Why Hurst is key (How I failed and passed in 75)

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I've posted about failing NCLEX in May. I took a few weeks off after and regrouped. I looked for some magical combination of tactics or books on here and everywhere. I didn't know what to do. I had good grades in my BSN. My Kaplan scores were above 70. I went in thinking I had it and I was wrong. I landed on Hurst, said a prayer and took a leap. A few of you asked if Hurst was helpful.. YES. Do it, you won't regret it.

With Hurst, I watched the videos (broke them up to 1 - 2 topics a day) and filled out the notes I had printed (email it to Staples and pick it up, throw it in a binder, quick and easy). Then rewatched them all. Then, I just kept flipping through the notes when I had time. I'd talk to myself as if I was explaining it to someone. I made index cards of all of the med class suffix's and major contraindications. Anything I didn't get I YouTube'd to actually see the procedure or what they were talking about (I'm visual). I didn't do all of the Hurst questions. I actually only did the 1 test. I knew if I had a low score it would ruin me mentally so I said when I got a high one I'd stop and I did. After that, I just flipped through Saunders and did random questions in the book (so I didn't get scored but to learn from rationales). I'm not suggesting this, just explaining how I made it work for me.

For me, I figured I did well on Kaplan (1000's of questions) before and that meant nothing ultimately. There's nothing that is apples to apples with NCLEX. Nothing starts you out at one level and moves you accordingly. So why put all your eggs in a basket based on that? And why trust a strategy based on figuring out what the question wants using trees, and tactics. I wanted to know core content like the back of my hand, and Hurst helped me regroup everything I learned into a seamless little package. If one thing was missing, I got how that affected everything else... by understanding the human body and physiology I got what wasn't right in the question because I knew it. I didn't memorize attributes, I knew why BP was high and how that affected everything else. I left the test feeling like a ninja.

So my advice... don't listen to anyone :) Go with your gut. If you feel unprepared or worried with what you're doing then do Hurst. I never got how doing tons of questions would prepare me, I wish I would have followed that instinct from day one. I also used that mnemonic document on here, had a great summary of positioning etc.

Good luck to everyone :smokin:

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Thank you so much for your post. I failed the first time taking kaplan and currently taking Hurst Review course which in my opnion is GREAT. I totally agree with you on knowing the core content to answer the NCLEX questions.

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I honestly think that one needs to know the content first, patho - the disease process. Once you know this, then you can prioritize answers being asked on NCLEX-RN.

I am doing Hurst Review also, which i think is really great, the way Marlene explains it. Then I supplement Mary Hogan's book if i needed more information.

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I did hurst first time and failed. If you're a major visual learner, hurst is NOT for you.

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Congrats on passing and thanks for posting! I am retaking my nclex at the end of the month and have been working on my content as well.

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Was the mnemonic document that had a great summary of positioning that you're referring to the 35-page word-document that had some print in color? The first page had the mneumonic "EAT" on it for delegation, stating "Dont Delegate what you can Evaluate, Assess, Teach", and it was written in purple. Is that it? I have Hurst, and I'm still in nursing school. I just have the old videos with Marlene Teaching, and I have the 400 page packet. I was going to use it for my last two semesters: Adult Health (Medsurg) and Pediatrics, then Leadership & Management. I hope to use it to study alongside as a second reference during school. Congratulations for passing! I'm glad to know Kaplan isn't the end-all-be-all of passing NCLEX. No way I want to pay that much for a Qbank...I found the 7 Qtrainers online by just googling Kaplan Q trainer...I'll just use those.

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Yep same doc.! Good luck to you. Everyone is different but for me, no, Kaplan wasn't a huge help... maybe just the q bank questions are helpful after a content review. But the strategies alone are a gimmick. To me it's like, would you rather have a nurse who understands med-surg like the back of their hand or one who walks in the room and looks at you blue and shaking and says "Acute or Chronic?.. hmm" ;)

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I agree, the Kaplan decision tree didn't help me at all, however, the practice questions were really good. The first time I took the NCLEX, I only studied Kaplan. Failed it. I took my NCLEX again a few days ago...still waiting on results. I did the PVT but it says that my test results are on hold...and it's been more than 48 hours. I am going nuts!

But this time around, I did Kaplan (Q trainers & Qbank), PDA by LaCharity & also the 3 week course from NCSBN. I stopped at 265 questions in 5.5 hours....My brain was fried. Keeping my fingers and toes crossed...

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I have my fingers and toes crossed for you. I don't know if this is true but I've heard if you get the 265 or run out of time sometimes they get put on hold, or they had to review your tapes for quality control. Keep checking.. PVT worked for me both times! Good luck.. sounds like you did all the right stuff.

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Thank you! that means a lot! I am thinking its because I used about 3 whiteboards, I didn't write on it until I got the first question though. I just hope I pass... will keep you guys updated! I was so nervous to do the PVT, I only did it after 24 hours of my exam..

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And congratulations, btw!! :D

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I hear ya.. I was in the car logging in right after like a freak lol. Thanks :)

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