NCLEX students and nurses are responsible for a huge storage of nursing information, terms, and phrases. As a result, it gets really tough to remember and understand all of these concepts. Thankfully, the NCLEX mnemonics were invented to help learners save time and effort while learning and preparing for the NCLEX exam! If you are finding a solution for all the NCLEX terms, read through this article NCLEX mnemonics tips and tricks to remember right off hand!

 

nclex mnemonics tips
NCLEX mnemonics tips and tricks to score high

 

1. What is NCLEX mnemonics? 

In common, the NCLEX mnemonics is a tool to help learners remember all the knowledge, facts as well as other nursing information of the NCLEX exam. Normally, a mnemonic is a short phrase of words or terms that have related meanings to each other. For example, to emphasize the signs of stroke, people often use the term FAST, which is a combination of Face, Arms, Speech, and Time. 

 

2. How can NCLEX mnemonics help you in the NCLEX exam?

Obviously, NCLEX mnemonics make NCLEX terms become simpler to memorize. Specifically, NCLEX mnemonics are designed to shorten the pharmacology, hypotension, and nursing fundamentals. Thus, you will have more opportunities to pass the NCLEX exam successfully with the NCLEX mnemonics. 

 

Moreover, NCLEX mnemonics can help you retain knowledge longer. These terms can stay in your mind after the NCLEX exam without any stress or effort. 

 

Besides, learning in mnemonics helps you establish a good habit of gathering knowledge. Sarah Dean, an NCLEX student said “I’ve applied this method for almost any information I need to learn. It makes learning become more active. Try to find the common things among those bald terms and combine them into one word. It’s quite interesting!”.

 

In addition, mnemonics are not only used in the NCLEX exam but also in everyday nursing. The healthcare field demands nurses to be quick response, and use short phrases of medicine as well as other treatments to provide professional care for patients.

 

3. How to apply mnemonics to the NCLEX exam? 

This is the most wanting-to-read part of this article. Let’s see how NCLEX mnemonics can be applied to your preparation for the NCLEX exam. 

 

3.1. Safe and Effective Care Environment

In the test plan, Safe and Effective Care Environment accounts for more than 12% of the total NCLEX exam. The list below is the needed NCLEX mnemonics you must know: 

 

A delicious Pie (ADPIE): refers to the steps in the nursing process:

A: Assessment 

D: Diagnosis 

P: Planning

I: Implementation

E: Evaluation 

 

ABCDEFGHI: Prepare for disaster/ trauma assessment:

A: Airway

B: Breathing

C: Circulation

D: Disability

E: Expose/Examine

F: Full set of vital signs 

G: Give comfort measures

H: Head-to-toe assessment 

I: Inspect posterior

 

MRS WEE: Contact Precautions 

M: Multidrug resistant organism 

R: Respiratory infection

S: Skin infection 

W: Wound infection

E: Enteric

E: Eye infection 

 

SPIDERMAN: Droplet precautions

S: Sepsis/Scarlet fever

P: Pneumonia/Pertussis/Parvovirus B19

I: Influenza

D: Diphtheria 

E: Epiglottitis 

R: Rubella 

M: Mumps/Meningitis 

An: Adenovirus

 

nclex mnemonics
common NCLEX mnemonics phrases

 

3.2. Health Promotion and Maintenance 

In this knowledge area, nurses are required to provide care for patients as well as prevent and detect early health problems. 

 

An interesting term for pregnancy measles is “Never get pregnant with a German” which emphasizes the dangers of Rubella – the German measles.

 

To quickly evaluate a crawler, you can use the APGAR

A: Appearance 

P: Pulse 

G: Grimace

A: Activity

R: Respiration

 

In order to remember the signs of cancer, use the mnemonic CAUTION

C: Change in bladder

A: A sore that won’t heal

U: Unusual bleeding

T: Thickening or lumping tissue

I: Indigestion 

O: Obvious change in mole size

N: Nagging cough

 

3.3. Psychosocial Intergrity 

In the NCLEX exam, Psychosocial Integrity is used to test knowledge of emotional support skills as well as mental illness. 

 

For Depression signs and symptoms, use the contrast mnemonic: AWESOME 

A: Affect flat

W: Weight change

E: Energy lost 

S: Sadness/Suicidal/Social withdrawal

O: others (hopelessness, guilt, etc)

M: Memory loss

E: Emotional blunting 

 

To remember the mediation for psychiatric patients, the phrase Setting Sun Equals Moon Light (SSEML)  is definitely helpful:

S: Safety

S: Setting limits 

E: Establish relationships

M: Medications

L: Least restrictive environment or methods

 

The stages of dying can be easier to memorize by the quote: Death Always Brings Great Acceptance (DABGA)

D: Denial 

A: Anger 

B: Bargaining 

G: Grieving

A: Acceptance 

 

3.4. Physiological Integrity 

In order to assist clients in daily activities, you can use the NCLEX mnemonics below:

 

BATTED: to describe normal daily activities

B: Bathing

A: Ambulation

T: Toileting

T: Transfers

E: Eating

D: Dressing 

 

Order of walking with a cane: COAL 

C: Cane 

O: opposite 

A: Affected 

L: Leg 

 

To help patients walking up and down stairs with a walking stick, use the motto “Up with the Good, Down with the Bad”. When going up, lead your strongest leg and down with the weaker one. 

 

When mentioning the signs of hypoglycemia, the term TIRED will appear in your mind:

T: tachycardia 

I: Irritability

R: Restlessness

E: Excessive hunger 

D: Diaphoresis/Drowsiness

 

LEFT-sided heart failure: DO CHAP

D: Dyspnea

O: Orthopnea 

C: Cough

H: Hemoptysis

A: Adventitious Breath Sounds

P: Pulmonary Congestion

 

nclex mnemonics tips and tricks
nclex mnemonics can be used in Pharmacology

 

3.5. Pharmacology mnemonics

SAMS: Refers to Lidocaine Toxicity 

S: Slurred speech

A: Altered central nervous system

M: Muscle twitching 

S: Seizures

 

Overused birth control pills can relate to serious complications, which are periods disorder, nausea constantly, and weight change. However, the most significant can relate to: SEA CASH

S: Severe leg pain

E: Eye problems 

A: Abdominal pain

C: Chest pain

A: Acne 

S: Swelling of ankles and feet

H: Headaches 

 

Parkinson’s is the most common disease that nurses will assist patients with. There are several treatments for it, but the easiest term will be Ali Loves Boxing Matches (ALBM)

 

A: Amantadine 

L: Levodopa 

B: Bromocriptine 

M: MAO Inhibitors

 

To express the side effects of Morphine, use its name as well:

M: Myosis

O: Out of it

R: Respiratory

P: Pneumonia

H: Hypotension

I: Infrequency

N: Nausea 

E: Emesis

 

>> Read more: NCLEX Pharmacology tips 

 

There are still more NCLEX mnemonics that you should know in order to score high in the NCLEX exam as well as improve your nursing career. Just make yourself NCLEX mnemonics if you don’t like these recommended above. In addition, if you want to be a nurse, don’t miss our free NCLEX practice questions!