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Discussion

Test-taking tips

Hi everyone. I've been searching far and wide for a book on test-taking tips for nursing exams, but can't really find anything. My school tends to use more NCLEX-like questions on exams ("select all that apply"... EEK:uhoh3:), and I'm finding that as much as I study and as much information I can spew out, I'm often still tricked by them. I know that basically, "What would you do first?" questions are based on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, but does anyone have any other tips like that? Or is it really just that you have to sit and think for a while on those types of questions? Should I get an NCLEX review book to practice with? If so, which one have you found is the best? I'm doing fairly well on the exams, but I'd like to be doing even better.

Thank you!

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    Here are some test-taking strategies I use. I typically score between a 94% to 100% of my exams.

    1. What is the “stem” topic of the question

    2. Are answers assessments or implementations

    3. Are answers physical or psychosocial (Maslow’s)

    4. Which choice provides the best patient outcome

    5. If no clue, choose answer “C”

    6. Are 3 items alike, but 1 is different

    7. Does the scenario give an age or diagnosis

    8. Look for opposite answers, one of them is right

    9. Don’t ever pick answers with “always, never, absolute”

    10. Don’t answer what you do clinically….give textbook answers

    11. ABC’s always first (Airway, Breathing, Circulation)

    12. The “restless” pt is always your priority pt

    13. Watch for negative or except questions

    14. Assign staff by title not experience (RN’s must initiate teaching, admissions, discharge assessments, IV’s)

    15. Cover your answers first to see if an answer pops into mind

    16. Nursing process match up (answer an assessment question with an assessment answer)

    17. Look for key words such as “best, first”

    18. Safety is a must

    19. Psych questions focus on the patient and reflect what is said, do not give advice or pass judgment

    20. Always answer what a polite, kind, caring person would say

    21. DO NOT CHANGE YOUR ANSWER UNLESS YOU ARE 100% certain it is wrong!

    This is all I have…hope it helps

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    5. If no clue, choose answer "C"

    May I ask why you said choose answer "C" if we have no clue, why can't it be others? I'm just dont get why, that's all:)

    By the way I very like all the tips that you posted, they're all great:up:

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    I always used Saunders NCLEX book to practice for exams. I also used Prentice Hall's NCLEX book which has excellent test taking tips in it.

    Get into the habit of doing 100-200 NCLEX questions from the study books a week. You'll do well on your exit exam and on your board exam :)

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