NCLEX-RN For Dummies

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Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Introduction About This Book Foolish Assumptions Icons Used in This Book Beyond the Book Where to Go from Here Part 1 Demystifying the Complexity of the NCLEX-RN Chapter 1 Meet the NCLEX-RN: Your Ticket to Getting a License The Big Deal behind the Big Exam You Must Remember This: Nursing Basics to Know by Heart The NCLEX-RN — Not Your Average CAT Scan! Thinking the NCLEX-RN Way Getting to the root of the question Navigating the grand inquisition, or the integrated exam Avoiding test-taking missteps Finding the real question behind the long scenario Keeping your cool when answering select-all-that-apply questions When All Is Said and Done Hey, nurse? Yeah, you! So, you failed — it’s not the end of the world Chapter 2 Preparing for T-Day: Paperwork and Whatnot How Long Should I Wait after I Graduate? Deciding When to Test Applying to Take the NCLEX-RN Completing the application process Paying your dues Hitting a bump: Potential problems with the licensure application Scheduling the Time and Place Planning Ahead for the Big Day Help, My Car Won’t Start! Rescheduling the Test Chapter 3 The NCLEX-RN Blueprint Considering the Four Main Categories of Client Needs Client need #1: Safe and effective care environment Client need #2: Health promotion and maintenance Client need #3: Psychosocial integrity Client need #4: Physiological integrity Queuing Up Question Types Putting knowledge into action: Application questions Becoming an assessor: Evaluation questions Slipping into Sherlock’s shoes: Analysis questions Getting creative: Synthesizing and creating questions Exercising individuality: Alternate test questions Chapter 4 Buffing Up: Study Tips and Test-Taking Strategies Setting Up an NCLEX-RN Study Schedule Identifying Your Weak Points and Hitting the Books Remembering Dear Maslow and His Needs Applying the Nursing Process in Test Questions Assessing the situation Analyzing the situation Planning your actions Implementing care Evaluating your actions Dissecting the Questions and Finding Keywords Pinpointing the keywords Putting the keywords in context Developing Critical-Thinking Strategies Knowing the expected outcomes Finding the elusive question topic Making an educated guess Picking the best answer when you’re completely clueless Knowing how to prioritize when all the answers are right Avoiding Test Question Pitfalls Don’t read into the question Read the whole question and reword it Eliminate wrong answers Try not to predict answers Part 2 Testing Your Knowledge of Client Needs Chapter 5 Management of Care First Things First: Knowing Your Patient’s Rights You must heed prearranged treatment options All lips must remain sealed Information and technology changes Nothing happens without informed consent Ethical decisions don’t require your opinion Rallying the Troops: Managing Care Assuring the quality of patient care Prioritizing when your hands are full: Group care Tailoring care for each patient: Case management Collaborating with other medical team members Getting others to lend a hand: Delegation Recognizing Legal Rights and Nursing Responsibilities Knowing Where to Get the Support You Need Keeping up with education and training Expecting adequate supervision Making referrals Chapter 6 Safety and Infection Control Preventing Accidents and Injuries Using electrical equipment safely Keeping clients from falling Disaster Planning and Emergency Response Sounding the alarm: When fires break out Responding to terrorism or bioterrorism Keeping Infectious Bugs at Bay Maintaining medical and surgical purity Differentiating among the types of infection precautions Handling hazardous and infectious materials Keeping Clients Down in a Way That Lifts Them Up Accidents Happen: Knowing the Next Steps and Preparing an Incident Report Code Pink: Understanding the Protocol for Infant Abduction Chapter 7 Health Promotion and Maintenance Surveying the Stages of Growth and Development For children For normal pregnancy and the birth of newborns For older adults To Your Clients’ Health! Promoting Well-Being Creating and Implementing Care Plans Assessing your patient’s physical condition Teaching patients from the moment of introduction Understanding and explaining screening tests Handling High-Risk Behavior and Alternate Lifestyle Choices Preparing Patients to Leave Your Care Helping patients take care of themselves Embracing the family system Chapter 8 Psychosocial Integrity Looking Beyond the Surface: Factors That Influence Behavior Behavioral basics: Important development theories The spice of life: Cultural and family diversity Coping, Counseling, and Crisis Intervention Dealing with defense mechanisms Talking through troubles Teaching stress management Helping Patients through Grief and Loss Caring for Patients with Abuse Issues Recognizing different types of abuse Identifying stages of substance abuse Chapter 9 Basic Care and Comfort Giving Patients First What They Need Most Ensuring Adequate Nutrition and Hydration Identifying the building blocks of nutrition Modifying your patient’s diet Recognizing malnutrition Administering tube feedings Hydrating your patient Resting Easy, Sleeping Soundly Keeping ’em Clean: Personal Hygiene Understanding the Process of Elimination Measuring your patient’s urinary health Keeping bowels healthy Wading through Irrigations Providing Holistic Care with Alternative and Complementary Medicine Decreasing Pain without Pills Helping Patients Get Around (and What to Do if They Can’t) Training patients to use crutches, walkers, and canes Avoiding complications from immobility Chapter 10 Meditating on Meds: Pharmacological and Parenteral Therapies Remembering the Factors You Must Verify before Giving Meds Medicating Patients Safely Assessing before medicating Calculating dosages Recognizing the effects of meds Answering questions about unfamiliar meds Using Medicine to Manage Pain Giving Meds and More with a Stick and a Poke: Parenteral Therapy Solving the puzzle of solutions Providing med therapy all in vein Hanging blood and blood products Chapter 11 Reduction of Risk Interpreting Lab Results without a Hitch Separating the oozing red stuff Looking closely at immunity defenders Examining pee (ha-ha) Recognizing the Main Diagnostic Assessments The daily routine: Checking vital signs Respiratory tests Cardiovascular tests Gastrointestinal tests Musculoskeletal tests Neurological tests Being Ready for the Bumps: Complications with Testing and Treating Taking stock of diagnostic risks Preventing postsurgical complications Taking a Load Off: Therapeutic Procedures and Diagnostic Tests Administering Conscious Sedation Safely Chapter 12 Physiological Adaptation Understanding What’s Normal So You Know What Isn’t The water of life: Accounting for fluid Getting the right pH: The key to acid-base balance Keeping an eye on respiratory health — the sum of water and pH Monitoring hemodynamics Anticipating the Results of Imbalance Knowing what to do when the body systems are out of whack Looking down the road to infection Pathophysiology: Recognizing and Managing Illness and Disease Houston, we have a problem: Focusing on microsystems Doing damage control of the medical kind Taking a Patient for Tests and Therapy Facing an MRI, the hot potato of medical tests Handling therapies, from dialysis to radiation Part 3 Just What You Were Looking For: A Full-Length Practice Test Chapter 13 A Story of Blood, Chills, and Pain: A Practice NCLEX-RN Chapter 14 The Answers to All Your Questions (and Explanations to Boot) Answers and Explanations Answer Key Part 4 The Part of Tens Chapter 15 Ten Myths about the NCLEX-RN Length Matters Every Question Counts Computer Savvy Is Essential You Can’t Stop ’til You’re Done The Test Plays Off Your Weakness You Have to Wait Eons to Retake a Failed Test Your First Instinct Is Probably Wrong The Same Question Popped Up Twice Your Test Schedule Chooses You Choice (3) Is the Magic Answer, and Other Multiple-Choice Fails Chapter 16 Ten Common Phrases Found in NCLEX-RN Questions Assessment and Priority Diagnosis Planning and Assigning Care The Teaching Plan Outcomes and Goals Best Response Priority Action Interventions Further Teaching Chapter 17 Ten Rules to Remember When Prepping for the NCLEX-RN Read Each Question in Its Entirety Don’t Read into the Question Answer Questions with the Ideal Situation in Mind Avoid Changing Your Answers Don’t Call the Doctor until You’re Sure You Need To Avoid Answers That Make You Choose All or Nothing Don’t Memorize Facts, Questions, or Other Useless Trivia Don’t Think You Can Be Ready without Hard Work Know Your Strengths and Weaknesses Be Kind to Yourself Part 5 Appendixes Appendix A Additional Info about Exam and Licensing Logistics Identifying Individual State and Territory Licensing Requirements Testing and Licensing Information Arranged by State and U.S. Territory Alabama Alaska American Samoa Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Guam Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Northern Mariana Islands Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Puerto Rico Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas U.S. Virgin Islands Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Appendix B Information for International Nurses Moving to the United States Following the Two-Step Process for Becoming Eligible to Take the NCLEX-RN Getting a VisaScreen certificate Securing a CGFNS certificate Getting the NCLEX-RN go-ahead without a certificate Taking the NCLEX-RN Abroad Navigating Nursing Roles in the U.S. Forming partnerships with clients Teaching and instructing Providing care Working with other professionals Getting Accustomed to U.S. Cultural Values Communicating Therapeutically Practicing therapeutic communication Steering clear of nontherapeutic techniques Applying U.S. Nursing Know-How to the NCLEX-RN Appendix C Glossary of Nursing Terms Index EULA