i been trolling around here for awhile pickin up little tidbits here and there. but i'm a little confused on the best things/materials to study. so far, i have been doing questions out of the saunders book ( saunders comprehensive review for the NCLEX-rn). it takes me forever to get those questions done but last night, i started using the CD and i get the questions done alot faster!!
i also did the 180 questions out of the kaplan book (kaplan NCLEX-RN 2007-2008 edition) . then i plan on re-reading the first part of the kaplan book and doing the questions on its CD. 3rdly, i've been doing ATI questions from the website, because we had to take ATI tests in school, so i'm moving along with them.
i wanna know what are the best materials to study from? i been seeing alot of saunders and kaplan on here. i definitely plan on doing the NCNSBN website thing ( i'm going to do the $50 3 week course) because i'm going to take my test on july 1st. should i aim for 3000 questions? where do i find a list of SATA questions at? all advice is appreciated and welcomed:wink2:
I did ATI content test to see where I was...then began my studies using Saunders-Davis(my fav and what I thought was most similar to Nclex) Mosby and read Kaplans, alsothe red paperback (dont know the name)priortization and review book.
I probably did a few thousand questions in a 3 week span, but I am kind of OCDish and the intense studying actually helped calm my nerves.
If I have said it once I have said it a thousand times, I truly believe the anxiety of Nclex is worse than the actual test. I think the key to passing is doing all you can do to prepare, so you know going in you gave it your all. Then taking a deep breath and counting to ten, get yourself in the zone and hit start. You must relax and not let the anxiety get the best of you...you passed nursing school and passed your finals, your ready. You just need to relax enough to be able to retrieve the information you have stored in your head....
Best of luck!!!
which kaplan?
can you find the name of the book on amazon? please:heartbeat
you're right. the anxiety of failing is killing me and nobody understands except other nurses. alotta ppl tell me 'oh you'll be fine', but how do they know?? to me, it just sounds like a nice thing to say.
Saunders 4th was all I used. Follow Suzanne's plan for studying. I probably spent a total of 30 hours studying and that was enough. (I would also use your HESI as a diagnostic and focus your studies around your weak points in HESI.)
when i took the exam, personnaly, i noticed that the questions were like a mix of saunders and kaplan. difficult saunders (in the cd) and typical kaplan questions... most questions are tricky. while some are not... i suggest that you go for saunders for content... if you have enough time, read and understand it by heart. with kaplan, go for their strategies and consider trying the kaplan Qbank...answer it over and over. there is nothing wrong with overpreparing. lastly, keep noted of your mistakes...
I did Kaplan questions, NCSBN questions and MedsPub for content. I thought the questions were very similar to Kaplan. I got one question that was word for word the same on kaplan, and from what I hear that doesnt happen often.
I came home after the test and was looking up answers to questions I had on the test and I found a large majority of the answers in my 4th ed. Saunders book. Wish I would have studied Saunders more prior to the exam.
Saunders 4th was all I used. Follow Suzanne's plan for studying. I probably spent a total of 30 hours studying and that was enough. (I would also use your HESI as a diagnostic and focus your studies around your weak points in HESI.)
what is HESI?
i was trying suzanne's plan, but it was taking too much of my time, but maybe i have it confused. here's what i was doing:
i would do the questions at the end of each chapter. if i didn't get a 70% or higher, i read the content and then did the questions again. the thing about it was when i re-did the questions, i would remember answers because i just looked them up. even if re-did the questions the next night, i would still remember the answers.
and as far as the content, i would automatically read the parts for the questions i got wrong.
i was trying suzanne's plan, but it was taking too much of my time, but maybe i have it confused. here's what i was doing:
i would do the questions at the end of each chapter. if i didn't get a 70% or higher, i read the content and then did the questions again. the thing about it was when i re-did the questions, i would remember answers because i just looked them up. even if re-did the questions the next night, i would still remember the answers.
and as far as the content, i would automatically read the parts for the questions i got wrong.
can anybody clear it up/fix what i'm doing wrong?
Maybe you should make a new thread to ask Suzanne this question specifically?! I'm sure she will help you understand her plan better...
I did the Kaplan review and got real frustrated with not improving my scores in th 65-70% range that they reccomend, but my score remained constant actually ranged 58-60% for all the Qtrainers, diagnostic and readiness test. The strategy helped alot so I kept doing them and then reviewed Saunders content (my weak points) and did their test at the end of the chapter. Then I would go back and do more Kaplan quizes. I had a little easier time even though my scores didn't show it, I think because it got me to refocus. Everyone from my class and all the new grads at the hospital I work at all say the same thing about their Kaplan scores as I did. Make sure to practice all the sata questions you can find. I had 17 of them. My school sold us a book titled "Nclex-RN 250 New-Foramt Questions (2d Ed)" ISBN is 978-1-58255-473-0. Also, think prioritization and delgation.
Good luck. Take a deep breath and say a few prayers, you'll be fine.
ive been doing the kaplan question trainers and q bank. i also have nclex 4000 cd. the kaplan questions are the toughest that i come across thusfar. so i guess that will give anyone a challege. i am up just finishing the q trainer 5:yawn:. i have found drilling questions are the best but also review your really weak areas in a review book like saunders.
My school sold us a book titled "Nclex-RN 250 New-Foramt Questions (2d Ed)" ISBN is 978-1-58255-473-0. Also, think prioritization and delgation. 
adio412
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i have the 3rd edition ( the blue book)