Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN Examination

Rate this book
There is a reason the new edition of Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN? Examination has been called "the best NCLEX review book ever." Essentially, you'll find everything you need to review for the NCLEX exam under one cover - complete content review and over 4,200 NCLEX examination-style questions in the book and on the free companion CD Don't make the mistake of assuming that the quality of the questions is the same in all NCLEX review books, because only Silvestri's Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN? Examination includes the kind of questions that consistently test the critical thinking skills necessary to pass today's NCLEX exam. And, what's even better is that ALL answers include detailed rationales to help you learn from your answer choices, along with test taking strategies that provide tips for how to best approach each question. It's easy to see why Silvestri is THE book of choice for NCLEX review. But don't just take our word for it - read any customer review or ask your fellow classmates to see why Silvestri users believe that there's nothing else like it
Please check out these other great NCLEX-RN? review books from Linda Silvestri:
. Saunders Q & A Review for the NCLEX-RN? Exam (9781416048503)
. Saunders Strategies for Test Success: Passing Nursing School and the NCLEX? Exam (9781416062028)
. Strategies for Alternate Item Formats for the NCLEX-RN? Exam (9781416038412)
. Saunders Q & A Review Cards for the NCLEX-RN? Exam (9781416047261)

1280 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

498 people are currently reading
2962 people want to read

About the author

Linda Anne Silvestri

88 books36 followers
Linda Anne Silvestri has provided decades of nursing education and leadership that has directly impacted the growing and needed nursing workforce. Her research focused on a holistic investigation of predictors leading to success on the licensure examination. Her findings, published in the Journal of Nursing Education and Practice, led to significant contributions, filling a critical need in NCLEX® preparation.

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
808 (58%)
4 stars
317 (22%)
3 stars
133 (9%)
2 stars
62 (4%)
1 star
71 (5%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews
Profile Image for Duchess Nicole.
1,275 reviews1,578 followers
November 30, 2016
This book was a major factor in my ability to pass Pediatric Nursing, Complex Critical Care Nursing, and Medical-Surgical Nursing. I only wish I had it before my OB rotations. I used it to review for NCLEX as well. I can't recommend it enough. Easy to follow format. Graphs and charts that give you only what you need to know, and I swear it's tailored to NCLEX style questions. My most important resource during nursing school.
Profile Image for Jacinda.
20 reviews3 followers
July 6, 2011
An absolute must for all potential NCLEX takers. I suggest making this book your bible right from day one of nursing school.
Profile Image for MarytheBookLover.
456 reviews953 followers
June 2, 2014
I PASSED!! Excellent book to study with and do the questions in the book and the questions on line.

=)
Profile Image for Rahma.Mrk.
752 reviews1,540 followers
December 17, 2022
I just finished this long.beautiful and amazing journey.
This book is my friend and enemy in the same time.
My friend when I finished the chapter quickly and I understand it.
Enemy .no not enemy. It isn't the best word.
Hmm.you can say I dislike it when I feel tried and I do so much effort to understand.
But all the time it is the best book of nursing that I have read.
Everything about nursing. From the ABC .the difference between acidosis and alkalosis respiratory. To mental disease and leadership.
Everything about. Children.Adults and mother.
This book is the book of year.
In this journey that begin in Tunis on April and finished today on...
I would like to thank a lot my dear and lovely friend who encouraged me to have the papercopy of the book and studying with me .
Thanks for your support. I'm here now
Can you believe I finished
My family also was there for me in this journey.
My father especially .
So this book is more that friend.it is member of my family's
Hope that it will be my Tickets to success.

Finally I did it..


From 7april to 16 décembre
Profile Image for Sarah Miller.
497 reviews45 followers
October 19, 2009
This is a massive NCLEX review organized by systems and sub specialties (pediatric is divided into endo, integumentary, etc.). The reviews at the beginning of the chapter are great little summaries but by no mean do they cover everything you need to know, ESPECIALLY infection control measures regarding the diseases! I had several NCLEX questions that went into much more detail than this book covers.

The questions are great- I would recommend doing all of them and then reviewing the rationales (even if you get them correct). The Saunders book doesn't teach "strategy" as much as Kaplan does, but it truly reviews the material for you. I used this book a lot during nursing school to review med-surge topics. For NCLEX review, I'd recommend doing around 50 questions a day if possible.

One area missing that brought my review down to 4 stars- prioritization! I had a TON of these on my NCLEX and felt they were my weakest area (I still passed the first time around, though, and I really thank the review I got from this book!).
Profile Image for Catherine.
31 reviews
February 20, 2018
THIS is the reason why I haven't been reading as many new books as I would've liked to...

It took me about a month to go through all of the chapters, and I honestly don't think I can even remember it all - I'll definitely have to go over my notes again and again. Overall, it was a very comprehensive review of what you have to know for the NCLEX. I liked how the chapters followed the same format of going through the nursing process of assessment, intervention, and evaluation. There were so many concepts in this book that I had never even learned in nursing school, and I had to keep on googling what everything meant. I found that the questions were a bit too easy though, especially when you do practice questions from other learning resources. However, I am glad that I used this as part of my study guide. It is very thorough, and inclusive of different types of nursing, such as maternity, paediatrics, adult health, and mental health.

Now, time to read more books for fun!
Profile Image for Sara.
16 reviews
July 22, 2012
helped me pass the nclex!!!!!
Profile Image for Anne.
217 reviews11 followers
August 7, 2008
Goodness, it's thick!! I need to know all this? Oh my.
10 reviews
July 21, 2009
This book and many others I have spent hundreds of dollars on are the only thing I allow myself to read till December. Someday I will have freedom again!!!
Profile Image for carlita_is_probably_reading.
261 reviews
July 23, 2016
Great guide that helped me prepare for my NCLEX exam. Information was to the point and had key information that was a must know in order to be successful!
Profile Image for Katie.
11 reviews1 follower
May 17, 2015
The book itself is not hard to read but some of the answers to the questions are so bogus!
Profile Image for Courtney.
389 reviews20 followers
July 17, 2023
I recommend using the summary chapters to review expected interventions and precautions for diseases/procedures. Great for getting through med-surg or studying for NCLEX.
Profile Image for Christine.
5 reviews1 follower
December 29, 2019
Read this book thoroughly if you want to leave the building thinking “hey that was actually kinda easy?” (Granted it was my second time taking it, but quite the polar opposite to my first attempt post-reaction of “holy shit that was the hardest thing I’ve ever taken can I pls die”)

Took off a star cuz 1) the rationales for the practice questions are kinda ass. Ex: “Use knowledge of corticosteroids” “Know that heparin affects aPTT, not PT/INR, to deduce that the answer is A” Like no shit dude. 2) I felt like the book focused on patho a tad bit too much and sometimes didn’t elaborate enough on the nursing interventions. Like patho is v important don’t get me wrong. But the NCLEX doesn’t test on patho!!! 3) Also gotta chuckle at some of the shortcuts this book took. “Interventions for Hepatitis B: ____. Interventions for Hepatitis C: see interventions for Hep. B. Interventions for Hepatitis D: similar to interventions for Hep. C” It happened frequently enough for me to notice.

All in all, worthwhile book. I wish I got it while in nursing school and used it for my first attempt. The content review is SUPER helpful. I recommend using this book WITH UWorld for their much superior rationales/practice questions
29 reviews16 followers
November 24, 2016
10/10. Wish I had found sooner. Goes with Lowedermilk, Ignatavicius, and Hockenberry text books. Gives outlines for all the information that will be covered on the NCLEX as well as practice questions. Great resource.
Profile Image for Mimi.
9 reviews
August 16, 2018
The must-have book from day one in nursing school. I just passed the NCLEX in 75 questions the first time. I studied this book and found it helpful not only in passing the board exam but in class as well. I also used Pearson, Hurst, Kaplan to study for the board.
Profile Image for Diana Townsend.
Author 14 books35 followers
July 13, 2020
The section of relating to African Americans really pissed me off. It was so stereotypical and judgmental and to think that young white nurses read this and believe in it explains why we are treated like shit in hospitals. Absolute trash.
Profile Image for Estelle.
314 reviews10 followers
November 9, 2023
Spent all year reading this thick and heavy book, so I had to add it to my profile. Great study book and definitely one I will keep as a reference book. I managed to pass the NCLEX-RN in first try and least amount of questions due to this book and their online platform.
Profile Image for Richie.
18 reviews
July 4, 2020
Good resource with lots of information. However, I can't say if I would've passed the NCLEX without also adding Kaplan and UWorld, so that knocked off a star.
Profile Image for Beatrice.
1,233 reviews1,728 followers
September 13, 2024
I passed my NCLEX-RN exam yesterday — 09-12-2024. This book helped me to earned that license.

Beatrice De Ocampo Masaluñga BSN, PHRN🇵🇭, USRN 🇺🇸❤️
Profile Image for abby.
38 reviews1 follower
June 25, 2025
I never wanna read again
Good if u need to brush up on stuff
Practice questions are mid
Their isolation precautions aren’t correct
Profile Image for Adrienne.
232 reviews80 followers
June 16, 2015
A great condensed review of 4 years of nursing education. In some ways, this book was more thorough than my professors and for all that I learned along the way I am grateful.

Questions at the back of the chapters and the final test covered material well, but are recall and understanding questions only. This is important to know because the NCLEX is testing you at the higher comprehension levels of application and analysis. Any student preparing for NCLEX needs a source of those types of questions that are beyond the scope of this book. Both aspects - material review and serious critical thinking questions - are needed to prepare for NCLEX. This book is a great resource for the first half of your preparation. I believe Kaplan and UWorld to be good sources for the second half. Good luck!
Profile Image for Florence Bernice.
178 reviews3 followers
August 4, 2015
Wilfred Pareto said that in a 100-part of something, you really only need to focus on the significant 30-part of it.

And when taking the NCLEX-RN exam, you don't need to study everything nor from cover to cover of your MS book.

This book right here, is the 30% nursing content one needs to review. It was so comprehensive! And I liked it very much that it was in bullet-form and not written like a novel.

Compared with the Kaplan book, this is more detailed and more recommend-able to those GC and I-don't-want-to-miss-a-thing friends.

(But dang, it took me months, months!)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 55 reviews

Join the discussion

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.