NCLEX Cheat Sheet.
NCLEX Cheat Sheet
Your Paperless Flash Card Study
Guide
Hey there so before you dive right into the cheat sheet, just want to tell you what it’s going
to be covering and give you a few pointers on how to study.
First is I created a pharmacology table. I listed all the suffices of every medication as well as
their rationale and common side effects. What I want you to do is continue studying in detail
all the most common drugs that you’ve been taught will be on the NCLEX exam but also
memorize these suffices so that way you know which rationale and side effects to associate
them with. The NCLEX is not going to test you on the most common drugs, it’s going to test
you on the least common drugs so unless you can memorize every single medication with
their rationale and side effects, I suggest at least knowing all the suffices.
Next thing is I’ll be covering all the most common tested illnesses, diseases and conditions.
The exam is not going to ask you questions such as, “What is Pneumonia?” It’s going to ask
you to APPLY what you know about these conditions in typical nursing scenarios. So don’t
just memorize the signs and symptoms, understand them well enough to know how it is
managed in the clinical setting.
Additional things we will go over:
Nursing Procedures You Must Know
Standard Precautions and More
Fluid & Electrolyte Balance
IV Fluids
Rules (Nursing Wise)
ABGs
Key Nurse Role Differences
Restraints
Developmental Stages of Transition
Maternal Nursing
Mental Health
Therapeutic Communication
Let’s Get Started!
,NCLEX Cheat Sheet.
Pharmacology Table
Drug Suffices
Origin Example Rationale Common Side
Effects
Ase pain Streptase Thrombolytic- Severe bleeding &
dissolves clots abdominal
Azole Miconazole Antifungal -treat Rash burning
fungal infections
Caine Lidocaine Anesthetic Nausea orthostatic
hypotension
Cef / Ceph Cephalosporin Treat bacterial Rash stomach cramps
infections
Cillin Penicillin Treat bacterial Nausea/vomiting
infections diarrhea
Floxacin Fluoroquinolone Treats bacterial Nausea anaphylaxis
infections
Cycline Tetracycline Antibiotic Toxicity in pregnancy
discolors teeth
Dazole Nitroimidazole Treats bacterial/skin Skin irritation
infections dryness
Dipine Nifidepine (CCBs) Dilates arteries Low blood pressure
& edema
Prazole Pantaprzole (PPIs) Reduces acid in Headache & diarrhea
stomach
Profen Ibuprofren (NSAID) Decrease Increase bleeding
inflammation stomach upset
Fenac Diclofenac (NSAID) Decrease Increase bleeding
inflammation stomach upset
Mycin / Micin Aminoglycoside Treat bacterial Ototoxicity pain
infections
,NCLEX Cheat Sheet.
Olol Beta blocker Lowers BP lowers HR, SOB in
respiratory pts
Cort Olone / Sone Anti -inflammatory Increased blood
sugar, edema
Parin Anticoagulant Prevent blood clots prevent blood clots
Pril ACE inhibitor Treat high blood Nonproductive
pressure cough, dizziness
Sartan Cozaar (ARBs) treat high BP Angioedema
hyperkalemia
Statin Simvastatin (C10AA) Lowers cholesterol Headache weakness
level
Semide Loop diuretic Removes water from Increased urination
body hyponatremia,
hypokalemia
Thiazide Thiazine diuretic Removes water from Increased urination
body hypokalemia
Actone Potassium sparing Removes water from Increased urination
body hyperkalemia
Setron Ondansetron(5-HT) Prevents nausea Diarrhea, fatigue
Terol Salmeterol-(B2) Relieve breathing Irregular heartbeat
problems headache
Vir Acyclovir-Antiviral Treat viral infections Nausea/vomiting
diarrhea
Zepam / Zolam Benzodiazepine Treats Confusion sleepiness
anxiety/seizures
CCBs= Calcium channel blockers PPIs= Proton Pump
Inhibitors
ARBs= Angiotensin II receptor antagonist C10AA= HMG-CoA
reductase inhibitor
5- HT= Serotonin receptor
antagonist B2= Beta agonist
, NCLEX Cheat Sheet.
List of Medical Diseases/Conditions
Atrial fibrillation (A Fib)
• Irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) often, but not always, resulting in a fast
heart beat (greater than 100 bpm) at rest. Atrial fibrillation increases the risk
of stroke so patients with this condition typically are placed on
anticoagulants. Ex: Warfarin. Important things to monitor in these patients
are INR levels, heart rate and changes in circulation.
Precautions: Standard
Pneumonia
• Pneumonia is an acute inflammation of the lungs caused by a
bacterial, viral, mycoplasmal, fungal, protozoal, or mycobacterial
infection.
Types of Pneumonia:
Health care-associated pneumonia- - Affects patients who are not
hospitalized but who have close contact with the health care system, such as
those who reside in long- term care facilities or who have regular
hemodialysis.
Community-acquired pneumonia- Occurs in the community setting or within
the first 48 hours of admission to a health care facility because of
community exposure.
Aspiration pneumonia- Can occur in a community or health care facility setting
and results from inhalation of foreign matter, such as vomitus or food particles,
into the bronchi (most common in older patients, patients with a decreased
level of consciousness, and those receiving nasogastric tube feedings);
microaspiration, or aspiration of microbiologic organisms.
Nursing Interventions include encouraging coughing and deep breathing.
Administer antibiotic therapy as ordered.
Precautions: Contact (May be placed on Droplet if patient is positive for
specific bacterial strains in sputum.
Diverticular disease
• Diverticulosis is a chronic condition of multiple diverticula formation that
develops most commonly in middle age. It is typically discovered during
routine colonoscopy screening, is often asymptomatic, and does not
usually require treatment. Diverticulitis is an inflammatory complication of
diverticulosis. It causes signs and symptoms that can have serious
NCLEX Cheat Sheet
Your Paperless Flash Card Study
Guide
Hey there so before you dive right into the cheat sheet, just want to tell you what it’s going
to be covering and give you a few pointers on how to study.
First is I created a pharmacology table. I listed all the suffices of every medication as well as
their rationale and common side effects. What I want you to do is continue studying in detail
all the most common drugs that you’ve been taught will be on the NCLEX exam but also
memorize these suffices so that way you know which rationale and side effects to associate
them with. The NCLEX is not going to test you on the most common drugs, it’s going to test
you on the least common drugs so unless you can memorize every single medication with
their rationale and side effects, I suggest at least knowing all the suffices.
Next thing is I’ll be covering all the most common tested illnesses, diseases and conditions.
The exam is not going to ask you questions such as, “What is Pneumonia?” It’s going to ask
you to APPLY what you know about these conditions in typical nursing scenarios. So don’t
just memorize the signs and symptoms, understand them well enough to know how it is
managed in the clinical setting.
Additional things we will go over:
Nursing Procedures You Must Know
Standard Precautions and More
Fluid & Electrolyte Balance
IV Fluids
Rules (Nursing Wise)
ABGs
Key Nurse Role Differences
Restraints
Developmental Stages of Transition
Maternal Nursing
Mental Health
Therapeutic Communication
Let’s Get Started!
,NCLEX Cheat Sheet.
Pharmacology Table
Drug Suffices
Origin Example Rationale Common Side
Effects
Ase pain Streptase Thrombolytic- Severe bleeding &
dissolves clots abdominal
Azole Miconazole Antifungal -treat Rash burning
fungal infections
Caine Lidocaine Anesthetic Nausea orthostatic
hypotension
Cef / Ceph Cephalosporin Treat bacterial Rash stomach cramps
infections
Cillin Penicillin Treat bacterial Nausea/vomiting
infections diarrhea
Floxacin Fluoroquinolone Treats bacterial Nausea anaphylaxis
infections
Cycline Tetracycline Antibiotic Toxicity in pregnancy
discolors teeth
Dazole Nitroimidazole Treats bacterial/skin Skin irritation
infections dryness
Dipine Nifidepine (CCBs) Dilates arteries Low blood pressure
& edema
Prazole Pantaprzole (PPIs) Reduces acid in Headache & diarrhea
stomach
Profen Ibuprofren (NSAID) Decrease Increase bleeding
inflammation stomach upset
Fenac Diclofenac (NSAID) Decrease Increase bleeding
inflammation stomach upset
Mycin / Micin Aminoglycoside Treat bacterial Ototoxicity pain
infections
,NCLEX Cheat Sheet.
Olol Beta blocker Lowers BP lowers HR, SOB in
respiratory pts
Cort Olone / Sone Anti -inflammatory Increased blood
sugar, edema
Parin Anticoagulant Prevent blood clots prevent blood clots
Pril ACE inhibitor Treat high blood Nonproductive
pressure cough, dizziness
Sartan Cozaar (ARBs) treat high BP Angioedema
hyperkalemia
Statin Simvastatin (C10AA) Lowers cholesterol Headache weakness
level
Semide Loop diuretic Removes water from Increased urination
body hyponatremia,
hypokalemia
Thiazide Thiazine diuretic Removes water from Increased urination
body hypokalemia
Actone Potassium sparing Removes water from Increased urination
body hyperkalemia
Setron Ondansetron(5-HT) Prevents nausea Diarrhea, fatigue
Terol Salmeterol-(B2) Relieve breathing Irregular heartbeat
problems headache
Vir Acyclovir-Antiviral Treat viral infections Nausea/vomiting
diarrhea
Zepam / Zolam Benzodiazepine Treats Confusion sleepiness
anxiety/seizures
CCBs= Calcium channel blockers PPIs= Proton Pump
Inhibitors
ARBs= Angiotensin II receptor antagonist C10AA= HMG-CoA
reductase inhibitor
5- HT= Serotonin receptor
antagonist B2= Beta agonist
, NCLEX Cheat Sheet.
List of Medical Diseases/Conditions
Atrial fibrillation (A Fib)
• Irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) often, but not always, resulting in a fast
heart beat (greater than 100 bpm) at rest. Atrial fibrillation increases the risk
of stroke so patients with this condition typically are placed on
anticoagulants. Ex: Warfarin. Important things to monitor in these patients
are INR levels, heart rate and changes in circulation.
Precautions: Standard
Pneumonia
• Pneumonia is an acute inflammation of the lungs caused by a
bacterial, viral, mycoplasmal, fungal, protozoal, or mycobacterial
infection.
Types of Pneumonia:
Health care-associated pneumonia- - Affects patients who are not
hospitalized but who have close contact with the health care system, such as
those who reside in long- term care facilities or who have regular
hemodialysis.
Community-acquired pneumonia- Occurs in the community setting or within
the first 48 hours of admission to a health care facility because of
community exposure.
Aspiration pneumonia- Can occur in a community or health care facility setting
and results from inhalation of foreign matter, such as vomitus or food particles,
into the bronchi (most common in older patients, patients with a decreased
level of consciousness, and those receiving nasogastric tube feedings);
microaspiration, or aspiration of microbiologic organisms.
Nursing Interventions include encouraging coughing and deep breathing.
Administer antibiotic therapy as ordered.
Precautions: Contact (May be placed on Droplet if patient is positive for
specific bacterial strains in sputum.
Diverticular disease
• Diverticulosis is a chronic condition of multiple diverticula formation that
develops most commonly in middle age. It is typically discovered during
routine colonoscopy screening, is often asymptomatic, and does not
usually require treatment. Diverticulitis is an inflammatory complication of
diverticulosis. It causes signs and symptoms that can have serious
