The items listed below are items that I personally used in my preparation for the NCLEX®. No guarantee of passing is made and nothing will replace good study habits and understanding the material needed to master the NCLEX®. With that said, I believe that the “REQUIRED” materials, if used appropriately will greatly increase your chances of passing.
To see customer reviews or to purchase any of the products listed click the product link below. If you do purchase any of the products through the link, I do earn a commission and I greatly appreciate it. However, the reviews are honest and I greatly believe in the products I suggest and I would avoid the products I do not recommend.
REQUIRED:
The materials listed below I believe are the most beneficial programs that I have found when it comes to NCLEX® preparation. Not only are they very well done materials, but I believe they will greatly increase your chances of passing.
NCLEX® 10,000 Powered by PrepU
PrepU is the most adaptive NCLEX® prep program that I have found. It was a required purchase for my BSN program and many students hated it . . . I loved it. It contains 10,000 questions ranked in order of difficulty. When you start the program, you start at a level 1 as you take more tests and answer more questions correctly you move up in difficulty. My goal was to achieve a level 8 on all areas prior to taking the . I think I was a level 6 to 8 on each area and was able to pass easily. The test isn’t fully adaptive as you can only take more difficult questions on once you have passed a level, but moving up a level feels good and it lets you know where you stand in general. The program costs about $90 and it is all online and works on tablets. I would try to take several tests per day during my final preparations. When you purchase the program you get a 12 month membership to their site which should be ample time to use the program and pass . You can read reviews of purchase the program HERE.
Prioritization, Delegation, and Assignment
I LOVE this book. I am not sure how I found out about it, but it made a big difference in my studies. I started using it during my last semester of school. My goal with this book was to complete every test and I think I came close. It contains tests ordered by body system that cover ONLY prioritization and delegation questions. As you know, this is a BIG part of the NCLEX® and real-world nursing so I think that this is a much needed book for nursing students. Check it out on Amazon HERE.
Lippincott’s Q&A Review for NCLEX®
A HUGE book with about 6,000 questions. The reason I loved this book so much is that the level of question difficulty was a bit higher than other books I read. This book does not really contain much content review at all but is simply a book full of questions. I was pretty diligent during my last semester of doing a couple tests in this book each night. I think it was a big helper in feeling prepared with questions of a high difficulty. You can see customer reviews of purchase it on Amazon HERE.
Good:
The following materials, while good, are not essential in preparation for the . While I believe that these materials will help you to learn the content needed to be a good nurse and pass the NCLEX® , I do not believe that utilizing these materials alone will aid in passing the boards.
Pearson Reviews and Rationales: Comprehensive review for NCLEX®
This is my favorite book for content review. This is a no-nonsense book that provides a very high-level review of the content needed to understand the material needed to pass. Once you have taken all your harder courses in nursing school this book is very handy to help you recall the information in a very concise manner. There are no pictures or graphs of any kind really but for a quick reference on content I think this is the best book I found. View it on AMAZON here.
Saunders Comprehensive Review for NCLEX®
If you are more a visual learner, like me, than this is another good book to check out. The link above is to an older version (2007) that only costs like $0.39. That is the version I used, while some of the content might be a bit outdated I think it is still a good book if you like images, charts, and graphs. During nursing school, this was kinda my go-to reference book after I had read a chapter in the textbooks. You can buy it here on Amazon or find the more current version.
ATI – Virtual ATI
ATI was a required test prep program for my nursing program. I think it is a fantastic way to prepare, I have included it in the “Good” section simply because I am not sure what the cost would be to buy this without a school discount. With the ATI program you have access to a HUGE amount of content over each area tested on NCLEX® . This was a program that we used throughout our nursing program and I highly recommend it. The Virtual ATI program was required by my school upon graduation and it pairs you with a tutor via chat room and email who helps identify areas that you might be able to improve upon. You can work through the program at your own pace and your tutor will give you their opinion upon when they feel you might be ready to take the NCLEX® .
Not So Great:
These materials will not play a vital role in your being able to pass the NCLEX®. While they may be beneficial in breaking up the monotony of continued study, I do not believe that they will play a big role in mastering the test or the content.
RNentertainment
This is actually a board game. Some people swear by it. I didn’t like it. I thought the questions were too easy and you began to repeat the questions too quickly. For $30 I would spend my money elsewhere. However, if you have a study group and don’t mind spending the money, this game might provide a nice break from notes, books, and tests. Check it out here on Amazon.
NCLEX® 4000
This is a CD-Rom with questions. I didn’t really like the questions included in this program and the software was a bit dated and clunky. The program has over 100 positive reviews on Amazon, but for me, I thought there were better programs out there.
NCLEX® Questions and Answers Made Incredibly Easy
The questions in this book were FAR too simple and oftentimes obscure in the sense that they are items you will never need to know or be tested on. If you are looking for a book that is simply full of questions, this might fit the bill, but it was, for the most part, a waste for me. You can view it here on Amazon.
Test Taking Strategies
The following items will aid in learning test-taking strategies specific to nursing school and the NCLEX®. While this is an important concept, nothing will replace understanding the material.
Test Success
This is an essential book for nursing students and should be required during the first semester of nursing school. We all know that nursing exams can be different than test in other fields. This book will help you in identifying strategies for taking exams in nursing school. I was lucky to find this during my first semester and I believe it played a major role in my success in nursing school. Highly Recommended. Check it out there on Amazon.
Kaplan Premier
Some people swear by Kaplan. I am not a fan. I think (from what I have seen) that their content is lacking and the strategies they teach are a bit weak. What Kaplan is good for is test-taking tips. If you feel that you are lacking in this area than Kaplan might be an option for you study schedule, but I would really recommend Test Success over Kaplan. However, many people love the program so I will include it. You can view their Premier book Here on Amazon.
Who I Am:
My name is Jon Haws. I am an ICU nurse at a Level I Trauma hospital in Dallas, TX. I attended a second degree BSN program where I graduated with Summa Cum Laude and earned a position with Sigma Theta Tau (International Honor Society for Nursing). I passed the on my first attempt with only 75 questions. Professionally, I precept new nursing graduates and students and aid them in the transition to new nurse. I have a passion for teaching and nursing and my goal is to create a generation of highly skilled and educated nurses.
Conclusion:
This is not a complete list of ALL study strategies and ultimately you need to find your areas of weakness and tailor you studies to fill those gaps. However, I think that the programs listed above will greatly aid your in passing the NCLEX®.
Check out the NCLEX® test taking course HERE!
