What's a good pharmacology review for the NCLEX?

LIDIYA · Jul 28, 2007

To be honest, I reviewed only most common meds, their side effects, class, and Pt’s teaching. I used my PDA for that. I spent my last day b4 test on medications and was very, very happy that I did not studied >1 day b/c the meds I got were the once I heard of b4, and 1 med was totally random and I never heard of it b4. I passed with 75 Qs and all of my friends did exactly the same. I spent of my time on the content review and practicing Qs.

Good luck with studying and keep us posted !

mtkaren · Jul 28, 2007

I just passed on Wednesday with 75 questions and studied pharmacology like CRAZY! Did it help? Nope. I had a TON of drug questions and only knew one drug (reglan). How I passed was beyond me. I swear they made the drugs up. LOL! I even had chemo questions.

kirish34 · Jul 28, 2007

Congratulations on passing!!! :) Was the NCLEX as bad as you thought it wouldbe? I'm dreading taking it!

alexillytom · Jul 28, 2007

If you took the Kaplan course, in the back of the book, there is a chapter on pharmacology. It has classifications, common drugs, side effects, and nursing considerations. It made studying drugs much easier for me. I had tons of drug questions. I know that book helped me identify three drugs I wouldn't otherwise have known. Now, I don't know if I got the correct answer but I did recognize the drug.

I don't know if I would spend a whole bunch of time trying to study individual drugs. Stick to the classifications, common side effects, and nursing considerations. I didn't try to memorize anything. I just read a few pages in that chapter before going to bed.

jeffrey930 · Jul 28, 2007

know your drugs guys i had 15 drugs and my other friend got 18....some of them you will not know, but some of the other drugs are basic that you should know, i was going to list some drugs here but i could be in trouble....so if you have time just do drugs Q&A like sauders has 500 drugs question, then find another book with drugs. 2007 nclex has a lot of drugs now, scary. i pass by the way and my friend.

pagandeva2000, LPN · Jul 29, 2007

http://www.f-n-r.net/

They have wonderful CD ROMS for NCLEX-PN/RN as well as a pharmacology review. I admit that most of the drugs were not on my test but, it helped me out a great deal during my first year of nursing. Good luck!

mtkaren · Jul 29, 2007

Congratulations on passing!!! :) Was the NCLEX as bad as you thought it wouldbe? I'm dreading taking it!

It was VERY hard. I swear they made up drug names. BUT, just keep a good head on your shoulders and take deep breaths. The test is just a game and you can beat it. Read the questions carefully and look for key words. You WILL pass, you must visualize yourself doing that.

tinesia · Jul 29, 2007

Wow,

I'm not alone, I also passed with 75 questions and I tell ya I had 10 medications and the only one I was familiar with was Clomid, hehehe. I agree with knowing your basic medications and classes. I think that you may get some of the unfamiliar ones if you do well at answering the basic ones.

moongirl · Jul 29, 2007

Had 11 drugs. Knew ONE of them, kayexalte. The rest I had never heard of before. None of them were "basic", no clues to even what they were.

Questions set up like " the pt is taking supercalifragilisticexpalidocious. the nurse would know that this is an adverse side effect of this medication."

and yes, I passed. with 75 questions. Studying for pharmacology on this test is a waste of time

pagandeva2000, LPN · Jul 29, 2007

Had 11 drugs. Knew ONE of them, kayexalte. The rest I had never heard of before. None of them were "basic", no clues to even what they were.
Questions set up like " the pt is taking supercalifragilisticexpalidocious. the nurse would know that this is an adverse side effect of this medication."
and yes, I passed. with 75 questions. Studying for pharmacology on this test is a waste of time

Another reason why I was so pissed off with NCLEX. I do admit that I was fortunate enough to know most of the 10 drugs they gave me, but, the ones that are so far out there...it seems to be that the schools are not really in tune with that exam or that this is yet another way to mess with your mind. I should not have wasted my time studying pharm, either. But, if you get so many, then, you get so mind boggled, that it can, in fact, screw the rest of the test.:angryfire:angryfire

mtkaren · Jul 30, 2007

Another reason why I was so pissed off with NCLEX. I do admit that I was fortunate enough to know most of the 10 drugs they gave me, but, the ones that are so far out there...it seems to be that the schools are not really in tune with that exam or that this is yet another way to mess with your mind. I should not have wasted my time studying pharm, either. But, if you get so many, then, you get so mind boggled, that it can, in fact, screw the rest of the test.:angryfire:angryfire

You're lucky you knew the drugs they threw at you. I've been an LPN in an acute care setting (surgical/peds/oncology) for 5 years and knew ONE dang drug they tested me on. When I said I thought they made up the drug names, I was serious. I think it's a pathetic test personally. It does NOT test the basic drugs of ER, Surgical, Medical, Peds, OB, etc.... We drilled those in school and they were the top 100 medications given in acute care within the past 5 years.