Study guides for nclex and critical thinking skills?

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Hi allnurses.com so my professor recommended to practice nclex questions. For those who have taken the nclex or are studying for the nclex, what books have you found helpful. I have read a few post about using the Kaplan book, but which Kaplan book? I am not taking the nclex anytime soon but I would like to start practicing for it and building my critical thinking skills.

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Specializes in cardiac-telemetry, hospice, ICU.

Both the Saunders (for content) and Kaplan's review for the NCLEX RN are good. These were my primary sources for the NCLEX. Also, when you actually start studying for the NCLEX use online test banks such as the NCLEX 4000 or Kaplan's Qbank. To get additional information, take a look at the NCLEX support area on Allnurses. You will get lots of folk's opinions

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Saunders Review has a CD that has thousands of questions. You can also do Kaplan QBank.

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There is a book by F.A. Davis that was recommended by our instructors. It's called test success. It's dedicated in helping you better understand the nclex style questions and how to pick the right one. I also +1 on the Saunders Nclex Review.

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Hi St. Croix....Did you purchase the entire Kaplan program?

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Hi, St. Croix...did you purchase the entire program and how much was it and how long did you take to prepare?

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Specializes in cardiac-telemetry, hospice, ICU.

I did not purchase it, I simply used the review book. For questions I used the Saunders CD, Kaplan CD (practice test), an ATI 3 day review (with review book) and the online NCLEX 4000. I passed in 75 questions. Frankly, with one month of hard studying I felt I was well prepared. When I got done with the exam, I wondered what all that studying I did for me. By that I mean very little of what I studied really related to the test. The test was more a test of thinking based upon an overall understanding of nursing and an overall knowledge. I guess the studying gets your brain into a thinking mode, but the specific information doesn't really come into play. That's how I saw it anyway. I know people who loved the Qbank and swear by it, but I would have felt overwhelmed if I had any more source material. Too many resources can do that.

Good luck

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Specializes in cardiac-telemetry, hospice, ICU.

Oh, yeah I forgot. You MUST have Lacharity's Prioritization, delegation and assignment book. It drills you into thinking about these issues as the NCLEX tests. Very good resource, and an easy read.

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Yea I have all those....thanks 340 St. Thomas

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Saunders and Kaplan are helpful. Do the questions and read the rationales. Know how to prioritize and delegate. Also be familiar with the select all that apply questions. I had about 30 of those and passed with 75.

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Thanks everyone for the posts. Howvever I am confused about the Kaplan. Is it the Kaplan online that you sign up and pay for or is it an actually book. I've seen a Kaplan book but it was more about strategy then questions.

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Thanks everyone for the posts. Howvever I am confused about the Kaplan. Is it the Kaplan online that you sign up and pay for or is it an actually book. I've seen a Kaplan book but it was more about strategy then questions.

You can pay for qbank with questions or pay for a online class.

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