Saunders vs Kaplan

suzanne4, RN · Oct 2, 2005

As I said in your pm, if you take 6 weeks for the one program, you will not have six weeks left for mine. It will depend on how comfortable you feel with the information in your Kaplan course.

thatoneguy · Oct 3, 2005

if you can get a refund before starting do it. it sounds like your skeptical about it. if not forget about it and just go with it. no since in worrying about. info is info its up to you to stay focused and consistent in your study habits. that's what i think is the most important thing. "CONSISTENTLY" DOING IT EVERYDAY. best of luck to you.

Bambury · Oct 3, 2005

I would actually suggest the Kaplan course. The reason are twofold: Kaplan is the only NCLEX review that I have seen that intensely focuses on priority and delegation type of questions. You will find lots of these questions in their sample tests, qbank questions, and question trainer. The classroom course (not online course) will help you think through why a single patient would be more critical than all the rest.

Saunders on the other hand, will really help you with content material, and this is an invaluable thing. You can't possibly think of becoming a nurse without knowing the actual trade. Saunders helps through strategy points too, but I thought that some of the strategies were a bit lame.

I think that the two review materials are not similar enough to say that you can take one over the other, but they are complimentary. One picks up where the other one leaves off.

I actually find that I have enough time to do both. Again, it's complimentary studying. I do X amount of questions from this book, and another X amount of questions from another book. At the end, I find that I've had a well rounded day.

You might want to find out whether your (future) workplace reimburses for taking a review course. I know that lots of places do.

Godspeed!

Drmy4ever · Oct 4, 2005

Thank you for all your advice. They were very helpful and I'm feeling better that I haven't completely wasted my money on Kaplan. BTW, have you taken your exam and how did you do?

Drmy4ever

I think that the two review materials are not similar enough to say that you can take one over the other, but they are complimentary. One picks up where the other one leaves off.

I actually find that I have enough time to do both. Again, it's complimentary studying. I do X amount of questions from this book, and another X amount of questions from another book. At the end, I find that I've had a well rounded day.

Bambury · Oct 4, 2005

Hi there! Glad to know it helped. No, I haven't taken the boards yet, but will be soon. I will however, say that I try everything before I critique the cuisine:-). I feel I've done that with NCLEX-RN related things.

No matter what the method, I agree with thatoneguy - you have to commit to the studying - consistently.

I've been doing a steady stream of studying daily, for several hours, for the past month. Went through cover-to-cover with a couple of the books. Answered every questions, and have gotten progressively better. And I feel I know a whole lot. That's the best feeling going into any exam. And I think that committing to studying hard has helped me do that.

noelle027, BSN, RN · Oct 4, 2005

Thank you for all your advice. They were very helpful and I'm feeling better that I haven't completely wasted my money on Kaplan. BTW, have you taken your exam and how did you do?
Drmy4ever
I think that the two review materials are not similar enough to say that you can take one over the other, but they are complimentary. One picks up where the other one leaves off.
I actually find that I have enough time to do both. Again, it's complimentary studying. I do X amount of questions from this book, and another X amount of questions from another book. At the end, I find that I've had a well rounded day.

I didn't take a refresher course for the NCLEX-RN, but I found Saunders comprehensive review for NCLEX-RN computer cd very helpful. The study guide portion of the cd reviews a ton of content information. I also read Kaplan's NCLEX-RN exam taking tips book. It made it easier for me to pick out the correct answers on the nclex. I had lots of priority assessment questions so review that. Anyways, 75 questions and headache later i'm an RN. Good luck to you all.

BabyRN2Be · Oct 4, 2005

Suzanne has said many times that Saunders is the best for NCLEX-RN review and study. Although I have not seen Saunders, I've had previous experience with Kaplan when studying for the GRE. I had found that their math review was AWFUL. Many of their reviews of questions had bad information in them, and several times, they had the wrong answer listed as the correct one.

As I said before, I haven't seen anything Saunders related for nursing, but I don't believe that I'd trust Kaplan if they do to nursing students what they did for GRE hopefuls.

Just my :twocents: on the issue.

LeeTendayi · Oct 4, 2005

For those using Saunders , I am finding it tricky on how to fill in the blank answers. Not the ones that say "Pick all that apply", or the ones that say "Put the numbers in order. Not those ones but the ones that actually wants you to write the answer in yourself.

EG (paraphrased coz i'm not sure we are allowed to put questions fron textbks as they are)

EG. the nurse had to prioritise which patient to see first

A patient with a tracheostomy and is also on a mechanical ventilator.

A patient for discharge at 1pm

A patient on daily dressing change

A patient wanting to know the time for his next meds

And the answer was Patient with a tracheostomy and on the mechanical ventilator

Saunders said wrong: the answer is The patient who has a tracheostomy and is on the mechanical ventilator.

My question is is there a trick on how to phrase these answers that I am missing or what? I need help coz its driving me crazy. ( By the way I made up some of the patients except the one with the trachy. Please help. Sorry I made this long.

Tony35NYC · Oct 11, 2005

Although I agree that Saunders is an excellent NCLEX prep resource, its debatable that it is the best. I used both Saunders and Kaplan, and they are both good. I feel though that the Kaplan Qbank tops the Saunders stuff because the Qbank interface and the type of practice questions in it are very, very close (almost identical) to the questions you're going to see on the NCLEX-RN. Many of the questions I got on my NCLEX were so similar to the practice questions in the Kaplan Qbank that sometimes it felt like cheating. I also think the Saunders practice questions are too knowledge-based, and, from what I've heard, if you see too many of those types of questions on your exam it means you're probably not doing too well.

I have one not-so-good thing to say about Kaplan though, if you do the in-class review you may be wasting both your time and your money depending on the instructor you get. The one I had was terrible---a retired RN who was completely out of touch with modern nursing practice. I heard from a few friends who said similar things about the instructors they had at another Kaplan facility. Apart from that, the Qbank and the online video review course were well worth the money.

suzanne4, RN · Oct 11, 2005

For those using Saunders , I am finding it tricky on how to fill in the blank answers. Not the ones that say "Pick all that apply", or the ones that say "Put the numbers in order. Not those ones but the ones that actually wants you to write the answer in yourself.
EG (paraphrased coz i'm not sure we are allowed to put questions fron textbks as they are)
EG. the nurse had to prioritise which patient to see first
A patient with a tracheostomy and is also on a mechanical ventilator.
A patient for discharge at 1pm
A patient on daily dressing change
A patient wanting to know the time for his next meds
And the answer was Patient with a tracheostomy and on the mechanical ventilator
Saunders said wrong: the answer is The patient who has a tracheostomy and is on the mechanical ventilator.
My question is is there a trick on how to phrase these answers that I am missing or what? I need help coz its driving me crazy. ( By the way I made up some of the patients except the one with the trachy. Please help. Sorry I made this long.

It is quite easy to come up with the answer according to the ABC rules. If the patient has a trach and is on a vent, they have respiratory issues. Simple as that. Their airway is compromised. Patient that is going home is stable for discharge; a daily dressing change is just that, it needs to be done once a day, and is not a priority; a patient wishing to know next med time is not a priority in the scheme of things.

Airway and breathing are always going to be at the top of your list.

suzanne4, RN · Oct 11, 2005

I started off my teaching years ago with preparing foreign nurses for working in the US. Things cost much more overseas, and most were able to obtain only one book. Saunders does the best job of explaining rationales in my opinion, and this is the most important thing to follow when doing the questions, not just only answering the questions, but understanding why the answer was chosen, or not chosen.

I am used to working with nurses whose primary language is not English, and if they can use Saunders and pass the first time, then there has to be something said for that.

NCLEX is a world all of its own, and if you understand what they are looking for in an answer, that is 90% of it.