Pass the NCLEX. That’s the main goal. To become a nurse, a student spends two to four years of school to prepare to take the NCLEX. After the last final of their last semester, well, then it’s just time to study everything you’ve ever learned. But how do you go about relearning everything? I’ve got several sources listed below.
#1 Test Books
The one go-to that people utilize during Nursing school is the test prep books. The most popular books are Lippencott and Saunders. These books give you thousands of NCLEX questions in different categories. They are helpful when initially reviewing the material for class and overall review after the courses completed. Both the book also goes over some testing tricks if you have no idea what the answer could be. The books have rationals along with the answers. The rationales are great to read through whether you got the answer right or wrong. Remember, a review is a review. There are so many other books when you search in a book store or online, but Lipencott and Saunders are the two most popular.
#2 Test Review Companies (UWorld, Hurst, Kaplan)
The test review companies, I’m sure at least one of these companies, had a representative come to the school to present their services and products. They might have even offered a discount code. This is a combination of my own experience and my opinion. The services and prices are up to date as of May 2021, according to the companies website.
UWorld is a question bank. The website allows you to make your test based on your study needs and to add different categories—the prices as of May 2021 for 30-day access to the questions were $129. The duration of the access goes up to 730 days for $399. They have 2,100 questions formatted for the NCLEX and two self-assessments to take during the chosen time.
Hurst goes through a full review of the topics found on the NCLEX, they also have access to 1,500+ questions bank, and they go over some hints on test-taking. They have several price options, including no review but access to their question for 30 days at $109; 90-day access to the questions and their workbook $249; online review, access to the questions and a workbook $339; and an interactive stream review, workbook, and questions $399. They also offer an in-person live review for $399.
Kaplan goes through a review and their decision tree. Others who took their course say they prioritize how to test more than a re-examination of the material. They have three options, self-paced $399; Live online $499; and an in-person session that I could not get a price point. Kaplan is a well-known company in test prep and caters to SAT, ACT, and every other occupational testing.
When I used it, My Mastery Nursing was just a simple phone app for $40 with questions, which was great when you only had the time to answer one or two questions. In researching, I realized they had expanded into a website, with add-ons including a podcast, how-to videos for nursing skills, and it’s now a subscription or $4.99 a month to join, and you can cancel anytime.
When picking a company, it depends on what your needs are as a learner. Most companies have some guarantee if you fail the NCLEX, either money back or free to retake the course.
#3 Lecture Notes
Lecture notes, that’s right, your class note. Please tell me that you are not that student who throws out all your notebooks on the last day of class or as soon as you finish the final. The notes taken during the course are a great source of information. Nursing school is not like high school. Nursing school from class to class has a snowball effect, where each topic will be expanded on and brought up again. Your lecture notes and your textbook are a handy resources when studying.
Everything comes down to you as a student and what you want to invest in your study preparation. I know people who took ALL the in-person test prep, and I also knew of those who only used their Lippincott. What did you use or plan to use?