What is the best way to prepare for the NCLEX-RN?

Question

The NCLEX-RN is the measurement tool created by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing to evaluate a graduate professional nurse's cognitive knowledge and critical thinking skills needed to provide the standard of care to patients throughout the life span. Achieving a passing score on the NCLEX-RN attains a registered nurse licence in the state or territory where the graduate nurse took the exam.

Answer 1

The NCLEX-RN evalutes both subject matter knowledge and critical thinking. Recommendations for how to best prepare for the NCLEX-RN include:

1. Identify (define) your weak subject matter areas of knowledge. Be as specific as possible. Do you not understand the concept/subject at all? What part of the concept/subject do you not know or understand? Defining the knowledge weakness problem is the first step.
2. Seek clarification about the problem concept/subject and learn it using terms that are meaningful to you. In other words, do not memorize terms that you do not understand. Explanations given in terms that are meaningful to you will be easy to remember because they make sense to you and fit in with your existing knowledge base.
3. Learn effective tools and techniques for critical thinking. Critical thinking is described as "thinking like a nurse." An example is the Nursing Process (among other examples).
4. Do a comprehensive review of the professional nursing curriculum in the form of high quality critical thinking practice questions. Whatever study guide you use, make sure it takes you through a comprehensive review, the questions are current with the current version of the NCLEX-RN and that the rationales for the answers are meaningful to you.
5. Keep score of your practice question test sessions. Do a specific quantity of questions (20, 30, etc.) at each session and keep score of the number of questions where you identified the best answer. This will help you gauge your performance over time.
6. For each question that you have trouble with, note why you had trouble (did not know the disease process, skipped a word, misread the statement, need help with priorities, was too stressed, etc.). Look up subject matter that you did not know/understand, read more slowly and carefully, find and learn effective prioritization tools, use stress control techniques, etc.)
7. An experienced and skilled nurse educator NCLEX-RN tutor can help you implement these recommendations and effectively prepare for the NCLEX-RN.