The NCLEX, Nurses, and Dr. Renee Thompson, EPS 180

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On episode 180 of RNFM Radio, Keith and Kevin welcome long time friend Dr. Renee Thompson back to RNFM Radio. Renee is a nurse entrepreneur extraordinaire, a widely recognized national expert on nurse bullying, nurse educator, and author.

Keith and Kevin have known Renee since meeting her on Twitter in 2011 or so, and they all met in person at the National Nurses in Business Association conference in Orlando back in 2013. Keith has also been with Renee at various conferences in 2015, and they’ve enjoyed having time together (even though Kevin was en absentia).

While Renee has previously visited RNFM Radio to discuss nurse bullying and issues related to that particularly vexing issue, this time around she graced our airways to discuss the NCLEX, test-taking strategies, and how she and her business partner/colleague Louise Jakubik (of NurseBuilders.com and The Nurse Mentoring Institute) are creating a cruise experience for new nurses wherein they can approach NCLEX preparation in a relaxing environment that will foster learning and fun simultaneously.

The cruise will also feature a separate track for seasoned nurses to learn powerful professional career-advancement strategies, including social media, networking, and hot topics facing nurses in the 21st century.

Cruise Through NCLEX Review has all of the details you need for those preparing for the NCLEX.

Cruise to RN Success has all of the details for nurses who need a break and want to learn and move their career forward while having oceanic fun.

Keith with Louise Jakubik

Both traditional and non-traditional nursing students are under great pressure to pass the NCLEX, with the older students facing the additional pressure to pass the exam so that they can find a job and support their families.

There are many ways to “teach to the test” in preparation for an exam like the NCLEX, and some nursing schools and test preparation courses could do better.

Renee and Louise teach dozens of certification review courses every year, and they employ many of the same strategies for the NCLEX as they do for nursing certification exams—with excellent results.

For responding to difficult questions, Renee recommends the following:

• Read the question while completely ignoring the answers (even if you have to cover the computer screen with your hand)
• Find the keywords in the question
• Eliminate the first answer that you know to be wrong; you have three answers to process
• Look at the three remaining answers and and choose the next one to eliminate
• When you’re down to two potential responses, go back to the question and find the clue that will help you answer that question (which is likely a keyword or phrase embedded in the question)

Renee’s number one test-taking sin is spending 10 or 20 minutes on a question. If you can’t narrow it beyond two potential answers, do “eeny meeny, miny, moe” and move on; you have a 50/50 chance of getting it right! When you spend 20 minutes trying to answer a question, your energy decreases, your cortisol level rises, you feel more stressed, and you have less of a chance of doing well on subsequent questions.

Other hints include wearing earplugs, choosing a time of day that works best for you, and employing anxiety-decreasing techniques, study groups, and intensive self-testing.

To find the cruise information on Facebook, click here.

To see what Renee is all about, visit RTConnections.com.
For information about Louise Jakubik, visit The Nurse Mentoring Institute and Nurse Builders.

If you want to participate in this amazing cruise experience, the early bird rate is available until January 22nd, and the absolute deadline for registration is March 4th, 2016.

See you at sea, nurses!

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You are amazing!

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