Nursing Cram Sheet for the NCLEX-RN
The final mountain that nursing students must summit before becoming a registered nurse is the NCLEX. Preparing for the NCLEX can be stressful as taking in colossal
amounts of information has never been easy. This is where this cram sheet can help-- it contains condensed facts about the licensure exam and key nursing information.
When exam time comes, you can
...[Show More]
Nursing Cram Sheet for the NCLEX-RN
The final mountain that nursing students must summit before becoming a registered nurse is the NCLEX. Preparing for the NCLEX can be stressful as taking in colossal
amounts of information has never been easy. This is where this cram sheet can help-- it contains condensed facts about the licensure exam and key nursing information.
When exam time comes, you can write and transfer this vital information from your head to a blank sheet of paper provided by the testing center.
1. TEST INFORMATION
• Six hours – the maximum time allotted for the
NCLEX is 6 hours. Take breaks if you need a time
out or need to move around.
• 75/265 – the minimum number of question you can
answer is 75 and a maximum of 265.
• Read the question and answers carefully – do
not jump into conclusions or make wild guesses.
• Look for keywords – avoid answers with absolutes
like always, never, all, every, only, must, except,
none, or no.
• Don’t read into the question – Never assume
anything that has not been specifically mentioned
and don’t add extra meaning to the question.
• Eliminate answers that are clearly wrong or
incorrect – to increase your probability of selecting
the correct answer!
• Watch for grammatical inconsistencies –
Subjects and verbs should agree. If the question is
an incomplete sentence, the correct answer should
complete the question in a grammatically correct
manner.
• Rephrase the question – putting the question into
your own words can pluck the unneeded info and
reveal the core of the stem.
• Make an educated guess – if you can’t make the
best answer for a question after carefully reading it,
choose the answer with the most information.
2. VITAL SIGNS
• Heart rate: 80 – 100 bpm
• Respiratory rate: 12-20 rpm
• Blood pressure: 110-120/60 mmHg
• Temperature: 37 °C (98.6 °F)
3. HEMATOLOGY VALUES
• RBCs: 4.5 – 5.0 million
• WBCs: 5,000 – 10,000
• Platelets: 200,000 – 400,000
• Hemoglobin (Hgb): 12 – 16 gm (F); 14 – 18 gm
(M).
• Hematocrit (Hct): 37 – 47 (F); 40 – 54 (M)
4. SERUM ELECTROLYTES
• Sodium: 135 – 145 mEq/L
• Potassium: 3.5 – 5.5 mEq/L
• Calcium: 8.5 – 10.9 mEq/L
• Chloride: 95 – 105 mEq/L
• Magnesium: 1.5 – 2.5 mEq/L
• Phosphorus: 2.5 – 4.5 mEq/L
5. ABG VALUES
• pH: 7.36 – 7.45
• HCO3: 24 – 26 mEq/L
• CO2: 35 – 45 mEq/L
• PaO2: 80% – 100%
• SaO2: >95
6. ACID-BASE BALANCE
• Remember ROME (respiratory opposite/metabolic
equal) to remember that in respiratory acid/base
disorders the pH is opposite to the other
components.
• Use the Tic-Tac-Toe Method for interpreting ABGs.
Read more about it here
(http://bit.ly/abgtictactoe).
7. CHEMISTRY VALUES
• Glucose: 70 – 110 mg/dL
• Specific Gravity: 1.010 – 1.030
• BUN: 7-22 mg/dL
• Serum creatinine: 0.6 – 1.35 mg/dL
• LDH: 100-190 U/L
• Protein: 6.2 – 8.1 g/dL
• Albumin: 3.4 – 5.0 g/dL
• Bilirubin: <1.0 mg/dL
• Total Cholesterol: 130 – 200 mg/dL
• Triglyceride: 40 – 50 mg/dL
• Uric acid: 3.5 – 7.5 mg/dL
• CPK: 21-232 U/L
8. THERAPEUTIC DRUG LEVELS
• Carbamazepine (Tegretol): 4 – 10 mcg/ml
• Digoxin
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