What can I do to pass the hesi exit?

EmilyUSFRN, RN · May 20, 2007

I read the HESI book one time, as a review. The HESI hints they give are really great. There are usually things that are on the test that were not in the book, but it's not a substantial amount of information. I also did the cumulative practice test 3 times. The first time, too see what I got wrong. The second time, I answered all questions with answers I knew were wrong so that I had all of the rationales, and then the third time, was after reviewing the rationales and reading the book to see if my score improved.

I made a point to memorize the lab values for not just blood chem, but drug toxicity levels, etc.

Most importantly, and I've told others this too.... don't get caught up in the details of what you're trying to learn/review. Understand that when someone has xyz disease, then abc and 123 will be affected internally. Look at the big picture of the human body and really try to understand the patho behind diseases, etc.

Good luck! You have time-- don't stress out too much about it right now.

Ivanna_Nurse, BSN, RN · May 20, 2007

I just took the hesi last wednesday.. our instructors told us that it wasnt sonething that we should study or cram for, rather it was a predictor tool to identify areas of study to focus on. Hope this helps! Ivanna

suzanne4, RN · May 20, 2007

Have a look at the NCLEX Forum and the sticky on my first tip. That first tip is the initial review for the NCLEX exam, but we have found that it works quite well for the exit HESI exam.

Best of luck to you.

avery · May 21, 2007

Hi,

How are you doing in school? Are you able to apply things clinically? Are you a good test taker? I think these are just as important. I took the HESI exit last year in April, studied for two days (about 6 hours each day) and took the test. I do not think more studying would have personally helped me. The questions are not straightforward, there are things embedded in the questions to pick up on. The HESI cd was horrible for me, it was much harder than the actual exam. Good luck to you, you are on the right track, I did take a Kaplan review course which helped me with overall test strategies and did tons of nclex review questions. The rationales for the nclex answers helped me a lot.

You can do it.

I got an 1150 on the HESI exit what do you all have to get to pass?

Avery

nj1grlcrus · May 21, 2007

Hello! I have 6 months until I have to take the hesi exit exam. I asked my instructor for tips and she looked from side to side like I was dumb and said, "You won't be taking hesi anytime soon", and she continued reading her paper. I felt so stupid and I wish I never asked.

Wow, that sucks. My Basic Concepts instructor hooked the class up with an online hesi case study site, and we were just finishing Level I Nursing. We have three more semesters to go, but she wants us to be ready. Good luck to you, and it is never too early to prepare for the hesi, Peace, Donna

PS she also had us answer 100 NCLEX questions to pass Level I

loco_lobo · May 21, 2007

My class took the HESI a few weeks ago, just before graduation. Yeah, we had a lot of input to our faculty about their timing and implementation of the HESI! Anyway, I passed with a 983, which I thought was pretty good considering that we never had exposure to the HESI-RN, not once in our program. Also, the great folks at HESI updated the material in conjunction with NCLEX, so we were hit with a few areas that were not incorporated or barely touched on in our program (Disaster Preparedness, for example). However, I noticed that the folks in my class who did well on the HESI had these things in common:

1. Lots of Questions - Do at least 200 questions every week from NCLEX review books, starting now. My favorites were Lippincott's Review, Saunder's Review, and Nursing Made Incredibly Easy's NCLEX Questions. Find a few that work for you. I actually used them to study the content for our course tests, too!

2. Review - Note areas where you are not strong and review, review, review. If you need to make flash cards, that's fine, but you will need to know more than the regurgitation of this material. You need to know how to apply unique situations to the concepts and find the BEST answer. If there is an NCLEX review course available through your school, do it. If not, think about starting your own study group. Sometimes other people can make concepts clearer by explaining things in their own words.

3. Improve Your Odds - Pick up a guide that outlines the common pitfalls and strategies for eliminating wrong answers. I used Kaplan, but there are a lot of them out there. From my experience, the HESI pulls out some obscure information, so you may not have even covered the topics they will throw at you. But if you know how to whittle down the odds against you, you may luck into the right answer. And you don't have to pay top dollar for the strategy guides. A one or two year old one will be just fine. Even though the content changes, the strategies don't.

4. Lessen Anxiety - This is the most important one! DO NOT PANIC!!! :uhoh21: While it may seem that a lot is riding on this one test, you will defeat yourself if you forget that it is just one more test in a long series of tests. It does not reflect how good you are in a patient's room or how you will react in a real-world situation, and it will not define you as a nurse. It is a written (okay, computerized) test. You must eliminate stinky thinking and try to soothe test anxiety. Remember to breathe before, during, and after each question. Maybe even get a massage the morning before you go take the test. The questions will seem harder and and possibly weirder as you go, but it is designed that way. The HESI Exit is looking for you to set a pattern and string together right answers until they become too hard. It is a game of "Stump the Chump", so don't let that throw you. Every one of my classmates said they took a break at some point in the test. So if you feel overwhelmed during the test take a break, look up at the ceiling, find your happy place, do what you have to do to keep yourself focused. And the ones who did the very best on the HESI from my class said they just didn't let the anxiety get to them.

Have faith in yourself and you will make it through this....then, next step NCLEX!!!

:balloons:

twilight3 · May 21, 2007

Hi guys! Thanks for all of your replies. I feel so much better with all of your encouraging words. I think someone asked how am I in school, I am a B-C student. Nothing comes easy for me, studying is a must. Hesi rationales are strange to me, so I guess i'm not a good test taker. Also someone talked about anxiety. I will admit, all the people I know that has passed the hesi exit, did not stress over it. So I agree with you 100%. Lastly, the requirements at our school is to score a 900 or above in order to graduate.

avery · May 22, 2007

You can do it and you are setting yourself up for success by becoming mentally prepared! Keep us posted.

Avery

**RosesrReder, BSN, MSN, RN** · May 31, 2007

My class took the HESI a few weeks ago, just before graduation. Yeah, we had a lot of input to our faculty about their timing and implementation of the HESI! Anyway, I passed with a 983, which I thought was pretty good considering that we never had exposure to the HESI-RN, not once in our program. Also, the great folks at HESI updated the material in conjunction with NCLEX, so we were hit with a few areas that were not incorporated or barely touched on in our program (Disaster Preparedness, for example). However, I noticed that the folks in my class who did well on the HESI had these things in common:
1. Lots of Questions - Do at least 200 questions every week from NCLEX review books, starting now. My favorites were Lippincott's Review, Saunder's Review, and Nursing Made Incredibly Easy's NCLEX Questions. Find a few that work for you. I actually used them to study the content for our course tests, too!
2. Review - Note areas where you are not strong and review, review, review. If you need to make flash cards, that's fine, but you will need to know more than the regurgitation of this material. You need to know how to apply unique situations to the concepts and find the BEST answer. If there is an NCLEX review course available through your school, do it. If not, think about starting your own study group. Sometimes other people can make concepts clearer by explaining things in their own words.
3. Improve Your Odds - Pick up a guide that outlines the common pitfalls and strategies for eliminating wrong answers. I used Kaplan, but there are a lot of them out there. From my experience, the HESI pulls out some obscure information, so you may not have even covered the topics they will throw at you. But if you know how to whittle down the odds against you, you may luck into the right answer. And you don't have to pay top dollar for the strategy guides. A one or two year old one will be just fine. Even though the content changes, the strategies don't.
4. Lessen Anxiety - This is the most important one! DO NOT PANIC!!! :uhoh21: While it may seem that a lot is riding on this one test, you will defeat yourself if you forget that it is just one more test in a long series of tests. It does not reflect how good you are in a patient's room or how you will react in a real-world situation, and it will not define you as a nurse. It is a written (okay, computerized) test. You must eliminate stinky thinking and try to soothe test anxiety. Remember to breathe before, during, and after each question. Maybe even get a massage the morning before you go take the test. The questions will seem harder and and possibly weirder as you go, but it is designed that way. The HESI Exit is looking for you to set a pattern and string together right answers until they become too hard. It is a game of "Stump the Chump", so don't let that throw you. Every one of my classmates said they took a break at some point in the test. So if you feel overwhelmed during the test take a break, look up at the ceiling, find your happy place, do what you have to do to keep yourself focused. And the ones who did the very best on the HESI from my class said they just didn't let the anxiety get to them.
Have faith in yourself and you will make it through this....then, next step NCLEX!!!
:balloons:

Thank you for such inspiring post. I will print this and read it everyday to motivate me and convince me that I WILL pass the HESI on the first try

nolongeributhe09 · Jan 26, 2009

"1. Lots of Questions - Do at least 200 questions every week from NCLEX review books, starting now. My favorites were Lippincott's Review, Saunder's Review, and Nursing Made Incredibly Easy's NCLEX Questions. Find a few that work for you. I actually used them to study the content for our course tests, too!

2. Review - Note areas where you are not strong and review, review, review. If you need to make flash cards, that's fine, but you will need to know more than the regurgitation of this material. You need to know how to apply unique situations to the concepts and find the BEST answer. If there is an NCLEX review course available through your school, do it. If not, think about starting your own study group. Sometimes other people can make concepts clearer by explaining things in their own words.

3. Improve Your Odds - Pick up a guide that outlines the common pitfalls and strategies for eliminating wrong answers. I used Kaplan, but there are a lot of them out there. From my experience, the HESI pulls out some obscure information, so you may not have even covered the topics they will throw at you. But if you know how to whittle down the odds against you, you may luck into the right answer. And you don't have to pay top dollar for the strategy guides. A one or two year old one will be just fine. Even though the content changes, the strategies don't.

4. Lessen Anxiety - This is the most important one! DO NOT PANIC!!! :uhoh21: While it may seem that a lot is riding on this one test, you will defeat yourself if you forget that it is just one more test in a long series of tests. It does not reflect how good you are in a patient's room or how you will react in a real-world situation, and it will not define you as a nurse. It is a written (okay, computerized) test. You must eliminate stinky thinking and try to soothe test anxiety. Remember to breathe before, during, and after each question. Maybe even get a massage the morning before you go take the test. The questions will seem harder and and possibly weirder as you go, but it is designed that way. The HESI Exit is looking for you to set a pattern and string together right answers until they become too hard. It is a game of "Stump the Chump", so don't let that throw you. Every one of my classmates said they took a break at some point in the test. So if you feel overwhelmed during the test take a break, look up at the ceiling, find your happy place, do what you have to do to keep yourself focused. And the ones who did the very best on the HESI from my class said they just didn't let the anxiety get to them."

I believe these four point have helped many people to take hesi exam. I am going to take hesi exam in a couple month. I save your comments,so I can read again when I feel anxious. And I will read again before I take hesi.

Thanks a lot for your suggestions!

inland18mempire · Jan 26, 2009

At our school, the hesi exam was a required exam that the nursing schools must administer, HOWEVER, it had no impact on the students grade wise. What I'm trying to say is that this exam meant nothing to the students. We showed up and took the exam and that was it. It's just a predictor for NCLEX. I think I failed several sections. I passed the NCLEX, though. So... I would say don't worry about it.

Hmm.. now that I think of it, I think I'm referring to the ATI. I don't know. I'm confused. I don't think we took an exit exam. That sucks if you have to pass an exit exam, though!