Taking NCLEX for the 2nd time Aug. 14 and need a study buddy!

chinie · Jul 23, 2009

hello.. regarding the kaplan reviewer so far all of my friends managed to pass the exam, they also used kaplan and saunders and they told me those two books are really great..

chinie · Jul 23, 2009

HI guys, i need question also.. im apply for my eligibility last april 2008, and my eligibility cam out after two months which is may 21, 2008.. I applied for the california state, I just want to ask how long is the validity of my eligibility?.. because someone telling me 1 should register before 1 year but accoeding to the letter that they send to me "I should register before 2 years of my eligibility".. upon what i have understand it is 2 years valid starting may 2008 to may 2010.. am i correct?.. help me please...

chinie · Jul 23, 2009

sorry for my wrong spelling and words...

LaneRN · Jul 23, 2009

Look on your state Boards web page I live in NC and ours in 1 year. So check it out and it will tell you or you can call the board of nursing. Hope this helps. :wink2:

miss_anna · Jul 24, 2009

I took nclex last june 22 I answered 117 questions.After two weeks, I was in the hospital caring for my father, he had an operation,metastasectomy with thoracotomy.. suddenly my aunt called me and inform me that my results are in, she gently read it to me on the phone that I failed.. at that time, i want to scream so loud but i can't, my father might woke up and get scared.. but still, i told my father about it.. He assured me that there is a reason why i failed at my first take.

tlc2u · Jul 25, 2009

i have been looking for a study buddy also. can i join in here? how are you guys staying in touch and discussing what you studied?

originally posted by ktbeth104:

i am a great nurse! i know that, but i don't know how to answer questions. i felt as though the nclex didn't reflect my knowledge and competency as a rn.

you wrote: i have the saunders 3rd edition (its blue) and i've broken it down by chapters like is it in the contents. any advice would be much appreciated.

i recently passed nclex-pn first time with 85 q's. i used an older edition of saunders, and looked through the newest edition at the bookstore to practice the new format q's (i highly recommend that). from saunders chapter on test taking skills i made myself a list of questions to ask myself with each question until it finally becomes automatic to think through the questions this way. (posted the list below in case you would like to try it too, it's long but you don't use the whole list for each test question). i had a lot of delegation and prioritization q's and will definitely use the lacharity book along with saunders for future studies. there are 3 possible reasons why i get a question wrong and they are:

i. i don't have or don't remember the knowledge to answer the question

ii. i read too fast and miss a key word in the question

iii. i don't stop to think through a test taking strategy that may have

helped me choose the correct answer.

i think it takes a good knowledge base and use of the test taking strategies or decision tree to conquer the nclex.

you wrote:

i definitly think you should focus on the questions! i constantly looked at the bottom of the screen to see what question i was on, and then when i went past 75 i started freaking!! alot of mistakes i made was trying to rush through it, and i ended up making careless errors. there were others where i read the question and it said what will you teach the pt to avoid and i picked what you would have them do! so read it very closely, then the questions and then go back to the question again and see if the answers you read ring a bell the second time. if you do that, then there is no doubt you will do better than me, cause my brain was not where it needed to be!!

the list of questions below from saunders test taking skills helps with this. you also asked what the decision tree is. it is in kaplans book, it is their method of working through the questions. i have not used kaplan's decision tree i like saunders but there is a post about it on allnurses

https://allnurses.com/nclex-discussion-forum/anyoone-up-random-308584-page72.html

i have terrible test anxiety so for me i had to go very slow and take my time with each question thinking it through thoroughly. another reason to take your time is due to how the test works. it comforted me to know i only had to get 50% correct but i knew it was the higher level questions that i needed to get correct. i don't know but i think by slowing down and really thinking through the questions i was getting more higher level questions correct. (i came away from my test very uncertain about how i did but i did pass.)

another poster wrote:

it is not the number of questions you get correct that passes you, it is the level of difficulty in which you can maintain at least 50% correct that passes you.

if you correctly answer 50% of the questions right at a level lower than the passing standard, it will shut off and you will fail. if you correctly answer 50% of the questions right above the level of passing, it shuts off and you pass.

saunders nclex test taking strategies as questions

say to yourself

did i.....

avoid reading into the question?

look for key words?

determine the issue of the question?

look for a true or false response question?

look for key words that indicate the need to ptioritize?

use the abc's?

use maslow's

use the nursing process?

look for key words that indicate i need to do an assessment?

or if it is an emergency do i need to do an intervention?

is this an analysis question?

planning, implementation, evaluation

use therapeutic communication techniques to answer this question?

eliminate similar options?

eliminate options that contain absolute words?

look for the umbrella option?

use the guidelines for delegating?

determine the class of drug by the end of it's name?

use medical terminology to break down words?

test item check list

use this handy list to check yourself

every time you answer a question.

another from davis i think.

say to yourself

did i carefully...

read the stem?

read all of the options?

read the stem again?

look for key words?

eliminate obviously incorrect answers?

for the medications my instructors said to learn them by classes. my drug book has a nice list in the front but i have not seen the list by classes in the newer drug books.

i found this partial list from another poster on allnurses. i have not learned all these myself but i have been working on it.

thank you to:

female12233

let me start by saying that this list is in no means complete but it's a good little start. to my knowledge these are accurate. it's just a list i had started to compile as i study for my nclex-rn. the following are a list of suffix in meds to help identify them. like -cillin and penicillin etc.

-azepam (benzodiazepine)

-azine (antiemetic; phenothiazide)

-azole (proton pump inhibitor)

-barbital (barbiturate)

-cillin (penicillin)

-cycline (antibiotic)

-ipramine (tricyclic antidepressant)

-navir (protease inhibitor)

-olol (beta antagonist)

-oxin (cardiac glycoside)

-phylline (bronchodilator)

-pril (ace inhibitor)

-terol (beta 2 agonist)

-tidine (h2 antagonist)

-trophin (pituitary hormone)

-zosin (alpha 1 antagonist)

-statin (cholesterol lowering agent)

-sartan (angiotensin receptor blocker)

-sone (glucocorticoid)

-mycin (anti-infective, aminoglycosides)

-vir (anti-viral)

-coxib (cox 2 enzyme blockers)

-caine (anesthetics)

-mab (monoclonal antibiotics)

-stigmine (cholinergics)

-thiazide (diuretic)

-ase (thrombolytic)

and one prefix

ceph or cef- (cephalosporins)

i thought these suggestions from a post by paulh61 were great suggestions.

6) i suggest doing 100 questions a day to keep your mind sharp, reading all the rationales and then doing them again if your grade was not close to 75 or above -- that will build confidence more than anything.

i have been doing the q's at the end of the chapters first and only going back to read and study topics i struggled with.

7) dont study what you feel you already know - that wastes time.

beside my questions in saunders i place an x or a check for getting them right or wrong and then a "t" if i got it right or wrong due to a test taking strategy, an "r" if i read the q or answers wrong, a ? mark if i need to go back and review content on the question even if i got the question correct but feel i need to know more.

8) know your lab values and diets (suggest you look at food sources for specific nutrients -- listed on page 1358 of davis's drug guide 10th edition or any other edition that has that same info. in the appendix)

9) good luck

10) breathe !!! and relax as much as you can

this is a little of the advice i found on allnurses. use what may help you and ignore the rest.

would love to join your study group. let me know how you are keeping in touch.

tlc2u

KAYBDT6, BSN, RN · Jul 25, 2009

:tku::lvan:

UjonesRN · Jul 26, 2009

i have been looking for a study buddy also. can i join in here? how are you guys staying in touch and discussing what you studied?
originally posted by ktbeth104:
i am a great nurse! i know that, but i don't know how to answer questions. i felt as though the nclex didn't reflect my knowledge and competency as a rn.
you wrote: i have the saunders 3rd edition (its blue) and i've broken it down by chapters like is it in the contents. any advice would be much appreciated.
i recently passed nclex-pn first time with 85 q's. i used an older edition of saunders, and looked through the newest edition at the bookstore to practice the new format q's (i highly recommend that). from saunders chapter on test taking skills i made myself a list of questions to ask myself with each question until it finally becomes automatic to think through the questions this way. (posted the list below in case you would like to try it too, it's long but you don't use the whole list for each test question). i had a lot of delegation and prioritization q's and will definitely use the lacharity book along with saunders for future studies. there are 3 possible reasons why i get a question wrong and they are:
i. i don't have or don't remember the knowledge to answer the question
ii. i read too fast and miss a key word in the question
iii. i don't stop to think through a test taking strategy that may have
helped me choose the correct answer.
i think it takes a good knowledge base and use of the test taking strategies or decision tree to conquer the nclex.
you wrote:
i definitly think you should focus on the questions! i constantly looked at the bottom of the screen to see what question i was on, and then when i went past 75 i started freaking!! alot of mistakes i made was trying to rush through it, and i ended up making careless errors. there were others where i read the question and it said what will you teach the pt to avoid and i picked what you would have them do! so read it very closely, then the questions and then go back to the question again and see if the answers you read ring a bell the second time. if you do that, then there is no doubt you will do better than me, cause my brain was not where it needed to be!!
the list of questions below from saunders test taking skills helps with this. you also asked what the decision tree is. it is in kaplans book, it is their method of working through the questions. i have not used kaplan's decision tree i like saunders but there is a post about it on allnurses
https://allnurses.com/nclex-discussion-forum/anyoone-up-random-308584-page72.html
i have terrible test anxiety so for me i had to go very slow and take my time with each question thinking it through thoroughly. another reason to take your time is due to how the test works. it comforted me to know i only had to get 50% correct but i knew it was the higher level questions that i needed to get correct. i don't know but i think by slowing down and really thinking through the questions i was getting more higher level questions correct. (i came away from my test very uncertain about how i did but i did pass.)
another poster wrote:
it is not the number of questions you get correct that passes you, it is the level of difficulty in which you can maintain at least 50% correct that passes you.
if you correctly answer 50% of the questions right at a level lower than the passing standard, it will shut off and you will fail. if you correctly answer 50% of the questions right above the level of passing, it shuts off and you pass.
saunders nclex test taking strategies as questions
say to yourself
did i.....
avoid reading into the question?
look for key words?
determine the issue of the question?
look for a true or false response question?
look for key words that indicate the need to ptioritize?
use the abc's?
use maslow's
use the nursing process?
look for key words that indicate i need to do an assessment?
or if it is an emergency do i need to do an intervention?
is this an analysis question?
planning, implementation, evaluation
use therapeutic communication techniques to answer this question?
eliminate similar options?
eliminate options that contain absolute words?
look for the umbrella option?
use the guidelines for delegating?
determine the class of drug by the end of it's name?
use medical terminology to break down words?
test item check list
use this handy list to check yourself
every time you answer a question.
another from davis i think.
say to yourself
did i carefully...
read the stem?
read all of the options?
read the stem again?
look for key words?
eliminate obviously incorrect answers?
for the medications my instructors said to learn them by classes. my drug book has a nice list in the front but i have not seen the list by classes in the newer drug books.
i found this partial list from another poster on allnurses. i have not learned all these myself but i have been working on it.
thank you to:
female12233
let me start by saying that this list is in no means complete but it's a good little start. to my knowledge these are accurate. it's just a list i had started to compile as i study for my nclex-rn. the following are a list of suffix in meds to help identify them. like -cillin and penicillin etc.
-azepam (benzodiazepine)
-azine (antiemetic; phenothiazide)
-azole (proton pump inhibitor)
-barbital (barbiturate)
-cillin (penicillin)
-cycline (antibiotic)
-ipramine (tricyclic antidepressant)
-navir (protease inhibitor)
-olol (beta antagonist)
-oxin (cardiac glycoside)
-phylline (bronchodilator)
-pril (ace inhibitor)
-terol (beta 2 agonist)
-tidine (h2 antagonist)
-trophin (pituitary hormone)
-zosin (alpha 1 antagonist)
-statin (cholesterol lowering agent)
-sartan (angiotensin receptor blocker)
-sone (glucocorticoid)
-mycin (anti-infective, aminoglycosides)
-vir (anti-viral)
-coxib (cox 2 enzyme blockers)
-caine (anesthetics)
-mab (monoclonal antibiotics)
-stigmine (cholinergics)
-thiazide (diuretic)
-ase (thrombolytic)
and one prefix
ceph or cef- (cephalosporins)
i thought these suggestions from a post by paulh61 were great suggestions.
6) i suggest doing 100 questions a day to keep your mind sharp, reading all the rationales and then doing them again if your grade was not close to 75 or above -- that will build confidence more than anything.
i have been doing the q's at the end of the chapters first and only going back to read and study topics i struggled with.
7) dont study what you feel you already know - that wastes time.
beside my questions in saunders i place an x or a check for getting them right or wrong and then a "t" if i got it right or wrong due to a test taking strategy, an "r" if i read the q or answers wrong, a ? mark if i need to go back and review content on the question even if i got the question correct but feel i need to know more.
8) know your lab values and diets (suggest you look at food sources for specific nutrients -- listed on page 1358 of davis's drug guide 10th edition or any other edition that has that same info. in the appendix)
9) good luck
10) breathe !!! and relax as much as you can
this is a little of the advice i found on allnurses. use what may help you and ignore the rest.
would love to join your study group. let me know how you are keeping in touch.
tlc2u

you are more than welcome to study with us! we use aim to keep in contact and some of us live near. do you have an aim account? what area are you from?

tlc2u · Jul 26, 2009

I don't have AIM but I will try to sign up for it. I am on the east coast but not near you guys. Thanks so much.

UjonesRN · Jul 26, 2009

I am at work now.. but what have you done so far? do u have yahoo IM? is this first or second time? I am in maryland where r u?

CoffeeGeekRN · Jul 26, 2009

ujones00, sorry I wasn't much help today.

UjonesRN · Jul 26, 2009

i just sent you a text msg! Thanks you didnt have to take time to meet with me that meant more to me than anything!:nuke: