Tips on How to Study for HESI Exams & NCLEX-RN

One of the things I dreaded and feared the most during nursing school was nursing proficiency exams. At my nursing school I was required to take the HESI proficiency exams. I had to take the entrance HESI exam called the HESI A2, then during my Junior year I had to take the Mid-Curricular HESI, and before I got to graduate I had to pass the exit HESI exam. The purpose of these exams was to prepare me for the big exam which is the licensing exam called NCLEX-RN.

The HESI proficiency exams are a lot like the ATIs exams which is what other nursing schools require. It really is your nursing school's preference on what they require students to take. My school liked HESI.

Looking back (can't really believe I am saying this) I think those pesky HESI exams helped me pass the NCLEX-RN exam first try and they seriously did prepare me for it. But I still hated taking them.

I wanted to write this post to help give you some tips on if you have to take the HESI exams, especially since I have been there and done it.

My Study Guide for HESI & NCLEX

On my website I have a great study guide/log I created that tells you how I studied for my exit HESI exam and NCLEX-RN which you can find here: "NCLEX-RN study guide". The study guide includes what books I used to prepare for the exams, daily log of what I studied each day, and what I ended up scoring on the exams. Also on my site use the search bar and you will find many resources for HESI and NCLEX.  I have to say the study guide I created is very useful for the nursing student having to prepare for HESI and NCLEX-RN.

Tips on How to Prepare for the HESI & NCLEX

• Buy a study guide!! I know spending money stinks but this is an investment. For HESI buy the company's book they make. They have three different ones for each exam (HESI A2, HESI Mid-curricular, exit HESI). For NCLEX buy the Saunders Comprehensive review guide (it comes with tons of practice questions). Some people use Kaplan (I didn't) but I have also heard good things about them too. However, Saunders worked for me!
• Do practice questions over & over! Don't memorize the answer but get use to how to answer the question. HESI & NCLEX questions are not your regular fact based questions....they are critical thinking questions. Also practice select all apply and diagram questions a lot because HESI and NCLEX are starting to use these questions a lot more. 
• Start studying months in advance! I took my HESI in March and NCLEX in June. I started studying in December during the week and took weekends off usually. 

If you prepare for these exams you will pass and hopefully my tips and study guide will help you out!

Sarah :-)

How to Put on Sterile Gloves for Nursing Students

I remember one of the things that I had such difficultly learning in nursing school was on putting on sterile gloves. Looking back at it, it was so silly I had trouble with it. But you know how there are some things in life that look so easy when others do it but when you try yourself you figure out it is actually pretty tough.

I think of the things that "tripped" me up while putting on sterile gloves was trying to keep my hand with the sterile glove on "sterile" while I put the other sterile glove on the other hand.

I remember everyone in my nursing class breezing right through it during our clinical test of having to put them on in front of the instructor but I had trouble grasping it. I practiced over and over and finally I got it but it took me some work. The key to learning how to put on sterile gloves is PRACTICE!

As a nurse you will use sterile gloves for procedures such as foley catheter insertion, trach suctioning, wound care, central line & PICC Line dressing changes, subcutaneous port access etc. So it is important you are really good at putting on sterile gloves.

My tips for putting on sterile gloves:

Take your time! Don't get in a rush because if you do you will mess up.

Put the first sterile glove on your dominant hand first. For example if you are right handed put that glove on first.

Always get the correct size of sterile glove. Trust me on this one! If the glove is too large or small for your hand you will have difficulty keeping your gloves sterile while putting them on.

Here is a great video on how to put on sterile gloves.

Sarah :-)

Tips on Giving & Receiving Shift Report as a Nursing Student and Nurse

When I was in my last semester of nursing school I had to complete a Senior Practicum. The practicum required me to complete 240 hours of clinical time with a registered nurse in a hospital setting.

I was assigned to work on a PCU (progressive care unit) that specialized in cardiac nursing. I loved my practicum so much I stayed on with that unit after graduation....but that is for another post.

During my Senior Practicum I worked 12 hours shifts with my assigned preceptor. I learned so much about how to be a nurse during that clinical time. One important thing I learned was how to give and receive shift report.....the important things like what to say and what not to say during shift report.

It is so important to always give and receive a good shift report. Getting a "lousy" shift can effect your day. For example, depending on the nurse you are getting report from you may get a great detail report (which helps start your day off right) or a "crappy" report that leaves you blind and you find out through out the day your patient had to be NPO (nothing by mouth) for a surgery later that day.

I remember that a girl I worked with got a really bad shift report from another nurse. The nurse she got report from was notorious for giving 1 minute reports on their patients. However, my friend was new and she was unaware of this. So at 12:00 pm the OR called my friend and asked if her patient was ready and prepped for her lobectomy (removal of a lung....patient had lung cancer) because the surgeon was ready to operate.

My friend who was unaware of this had let her patient eat breakfast and lunch. After she got off the phone, the surgeon called my friend and pretty much "chewed" her out and reported her to our nurse manager. However, all of this could have been avoided if the previous nurse had reported that the patient was going for possible surgery later that afternoon.

Here 5 quick questions you can ask when receiving shift report as a nurse to hopefully avoid the a similar scenario:

1. Does that patient have any family?
2. Who is the patient’s primary contact if something was to happen?
3.  Does the patient have any type of testing that they must be NPO for?
4.  Does the patient need assistance eating, showering, or using the bathroom? How does the patient take their pills? Swallows them or needs them crushed?

 -For a complete list of questions to ask during nursing shift report see this how to give nursing shift report


Sarah :-)

Tips for taking the NCLEX Exam

I know that right now nursing school graduates are super busy. They just got done with school, graduated, and are now spending their Memorial Day weekend studying for NCLEX. I remember taking practice questions over and over and reading my Saunders NCLEX guide every waking hour. I've been there and done that so new nurse graduates I feel your pain but it will be over very soon.

I graduated from nursing school in May and took my NCLEX exam at the beginning of June. I wanted to get it over with so I could just concentrate on relaxing during my summer and enjoy my new job. I had a couple of friends who waited until July and even August to take it because they wanted to spend the whole summer studying.

After I took NCLEX I felt so exhausted but I felt like a weight had been lifted off me. However, I felt like I failed. From what I hear everyone feels like they have failed after they take it so that is normal. But I didn't! I pass first try with just 75 questions...woohoo!

Here are some quick NCLEX tips I found courtesy of Kaplan to help you pass while answering questions because they can be tricky:

1. Don't ask "why"
2. Don't leave the patient
3. Don't persuade the patient
4. Don't pass the buck
5. Don't read into the question
6. Don't do something

The points above are great tips that helped me. If you would like some more information on how I prepared for NCLEX and more information about it check out my NCLEX tips.

Sarah :-)

How to Start an IV for Nursing Students

Since I have been a registered nurse for over 5 years now I have mastered the skill of starting an IV. I am usually the person everyone comes to if they need an IV started. However, it has not always been that way!

After I first graduated from nursing school I was terrible at starting IVs. I was so bad that many times I would not attempt to try and would ask another nurse to try for me.  I didn't want to put the patient through all that pain and look incompetent. This strategy worked for awhile until I took a job in a department where I had to start IVs routinely on outpatients. I was usually all by myself and had no one to go to if I couldn't get the IV. Needless to say I learned how to start IVs!

I think the reason I had such trouble starting IVs was because I had no confidence at all! In nursing school we were barely taught how to start one. I remember having one day in clinicals were we started an IV on a mannquieen and that was all I got to do.

It took me about 3 years to get good at them and that was because I didn't try to get good at them but my new job forced me to do so.

If you are a nursing student or like how I was as a nurse you may want to check out this great video on how to start ivs.

Here are some of my quick tips:

1. Put the tourniquet on fairly tight. This allows the blood to pull in the extremity which engorges the vein.
2. Have the patient pump their fist. Again that causes the veins to pop out.
3. If you are using the straight IV needles (not the butterfly IVs) here is a tip: Once you get blood return slightly insert the needle a little more into the vein and then advance or glide the cannula in. This was a major issue for me. I was hitting the vein but the cannula would not advance. So I began inserting the needle a little more after I hit the vien and the cannula simply glided in.
4. Practice! Practice! Yes I do miss veins sometimes. Remember even the most experience people miss IVs.

Sarah :-)

I am a Registered Nurse

I finally decided to create a blogger account. I know, I know it is 2014 and I am just creating a blogger account lol.
So I want to introduce myself to everyone and tell you a little about myself and what I do so I created this video:




I would like to connect with you so leave a comment or come to my site and visit the nursing community forum. If you have any questions about nursing school or nursing don't hesitate to ask.

Sarah :-)