Depending on what stage of school you are in, your thoughts towards this exam probably go something like this: Freshman Year: Oh that one test we have to take after school. Yeah it's not for a few years I don't have to worry about it yet. Sophomore Year: Wow there's a lot of information that's going to be on this huh. Good thing I have two years. Junior Year: So we're taking this exam next year, I haven't had clinicals yet, and all my exams reflect NCLEX type questions. That could explain my bad grades. *cries* Senior Year: OH MY GOD I'M NOT GOING TO PASS WHAT REVIEW PROGRAM DO I DO WILL IT WORK HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW ALL OF THIS I FEEL LIKE I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING *stress* *stress* *stress* (this is pretty much what my senior friend said to me at the beginning of this year).
The Good News is..... It's never too early to start preparing! However, a prep course should probably wait until senior year - because then all the information will still be fresh in your mind. In the meantime, what should you be doing to get yourself ready? PRACTICE QUESTIONS. A lot of practice questions. There is no way you are going to know every single bit of information they will ask you on the exam. However, there is a certain way they write the questions and there are ways you can pick the right answer, just by reading carefully and using your brain a little bit. It takes practice though.
First things first: Get an exam review book. They are really helpful and have practice questions and rationales that tell you why each answer is or isn't correct. The one I have also goes into teaching before it, and at the end with the questions provides tips on how to tackle that certain question. For example: focusing on the subject, and certain key words such as "priority" and "first". I recommend whatever edition is the newest, and to buy it new. Trust me, you're going to want to write in it and takes notes and highlight things. Most of these books come along with online support programs too, but usually only if they are new.
Tip: DONT circle the answers on the practice questions. Go through each one and pick your answer, then flip to the correct one and read the reasoning. You're going to want to go back to them again in the future, and it won't help you to have an answer already circled. Another tip: actually try on these questions. Don't just sit there and think "I don't know this so I'm just going to look at the answer". You're not getting any credit for doing these problems so really use them to help yourself and your way of thinking.
A lot of answers will try to trip you up. Be sure to fully READ the questions. Break them down. What are they really asking? What is the underlying problem? If it's a nursing action and it asks "which will you do first?" - usually all the answers are correct at some stage in the treatment. You have to really think about what is the priority intervention. To help with that, always remember ABC - airway, breathing, and circulation. Chances are if it has something to do with one of those it's going to be a primary and first intervention.
What Next? Practice Problems. I could sit here all day and talk about this book - but you really just have to get a book or start doing problems to get a feel for how the questions are structured. I'll go ahead and put a link below to the book I got from amazon, which is also the one that is highly recommended by all my professors. If you don't think you want to buy one just yet, or don't have the money there are always online practice problems you can do too - but they may not provide explanations that are as detailed. I'll put a link to those as well.
NCLEX Prep Courses senior year - obviously I haven't gotten there yet, because I'm still a junior. However, I've heard of several and I'll go ahead and put links to their website at the bottom of the page as well. I would suggest attending any seminars or meetings your school offers because chances are several of these programs are going to have booths set up with more information. I will say that the number one program I've heard recommended is the Kaplan program. I'll go ahead and update as I get more information!