Testing Tuesday 7/25 and.....

Paleobug · Jul 22, 2006

I have to re-take the NCLEX. The questions are very similar to Kaplan. Saunders is a good context book, but IMO, it's too simplified for NCLEX. For example, the priority questoins on the NCLEX are for more complex than what I saw on the Saunders CD. I'm also going to be doing the Kaplan Q tests. It sounds like you're prepared.

stressgal, RN · Jul 22, 2006

You are doing great! Sounds to me as if you are ready. Good luck!

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Jul 22, 2006

I'm testing on Tuesday, 7/25. I've been reviewing, using mostly Kaplan. I have used about 80% of the qbank questions and have a cumulative average of around 68%.
I have done 5 of the 7 Qtrainer tests. On the Qtrainers I have:
Test #1: 67%
Test #2: 70%
Test #3: 70%
Test #4: 74%
Test #5: 74%
I plan to do Qtrainer #6 tomorrow and #7 on Sunday.
I have used the Saunders NCLEX review book some also but have found that the questions were more knowledge based so decided to stick more with Kaplan.
I have also taken Mosby's CAT twice with a 99% probability of passing on both times I did it.
My question is......Is this good? What do you guys think????
Also, any suggestions for last minute preparations?
Thanks in advance!

"Is this good?"....are you SERIOUS??? LOL....those Q-Trainer scores are incredible!

Mine were (1-7) 64, 65, 63, 63, 63, 70, 64.....and was still higher than many others who finished quickly and well on the NCLEX. I finished in 79 questions :) Kaplan sets a standard that, IMO, is unrealistically high. Probably to keep their passing rates up! They guarantee 95% passage rate if you get that 65% and over scoring. But, based on reading posts on this board, you do NOT need to get that high on their tests to have an excellent grasp on the material AND how to answer NCLEX-style questions.

You have it. You've got it figured out. You'll NAIL that exam!! :biggringi

HOTGAL73 · Jul 22, 2006

Guys,

I need your help. I'm using the kaplan review book and the online test bank.

I found that my scores are between 50-60 on some of the quiz i have taken. On a few of the quiz my scores are 60, 70,74,80,84, on some of quiz i usually take 20 questions. I'm schedule to take my test in 4 weeks.

on test#1 i got 55, test #2 61

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Jul 22, 2006

Guys,
I need your help. I'm using the kaplan review book and the online test bank.
I found that my scores are between 50-60 on some of the quiz i have taken. On a few of the quiz my scores are 60, 70,74,80,84, on some of quiz i usually take 20 questions. I'm schedule to take my test in 4 weeks.
on test#1 i got 55, test #2 61

It actually sounds like you don't need much help at all....Kaplan is notorious for extremely difficult questions, which of course prepares you for NCLEX, but their own goal of having 65% or better on Question Trainer tests is a bit of overkill if you ask me. I know, I kept killing myself toward that goal, wondering if I was close to good enough to passing, and found that LOTS of people scored in the low fifties, up to 60, and still passed with a minimal number of questions. Not even requiring alot of questions, which means they were doing well on NCLEX.

Make sure to do ALL the Question trainers is my strong suggestion. Also, do ALL the Q-banks! Since the first two Q-trainers are the lower-level questions, you want to make sure you're as sharp as possible on those....and you do that by answering lots of questions and reading ALL the rationales--whether you got it right or wrong. You might have gotten it right, but you want to be sure you know why you got it right as far as NCLEX is concerned. So you get it right each time :)

The later Question Trainers 5, 6, 7 make you answer higher level questions, requiring that you correctly apply the knowledge you're supposed to have. Critical thinking stuff. Particularly in 6 and 7: those are ALL high level questions.

Keep it up. You're TOTALLY on the right track! You have lots of time to do those questions and prepare to kick BUTT on that exam!!

willdgate · Jul 22, 2006

infection control, maslow, common meds review

RegisteredNurse06 · Jul 23, 2006

Thank you everyone. I'm glad to hear that Kaplan is similar to the NCLEX style questions. I wasn't sure what a "good" score on those Kaplan tests would be and they're so darn hard! I was always a good student in school and felt confident I could pass NCLEX until I started doing those Kaplan questions. The lower scores left me feeling a little uhhh....stupid!lol...Sooooo, I feel much better knowing that others have scored about the same on Kaplan AND passed NCLEX!

I am in the middle of Qtrainer #6 now...had to take a break.

I plan on reviewing infection control stuff again. Any particular meds I should review????

pendragon1980 · Jul 23, 2006

I am also taking the exam on Tues. I feel the panic starting to rise. I've been studying since I graduated in May, well WELL over 3000 questions. Usually going through the books (Kaplan and Saunders) I would get 75-80% of the questions right. My HESI score was 94%, my Mosby CAT was 82%. I think beyond some last minute lab value and med review, I'm just at the point of concentrating on NOT freaking out on Tues.

Good luck to you.

Pendragon

RegisteredNurse06 · Jul 23, 2006

I am also taking the exam on Tues. I feel the panic starting to rise. I've been studying since I graduated in May, well WELL over 3000 questions. Usually going through the books (Kaplan and Saunders) I would get 75-80% of the questions right. My HESI score was 94%, my Mosby CAT was 82%. I think beyond some last minute lab value and med review, I'm just at the point of concentrating on NOT freaking out on Tues.
Good luck to you.
Pendragon

Thank you. I think I have reached that point as well....Actually, at this point, I'm surprisingly calm about the whole thing. I've gone through what seems like a rollercoaster of emotions ranging from fear, to panic, to nervousness, to anxiety and wanting to get it over with, and back again. I finally decided that I have to take control of my emotions and calm myself down. I realized that I need to look at it from a more rational point of view. Other people have passed this test, and we can too. Most importantly, I've decided to place it in God's hands. God can and WILL get me through this. I am going to church this morning and then I'm going to come home and do the last of the Kaplan Qtrainer tests and then maybe review some labs, meds, and a bit of infection control. Tomorrow, I'm going to wake up early, do a few more practice questions from Kaplan Qbank and then I'm hitting the road. I'm going to find the testing center, maybe do some shopping, have a nice dinner and relax and go to bed early. And HOPEFULLY, I won't be too freaked out Tuesday morning to concentrate!lol....Anyway, good luck to you! Think positive thoughts and KNOW that you CAN do this!!!

truern · Jul 23, 2006

On Kaplan's question trainer I scored 71, 68, 88, 72, 65, 70, and 90. (I had a ton of distractions during test 6..thanks family!!) I think Kaplan most closely resembles NCLEX...both in the type of questions and the style.

I think the trick to passing NCLEX is to RELAX and TAKE YOUR TIME!! Don't overthink the questions...don't try to "read into" the questions, either. And remember, in NCLEX world you have all the time and resources to do what needs to be done for your patient.

It frustrates me to see people spending hour after hour reviewing content as if that's what the exam will test. It's assumed you KNOW content since you passed nursing school. Now they want you to APPLY it.

To the poster that asked what meds to review....you can't possibly review every med. When I took the Kaplan review the instructor asked me if I was familiar with the different classes of medications (yes) and said not to spend a huge chunk of time on medications. There are way too many and there's just no telling which one(s) you'll get asked about. I lucked up with two of mine, but the other three I had no clue what they were, what they were used for, etc and there were NO clues in the question. I just gave it my best quess and went on.....and I still passed

Good luck on Tuesday...I'm sure you'll do fine :)

DolphinRN84, MSN, RN, APRN, NP · Jul 23, 2006

Wannabeanurse_2006 :) I think i wished you luck in another thread hahahaah but i will wish you good luck again :) Your scores in Kaplan are actually amazing! I know you will pass this exam. Just definitely make sure you take your time. Very important. I took the test a couple of weeks ago, and it took me almost 2 hours to do 75 questions. Just take your time. If you do that you're more likely to pick the right answer and probably get a shorter test. You're doing great :)