Wilda Rinehart received her associate degree in nursing from Northeast Mississippi Community College in Booneville, Mississippi. After working as a staff nurse and charge nurse, she became a public health nurse and served in that capacity for a number of years. In 1975, she received her Nurse Practitioner Certification in obstetric-gynecology from the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Mississippi. In 1979, she completed her bachelor of science degree in nursing from Mississippi University for Women and the following year completed her master’s degree in nursing from the same university. In 1980, Ms. Rinehart accepted a faculty position at Northeast Mississippi Community College, where she taught medical-surgical nursing and obstetrical nursing. In 1982, she founded Rinehart and Associates Educational Consultants. For the past 29 years, she and her associates have worked with nursing graduates and schools of nursing to assist graduates to pass the National Council Licensure Exam for Nursing. She has also worked with faculty who want to improve their item-writing skills and as a curriculum consultant. Ms. Rinehart has served as a convention speaker throughout the southeastern United States and as a reviewer of medical-surgical and obstetric texts. She has coauthored NCLEX review materials and is presently working on DVD and CD review programs. As president of Rinehart and Associates, she serves as coordinator of a company dedicated to improving the quality of health through nursing education.
Dr. Diann Sloan holds an associate degree in nursing from Northeast Mississippi Community College, a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Mississippi, and a master’s degree in nursing from Mississippi University for Women. In addition to her nursing degrees, she holds a master of science in education degree in counseling psychology from Georgia State University and a doctor of philosophy degree in counselor education. She has minors in both psychology and educational psychology from Mississippi State University. She has completed additional graduate studies in healthcare administration at Western New England College and the University of Mississippi. As a nurse educator, Dr. Sloan has taught pediatric nursing, psychiatric mental health nursing, and medical surgical nursing in both associate degree and baccalaureate nursing programs. As a member of Rinehart and Associates Nursing
Review, Dr. Sloan has conducted test construction workshops for faculty and nursing review seminars for both registered and practical nurse graduates. She has coauthored materials used in the item-writing workshops for nursing faculty and Rinehart and Associates Nursing Review. She is a member of the Sigma Theta Tau nursing honor society.
Clara Hurd is an associate degree nurse graduate of Northeast Mississippi Community College in Booneville, Mississippi (1975). Her experiences in nursing are clinically based, having served as a staff nurse in medical-surgical nursing. She has worked as an oncology, intensive care, orthopedics, neurological, and pediatric nurse. She received her bachelor of science degree in nursing from the University of North Alabama in Florence, Alabama, and her master’s degree in nursing from the Mississippi University for Women in Columbus, Mississippi. She is currently serving as a nurse educator at Northeast Mississippi Community College teaching medical-surgical content. Ms. Hurd has taught in both associate degree and baccalaureate nursing programs. She was a faculty member of Mississippi University for Women; Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee; and Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tennessee. Ms. Hurd joined Rinehart and Associates in 1993. She has worked with students in preparing for the National Council Licensure Exam and with faculty as a consultant in writing test items. Ms. Hurd has also been a presenter at nursing conventions on various topics, including item writing for nursing faculty. Her primary professional goal is to prepare the student and graduate for excellence in the delivery of healthcare.
Praise for NCLEX-PN PracticePraise for NCLEX-PN Practice
"I studied nothing but your material for two weeks until I felt prepared to take the NCLEX®. Studying your material gave me the confidence I needed to pass!"
—Rayena Thorne, nursing student at Wallace State
Introduction
Welcome to the NCLEX-PN® Practice Questions Exam Cram
This book helps you get ready to take and pass the Licensure Exam for Practical Nurses. This chapter discusses the NCLEX® exam in general and how the Exam Cram books can help you prepare for the test. It doesn't matter whether this is the first time you're going to take the exam or whether you have taken it previously; this book gives you the necessary information and techniques to obtain licensure.
The NCLEX-PN® Practice Questions Exam Cram helps you practice taking questions written in the NCLEX® format. Used with the Exam Cram review book NCLEX-PN® Exam Cram, it helps you understand and appreciate the subjects and materials you need to pass. The books are aimed at test preparation and review. They do not teach you everything you need to know about the subject of nursing. Instead, they present you with materials that you are likely to encounter on the exam. Using a simple approach, we help you understand the "need to know" information.
To pass the NCLEX®, you must understand how the exam is developed. The NCLEX-PN® consists of questions from the cognitive levels of knowledge, comprehension, application, and analysis. The majority of questions are written at the application and analysis level. Questions incorporate the five stages of the nursing process (assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation) and the four categories of client needs. Client needs are divided into subcategories that define the content within each of the four major categories. These categories and subcategories are
A. Safe, effective care environment:
B. Health promotion and maintenance: 7%–13%
C. Psychosocial integrity: 8%–14%
D. Physiological integrity:
Basic care and comfort: 11%–17%
Pharmacological and parenteral therapy: 9%–15%
Reduction of risk: 10%–16%
Physiological adaptation: 11%–17%
Taking the Computerized Adaptive Test
Computer-adaptive testing, commonly known as CAT, offers the candidate several advantages. First, the graduate can schedule the exam at a time that is convenient. It's also possible that you will not be tested on the entire 205-question set; if you answer the beginning questions correctly, the CAT might stop early in the session, with far fewer than the 205 questions you were expecting. When the engine has determined your ability level and it is satisfied that you are qualified to be a practical nurse, it will stop. The disadvantage of a CAT is that you cannot go back and change answers. When you make a decision and move on, that's it—no second guessing, like on a paper exam!
The Pearson Vue testing group is responsible for administering the exam. You can locate the center nearest you by visiting http://www.pearsonvue.com. If you are not familiar with the Pearson Vue testing centers, we recommend that you arrive at least 30 minutes early. If you are late, you will not be allowed to take the test. Bring two forms of identification with you, one of which must be a picture ID. Be sure that your form of identification matches your application. You will be photographed and fingerprinted upon entering the testing site, so don't let this increase your stress. The allotted time is 5 hours, and the candidate can receive results within approximately 7 days (in some states, even sooner). Remember, the exam is written at approximately the tenth-grade reading level, so keep a good dictionary handy during your studies.
The Cost of the Exam
A candidate wanting to write the licensure exam must fill out two applications: one to the National Council, and one to the state in which the candidate wants to be licensed. A separate fee must accompany each application. The fee required by the National Council is $200. State licensing fees vary. Licensure applications can be obtained on the National Council's website at http://www.ncsbn.org. Several states are members of the multistate licensure compact. This means that if you are issued a multistate license, you pay only one fee. This information also can be obtained by visiting the National Council's website.
How to Prepare for the Exam
Judicious use of this book, the NCLEX® Exam Prep book, and/or the NCLEX-PN® Exam Cram book, alone or with a review seminar such as that provided by Rinehart and Associates, can help you achieve your goal of becoming a licensed practical nurse. As you review for the NCLEX® exam, we suggest that you find a location where you can concentrate on the material each day. A minimum of 2 hours per day for at least 2 weeks is suggested. In NCLEX-PN® Exam Cram, we provide you with exam alerts, tips, notes, and sample questions, both multiple choice and alternate items. These questions will acquaint you with the type of questions that you will have during the exam. We have also formulated a mock exam with those difficult management and delegation questions that you can score to determine your readiness to test. Pay particular attention to the helpful hints and the Cram Sheet. Using these will help you gain and retain knowledge and will help reduce your stress as you prepare to test.
What Will You Find in This Book?
As seems obvious from the title, this book is all about practice questions! There are five full exams in this book, totaling 1,000 questions. Each chapter is set up with the questions and their possible answers first; the correct answers and rationales appear at the end of each chapter. In the margins next to each question, you will see a quick key to finding the location of its answer and rationales. Here's exactly what you will find in the chapters:
Practice Questions—These are the numerous questions to help you learn, drill, and review.
Quick Check Answers—When you finish answering the questions, you can quickly grade your exam from this section. Only correct answers are given here—no rationales are offered yet.
Answers and Rationales—This section offers you the correct answers, as well as further explanation about the content posed in that question. Use this information to learn why an answer is correct and to reinforce the content in your mind for exam day.
You also will find a Cram Sheet at the beginning of this book specifically written for this exam. This is a very popular element that is also found in NCLEX-PN® Exam Cram (Que Publishing, ISBN 0-7897-3267-X). This item condenses all the necessary facts found in this exam into one easy-to-handle tearcard. The Cram Sheet is something you can carry with you to the exam location and use as a last-second study aid. Be aware that you can't take it into the exam room, though.
Hints for Using This Book
Because this book is a paper practice product, you might want to take advantage of the answer sheets in each chapter. These can be copied for multiple practice sessions. We suggest that you score your exam by subtracting the missed items from the total and then dividing the total answered correctly by the total number of questions. This gives you the percentage answered correctly. We also suggest that you achieve a score of at least 77% before you schedule your exam. If you do not, take the exam again until you do. The higher the score, the better your chance to do well on the NCLEX® exam!
You also will want to take advantage of the CD exam engine; it provides you with a computer-adaptive test very similar to the one you will experience during the NCLEX® exam. Every question in this book is on the CD, including the answer rationales.
Aside from being a test-preparation book, this book is useful if you are brushing up on your nursing knowledge. It is an excellent quick reference for the licensed nurse.
Need Further Study?
If you are having a hard time correctly answering questions, be sure to see this book's companion volume, the NCLEX-PN® Exam Cram (Que Publishing, ISBN 0-7897-3706-X). If you still need further study, you might want to take a class or look at one of the many other books available at your local bookstore.
Contact the Authors
The authors of this text are interested in you and want you to pass on the first attempt. If after reviewing with this text you would like to contact the authors, you may do so at Rinehart and Associates, PO Box 124, Booneville, MS 38829, or by visiting http://www.nclexreview.net. You can also contact us by phone at 662-728-4622.
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