Struggling.....Should I do Kaplan or Hurst?

Peds_Nurse · Jun 23, 2010

I think before you pay for any type of review, you need to seriously look at yourself and your skills and ask yourself "Why did I fail the test?"

Is it Test Anxiety? Lack of skills? Lack of nursing knowledge?

Whatever you answer, that is where you need to focus. You can pay for all the books and seminars you want, but if you don't grasp the basics of nursing knowledge and skill, it won't do you any good.

Be honest with yourself and you will succeed!

Good luck to all.

altruist09 · Jun 23, 2010

Hi there, I wanted to give my input because of my own experience. The hurst program is AMAZING! I find Kaplan is about how to take exams, hurst takes all the nursing knowledge you've learned and helps you see the big picture. It reviews vital information that is a must to know to pass NLCEX. After you know what you need to know with out any doubts it reviews how to take the exam. I'm convinced Hurst is the way to go! Good luck!

Frederique-NL · Jun 23, 2010

You might benefit from this:
I wrote this thinking of those who are struggling and have taken the test more than twice but it could be useful for first time takers too. This post reflects my experience with the NCLEX and the changes I did in order to pass. The NCLEX is a passable test and perhaps not even as hard as most people think. I like to point out aspects which are not well explained or easy to miss for some of us. We all hear stories about students who are so smart and have failed, so there must be something these students are missing and it might have something in common, so read on carefully and you might find the key to set yourself free.
In the NCLEX world there are a few important components: knowledge and how you apply that knowledge quickly are the two main ones. Another major component is how to take the test. I think that for those who are struggling is very important to start re-thinking the test in a brand new way; to understand what is being asked of you and realize that what you have been trained to do during your school years with traditional tests is now basically useless. There are a few points I like to go in detail and it might be helpful to understand them well. It might set you free from the deceptions and traps of the NCLEX which ultimately reflect the nursing practice. If you are trying really hard and still not passing, it's time to do a whole evaluation and change the way you think about the test, so read on and have fun.
1) TIMING: as they say, timing is everything. This might be one of the most misunderstood components of the NCLEX. The bottom line is: you must walk in the test room and even if you are completely clueless DON'T TAKE MORE THAN ONE MINUTE FOR EACH QUESTION, I cannot stress this enough. All the knowledge you have acquire is useless unless you can answer the questions fast and (hopefully) correctly; and remember that the NCLEX will not punish you for getting wrong answers, you only need to be at the knowledge level they are looking for. I am not sure about this but I now believe there is an algorithm which measures the time you use for each question crediting or discrediting you. The NCLEX really likes when you go fast. And that makes sense for nursing where emergency situations come up and you know little about them and only have a minute or so to make a decision. So when they say "don't over think", is more like you don't have the time to - "over think". Have you ever noticed how some questions keep coming back? Even though you might have answered them correctly, but because you took too long, they (the NCLEX computer program) is not sure that you really know it well or just guessed. So if the questions keep coming back two things can happen: you get too tired which is not good because your performance suffers or, run out of time which is another problem that can cause you to fail. They want you to look at the questions, read it carefully, make a decision select the best one, and move on. You must have the ability to answer the questions like you playing ping-pong game and be able to play a long game and not get tired. So there is not much to figure out at the moment of the test; you either are there or not. I know it sound a little fuzzy and fluffy but you have nothing to lose at this point; do you? Another timing issue is how long you delay to re take the test. Don't. You are never ready for it; put that in your mind. If you take too long between the tests you get cold, so use your failure as a practicing match and go take it again while you still hot. So go to PearsonVue website and schedule that test right now and go face the beast! Smile at fear.
2) YOUR KNOWLEDGE: of course the more you know about nursing the better, but not really. All you have to have is "NCLEX type knowledge" and that you can get by using the so many books available and listed by other posts in this site, Kaplan book/course, is a good source of that as well. Here's an example of NCLEX type knowledge: when they ask about chest tube, they might want to know a, b, or c (about chest tubes) and usually it does not stray too far from a certain number of options: know these options by heart. These are the building blocks NCLEX is made of and you must know it well enough to retrieve it from you mind on a heart-beat. The more you have these building blocks in your mind the better because it will help you to answer fast and correctly without thinking too much and getting tired (which is a very important point). So the way to look at knowledge is not in the traditional way of really knowing it but using your NCLEX knowledge to play the NCLEX game.
3) STUDY TIME: don't drive yourself crazy. I would practice 60 questions per day in one hour. Buy a timer and keep the pace, don't ever take more than one hour. If you are getting above 65% in one hour you looking good but try to get higher. One day per week go all the way to 265 (ouch!) because most likely this is what your test will be like! So in essence you are building up endurance with that kind of knowledge rather than becoming a nursing genius. Have fun with it, if you drive yourself to pain you will also learn pain so when you get to the test that's what you will remember.
4) THE TEST: it's important to know about this test and its components. One fact I think is interesting is that the NCLEX will test everyone differently. The NCLEX has two ways to make a decision about you: (1) you will pass or fail with an "X" number of questions, so if you are really good you can pass as little as 75 questions and if you are doing really bad you will fail with 75 questions. (2) but at a certain the computer makes a decision, it can't figure you out, you have missed a bunch of questions but you've also hit some important ones, so it decides that you need to be tested in the whole gamut of questions, so you are going all the way to 265 baby (ouch again). However remember, if you are not consistent and begin to do poorly because you are tired you can fail too and not go all the way, or go all the way and fail too. So you must stay in the game and perform consistently. If you are struggling forget about that magical "oh a passed with 75 questions", be prepared to go all the way and most importantly be consistent throughout the entire range and that's why is so important to train yourself to endure long periods of time answering these type questions. The NCLEX will be really impressed with your consistency and you will be credited for that. Remember, the NCLEX is not about getting questions right and building up points like in regular tests, the NCLEX is testing how you perform under stressful situations and in certain ways your ability to improvise. I believe the algorithm of the computer program is very sophisticated and can measure everything you do.
5) TAKING THE TEST: you must understand what is critical thinking. Some people are there already, but if you are not for whatever reason you should begin to pay close attention to "what is to critically think". You must focus on that question in a way you never did before, you must zero in to that question only and not stray one bit from it. I developed this way of thinking in which I would imagine myself there, at the hospital with a real situation at hand and then think "what would I do here...for real" and make that decision in terms of what would I do in order to be the safest. When you take the test you must be confident in your intuition. Another way to interpret when people say: "don't over-think" is that your mind goes into this overdrive mode where decisions are made quickly and without thinking but they are the correct ones. It's like playing a video game where you only have a split second to make decisions but as the rhythm speeds up your mind speeds up and you actually make better decisions than if you think it over. This is the kind of mind set you have to have when you take this test. In my opinion this is exactly what they are trying to test: your ability to quickly decide emergency situations. How many of those did you get right?
6) GUESSING: there is nothing wrong with guessing. You and everybody will guess about 10-20% of the test. The test is designed that way, otherwise you would know what to study for the test as you did in your nursing classes. So learn how to guess right, and in order to do it right you must be completely random and not go on a hunch. It is an irresistible impulse to guess following a hunch that you know something about the answer which makes you feel safe. The problem with that is that you might fall in the trap set up the writers. So first eliminate as many as wrong answers you can than guess RANDOMLY. One safe way to do that is to always pick the first one bellow the last question you have eliminated, if you have not eliminated any of them pick up C or any other but randomly.
7) PLAY TETRIS: and here's why, Tetris is one of the first video games made for computers and in my opinion it simulates several of the brain functions required in for the NCLEX. It will help you with the brain stamina you need to endure all the 265 questions without lowering your performance. You have to make quick decisions in shorter and shorter amounts of time. It forces your brain to critically think faster and faster as the geometrical shapes fall down and you have to figure out where they fit. I was amazed to find out how much I improved as I started to play. If you don't believe this is helpful, just play for fun and it will your mind from the study.
8) PRAY FOR ST. JUDE THE PATRON OF THE IMPOSSIBLE CAUSES AND THE BEST LUCK TO YOU.

Hi Marcos9999

Read your post a few months ago, did my test, did 265 in 4 hours and 10 minutes and failed. I read your post again today, thinking where did I go wrong? The computer obviously didn't like me! Any advice for me? I'm thinking of doing Hurst Review. I'm foreign educated, been out of school for 13 years, working in a PACU. My skills have narrowed down to my daily routine. I think I know too little of US nursing...

helpmepass · Jun 23, 2010

I'm writing to tell you dont give up. Like you, I too was struggling. I graduated in 2002 and took the test and failed. Then I waould wait years to take it again. Then last year I was told by a friend to get the Saunders Book. I studied each chapter diligently and answered 100 questions a night. And I ordered a DVD from EBAY and downloaded it to my ipod and listened to it at night while I slept! Yes I did ALL that and I finally passed.:yeah::yeah:. So PLEASE DONT GIVE UP...........YOU WILL PASSS...................... God Bless You.

Thanks SO MUCH! How long (months, etc.) did it take to prepare before you took your boards again? You took them twice? Also, how many hours did you study each day? I am married and have 3 kids (all 3 1/2) and younger.

Thanks again!

queen777 · Jun 23, 2010

I have failed boards several times and it has been 6 years, some of you may have seen my previous posts. Anyway, it's time for me to pass those boards!!!!!! I am looking into Kaplan and Hurst and am wondering which is better. I have read that Kaplan is very similiar to the boards, is Hurst too? Also have read that people like that Hurst has little ways of helping your remember things. Just looking for honest opinions. I am doing it this time to PASS!!!

I am a LPN, but its a nursing test too! Anyway, I asked my sister, who at the time as a teacher, both are state tests, and asked her if she had any advice before I took my boards...this makes all the sense in the world....as she told me "one answer is wrong and you know it is, the others are close and you might do all of them, but "what would you do first to your patient?

Always keeping in mind "what would you do first?"

Also, this is a very good thing to remember when working as a nurse!

I just thought it was very good advice. I didn't find myself second-guessing the answers as I usually did in school either.

Once I was done, I only read back over the very 3 last questions which I did not change a thing, so I turned it in. And "go with your gut feeling"!

Good luck.

uscgal09 · Jun 23, 2010

Hi! I took my boards twice. The first time I used an NCLEX book. It was a bunch of questions and then explained the answers (not so clearly). I had all 265 questions, but failed. I know people who have taken the Kaplan course. I have gotten mixed reviews. I used Hurst and have recommended it to at least ten people!! I learned more from Hurst than I did all throughout nursing school. It is a little pricy (depending on your finances), but it is soooo worth it!!!! The way that things are broken down just makes it so simple. For me personally, I liked the online course. This way, when I missed something (because it can go a little fast at times), I can rewind and go again. Also, it allows you to have the lectures upto I think about 90 days afterward or something. So I printed the lectures, went through them, and then had them online to refer to again. I truly recommend Hurst!!! Best of luck to you!!! I felt like such a horrible failure when I failed, but it IS possible to pass!! You just need the right tools!! I truly believe Hurst is that tool!!

RUsonjg · Jun 23, 2010

Kaplan!

MochaRN424, ASN · Jun 23, 2010

Hi, I failed boards back in 10/2006 and at that time I did Hurst. The next time I took boards in 3/2007 I was blessed with a prepaid opportunity to take the course at Kaplan. I passed!!!!!! Hurst helped me in regards to those areas that I needed reinforcement. Kaplan helps you "practice" nclex type questions...you practice on the computer at home and take mock tests. When I attended the classroom sessions...they go over questions and help you understand why your answer was right or wrong.

They help you to think critically. I think Kaplan is excellent in this regard...Kaplan also allows you to see your progress when you take the practice tests and let's you know where your strengths and weaknesses are. This is so worth it! Best of Luck!

amazeRN · Jun 23, 2010

I am studying to take my RN boards and one tool that our class found very helpful is the Mark Klimek NCLEX Review. I dont know your location but he goes all over, he works by word of mouth only no advertising. He is located in Cedarville Ohio. You can go to his website markklimeknclexreview.com you can see the upcoming dates and register there. The cost is $285 and includes 2 books. One you go over in class and the second you study on your own time. He does not have a money back guarantee but if you do not pass or just neeed to study more you can go to any of his reviews for free, you just have to show your receipt from the 1st review. Good luck:)

Saúde · Jun 24, 2010

Put all your nursing books away! I repeat, put all your nursing books away! Get the online LIVE version of Kaplin. Not sure how much it will cost you but it's got to be cheaper than taking the NCLEX over multiple times. Sit down for 2 months and go over every inch of it and I guarantee you that you will pass. Don't bother memorizing anything. Concentrate on learning strategies on how to recognize correct answers vs. incorrect answers. The Kaplin Live version was part of our nursing program and I passed in 75 questions. After studying Kaplin for a couple of months the NCLEX will seem like a joke, at least it seemed awful easy to me. Good luck and just remember that failing the NCLEX has nothing to do with measuring how good of a nurse you'll be or measuring your potential. It's just a crappy test to measure your reasoning skills. Just get the Kaplin and get'r done!

tabduff · Jun 24, 2010

I took the online Hurst review and I must say that I loved it! I felt it really helped me understand more about my weak areas and most importantly gave me confidence in my knowledge. I struggled with HESI's throughout nursing school and passed boards in 75 questions! I walked out of there happy (yes, happy!) because I knew I did well :)

helpmepass · Jun 24, 2010

I just want to thank all of you for you positiveness and encouragement!!!!!!!!