Studying vs Answering Questions

[cdini]

What do you all seem to think is best for prepping for NCLEX.. Studying the material and taking practical tests to see how you have come along or do many combine questions or just rely on questions entirely..

I am trying to see if strategy is more than knowledge regarding many of these topics.. I have a month until my NCLEX exam and I am currently taking Kaplan's class. I also have the Saunders book. But using both have seemed to get a little overwhelming, haha.

thanks for your help!!

[smilin_gp]

I studied the Saunders content first while taking the chapter quizzes, and then used the comprehensive test CD and the NCLEX 3500 CD for a few days before the test to practice strategy. Worked for me.

[llg, PhD, RN]

This may sound like a small-a** answer, but I really don't mean in that way. I believe you really have to assess yourself and then tailor your preparation to improve on your weaknesses.

For example, if you struggle with taking tests and need to work on your test-taking skills, then you should do a lot of that as part of your preparation. However, if you have never had trouble with taking standardized tests before, then drilling with thousands of practice questions will be less useful to you.

If you have not fully mastered the content covered by the exam (but are a good test-taker), then you should be focusing more on the content than on test-taking strategies.

etc. etc. etc.

There is really no magic answer and no trick to it. Identify where your weak areas are and focus on them. Don't waste your time and get all muddled trying any and every review strategy that is right for someone else, but not for you.

Good luck,

llg