Michael Reid - CliffsNotes NCLEX-RN Cram Plan

CliffsNotes NCLEX-RN Cram Plan

Copyright 2018 by Michael Reid

All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2018938540

ISBN: 978-1-328-90083-8 (pbk)

eISBN: 978-1-328-90084-5

v1.0818

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This board exam is created by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN). It is updated roughly every 3 years, most recently in 2016. The table below shows the breakdown of the NCLEX in the major subject areas that are tested. This book focuses strongly on prioritization, as well as safety and infection. From there, an overview on independent med-surg topics are covered, including other popular areas of the NCLEX, such as delegation. There is also a strong chapter on pharmacology, an important subject area, as shown in the following breakdown.

The above percentages adapt to each person throughout the exam. The NCLEX is a computer-adaptive exam. If certain questions within the above subjects are poorly answered, the exam will adapt to further test this area for aptitude.

The NCLEX has the possibility of 75 to 265 questions, with a total testing time of 6 hours for RN and 5 hours for PN. The exam will continue on until the decision to pass or fail the student based on the passing standard has been decided. The passing standard is unknown to anyone outside the NCSBN. It is the general idea of a shifting line the board has decided on every 3 years that indicates sufficient proficiency to work in the field of nursing.

There are a wide variety of question types, with the vast majority being Select One Multiple Choice and Select All That Apply. There may also be hot-spot questions, for which you must click on the area of the picture in question. The NCLEX can incorporate sound and/or video in questioning (common for lung sounds). Ordered questions may also pop up, such as which order a nurse performs suctioning.

For students unfamiliar with the overall NCLEX format and testing, the NCSBN website (www.ncsbn.org) provides in-depth instruction on what to expect for the exam itself and how to schedule your examination.

Most people who shut the exam down at 75 questions either nail it or bomb it. This exam is not easy, so if you have taken the NCLEX previously and the exam shut down at 75 questions, do not take that as a huge disappointment. Focus on areas where you struggled and apply yourself into truly understanding the disease. Many students have problems with anatomy and physiology before ever beginning to study for the NCLEX. Perhaps that is an area that needs additional study aside from this book.

When 265 questions is reached, statistically speaking the student has an 80% chance of passing on average. If the student fails at 265 questions, it is very likely he or she was close to passing and only requires some slight tweaking to previous knowledge and test-taking strategy to pass the next time.

I wish you the best of luck studying through your specific Cram Plan and for the NCLEX. This book really is the CliffsNotes for the NCLEX. There is no line that I did not look at and think how I could make it easier to learn and apply to an NCLEX question. I tell my students at The NCLEX Cure all the time that it is impossible to memorize everything about everything. It is important to focus on the hard-hitting areas that are most likely to come up on the board exam.