 85 and both FAILED. Sometimes i wonder it this career really for me? I took the time off and unfortunately i lost my job because i was depressed and could not come back to work after i found out i FAILED again. This is my 3rd time and i dont know what else to do beside studying my content again and again. I am so afraid to schedule it because im already traumatized. My life is depends on it and i dont know where else to go if i fail this again for the 3rd time. Why do they make this exam so HARD? I give up my friends, my family communication, my lifestyle..everything JUST to be able to pass this and become the nurse that i always wanted to be..but this exam is stopping me from all of this dreams..How will i pass this? I need to move on with my life..I would like to understand and learn this exam so bad..BUT HOW???after trying twice and failed. Is this what they called the AMERICAN SYSTEM?? I heard they need more nurses but they make it so hard for you to get in the field.

NaomieRN · Aug 6, 2009

You got through the tough part and the best is yet to come. I think your problem may be more anxiety than anything else.

I took my boards in July and passed. The week before the test, I had major anxiety because like you I was the top of my class and I did not want to fail. What I did, two days before the test, I got my hair, pedicure, nails and eyebrows done. I stayed at a hotel over night closer to the test center. I exercised few days before the test and did deep breathing while taking the test. I know if only I can control my anxiety I would be alright.

brichielpn08, BSN, RN · Aug 6, 2009

I think that is one of my problem. I was still shaking the second time i took it. Then i was so nervous and thinking about all this people that relying on me to pass. And some people said i was over review. Maybe, but i feel like i am lacking some important information, specially the drugs..It was toughed for me cause, the questions i know are getting easier but still i dont know what it is...its like i know that i am about to doom the exam and i did...They said when the questions are getting easier your already going down...it should get harder and harder...then you know your at the top of the game..but i have too may SATA's..drugs..patient teaching about when you are giving a conference what will you include in your topic..that i think its stupid..and its not even a bedside nursing...like i said the EXAM is a CRAP!!!

jadu1106 · Aug 7, 2009

Hi!

For the SATA questions, also look at each one of the options as true or false in regards to the question. Focus on each option and while reading it, ask yourself is this a true statement or false statement, and it will help you choose any and all options!

Good luck!

jlr820 · Aug 8, 2009

Hi there...I know what you mean about SATAs and pharmacology questions. I just took the NCLEX-RN a week ago, and I HATED all the SATA questions. For those, the only advice that I can give to you is 1. practice answering NCLEX questions every day and 2. when you encounter a SATA make sure that you know what the question is asking you. For example, let's say that the question is asking you about signs and symptoms of digoxin toxicity...so you then look at each of the choices as though its a true/false question...with our example, with each one we would look at it and say "true or false, is this a sign or symptom of digoxin toxicity"...if it is, select it, if not don't select it. The very first step for this, or any, NCLEX question is to make sure that you know what you are being asked in the stem of the question. Sometimes, it is explicitly stated and sometimes it isn't. The Kaplan course I took told us to look at the answer choices for clues as to what the question is about. Once you determine what you are being asked, then do the "true/false" thing with each choice. Of course, in order to do that, you have to also know the underlying nursing content.

As for pharmacology, I would tell you to study and review medications in GROUPS..meaning that I would NOT try to simply memorize facts for a gazillion meds. That's counterproductive in my opinion. Instead, I would review meds by the drug family that they are in..say, for example, loop diuretics. I would then learn the names for several representative members of that drug family AND I would know the indications, contraindications, side effects, and nursing implications for that FAMILY of drugs...because it isn't like there's a world of difference between the drugs in a particular family. Usually, there isn't much difference so why spend a lot of time learning individual meds. Think globally, in other words.

Also, I think it is a very good idea to know the endings for various drug families. As you know, many drug families have a characteristic ending to their generic names (example...."-pril" for ACE inhibitors). This is valuable because you may not have heard of the particular med given in the stem of the question, BUT you might know what family it belongs in based on its ending, which can then lead you to the correct answer. For example, you may never have heard of TELMISARTAN in your entire life, but by knowing that "-sartan" refers to angiotensen receptor blockers, you would know that it is a drug used to tread hypertension, etc. etc. I put a list of endings that might help you.

I would make sure to know the therapeutic and toxic ranges of common meds (lithium and digoxin especially) and I would know about injection sites for various age groups, whether z-tracking is used, whether aspiration or massaging is used or not, etc.

I would make sure to know the onset, peak, and durations of all the common insulin products (find a table online or in your med surg book and learn it).

Make SURE you know lab values...again, pick one source (like a reputable lab manual like Mosby's or whichever one you used in school) and MEMORIZE the values. I say to stick with one source b/c if you check 5 different books for labs, you will get 5 different variations, so pick one and stick with it or you will go nutty trying to keep them all straight. I would know all the common electrolytes, PTT, aPTT, PT/INR, liver function studies, CBC, platelets, WBC and differential, albumin and pre-albumin, etc, etc.

Review the signs and symptoms of TOXICITY for various drugs (again, lithium, digoxin, theophylline, etc).

Med calculations...make sure you practice doing these, and use the technique that you find easiest to understand. There's more than one way to do a med calc, but pick the one that you like best and stick with it. Know you conversions (metric, household, and even apothecary..you never know when they might throw you a drug order with "grains" or "drams" in it just to try to derail you).

Ok, so here's the list of drug name suffixes...I would commit it to memory

-ase, -plase Thrombolytic agents

-azole antifungals

cef- ceph- cephalosporins

-cillin penecillins

-cycline tetracyclines

-dipine calcium channel blockers

-dronate biphosphonate bone resorption inhibitor

-floxacin fluoroquinolone antibiotics

--micin, -mycin aminoglycosides

nitr- -nitr- nitrates/anti-anginals

-olol calcium channel blocker

-parin heparin or heparinoid anticoagulants

-phylline xanthine bronchodilators

-prazole proton pump inhibitors

-pril ACE inhibitors

sal- -sal- aspirin/salicylate analgesics

-sartan angiotensin receptor blockers

-sone, -lone, pred- corticosteroids

-statin HMG-CoA inhibitors

sulfa- sulfonamide antibiotics

-terol adrenergic bronchodilators

-tidine Histamine H2 antagonist/anti-ulcer drugs

-triptan vascular headache suppressant

-vir antivirals

-zepam, -zolam benzodiazepines

-zosin peripherally acting alpha-1 blocker/antihypertensive/BPH drugs

So, basically, go through your pharmacology book and make a list of all the various medication families, pick a couple of the most commonly used drugs from each class and study them in depth (but also make sure you are familiar with some of the less commonly known members...just know the names and drug class). I think that will be a far easier way to learn pharmacology, otherwise you are going to go nuts. They don't expect you to have the same level of knowledge as a pharmacist.

Long post, I know...I hope it helps somewhat.

Good Luck!

nurseman81 · Aug 8, 2009

I just took my NCLEX-PN yesterday and found some of the pharm to be of drugs I HAD NEVER heard of. I've worked critical care/step down for six years and learned about many drugs but some of them I hadn't even seen before (on the test.)

I will say, that according to my pharm class in school, most drugs have N/V side effects. I don't know if I passed yet or not, but if I didn't know the med and that was an option, I chose it.

cyram81APRN, MSN · Feb 8, 2011

Thank you jlr820 for the tip to learn Pharmacology, that is my main weakness and I failed my nclex because of that and two other minor categories. That is a great tip!! Thanks a bunch!

littlestar97 · Feb 4, 2012

I had made a collection of SATA questions. If you want to practice, please email me @ [email protected]