NGN STRATEGY: review everyday Flashcards
10 very impt test day strategies
- read the questions in its entirety, sometimes it ask which is Not …
- don’t rush the test, take your time. fully read everything in NGN, always check to see if they add new boxes or columns to click on.
- In NGN question, always go back to the text when you get new questions
- if you’re not sure of an answer in NGN, don’t take it. for some questions, you get 1 point taken off for every wrong answer. for ex: if you have no proof that onions are mushrooms are high in mg2+, don’t select it. spoiler alert: they’re not
- knowing the difference b/w requires follow and requires IMMEDIATE follows up, 2 different things
pain 2/10 does not require immediate follow up, but does need to be follow up upon eventually - timeline: if you see Neuro assessment every 6 hrs, indicated or no? if the client needs it to be done every 30mn - 1hr, that answer would not be indicated. b/c that’s too long, if you do it every 30mn, choosing that is wrong, b/c it says every 6hrs
- raise hob to 30-45 degrees when cleaning pt.
- obtaining sputum sample before antibiotic therapy, unless you suspect sepsis
- Focus on safety at all times.
if you get past 85, that’s a good sign, you’re still in the game. if you miss dosage calc, you’ll get more until they’re confident that you got it.
SAFETY IS #1 ON NCLEX, EVEN IF YOU DON’T KNOW THE ANSWER. SAFE NURSES PASS THE NCLEX.
Think that you are going to pass the exam, don’t focus on failing. you will pass, in Jesus name
which order would you question: could harm the patient
which order would you clarify: order is written incorrectly
angiogram: gram means there’s gonna be a dye procedure, dye, contrast contraindicated w/ metformin for ex, or renal failure, etc..
which blood pressure that’s starting to be a concern
and is lung sounds diminished an immediate concern?
180/120
140/90 does not require immediate follow up, it does require follow up but things like pain 6/10 for ex is more of a concern.
diminished lung sounds is not an immediate concern
is reading before bed okay?
yes it is, it may help fall asleep. as long as its not a TV or a phone. it is totally fine.
nicotine or nicotine replacements may make insomnia worst
avoid using absolute on the nclex
always, never (unless you’re really really sure, but mostly
no wheezes in a client who’s having an asthma attack doesn’t mean the patient is better, it means the patient is dying
no air flowing through the lungs: status asthmaticus.
don’t add extra meaning or exta story to the question, focus on what you see
use least invasive procedures first, then most invasive last. remember, we don’t wanna use restraint, last resort
always assess the client first before checking monitor
assess unless in distress
if two answer choices are opposites, one is prob the ans: ex: tachy, Brady, one the answer
if 2 answers are saying the same thing, they’re both incorrect.
inc. vomiting, hyperemesis: saying the same thing, hyperemesis means hyper - emesis: inc. vomiting
food choice: grilled chicken w/ fried potatoes: wrong b/c fried potatoes is not good.
therapeutic communication is good: open ended questions
no offering advice, or saying its gonna be ok (false reassurance). assess feelings, listen, state facts and be quiet.
read question to full understanding. there will always be a clue in the question, for ex; priority intervention for a pneumonia patient who’s agitated with wrist restaints
think abc: airway, breathing, circulation. i know sometimes that doesn’t matter if the disease doesn’t cause airway issue. but if it does, like pneumonia may causing shortness of breath, checking vitals is a priority. when someone is agitated, it could be b/c they’re short of breath, so take vital signs
and they’ve wrist restraints for a while, its not an immediate concern to remove it first.
I put remove the restraint but really priority is their vitals. b/c if you remove them then they might remove their medication. assess their vitals first.
the fact that I got that wrong is sad
if a pt has diabetes and has bs 210 and abdomen is painful when removed hand after pressing (this is how to check for rebound tenderness)
I put priority is give insulin. he obvi has a symptom of peritonitis so the priority should be testing for culture and sensitivity to start antibiotic immediately
and also this blood sugar is normal for people who have diabetes.
high Fowler may worsen abdominal pain, not good for peritonitis
after you read question and picked a choice, reread the question again before moving on b/c sometimes choices may confuse you. I head fruity bruith and thought diabetic ketoacidosis (sugar >250), insulin needs to be administer. but I didn’t select that, I thought hypoglycemia b/c other s/s were lethargic but thing is dka can cause that too. I forgot that I read fruity breath sldo.
moreover, breathing into a paper bag hurts kussmauls respirations, its not gonna help
write down 2-3 words if needed, for ex: writing down fruity breath is a s/s of DKA
a uworld question that was correct was administer the potassium which I didn’t know was prescribed, but when I went back to the question, there were 3 columns. I didn’t click on the 2nd and third column. the 3rd column said med record and potassium was prescribed, give potassium 20meq if its under 3.5
if NCLEX ask you questions about a patient and says, which of these symptoms concern you the most for this patient. you must think that one patient has all these symptoms, just one. which do you think can affect them the most in addition to the other symptoms from the other answer choices.
not asking about different patient where choices aren’t related. this time this one pt has all these symptoms
they usually give a diagnosis. so this question usually is asking: which symptom is unexpected based on their diagnosis. ex: 3 of those symptoms must be expected in someone with major depression
don’t make assumption you only know what they tell you. if they said I don’t enjoy doing anything anymore, don’t assume they’re suicidal they didn’t tell you. major weight loss or bit weight gain is expected with depression.
so in that case losing hair will be the answer (not expected in depression)
benzo or minor tranquilizers or psych drugs may cause anticholinergic effects. like constipation, dryness, blurred vision.
most concerning: hand tremors.
generalized anxiety doesn’t cause hand tremors, panic attack causes that
what to report to the provider?
any changes. if client has sleep disturbances, appetite disturbances then all of a sudden they sleep for 7hrs straight, that’s a change we need to report to the provider. if they’re withdrawn and spent the whole evening to her room, we don’t need to report that, since that’s expected
focus on fundamentals of nursing
just review those gen knowledge in maternity and pediatrics slide.
you might know the specialty, but if you don’t know the fundamentals, like CPR when pt is not breathing and hr is under 60, that’s not safe.
you may see fluid overload anywhere, in maternity, peds, etc..
do flashcards to learn knowledge. you will not learn knowledge w/ multiple choices.
you don’t have to know everything. the answers are there, like clicking on any possible box you see, read the all questions
good test takers read well. they read with a purpose. they are trying to find the key concepts. I should have been trying the find where the prescribed potassium were included.
in your notepad, write down key words.
write so you don’t forget iportant things
-don’t worry about what you DO NOT know
you don’t know what colecystomy means but you know about post op care.
nephrolithiasis: idk but I know nephro means kidney
don’t give up when you don’t know the answer, there are strategies that you can use.
you can get 75% right just by knowing the fundamentals. the fundamentals can get you to the right answer, even if you didn’t learn that.
most of the questions you’re not going to know the answer. but you’ll have to think through it.`
