Overview
This lecture covers practical strategies and key tips for answering NCLEX-style nursing exam questions, addressing test anxiety, and improving exam performance.
Reasons for NCLEX Failure
- Many students fail not due to lack of knowledge, but difficulty with NCLEX question styles and test anxiety.
- Most students who retake the exam after proper preparation eventually pass.
NCLEX Question Answering Strategies
- Read the question stem and think about related knowledge before viewing answer choices to avoid bias.
- Identify keywords in the question to determine if it seeks an assessment or intervention.
- Use the process of elimination by crossing out obviously incorrect answers and trust your gut.
- For “Select All That Apply” (SATA) questions, treat each option as a true/false statement individually.
Prioritization & Patient Safety
- Prioritize unstable patients (acute, rapidly changing conditions) over stable patients (chronic, unchanged).
- Use ABCs (Airway, Breathing, Circulation) to determine which patient to see first.
- Choose least invasive interventions before more invasive ones for patient safety.
Therapeutic Communication
- Avoid yes/no questions unless assessing for self-harm.
- Use open-ended questions to allow patients to express feelings and gain more information.
- Responses should acknowledge patient fears and invite further discussion.
Exam-Specific Tips
- “Assess unless in distress”: Intervene first in emergencies; otherwise, begin with assessment.
- Be wary of absolute answer choices (words like "always" or "never") as they are usually incorrect.
- Prioritize physical needs (air, water, food) over psychosocial needs (Maslow’s hierarchy).
- If you have never heard of an answer in class or books, avoid choosing it.
NCLEX-Style Question Approaches
- For “What is the nurse’s first/best action?” pick the initial/most effective step.
- In stepwise procedures, choose the earliest step (e.g., hand hygiene before catheter insertion).
- For bleeding in late pregnancy, assess fetal heart tones first (least invasive, most urgent).
Key Terms & Definitions
- NCLEX-style questions — Nursing exam questions that test application and prioritization skills.
- Test anxiety — Nervousness affecting performance during exams.
- ABCs — Airway, Breathing, Circulation; used for prioritizing patient care.
- Therapeutic communication — Strategies for effective patient interaction, focusing on open-ended responses.
- Least invasive — Intervention causing the fewest physical risks to the patient.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Watch the full NCLEX review video for more safety topics.
- Practice using the outlined strategies with NCLEX-style practice questions.
- Review Maslow’s hierarchy and ABCs for prioritization questions.