Study guides are great when you are preparing for an exam, and the nclex study guides are no exception. If youhave recently graduated from an accredited nursing program, and you are gettingready to take the state boards, the nclex study guides are a great means forpreparing. They include practice exams. The exam is multiple choice, and so arethe practice exams. They give you an idea of what to expect. A lot of peoplehave reported that they were less nervous when they used the study guides andthe practice exams to prepare.

        

If you are a people person and have a genuine interest in caring for others then nursing could be for you. Whilst some people start off by working in support roles which require no qualifications before going on to study for a registered nursing degree or diploma to qualify as a nurse, others go straight to university to get their degree first.

The opportunities in nursing are wide and varied so it's important to read up on the different skills and qualifications you need to acquire if you are interested in a particular specialist field. Consider being an adult nurse where you will be working with adults of all ages with an assortment of health conditions, both chronic and acute. You will have to be caring, give counselling, manage workloads and be a teacher in your role of improving the quality of each patient's life. You could be based on a hospital ward, a clinic or within the community setting.

Or perhaps being a practice nurse appeals? Working alongside a GP as part of a primary care team that includes doctors, nurses, dietitians and pharmacists. In a small practice you may be the only nurse in the area, whilst if it is a larger surgery you are likely to share duties with other practice nurses. To become a practice nurse, you first have to qualify and have experience as a registered nurse. Depending on your previous experience and skills you may be responsible for organising and running clinics.

Mental health problems can affect anyone of us regardless of age or background and conditions range from personality and psychological disorders to neuroses and psychoses. Nurses who choose to specialise in the mental health branch of nursing work with GPs, psychiatrists, psychologists, and others, to help care for patients with mental illnesses. Care in the community is more common these days and your role would involve visiting patients and their families at home, in residential centres, in prisons or in specialist clinics or units.

An occupational health nurse is one specialist area that attracts many nurses as it has many important and interesting aspects to it. You may be involved in setting up and maintaining safe and healthy practices in the workplace or delivering health and safety programmes to staff to prevent illness and injury or you could be working for a big organisation designing disease-prevention programs, or based in the operating theatre assisting the surgeon.

An OHN plays a significant role in a large business as employees who are away from work either through poor health, or work-related accidents, can cost an organisation a lot of money. An effective OHN can help a business to improve employee productivity and increase sales.

Occupational nurses have a varied and interesting role to play in the medical world, every day has something different to offer from assessing the workplace or mentoring and training co-workers, to giving talks to staff on health and safety issues. A career in this type of nursing can be very rewarding and with training and qualifications you can expect to be paid well for your knowledge and skills. Occupational health nursing guarantees a diverse range of opportunities and you can choose to make your living as a clinician, educator, corporate director or consultant.

Nursing is the largest field of healthcare employment and the perfect method of merging a love of science with the chance to work in a very social setting. If you are searching for nursing jobs then take into account the qualifications and experience you are required to have, the salary on offer and the environment you will be working in.

Kathryn Dawson writes articles for Jobs4Medical, a leading online directory for those seeking nursing job and careers in any specialty, grade and country. If you have a nursing job available, post it online to reach a wide network of medical professionals and nurses. Job seekers can also filter their search for specialty and location requirements. Find and view today's latest occupational health nurse jobs using their easy-to-navigate search function.

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Whenever you are dealingwith an elderly parent whose health is failing, you are going to be stressed.This is one of those times when you are not going to be at your best. You arealready worried about whether you are doing the right thing for your parent bykeeping them at home and hiring a home nurse to take care of them as opposed tomoving them into a nursing home. You have to deal with the rest of your family.You are watching your parent, who was once the person who took care of you;grow weaker and more ill with each passing day.

The good news is thatwhen a home nurse is employed to take care of your aging parent they don’texpect to see you or your family at their best. They understand that you arenot going to be at your best. Hopefully they have been properly trained andknow how to handle the stressed family as well as they know how to take care oftheir cranky, confused patient.

The first thing you cando to make sure that the home nurse who is going to be taking care of yourelderly parent’s medical needs is to make sure that nurse has a personalitythat compliments you and your family. The way you get a nurse that suits yourfamily’s personality is being sure that you are completely honest with theagency you are using to locate the home nurse. Make sure your description ofyour family, their routine, and your parent’s medical needs is completely true.The more honest you are about your needs and requirements the easier it will befor the agency to match you with a home nurse. If your parent needs to bephysically lifted and moved make sure that you request a nurse with enoughstrength to get the job done.

When you are told that anurse has been found for your parent, make sure you meet the nurse before theystart taking care of your parent. Make sure this is a person whom you arecomfortable welcoming into your home. If the nurse is, for whatever reason, notsomeone you are comfortable with, politely request a new nurse.

Make sure that both youand home nurse are both perfectly clear on what the nurse will be doing whileshe is in the home. When the nurse is just coming to the home for a few hours aday it is easy to know and understand that they are a professional that isdoing a job. The line between health care and house keeper can become a littlemore blurred. Before the nurse ever moves into the spare bedroom, make a listof what they will and won’t be doing. Make sure the whole family understands.Having a clear understanding of the nurses responsibilities will makeeveryone’s life’s easier and will make the whole experience as pleasant aspossible.

Remember that the home nurse isa professional. They are in your home to take care of a family member, but theyare not an actual member of your family. Make sure that your maintain a polite,friendly, but professional relationship with the home nurse.

Related:

·  Be a nurse and work form home
Nursing is an independent profession that could be very well practiced fromhome. Normally, there are reduced chances of telecommuting, and nursing jobsusually involve hands-on jobs. However, here are some situations that makenurse work at home jobs possible and profitable.Telephone triage is a domainwhere many nurse work…

·  Why working formhome for nurses is possible
Nurse work at home jobs may sound peculiar or limited but you'd be surprised tohear that some people make a living out of such an independent profession.Normally, there are reduced chances of telecommuting, and nursing jobs usuallyinvolve hands-on jobs. However, nurse work at home jobs could become…

·  Great jobs work from home
Nurse work at home jobs may sound peculiar or limited but you'd be surprised tohear that some people make a living out of such an independent profession.Normally, there are reduced chances of telecommuting, and nursing jobs usuallyinvolve hands-on jobs. However, here are some situations that make nurse…

        

I just graduated fromcollege. I went to school to become a registered nurse. Although I successfullycompleted the program and received a college degree, I do not automaticallybecome a nurse. I have to pass a licensure exam in order to be considered a nurseand be able to practice as a nurse. I have to buy the nclex study guides.They are a great tool to use when preparing to take the exam. I could take theexam without buying and using the study guides, but I don’t think it would bewise. I don’t think I would stand a chance of passing the exam without usingthe study guides. It’s a hard exam to pass, and the majority of people have tostudy in order to pass it.

        

Critical thinking comes into play on the day that you take the NCLEX.

It enables you to answer very difficult questions by applying the principles of critical thinking.

But don't get me wrong here, preparing for the NCLEX is more than an exercise in memorization, for doing so without critical thinking amounts to nothing more than empty reading. You would have to understand the question and analyze it as quickly as possible. Remember, the NCLEX is a five-hour exam and spending too much time on a question will take a huge, huge final toll on your score.

Below are the top 4 tips on how to enhance your critical thinking:

You should frame the questions accurately. This will enable you to weed out unnecessary information that may tend to muddle the situation more than it already is. You should be able to separate what is important and what is not. This way, the question will be easier to answer.

Check the information for relevance. One of the key factors in answering a question is determining the relevant facts necessary in order to answer it correctly. The information provided should be checked for specific areas of relevance and then you should try to ascertain, from the given answers, which one it corresponds to the most.

Trace implications and consequences. One of the most difficult parts of critical thinking is trying to determine the implications of the information provided in the questions. But through practice, you will be able to determine with relative ease the consequences of the facts provided in NCLEX questions.

Stay focused and disciplined. Although you may not have time to check and re-check your answers in the NCLEX, it is important to stay focused on the task at hand, which is to pass the test. Discipline is the key to any long exam session. Any distraction will tend to take precious time away from you, leaving you with less chance to actually pass the NCLEX.

Make sure you check out the other top tips on how to pass the Nclex Exam at the Nclex Exam Guides site – http://www.nclexguides.com/nclex-exam.php

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But there is an easy out when it comes to exams that run a multiple choice system.

You must learn how to prioritize what questions to answer when.

Budgeting your time is really a key if you wish to pass with flying colors. Let's take the NCLEX exam for Nurses as a good example. It's an adaptive test taken by computer. The test changes and adapts to you as you progress through, adapting the type and severity of questions as you progress. Since the NCLEX deals with different approaches for its exams, it's fundamental to deal with several exam strategies that range from how to answer problem solving, multiple choice or serial recall questions such as enumeration.

The most essential weapon you have is to study early.

Repetitive study facilitates understanding and understanding is one of the best forms of mnemonics available to the test taker. You may forget codes or 'clever sayings' that have no meaning at all to you; but understanding the principles behind the issue is the one thing you will never forget. Repetition refines understanding, understanding refines the ability to lodge the comprehensive thread safely away for instant recall when required.

Since the NCLEX mostly deals with multiple choice questions intended to focus on specific scenario details, studying early buys you time to refine long term memory. This is one type of test where one should never rely on short-term memory.

Next, identify key points being emphasized in the review process and memorize them almost as sub-headings. Whether it's written material or a lecture, it's a good idea to keep try to keep to this structuring approach. It's a subtle clue telling you the flow of information and the relevance of detail within each sub-heading. The best way to seal this point or perspective is to actually try to recall the parts of the lecture or study session it occurred at.

Again, understanding the logic behind something is a lot better than just memorizing it. This is better applied when you try to correlate the concept to a real world scenario, especially as examiners and question writer tend to phrase questions in such a way that relying on pure memory doesn't help. However, looking into the rationale of a concept will keep you out of the traps set for those who take everything too literally.

You can also gain a competitive advantage if you know how the exam will be structured.

* Research is essential in gaining this advantage. Answer every question if possible in the time allocated. Obviously the chances of getting a higher score are higher when you get to answer more questions but, and this is a big BUT – this is not a license to be reckless.

Always read instructions carefully and if possible, read them twice or thrice if you can. It certainly won't pay not to follow instructions and lose a large chunk of questions just because of not knowing what you should be doing. Never simply skim, read instructions line by line. Understand what is being asked of you.

There may be certain periods during the exam where, because of your speed and confidence due to preparing so well, you have the time to peruse your answers. However silly it sounds (and it does but please, trust me on this) always, always pay attention to the following qualifiers in questions OR in scenarios descriptions: most, bit, only, all, every and others. These help you read between the lines and paying attention to them ensures you don't misunderstand the basics of a questions and fail it because of misreading it!

Maximizing your performance during the exam depends on how you prioritize the different questions, as this ultimately tells you how you need to manage your time.

After reading through the paper and getting settled in, answer the easy questions first. Never get stuck on the too difficult ones as this eats away at your time. I mean, you don't want to be handing in an test paper with questions unanswered.

When dealing with the more difficult questions, learn the art of eliminating the most likely incorrect answer. Learn to anticipate the most likely correct answers if you suspect there is more than one. Mark them and then come back to it later.

If you use these tips both in your preparation as well as your actual exam you'll not go too far wrong if at all.

A final warning: studying is always the best bet to success and in no way whatsoever can guess work ever be a better substitute for it.

For a full breakdown of the best NCLEX study guides and exam preparation tips – check out the second part of this article on how to pass the nclex exam

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The NCLEX is made and administered by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. It comes in two forms the NCLEX-PN for those seeking licensure as a practical or vocation nurse and the NLCEX-RN for those seeking licensure as a registered nurse. This test is given and overseen by each state separately. There is a cost associated with taking this exam and it is professionally monitored. If the exam is failed you have to wait a grace period of about 45-90 days before you can retest. Each state decides how many times an applicant can take the test after failing it. Moreover, the test is varied in composition mixing multiple choice with fill ins and rankings, and it is time limited. The exam is what is called CAT computer adaptive testing which allows the computer to choose the questions in a certain sequence based on the test taker's previous answers. This provides an idea of the test taker's knowledge of specific questions related to certain aspects of nursing. Because of the cost, time and significance of the NCLEX you should definitely prepare for this exam.
 

You would never want the many years of nursing school to go to waste all because you failed to pass the NCLEX so you should definitely prepare for this exam. There are nursing school programs that do devote time to reviewing for the NCLEX but given all that has to be covered within a nursing curriculum seeking an additional source to prepare for this test is vital. After graduating from nursing school it should be a priority to take this test as soon as possible since much of what you have learned is still fresh. Seek the support of NCLEX study groups; purchase the many NCLEX review materials and study, study, study. Review everything especially triage information and pharmacology because there is a good chance there will be questions related to these topics. This test will determine whether you will be able to work so it is in your best interest to prepare!
 

The NCLEX is one of the most important tests you will take as a nursing school graduate. Showing competence on this test by successfully passing it shows that you have truly taken the steps needed to become a qualified licensed nurse.

Click here to learn about CNA training and Red Cross CNA Classes.

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Anyone taking this exam needs to realize that testing is about basic nursing intervention and not practical nursing. An exam that takes up to six hours whether it is considered basic or not is no “walk in the park” for those who want to pass. It takes a lot of preparation to sit through such intense questioning. Of course, the testing candidate of the NCLEX-RN exam will get a break after the two hour mark, but then there are optional breaks that if taken, will count as part of the testing time. Talk about intense and anxiety-filled.

This is what Omar thought when he walked into the exam for the first time. If you dropped a pin everyone would look up at you. To top that all, after testing has been completed, each candidate is asked to complete a questionnaire about how they would rate the test.

FIVE TO SIX HOURS OF NCLEX-RN MADE SIMPLE

Before Omar took the NCLEX-RN exam, he had to apply for a nursing license from the state board of nursing. He was then told that he was eligible by meeting the criteria that the board put in place. He then registered to take the exam and received an ATT (authorization to take the test) in the mail shortly after. He had to pay an exam fee of $200.

Omar did not want to have to take this exam twice because he would be out $200 bucks and that was no small change for him. So Omar began his research to find if there was any study guides that would get him heavily prepared for this NCLEX-RN exam.

As a GN (Graduated Nurse), Omar had done well in the classroom, but he knew that this would not guarantee that he would pass the test. He wanted a test prep course that took six hours of exam questions and made it simple. He had heard some of other GN talking about it, but as soon as they saw him coming, there was a hushed silence so he knew he had to find out by himself.

NCLEX-RN BOOKS, GUIDES AND MORE

Omar saw so many books, guides and all kinds of “advertising touting” websites that promise so much and don't seem to be able to deliver as much as they indicate. Omar waded through the heavy traffic of books until something interesting caught his eyes. He found the NCLEX-RN study guide that promised to make the exam extraordinarily easy.

Omar did some more research and found testimonials written that were able to peak his interest even more. Omar took the plunge and bought the course and to his delight it was exactly what he was looking for. Omar was able to be fully prepared by the time he had to take the NCELX-RN exam and in the end he was successful in his first attempt.

You can do what Omar did and get your hands on the NCELX-RN exam guide so that you too can get the best results on your first try.

Samuel Thinel, MA is a co-developer of the “Fast Start to NCLEX-RN Test Success System.” The only NCLEX-RN study guide created by certified teachers who passed. Go to http://teachingsolutions.org/nclex.html to find out how you can pass your next NCLEX-RN test.

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To ensure public protection, the United States and its territories require entry into the practice of nursing to be regulated by licensing authorities within each jurisdiction. Each jurisdiction requires all candidates for licensure as entry-level nurses to pass an examination which assesses the knowledge required to perform safely and effectively. NCLEX stands for The National Council Licensure Examination which is a standardized exam used by each state board of nursing to determine if RN or LPN/LVN candidates are competent for entry-level nursing practice.

There are two NCLEX tests offered by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN): the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses – NCLEX-RN ® and the National Council Licensure Examination for Practical Nurses – NCLEX-PN ® . The NCLEX-RN is for registered nurse candidates while the NCLEX-PN is for practical and vocational nurses. The main difference between the two tests is the number and difficulty of correctly answered questions required to pass the exam. The States and territorial boards of nursing use these exams in making licensure decisions.

The NCLEX-RN has 265 questions and the minimum number you need to answer is 75. The NCLEX-PN has 205 questions and the minimum number you need to answer is 85. Both tests require an understanding of nursing practice and cover the following categories of client needs:

Safe, Effective Care Environment

Management of Care
Safety and Infection Control

Health Promotion and Maintenance

Growth and Development Through the Life Span
Prevention and Early Detection of Disease

Psychosocial Integrity

Coping and Adaptation
Psychosocial Adaptation

Physiological Integrity

Basic Care and Comfort
Pharmacological and Parenteral Therapies
Reduction of Risk Potential
Physiological Adaptation

The NCLEX exams are administered using Computerized Adaptive Testing – CAT. There is a six hour limit for NCLEX-RN and a five hour time limit for NCLEX-PN which includes time for the computer tutorial and breaks.

Using this method (CAT) each exam is unique and the questions are retrieved from a database as the exam progresses. The computer measures the ability of the candidate using the answers provided previously and changes the difficulty and topic of the new questions accordingly – if you answer correctly the computer will select harder questions and if you are answer incorrectly it will choose easier questions. The software estimates your ability every time you provide the answer to a question and with each new answer you provide the estimate of your ability gets more precise.

The exam software selects questions that it believes you will have a close to 50% chance of answering correctly – not too hard or too easy for the ability it believes you have. This is done so that a well prepared candidate will be asked more difficult questions thus having a good chance of passing the exam by answering the minimum number of questions while less prepared candidates are not forced to guess the answers to questions too difficult for them. The expected number of correct answers is half the total number of questions you are presented with because of the adaptive nature of the test.

After you answer the minimum number of questions for the exam the software will analyze your performance and it may shut-down the computer. This means that you either passed or failed the exam. The computer will shut-down only when the program running the test has determined with 95% certainty that your ability is either above or below the passing standard.

The only way to get additional questions is if you are very close to the passing score – either 2.5% above or 2.5% below it. If this is the case you should not worry about failing but instead should concentrate on answering correctly the next set of questions. You must understand that you are very close to passing the exam if you answer most questions correctly from this point on. You must answer the maximum number of questions on the exam only if at the end of each set of questions you are within the 2.5% above or below the passing score. The time you spend on each question is not an important factor with regard to passing but you should answer the required number of questions in the allotted time.

If you are required to answer the maximum number of questions and the computer still isn’t 95% sure you can pass, the 95% confidence requirement is dropped. If at this point you have a score higher than the minimum required you pass the exam otherwise you fail. If you run out of time and did not answer the minimum number of questions required you fail automatically. If you run out of time but you answered the minimum number of questions required and for the last 60 questions your score was never below the passing standard you pass otherwise you fail the exam. This does not mean that you have to answer the last 60 questions correctly but only that at any point during the last 60 questions your score was above the minimum required to pass the exam. You can think about it this way: for each correct answer add one to your score while for each incorrect answer subtract one. Adding your scores one at a time for each question answered should never result in a negative score in order for you to pass if you run out of time but you have answered the minimum number of questions required.

The NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN questions are mostly multiple-choice questions with four answers. In some cases the NCLEX exam uses more difficult question formats such as multiple-choice questions that require you to select one or more correct answers, fill-in-the-blank questions or questions that require you to identify an area on a picture. Both exams cover mostly the same topics but the NCLEX-RN is more difficult.

You must apply to your state board of nursing in order to take the NCLEX examination. That board of nursing will decide whether or not you are eligible for the NCLEX examination. If you are eligible you must register to take the exam using the Authorization to Take the Test (ATT) provided by the board of nursing in your state. They will also provide you with a list of testing centers and instructions for how to schedule and take the licensure examination.

Here are a couple of things you might want to consider if you are taking the NCLEX exam:

attend an NCLEX review class to refresh your knowledge
always read and understand the entire question before answering it
answer and understand 3000 – 4000 practice questions
you can’t change an answer once you moved to another question so forget about it – good or bad what it is done is done so it is better to concentrate on the current question instead of pondering if you were right or wrong
always pick the answer you believe is best – the test is not designed to trick you but good reading and comprehension skill are required
always think about the safety of the patient when answering the NCLEX questions

After you take the test you will have to wait for the results. The time you need to wait depends on how the results are reported in your state: mail, online, phone or email. If you fail the test you will receive a summary of your test performance indicating topics where you did well and topics that you need to study further. You will be able to take the test again after a mandatory waiting period (usually 45 days) which may vary from state to state.

Good luck!

Article Source: The NCLEX Examination

        

Preparing for the national boards begins as soon as a nursing student begins nursing school. Licensure as a Registered Nurse is granted upon a student passing the national boards or NCLEX. Passing scores are based on the amount of questions that the nurse gets correct in relation to the national average. Therefore there is no discrete passing grade.

The fact that nursing students are started on licensure testing preparation so early into their curriculum is a testimony to those nursing schools with the highest and most numerous passing scores. Choosing a nursing school should be based on credentialing and the schools success rate of passing the national boards. Certain schools that are not accredited will be able to graduate nurses with an Associate Degree in Applied Science. However, graduates from these unaccredited schools will not be able to continue to their bachelors in nursing at an accredited university. The same is to be said of diploma nurses.

Passing the national boards is the final culmination of all of the work a student nurse has put into nursing school. The methods of teaching and the type of questions students have to answer throughout nursing school are structured to help them pass the boards. Board exam preparation classes are also mandatory toward the end of the nursing curriculum.

These NCLEX preparation classes are offered for a period of four consecutive eight hour days. There is no extra charge to the students for this preparation. These classes are usually administrated a few days after graduation from the program. This intensive preparation is not only helpful to the students to successfully pass the boards, but boosts the schools standing and credentialing as well.

As to whether or not students should seek out extra tutoring for the national board exam is entirely up to the student, and depends on how much extra remediation they feel that they need to increase their comfort level. Many nursing students complain about the way that questions are worded in their nursing school exams. Instructors will always explain that the reasoning for this is to help the students develop the analytical thought process necessary to pass the boards.

The most helpful study tools for nursing school exams as well as the national boards are the NCLEX study guides. As students use these guides continuously they develop the mind set to answer similar questions posed to them in class and on boards. There are numerous NCLEX guides on the market. It is up to the student to find the one that helps them the most. Using more than one guide can also help a student learn to critically think about questions.

The student should consult with their nursing department and nursing instructors as to which of the guides out there will give them the best test preparation. Some teachers will offer students a private tutoring session for NCLEX review. The student would be encouraged to take advantage of any nursing instructor willing to help students out on their own time, even for a fee. These types of instructors care about their students and want them to be successful.

There are also computerized tests that nursing students must take in order to graduate. These tests are online and they are timed. The nursing student’s grade on these tests is not added in to their class grade. These tests are a separate entity altogether. The purpose of these tests is to measure the student’s competency in each of the fields of nursing curriculum and compare their scores with other nursing students from their school as well as with the rest of the nation.

The student gets a print out of their results upon completion of each competency test. The school also gets the score and keeps a record of those students who did not pass as well as those who did. Those students that did not pass the exams are instructed to repeat the test again until they receive a passing score. The scores are listed by a number and if the student scores at a level that is termed, /”unsafe”, /then the student must retake the exam. Those students who do not take these online exams seriously are surprised that when it comes close to graduation they are prevented from graduating because they did not finish or repeat the tests with a passing score.

Nursing school is stressful right at the starting gate and keeps up the pace up until graduation. All of this constant bombardment with nursing tests and computerized competency tests are designed to assist the student pass the national boards.

Learn more about nursing education at The NET Study Guide.

The nursing entrance test study guide provides nurses the assistance they need with the nursing entrance test. The nursing study guide helps nurses. Visit http://www.nurseslearningcenter.com for more information.

Article Source: Preparing For the NCLEX