Review Tips for the July 2010 Nursing Board Exam, Part III

Only a few days to go before the Nursing Board Exam and if you are going to take the nurse licensure examination this July, do not wrap up your review just yet.  There might be some topics, especially on Maternal and Child Health Nursing that you haven't covered yet.

Questions on maternal and child health nursing are commonly asked during the nursing board exam. So it will be prudent for you to cover it thoroughly if you want to up your chances of doing good in the exam this July.  Below is a list of topics that we have picked for you, so check if you have mastered or at least covered everything.

 

• Phases of the Menstrual Cycle with emphasis on the definitions and characteristics of each phase
• Presumptive, Probable, and Positive Signs of Pregnancy
• Physiologic and Psychologic Changes During Pregnancy, take note of what happens per system and the different signs (Chadwick's, Goodell's, Hegar's)
• Danger Signs of Pregnancy, including complications of pregnancy during the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd trimester like placenta previa, abortion, incompetent cervix,ectopic pregnancy, hydatidiform mole,abruptio placenta, PIH, eclampsia, preeclampsia
• Stages of Fetal Development, including screening tests conducted to ensure and assess fetal well-being and fetal circulation
• Nagele's Rule
• Leopold's Maneuver
• Labor and Delivery, including the signs of true/false labor, mechanisms of labor, stages of labor, 5 factors of Labor, complications of labor and delivery like dystocia, PROM, cord prolapse,
• Puerperium and the postpartum period, with emphasis on the complications of the postpartum period
• Newborn Care, including APGAR Scoring, Physical Assessment
• Growth and Development, including theories and developmental Milestones
• Immunization schedule
• Genetic disorders
• Interventions in cases of dehydration, diarrhea, vomiting, poisoning, accidents
• Hydrocephalus, Cerebral Palsy, Reye's syndrome
• Otitis Media
• Rheumatic fever,Congenital Heart Disease
• Iron Deficiency Anemia, Hemophilia, and Sickle Cell Anemia
• Croup, Asthma, Cystic Fibrosis, Aspiration  of a Foreign Object
• Cleft lip and Palate, Hirschsprung's Disease, Intussusception, and Appendicitis
• Burns, Impetigo, Ringworm, Head lice, Scabies
• Leukemia, Wilms' Tumor
• Methods of Birth Control, including nursing interventions in fertility control

When answering questions on Maternal and Child Health Nursing in the July 2010 Nursing Board Exam, remember that the questions are designed to determine if you have the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities to care for childbearing mothers and children.  Therefore, you need to remember that you don't only address your client's physiologic needs but also have to take into consideration the cultural, psychological, and developmental aspects of client care as well.

Room Assignments for July 2010 Nursing Board Exam

The Professional Regulation Commission has released the Room Assignments for the July 3-4, 2010 Nursing Board Exam. The information below applies to Manila, Baguio, La Union, Dagupan, and Pampanga Examinees only.

July 2010 Nursing Board Exam Room Assignments - MANILA


July 2010 Nurse Licensure Examination Room Assignments for MANILA (Removal)


July 2010 Nursing Board Exam Room Assignment for Angeles, PAMPANGA


NLE July 2010 - Room Assignments for Baguio

NLE July 2010 - Room Assignments for La Union


NLE July 2010 - Room Assignments for Dagupan

Pinoy R.N. will post the school and room assignments for nursing examinees from Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro and other cities as soon as it is made available by the PRC Regional Offices. Otherwise, examinees are advised to visit the nearest PRC Regional Offices.

Examinees who have inquiries are instructed to see the Application Division  of the PRC starting June 28, 2010, Monday. 

Review Tips for the July 2010 Nursing Board Exam, Part II

Psychiatric or Mental Health Nursing is a favorite topic among nursing lecturers.  In nursing review centers, the pyschiatric nursing sessions are the most anticipated and the most popular in terms of attendance. Why?  The topics in Pyschiatric Nursing are very interesting, often resulting in very lively discussion between the the lecturer and the reviewees.  And, more often than not, a good percentage of the questions asked in the nursing board exam are on Psychiatric Nursing.

However, candidates need to give particular attention to specific Pyschiatric Nursing topics when reviewing for the nursing board exam this July.  These topics are often labeled as common board questions (CBQ) because they are often asked in the Nurse Licensure Examination.

Below is the list of specific topics on Psychiatric Nursing you need to cover thoroughly for the nursing board exam:

• Ego Defense Mechanisms, including definitions and examples
• Therapeutic Communication, with emphasis on the different techniques, description, and examples
• Structure of Personality- the id, ego, and superego and the principles by which the three operate
• Freud's Psychosexual Theory of Development, including the tasks need to be accomplished in each of the 5 stages
• Erik Erikson's Psychosocial Theory of Development
• Kohlberg's Stages of Moral Development
• Jean Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development
• The role of neurotransmitters in Psychiatric Disorders (Dopamine, Acetylcholine, Norepinephrine, Serotonin ,Histamine, GABA)
• Psychopharmacology, with emphasis on therapeutic levels and nursing considerations when administering Antidepressants, Antipsychotics, Anxiolytics, anti-EPS, and drugs prescribed to patients with Alzheimer's Disease.
• Crisis and Crisis Intervention
• Anxiety and levels of Anxiety, including nursing interventions that reduce anxiety
• Anxiety Disorders, and nursing management for patients with these disorders
• Bipolar Disorder
• Depression, with emphasis on nursing diagnosis, nursing considerations, and medication regimen
• Schizophrenia, including the types of Schizophrenia, Bleuler' 4As, positive and negative symptoms, and nursing interventions according to symptom
• Personality Disorders (Paranoid,Schizoid,Schizotypal, Antisocial, Borderline, Histrionic, Avoidant, Obsessive-Compulsive, Dependent,Narcissistic), including patient's characteristics and nursing considerations when caring for patients with Personality Disorders
• Alcoholism and Alcohol Withdrawal, including symptoms, effects, nursing management and use of Disulfiram (Antabuse)
• Other Substance-related Disorders- focus on the effects and withdrawal symptoms of the use of Opiates, Amphetamines, Hallucinogens,Cocaine.
• Alzheimers Disease, including stages, 4As (symptoms), medications, nursing considerations, nursing diagnoses
• Anorexia Nervosa and Bulima Nervosa, with emphasis on signs and symptoms and nursing management
• Mental Retardation, including the types
• ADHD
• Abuse and Violence, including domestic violence, laws covering domestic violence, signs of child abuse
• Electroconvulsive Therapy, with emphasis on nursing considerations
• Milieu Therapy, its goals and the nurse's role
• Sleep Disorders

Furthermore, when reviewing on Pyschiatric Nursing for the nursing board exam, remember that aside from administering psychotropic medications and other forms of therapy and dealing with a client with very challenging symptoms, the role of a nurse is to establish a therapeutic relationship with clients. Thus,  it is also prudent that when preparing for the nursing board exam this July, candidates expect a number of questions that gauges his or her ability to collaborate with a client so that the latter may achieve the goals of therapy.

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Review Tips for the July 2010 Nursing Board Exam, Part I

In our previous article, we gave the focus points for the July 2010 Nursing Board Exam as outlined in the Scope of the Nurse Licensure Examination. The focus points serve as a guide to candidates in their nursing review.

However, as the nursing board exam date draws near, more attention should be given to  specific topics.  To supplement what we have given,  we will be giving those who are reviewing for the nursing board exam this July the specific topics they need to cover.  

First and foremost, a candidate to the July 2010 Nursing Board Exam should have covered the basic concepts in nursing. Included here are:

• Definition of Nursing
• Scope of Nursing Practice
• Roles and Responsibilities of the Nurse
• Roles of the Public Health Nurse
• Nursing as a Professon
• History of Nursing with emphasis on the different milestones
• The Nightingale Pledge
• Nursing Theories
• The Nursing Process
• Health, Models of Health and Wellness, and Levels of Prevention
• Positioning, Transfers, and Assistive Devices
• Physical Assesment, per system
• Basic Diagnostic and Laboratory Procedures with emphasis on nursing considerations
• Basic Nursing Procedures
• Therapeutic Diets with emphasis on health teachings
• Documentation and Recording, including medication orders, common medical abbreviations and conversion of units
• Stress and Crisis, with emphasis on the stress adaptation syndrome and coping mechanisms
• Theories of Development
• Models of Grief, specially that of Kubler-Ross
• Transcultural Nursing

Remember that the nursing board exam scheduled this July 3-4 is an exam designed to determine if a candidate possesses the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities to effectively practice nursing in the Philippines. It is an entry-level examination, therefore, candidates reviewing for the the said examination should be very familiar or thoroughly knowledgeable with the basic concepts in nursing.


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July 2010 Nurse Licensure Examination Focus Points

The July 2010 Nurse Licensure Examination is scheduled on July 3 & 4, 2010.

With only three weeks to go before the nursing board exam, candidates to the July 2010 Nurse Licensure Examination need to maximize their time by providing structure to their nursing review. They should have covered all the topics specified in the Scope of the Nurse Licensure Examination.

The July 2010 Nurse Licensure Examination (NLE) is a five-part examination administered over two days. It utilizes a competency-based framework covering 11 core competency areas in that apply to the nursing practice here in the Philippines.

The 11 core competency areas in nursing practice are:

• Safe and Quality Nursing Care
• Management of Resources and Environment
• Health Education
• Legal Responsibility
• Ethico-Moral Responsibility
• Personal and Professional Development
• Quality Improvement
• Research
• Records Management
• Communication
• Collaboration and Teamwork

For Nursing Practice I, candidates to the nursing board exam this July 3 & 4 need to familiarize themselves with the basic theories, concepts, and principles of nursing practice, giving particular attention to health promotion and health maintenance. Nursing Practice I also covers the roles and functions of a professional nurse across various health care settings.

Nursing Practice II covers theories, principles, and processes involved when a nurse cares for individuals, families, groups, communities to promote health and alleviate while utilizing the nursing process as a framework. This area includes the care of high risk and at-risk mothers, children and families during the various stages of the life cycle.

Nursing Practice III, IV, and V, covers theories, principles,and processes in the care of clients with altered health patterns, still utilizing the nursing process and integrating the key areas of nursing competencies. This includes safe and quality care, health education, management of environment and resources and quality improvement, as well as personal and professional development, communication, collaboration, and teamwork, and ethico-moral-legal responsibility.

In the coming days, Pinoy R.N. will be posting updates for those who will be taking the July 2010 Nurse Licensure Examination (NLE).

To receive review notes, nursing board exam tips, and updates on the July 2010 Nurse Licensure Examination (NLE), submit your email address below.

Tips for the July 2010 Nursing Board Exam

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Five Ways to Boost Your Memory When Reviewing for Nursing Exams

You were reviewing for your foreign nursing exams when you came across a question on the management of a patient manifesting the Homan's sign. Immediately, you stress out because you don't remember what the Homan's sign is and yet you are very sure you read on it just a couple of days ago. As a result, you lose focus and can't concentrate on your nursing review.

At work, you forget to do certain tasks or fail to remember things a staff nurse normally knows by heart like common medical abbreviations or normal laboratory values. You forgot what NIDDM stands for or what a blood potassium level of 5.0 means. You have these little meltdowns that you are convinced that you might have a serious memory decline.

Before you freak out, remember that forgetting things doesn't automatically mean you are suffering from memory loss. Keep in mind that the brain functions like a muscle and you need to take care of it for it to function properly and prevent memory decline. Here's how:

1. Learn new things. Your job as a staff nurse at the ward can be quite routinary. Go stimulate your brain by learning new things that are entirely different from what you do everyday. Being introduced to new and exciting things regularly like reading a book, pursuing a new hobby, or going on educational trips will improve brain activity and is vital to preventing memory loss.

2. Watch what you eat. You need to consume food that increases blood flow to the brain, stimulate brain activity, improve cognitive function, and enhance information processing. Food known to improve brain function include tuna, boiled peanuts, fruits, vegetables, and whole wheat crackers as these are packed in vitamins and antioxidants and will help maintain glucose levels without the risk of damaging your arteries.

3. Pay attention to details. Making the extra effort to pay attention to little details is one way of enhancing your memory and preventing memory loss. Remember, it takes practice to finally do something right. Simple memory exercises such as reciting a person's name minutes after he or she was introduced to you, observing your immediate environment, or even remembering what your friend wore when you saw her yesterday will help maintain cognitive function and prevent memory loss.

4. Manage your environment. When studying for your nursing exams, be it the NCLEX, the CGFNS, the NLE, or the CRNE, make sure that your study area is quiet and devoid of any distractions like facebook or a television set. This way, you will be able to focus on your study material and be able to review what you have covered with fewer interference.

5. Have plenty of rest and sleep. Sleep is the body's way to achieve relaxation. So when learning something new, make sure you get enough rest and sleep for optimum brain function. When reviewing for nursing board exams or when about to do tasks requiring concentration, a good night's sleep will help you remember the details you need to remember the next day.

Memory and other cognitive functions may be improved by simple lifestyle changes like the ones mentioned in this article. By watching what you eat, engaging in stimulating activities, and having enough rest and sleep in a relaxing environment, you will be able to maintain a sharp memory even as you age.

July 2010 Visa Bulletin Shows Possible Movement in EB-3 Category

RETROGRESSION UPDATE

The U.S. State Department has released the July 2010 Visa Bulletin showing the cut-off date for Filipino Nurses at August 15, 2003. This means that nurses with priority dates on or before the said date will have visa allocated to them.

In the same bulletin, Employment-Based Category 3 visa numbers (EB-3) for the Philippines are projected to advance to September 2004 by October this year. 

However, this estimation is based on current indications of demand.  It is possible that some annual limits could be reached or that some preferences could retrogress prior to the end of the fiscal year. 

Related Link:

Visa Bulletin for July 2010