www.littlenars.com | Dianne Peña

Some of the “During the Board Exam tips” are already here. But I would like to share some more if you don’t mind. Hehe (If it’s not being the “Ms. Know-it-all” type)

• Be OC but not to the point that you consumed all your time. Refer to this.
• Listen to the instructions of the proctor. Error should not have a place on that day— exaggerating this part. Haha
• Ignore all the others who were already finished—making noise when standing up and passing their papers. As long as there is time, You can still continue. Don’t get distracted. Be focused.
• During breaks, spare yourself from comparing answers with your friends. It will definitely not bring you any good. I know it is very tempting but trust me, it will just heighten your anxiety at the middle of your exam.
• Attract positive energy. As the saying goes, you are what you think.
• Take a leak. Go to the bathroom before the exam starts because the proctor will not allow you once the exam already started.
• First day of the exam is from 8:00AM to 3:00PM and the second day is from 8:00AM to 12:00PM
• During breaks, its much better if you wont browse reviewers anymore. Just relax and prepare your mind for the next set of exam.

Lastly, DON’T FORGET TO BREATHE but don’t hyperventilate. LOl!

See you on the broadsheet topnotcher!

Got not enough sleep because of last night and today but I don’t care beasue I just want to share my “LittleNars” way on this one.. ?
Now, What to do the day before the Nursing Licensure Examination?
1. Prepare the things that you will need for tomorrow. Here are the “What to bring during the Nursing Board Exam”:

• Notice of Admission (NOA)
• Long Plastic Envelope
• Long Brown Envelope
• PRC Mailing Envelope
• At least 2 Number 2 Pencil
• Eraser
• Sharpener
• Black Ballpen (not sign pen)
• Calculator
• Snacks/Water/Candy

You can bring a bag but you have to place it outside the room at your own risk.

Set your alarm clock. Make sure your allowance of time can accommodate your morning preparations, eating breakfast and travel time. You need to be at your room assignment 30 minutes before the time. You should be at the venue at 7:00AM or even earlier (much better) because you still need to fill up some details for answer sheet and the test starts at 8:00AM

Bring/Wear your lucky charm, security blanket or whatever “Anting-Anting” you have there. Its not prohibited as long as it doesn’t contain the answers. Haha!

Don’t forget to wear your wristwatch and synchronize it with your proctor at least for the duration of the exam.

2. Relax! Do whatever stress management thing you know of and comfortable of doing. I know your anxiety levels are way higher than day one of your review, its normal. Now is the right time to open your Facebook accounts and enjoy their games. LOL. Do whatever makes you feel relieved as long as it’s not committing suicide. LOL.

3. As much as possible don’t review anymore unless it is very important and crucial to passing this examination. I mean, don’t over use your neurons. It needs a lot of resting and rejuvenating to be able to function at its maximum for tomorrow.

4. Rest! Come on. Look at yourself. You look like a vampire-wolf all stitched into one. JK. From the stress of your review and all the pressure from family and friends, you deserve at least 5-8 hours of sleep before the big day.

5. PRAY! Nothing is more powerful that prayers. Surrender everything to Him and ask Him to send his Holy Spirit to guide you as you rake the exam. If you claim it, It will be yours. ?

Good Luck! It’s all in your hands now! You can do it! God Bless RNs

Here is the Room Assignments for November 2009, Nursing Licensure Examination for Manila Takers:

November 29 – 30, 2009 NLE Room Assignments Manila Testing Center

For Baguio, San Fernando, La Union Takers:

NLE November 2009 (La Union)

MANILA, Philippines—A total of 95,282 nursing graduates will take the nurse licensure examinations scheduled on November 29 to 30, an “all-time high” in the history of the exams, said Marco Antonio Sto. Tomas, a member of the Professional Regulation Commission’s Board of Nursing.

Click here for the full article.

Whoa! That is a record we have there. I have lots of friends who will take the November 2009 Nursing Board Exam and with this number of examinees; I think they will get out of it alive. LOL! (I believe in you Friends, GO GO GO!)  For me, If there are a many examinees, I think there will be of great chance that many will also pass because they are getting the “Mean” or the average of scores per Nursing Practice as well as for the general average.

I know this may sound mean and selfish of me but I did prayed when I was one of the examinees, that the score of highest will not be that high and the score of the lowest will be so low so that there is a great chance that your score can get to the average— it will not pull you down, instead it will pull you up. I am not saying that you should pray for it, I mean, come on, I know there are most of you who can relate to what I am talking about.

On the downfall, if there will be a lot of examinees, MAYBE, just maybe, the Board of Nursing will make the board exam hard for the examinees to control the number of “New” Nurses but I hope not.

Anyway, whatever happens, its you who can determine if you’re going to pass or not— its with your own assessment. Think of your performance in your review classes or review time or even during your student years… Whether the test will be hard, or you have many competitors. The results will surely surprise you but that is why there is what we call, the power of PRAYERS.

Good Luck and God Bless.

Don’t worry, I am praying for you, yes… YOU! )

TOP 10 DISEASES IN THE NURSING BOARD EXAM

These are the most common diseases that are frequently in the Nursing Board Exam. For these diseases you need to know the etiology, drug of choice, priority nursing diagnosis and nursing intervention.

10. Diabetes Mellitus
9. COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease)
8. AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome)
7. DKA (Diabetic Ketoacidosis)
6. Burns
5. Pneumonia
4. Suicide
3. Schizophrenia
2. Renal Failure
1. Cancer

Disclaimer: This is just a compilation of the common topics that is included in the Nursing Board Exam. It is also stated in the PRC-Board of Nursing syllabus.

TOP 10 DRUGS IN THE NURSING BOARD EXAM

These are the most common drugs/medications that you need to know its action, indication, side/adverse effects and most importantly NURSING CONSIDERATION when administering because it frequents the Nursing Board Exam.

10. Valium
9. Cytoxan
8. Dilantin
7. Rifampicin
6. Isoniazid
5. Prednisone
4. Neomycin
3. Flagyl
2. Co-Trimoxazole
1. Lithium

Disclaimer: This is just a compilation of the common topics that is included in the Nursing Board Exam. It is also stated in the PRC-Board of Nursing syllabus.

Pencil is one of the most important thing you need to consider in passing the Nursing Board Exam with that, I give you these tips:

Number 2 pencil doesn’t necessarily mean its MONGOL. I mean, Mongol is pretty much overrated already. Choose any #2 pencil that you are comfortable with. I personally used #2 green Faber Castel pencil during the actual board exam and #2 black Stabilo during our Nursing Audit.

Never use a new pencil during the actual board. Use a pencil in which you are used to using already. Any brand of pencil will do as long as it is #2. New pencil can affect your shading. Jut sharpen the pencil you have practiced your shading skills with during the board exam. Shading/Technicalities are some of the controversial issues in the board exam.

Use an eraser with the same brand as your pencil. If you are using Faber Castel, use a Faber Castel eraser, Stabilo pencil and Stabilo eraser, Mongol pencil and WHAT??? Well, that is the problem with Mongol. They have no separate eraser, yeah it has an eraser at the tip but it leaves an orange/rd mark to your answer sheet. Plus, it doesn’t erase the pencil mark completely. Don’t be thrifty with the things you use for the Nursing Licensure Exam because its much better to spend than to repeat.

Beware of fake pencils. Make sure you buy your things in a bookstore not just in any vendors. I am pretty much sure that Mongol pencils have imitations an I’ve bought 1. When I used it without even doing any erasures, 7 points have deducted in my score during the review. It’s quite big right? So don’t risk it.

Take care of your answer sheet. Don’t leave any marks on the answer sheet and as much as possible, don’t make any erasures. Answer 1st in your questionnaires. It is not prohibited. When you shade, make sure you are in the right number. Many have troubles when transferring their answers when they have overlooked one number.

Bonus tip: They say bring extra pencil, I say, Bring an extra but use only 1 pencil throughout the whole board exam, just sharpen every time so that your way of shading would still be the same.

Disclaimer: I am not against Mongol. I just had the luxury to experiment with the pencil that I am going to use for the Nursing Licensure Exam because we had multiple exams in our review center provided with pseudo-Nursing Licensure Exam answer sheets that is why I know the difference.

I believe Multiple Choice is the hardest type of exam because you are given 4 seemingly similar choices that you need to analyze from. With that, I give you… The power of ELIMINATION.

Take note of the STRATEGIC words. When you are being asked about or when the question contains these words:

• PRIORITY- Use the principle of ABC (Airway, Breathing, Circulation)
• INITIAL- Use the principle of Nursing Process (Assessment, Diagnosis, Prioritization, Implementation, Evaluation)
• MOST IMPORTANT- Use the principle of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (Physiologic Needs, Safety Needs, Love and belongingness, Self-Esteem, Self- Actualization)
• BEST- Look for the option that also speaks of the other options combined, universal, broader, general— the “Umbrella Effect”. At times, it is the longest option

Beware of the tricky phrases. Determine if it is a positive or a negative query. If it is positive, then select the positive option. If it is negative, then select the negative option. Here are some examples:

Eliminate the absolute and same words in an option. Some options have the same idea, which are definitely considered wrong, so erase them in you choice. The words “all, always, every, must, none, never, only” indicates fixed and extreme meanings which are usually incorrect. Options with “may, usually, normally, commonly, generally” should be considered as possible correct answer.

Take note of the subject in the question. The gender, age (developmental stage), disease condition or medication. Put it in a box because it is of big point for consideration. This tip is most effective when you are being asked on the action of a certain drugs—just refer to what type of disease and you’re good.

Often times, the correct answer is between the 2 opposite option. Example:

a. Low BP

b. High BP

c. High PR

d. Low RR

2 opposite option are letters A and B so most probably, the correct answer is between the 2.

Read all of the choices before choosing one. When you already eliminated all the possible wrong answers, you may probably be in a dilemma of choosing between the last 2 very similar options. When you do, re-read the question again, apply all the techniques, then if all else fails trust your instinct, call up to God and believe in the power of intelligent guessing.

That’s another round of tips. Hopes this would be of help, even just a bit. LOL!
GOOD LUCK ANFD GOD BLESS FUTURE RNs

P.S

Reference for some of the tips is Saunders NCLEX-RN book.

Since critical phase in a Nursing Licensure Exam review program is approaching, I might as well give you “some” tips regarding test-taking strategies.

Here are some FACTOIDS:
Fact Number 1: Some questions in the board exam are easy but have complicated choices
Fact Number 2: Some questions are so long that you get lazy in reading it but have the shortest options
Fact number 3: Sometimes, the second best answer is the correct answer because the “true” best answer (the one they taught us in schools and review centers) is not given as a choice
Fact number 4: Some of the questions are out of nowhere. Which surprises you and makes you peevish. (true for me!)
Fact number 5: Most of the questions needs analysis and in-dept comprehension. When I say comprehension, it also goes with “Common Sense”. Memorization is just of a little priority.

Read the ENTIRE question. The most basic rule in test taking. Read each word/phrase carefully. Before looking through the options, do a quick think on what is the correct answer. You can translate the question to Filipino or to any other language you are most comfortable with to better understand the question.

Be aware of the time. Your watch has a purpose (to wear it and to tell you the time). Take note of the time you started and the tie you should finish. In the actual board exam, you will be given 2 hours to answer 100 items, so you have roughly 1.2 minutes in answering each item. Have a habit of approximating the time for each number. Skip the difficult questions. Don’t consume all your time (and neurons) in one item only.

Don’t Overanalyze. Avoid asking yourself “Well… What if…” or in Filipino “Ehhh… Paano kung ganito, Paano kung ganyan…”. Read Read the question as is. Don’t add anything to the story/situation. Answer the question with an answer and not with another question, also goes with this tip.

Don’t be afraid to mess up your questionnaire. Underline keywords and phrases essential in arriving to the correct answer. You can even encircle, box cross or whichever you like —not only the questions but also the options. It helps you focus as to what is being asked.

Answer per situation (and not by each item). In the board exam, it is a given fact that you’ll answer situational questions. Fact number 5 is the key to answering this type of question. Seems pretty hard right? BUT there’s a trick for this… The questions are most probably interrelated which means that the answer for a particular question can be found or is stated on the next question. So if you’re stuck up with a particular number, just read through the next. Answer in bundles to avoid mistakes and even erasures.

Stay tuned for more for the tips about the power of Elimination.

Hope this helps. Good Luck!

Since July 2009 (yes, after I passed the NLE), I’ve been meaning to make a blog post on the people, event, things that made me thankful for my life…I don’t know why I am finding it hard to write it. Anyway, In coordination with the National Thank You Day to be celebrated on October 20, 2009. Here is mine (trying my best).

10 Things LittleNars (Dianne) is THANKFUL OF..:

10. Destructors/Temptations/Pains
Well, Let’s say, you are one hell of a motivator for me. Enough said.

9. Little Angels
This goes to the random people who made my everyday as less stress and worry as possible. The person who washes and irons my uniforms and clothes, the jeepney driver who brought me safely to my destination, the owner of the canteen in which I ate frequently, the security guard for assisting me whenever I ask for directions etc., the person who offered me his seat at the LRT, my anonymous crush during the review (yeah, I didn’t got the chance to know his name. LOL), to those person who send text messages that made me smile and many more…

8. Technology
I never would have survived the stress and pressure that my academics and review proper brought me without the help of technology. Particularly the world wide web (blogging), which help me unload the most unbearable things, the TV series that I diligently follow and the music, which boost up my mood during travelling, sleeping and free time…

7. SMACC (St. Mary’s Academy of Caloocan City)
My High School Alma Mater, which helped me develop my comprehension and analytical skills. It reaaaally helped me a lot and I think, this has a big percentage that made me pass the 4 toxic years of BS in Nursing and most especially the Nursing Licensure Exam.

6. R.A GAPUZ Review Center
My Nursing Review Center (my mum’s choice though). Thank you for polishing my knowledge, skills, abilities and attitude as I take the Nursing Board Exam. Thank You for the tips and strategies you’ve given me. I also found new friends and made my stay there worthwhile.

5. Far Eastern University
My College Alma Mater, My training ground, my home. To the school, the administrators, the coordinators and my professors/clinical instructors… Thank you for teaching and leading me to the field that I have chosen— Nursing. Thank You for providing me the things that I need to be the great nurse that I envision it to be.

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