So I've heard the rumors are true... the NCLEX-RN in 2010 will be "harder than ever."
How so?
I'm currently in my junior rotation of school, get As and Bs, but don't do so well in the NCLEX "review" books. I supposedly go to the biggest nursing school in the state, and so many people say what a great college it is... they passed with flying colors... they learned so much... blah blah blah.
Well, we started the ATI competency exams this semester, and honestly? The majority of my class is only scoring a Level 1 on them.
Put the NCLEX books with the ATI scores and this "big scary 2010 NCLEX" and I'm wondering...
Should I be scared? How can I better prepare for this? I am NOT going to fail the NCLEX the first time - I'm so determined. Of course, all of you know how life as a student is - all I do is study, so maybe I'm thinking I should be studying differently??
Just worried I guess...
Anyone have some knowledge, ideas, insight, anything??
This sounds a little much. I could see them expecting some one to pick between fine cracks, crackles, wheeze, and rales; but not if the lungs sounds are from bronchitis or TB.
I had a question that gave the disease and I had to select which of the four audio clips were the breath sounds for it. Also had a question that gave me an audio clip and I had to identify the sounds (not the disease, just what I was hearing).
My question is if we need to continue adding more and more difficulty and new areas to the test, why then should it not be required current RN's to test over the new material? If it is that important to cover a higher acuity level (which contradicts basic level knowledge), then all RN's should have to demonstrate knowledge and mastery of this new required material .
The reason is that most of them would not pass...and they shouldn't be expected to...I've worked in the NICU for 1.5 years now and I couldn't tell you anything about med-surg patients or remember any of the psych drugs. And it's not required at my job that I know about them because they essentially have nothing to do with my sick babies.
The point of the NCLEX is to be considered competent as a new graduate RN, but as soon as you go into your specialty, you forget most of the areas that you learned. Even if I had gone into med-surg, I probably would have forgotten nearly everything about my labor and delivery experience. If I had a pregnant woman in my ward, you can bet that I would be on the phone with the antepartum folks to make sure that my patient was going to be okay. Even now when I float to the cardiac ICU or the pediatric ICU, I feel very out of place and on edge because it's not my area of nursing and I am constantly talking to the charge nurse to make sure that what I'm doing is safe and okay for the patient. And that's what makes me a safe nurse because I recognize where my limits are. If I tried to hold onto everything from nursing school, I'd go crazy, not to mention that I would have less of a focus of what is my population--sick babies--and what is safe and clinically appropriate for them.
Also, just wanted to say that I'm sorry that the NCLEX is harder for you guys, I really am. Especially the guinea pig group that has no idea what the test will be like difficulty-wise. It sucks. Majorly. I wish you the best of luck in passing it and your future career in nursing
I had a question that gave the disease and I had to select which of the four audio clips were the breath sounds for it. Also had a question that gave me an audio clip and I had to identify the sounds (not the disease, just what I was hearing).
You may have to distinguish between wheezing, crackles. You would NOT have to choose if it was bronchitis or TB as per a previous post.. you can't make a diagnosis from listening to lung sounds, and you wouldn't be expected to. You should know that, for example, asthma makes you wheeze and pneumonia gives you coorifice crackles.
I was out of school for 11 years and trained in a different country when I took the NCLEX in 2007 - and I thought it was weird, but not hard at all. I had to study the stuff I had never used, like peds and psych, maternity etc. The main thing you can do to prepare though is practise tons of NCLEX-style questions so you understand what they are actually asking you and how to read/answer the questions.
You may have to distinguish between wheezing, crackles. You would NOT have to choose if it was bronchitis or TB as per a previous post.. you can't make a diagnosis from listening to lung sounds, and you wouldn't be expected to. You should know that, for example, asthma makes you wheeze and pneumonia gives you coorifice crackles.
Either we disagree or I'm not making the same distinction you are, not quite sure which!
Question 1: You have a patient with Disease X, which of the following breath sounds would you anticipate hearing on assement?
A) audio clip
B) audio clip
C) audio clip
D) audio clip
Question 2: Listen to the following breath sounds (audio clip). With which disease would you anticipate this assessment finding?
A) Disease W
B) Disease X
C) Disease Y
D) Disease Z
To me, those questions require the same knowledge, the answer and question are simply flipped. Question 1 was on the NCLEX I took. Question 2 was not on my exam but I can't say it is or isn't on someone else's.
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I had a question that gave the disease and I had to select which of the four audio clips were the breath sounds for it. Also had a question that gave me an audio clip and I had to identify the sounds (not the disease, just what I was hearing).