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I used to dread taking HESI exams after every course. Since the HESI specialty exams are not written by my professors, I was never sure exactly what to expect. These exams test on the entire course and everything is fair game, even the things that we did not get to cover in lecture or weren’t emphasized in classes. 

My first HESI covered all of fundamentals; I learned the hard way that I needed to change how I prepared for these types of exams. My university set a minimum score of 850 and I scored in the low 700s, which is very poor. This was certainly not the first impression I wanted to give off to my professors and classmates, I felt embarrassed and heartbroken. The entire situation left me confused and discouraged as I did well on most of my exams throughout the course. 

HESI exams require a high level of critical thinking for each and every question to help you prepare for NCLEX style questions. Preparing for these types of questions requires a careful combination of studying, practice and remediation. 

When it came time for me to take version 2 of the fundamentals HESI specialty exam, I was determined to prove myself and pass. I started to look into outside resources to study for HESI exams and improve my performance answering nursing school question types. While researching, I came across the HESI Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN Examination book. The reviews I read online were very promising, students were scoring in the 1000s after utilizing this book (above the national average). Thankfully, I decided to purchase it. Here’s how I used it to prepare for my HESI exam: 

My first HESI covered all of fundamentals; I learned the hard way that I needed to change how I prepared for these types of exams. My university set a minimum score of 850 and I scored in the low 700s, which is very poor. This was certainly not the first impression I wanted to give off to my professors and classmates, I felt embarrassed and heartbroken. The entire situation left me confused and discouraged as I did well on most of my exams throughout the course. 

HESI exams require a high level of critical thinking for each and every question to help you prepare for NCLEX style questions. Preparing for these types of questions requires a careful combination of studying, practice and remediation. 

When it came time for me to take version 2 of the fundamentals HESI specialty exam, I was determined to prove myself and pass. I started to look into outside resources to study for HESI exams and improve my performance answering nursing school question types. While researching, I came across the HESI Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN Examination book. The reviews I read online were very promising, students were scoring in the 1000s after utilizing this book (above the national average). Thankfully, I decided to purchase it. Here’s how I used it to prepare for my HESI exam: 

1. I read every chapter corresponding to the exam.
2. I focus on the 'HESI Hint' boxes scattered throughout the chapters.
   
3. I do the Review questions highlighted in yellow.
   
4. After I finished reading the material, I scratched off the access code inside the front cover and redeemed the code on Elsevier’s Evolve site. It unlocked many valuable online resources and tools, including practice questions. I completed all the online quizzes and read the very thorough rationales. 

After completing HESI V2, I felt like I accomplished the impossible. I went from a failing score to scoring in the 1000s! I was able to confidently say that I had mastered the content and felt prepared to answer fundamental questions when presented during the NCLEX.