RANSMISSION-BASED PRECAUTIONS: Remember ADC - airborne, droplet, contact AIRBORNE My - Measles Chicken - Chicken Pox Hez - Herpez Zoster

TB Private Room - negative pressure with 6-12 air exchanges/hr Mask, N95 for TB DROPLET think of SPIDERMAN! S - sepsis S - scarlet fever S - streptococcal pharyngitis P - parvovirus B19 P - pneumonia P - pertussis I - influenza D - diptheria (pharyngeal) E - epiglottitis R - rubella M - mumps M - meningitis M - mycoplasma or meningeal pneumonia An - Adenovirus Private Room or cohort Mask CONTACT PRECAUTION MRS.WEE M - multidrug resistant organism R - respiratory infection S - skin infections * W - wound infxn E - enteric infxn - clostridium difficile E - eye infxn - conjunctivitis SKIN INFECTIONS

VCHIPS V - varicella zoster C - cutaneous diphtheria H - herpez simplex I - impetigo P - pediculosis S - scabies Private room or cohort Gloves Gown

First Step

This is to get you started with preparation for the NCLEX-RN exam, or the NCLEX-PN exam.

Start with using the book as a review, but I want you to use it differently, than you would normally think to use it.

Start with Chapter 1, go to the end of the chapter and do the review questions. If you get greater than 75%, go onto the next chapter, and start the process again. At any time that you get less than the 75% or do not feel comfortable with the material, then read the chapter from the beginning. And you should be doing those questions without using the book as a resource guide, strictly from your own memory, when you take the actual NCLEX exam, you will not be permitted to use any books or notes.

Repeat this until you get thru the book. If you find that you have several weak points, read the entire chapter on that topic and then try to do the questions again, but still without using the book to look up any answers.

Introduction

This program was developed after doing a considerable amount of research on my part. It has been proven to work, provided that you follow it exactly. Where it says do only 100 questions per day, it means exactly that. If you do more, you are not going to retain the information, and may as well throw out that day that you did your 300 questions.

There are no shortcuts to this program, it takes a minimum of 6 weeks to do the main portion of it, and additional time if you trained overseas, or have been unable to pass the exam, or have been out of school and away from nursing for at least 16 months. If you fit into any of those three categories, you need to begin with Step One; for the rest of you, start with Step Two.

You need to review each and every rationale on the CD that comes along with the questions that you are doing, and this means even if you got the question correct. You are not doing yourself any favor by skipping them. There is a reason for you to review each and every one. NCLEX doesn t care that you got straight A s in class, or that you got the highest in every clinical rotation, but that you know what to do with the information that you learned. How you are going to use that information to make real life decisions when someone s life is depending on you, when your instructor is not going to be there, and you will be using your own license to practice, either as a Practical Nurse, or as a Registered Nurse. There is an understanding that you need to develop of what they are looking for when you answer the questions on the exam, and the best way to do it is understand each and every rationale.

Sorry if I am sounding tough, but this program was designed to help you start off to become the best nurse that you can be. I do not charge for it, but ask that you follow it exactly as written, and do not share it with anyone else. This was created on my own free time, and it did take quite a bit of research and long hours to find out what works the best, and how to get you to pass the first time. Funny thing is that everyone that has used my program exactly as written has passed, the only ones that did not were ones that did not follow everything exactly as written. Or were ill the day of the exam, and did not cancel, as they should have. It must be followed exactly.

You only need one book to use with this program, Saunder s Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN or PN, the edition makes no difference. This program was originally designed for foreign-trained nurses, and if they can pass the first time using my program, and English was not their primary language, then you should be able to as well.

If you do 100 questions per day for the six weeks, you will have done 4500 questions, and reviewed the rationales for each and every question. It doesn t matter which format on the CD that you begin with, sooner or later, you are going to get thru most of them.

Step Two
Using the CD that comes with the book, you are to begin by doing 100 questions per day, no more, no less. If you are working, then you can split them up, part before work, and the rest when you get home, or what ever works for you. But the goal is only 100, and when adding in the review of each and every rationale, it will be taking up more time. If you follow the 100 per day rule, then you will have 4500 done before the exam, and this should be everyone s goal. This is also the reason why this program should not be started until the last 6 to 7 weeks before the exam, so that all of the information is the freshest in your head. This is the best way for you to retain the information that you are reading. We have tried it with more questions, and you just do not retain the information as well. There will be others that will tell you to do 200 daily for two weeks before the exam, but it just doesn t work. I will put up my pass rating against anyone else s, and you will see that my plan wins hands down. It uses a common sense approach to preparing you and for the minimal amount of cost, only the Saunder s book, nothing more. It doesn t matter where you start on the CD, or the type of questions that you do, you will be getting thru most of them sooner or later.

Step Three
I have included several different articles that I have found, as well as some that I have written, that I think will benefit you and assist you in passing the exam. There have been questions on Disaster Planning and Triage on almost every single exam, yet there are no schools that routinely cover this in their curriculum. Some are just beginning to this year ..herbal medications are another hot topic on the exam, as well as instructing your patient in crutch-walking, etc. Patient teaching is also a strong point that is covered on the exam, and I have included articles on diabetes for you to review. As far as knowing medications, I have included a list of the ones that I think are important for you to know. The same meds can be used in the NICU setting, as well as geriatrics. Some will be more limited is use, but you need to know about them. I have included space next to each one so that you can put your notes for each one.

Laboratory Results: Do not memorize lists, but know what happens if the levels are too high or too low. The type of questions that you will see will not ask you for a specific range of a value, but what would you do with the patient that had a Potassium level of 2.6 and was scheduled to receive certain meds, or have certain procedure done that required anesthesia. What would you do if the level was 3.9? What if 6.5? Who would you treat or see first, the patient with the Potassium of 2.6 or the 6.5? Why? This would also be considered a priority type of question. Priority Questions: These seem to be the ones that everyone is most concerned with. And are the most important for you to have on your exam. Essentially, I call them common sense questions. What would you do first? Who would you see first? Who would you phone first? What would you do first in a particular situation? The NCLEX exam is trying to see if you know what to do with the information that you have already learned in school, they know that you have had to get thru a math calculations course just to continue in your program. They are not going to ask you specifically about one drug, in most cases, but what would you do if you had a patient on that drug. Drugs can have many different uses ..Example: Viagra, we all know what it does with older male patients, but you will see it used frequently in a PICU or an NICU, do you know why? And the reason is very different. Actually comes in a suspension form, besides the little blue pill. Always remember the ABCs as far as selecting the patient that you would see next, except in the disaster triage scenarios. They are the opposite of what you would expect. Otherwise, just take the time to use common sense, and do not rush thru the exam. Stop preparing and close your books at 5 pm, two days before the exam, and the day before, use it strictly for yourself. Go to lunch, see a movie, get a manicure, pedicure, massage, etc. Go to bed early the night before the exam, and make sure that you eat breakfast. Do not carbo-load or you will put yourself to sleep. Have protein of some type to feed your brain and wake it up. Take a few snacks with you. If you live more than one hour from the testing center, do yourself a favor, and get a hotel or motel room near by the center. What happens is there is a bad accident on the freeway, you oversleep and miss leaving early enough to miss the normal traffic. Too many what-ifs can spoil your day, and then you will have issues with trying to reschedule the exam, as well as pay the $200 again for the exam.

Hydrocodone with APAP

Lipitor

Synthroid

Atenolol

Zithromax

Amoxicillin

Furosemide

Hydrochlorthiazide

Norvasc

Lisinopril

Zoloft

Albuteral

Metoprolol

Zocor

Premarin

Prevacid

Ibuprofen

Celebrex

Triamterene

Ambien

Promethazine

Spironolactone Proscar

Percocet

Acetominophen

Aspirin

Atrovent

Propranolol

Nifedipine

Macrobid

Temazepam

Imitrex

Allopurinol

Dilantin

SMZ-TMP

Duragesic

Bactroban

Aricept

Ditropan XL

Biaxin

Ciprofloxacin

Strattera

Inderal

Pulmicort

Methylprednisolone

Prednisone

Timolol

Flovent

Combivent

Valtrex

Promethazine

Lantus

Enalapril

Coreg

Isordil

Monopril

Biaxin

Folic Acid

Meclizine

Augmentin

Diazepam

Prilosec

Glucotrol XL

Diflucan

Penicillin

Cozaar

Trazodone

Naproxen

Glyburide

Coumadin

Aqua-Mephyton

Protamine Sulfate

Heparin

Lotensin

Diltiazem

Clonidine

Digoxin

Oxycontin

Fosamaxx

Vioxx

Singulair

Effexor XR

Neurontin

Loazepam

Clonazepam

Viagra

Plavix

Pravachol

Protonix

Dopamine

Dobutamine

Levophed

Nitroprusside

Levaquin

Nitroglycerin