Hi,
I am a student nurse that will be in my final semester this fall. My school has it to where we have to pass HESI twice with a cumulative score of 1700 but we have three tries to take it. I didn’t do well on the first one, we took it a week after finals and I only had that week to study for it. I was more worried about passing my core classes versus HESI and it was nearly impossible to study for it during the semester.
The next time we take HESI is in October and then again the November if we don’t recieve our cumulative score. My question for you is how I can go about studying for HESI this summer I looked at some of your resources that you used and what I used for the first one is this program called hesistudy or yourbestgrade.com. I would need a score of 1000+ this next time in order to pass.
I need some advice, I am optimistic because it’s the summer and I have more than enough time to study, but I am still worried because this is between me and graduation.
Sincerely, T
This question was asked in the nursing forum section.
S.L. Page says
June 1, 2014 at 4:37 pmWelcome to the site and thank you so much for your question 🙂 Great question! First of all, sounds like you are on a great track for success since you’re already thinking about the exam and are trying to prepare this summer.
When I took HESI I scored 1002 and I solely used the HESI study guide called “HESI Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN Examination”. I would get the newest version which is version 4. I am not familiar with the study guide you used. I think the study guide I used is the best because it was made by the people who created the exam. This way you know the material you are studying is guaranteed to be on the exam.
First, I think you should review your weakness from the first HESI exam you took. You should have got a print out of the areas you struggled most in from the last exam. My weak areas from this report were OB and Mental Health. After you have figured out your weakness, open the HESI guide and find those weak areas and read each chapter of those weak areas. Try to pay special attention to the HESI hints and questions at the end of each chapter.
I think the HESI hints and chapter questions were so important when I studied because I noticed that many of the test questions came from this. The HESI hints and chapter questions are great because it guides you in what to study. Then after you study your weak areas I would start reading each chapter and take notes and again pay attention to the HESI hints and chapter questions.
Once I got done reading the book (by the way the book isn’t that thick), I answered the practice questions that came with the book. I actually scored pretty low on the test that came with the book. This stressed me out at first, but from what I have heard from other students who passed they scored really bad on the practice test that came with the book. So don’t pay too much attention to how well you do on the practice exam.
So that is what I recommend and I hope I helped you. I wish you the best of luck and if you have any other questions don’t hesitate to ask. Does anyone else have any advice? Please let us know how it goes in October!
Sarah 🙂
T says
June 12, 2014 at 2:20 amThanks so much for your response, it was really helpful. Another quick question, did you create a study guide or did you just study and then wrote down the days your studied to keep track. I will of course let you know how it goes in October, I am hoping to do better each time I take it. Is it really true that it gets harder each time you take it?
S.L. Page says
June 12, 2014 at 8:31 amYou’re very welcome and I’m happy I could help you out 🙂 No I didn’t create a study guide per se because the HESI book contained everything I needed to know, so to me it was like a study guide. Regarding if the exam gets harder each time, I remember hearing that among my classmates so I don’t know if it’s a rumor that gets started (you know how that is in nursing school lol) but some people I knew who took the same exam again actually said they thought it was easier. So hopefully this is the case. Yes please let me know how it goes in October and if it was harder or easier.
I don’t know if this will help you but I made a video talking about all of the three HESI exams and my experience with them. I will embed it in this post if you are interested in it.
-Sarah
Petra says
June 1, 2014 at 4:56 pmGreat advice above. I would like to add that for HESI you really need to know your diseases (patho) and the symptoms that go along with each disease . Also lab values are big thing like potassium, sodium, abgs, bun, creatinine etc. Plus for pharm brush up on drug levels and early side effects. I had only 2 dosage and calculation’s on mine. When I studied I made sure to cover all the major diseases and their symptoms and what the priority would be treating those diseases. I think the HESI book is good but I recommend you check out Hogans Comprehensive NCLEX-RN review cd too. You can never have too many review guides in my opinion. Because you need to practice lots of NCLEX questions….this is not only helping you for HESI but for NCLEX too.
Krystal says
June 1, 2014 at 5:20 pmI think practicing NCLEX questions over and over helps prepare you as well. Do you have a good review guide that came with questions? My tip is not to just answer the question and see your score but analyze each question and get use to answering them. HESI is not a fact based exam. Instead it is testing your critical thinking skills. The day before the exam take the day off. Trust me on this one. Enjoy the day. Go to the movies or something. You will need to be refreshed the following day.
Krystal RN 2014 🙂