Health Education Systems Incorporated, or HESI, is a US-based corporation. HESI is now under the company Elsevier,which acquired it in the year 2006. The series of tests are targeted at nursing students and other health science professionals preparing for their professional college entrance, as well as those preparing for their licensureexams. These tests help in assessing the students’ academic capabilities and readiness for the relevant board exams. The professional categories that these tests are targeted atinclude dentist assistants, nurses, radiographers, paramedics, surgery assistants, veterinary technicians, and massage therapists, among many others.
What tests does HESI administer?
The company offers the following groups of tests:
I. HESI College Admission Test (HESI A2 Exam)
HESI College Admission Test, also called HESI Admission Assessment (A2), arecomputerized exams given to the students who are considering a career in nursing. These tests help check their abilities and readiness for the professional training. They are designed for those who want to join the two-year nursing program. Thecomprehensive multiple-choice test that lasts up to 5 hours covers math, grammar, reading comprehension, physiology, anatomy, chemistry, biology, physics, vocabulary, general knowledge, as well as personality assessment.However, the board determines their decision based on the followingacademic areas only.
- Math:includes 50 questions and focuses on maths skills required in the medical field. The skills include basic addition, multiplications, subtractions, decimals, household measures, among others.It should be completed within at most 50 minutes.
- Anatomy and physiology: has 25 questions and covers anatomical structures and general terminology. The test takes up to 25 minutes.
- Chemistry: contains 25 questions,which are to be completed within the 25-minute limit. Some of the areas covered are periodic table, atomic structure, matter, chemical bonding, chemical reactions, chemical equations, as well as nuclear chemistry.
- Biology: has 25 questions and 25 minutes of allocated time. It covers areas, such as cellular respiration, cells, photosynthesis, biological molecules, metabolism, and biology basics.
- Physics: has 25 questions and a completion time of 25 minutes. The test is used by nursing schools where physics is a prerequisite.
- Vocabulary & general knowledge: consists of 50 questions covering basic vocabulary related to health, as well as general English. It should be completed within 50 minutes.
Reading comprehension: consists of 50 questions that touch on meaning of words, text comprehension, and logical inferences. It is allocated up to one hour. Grammar: comprises 50 questions that touch on basic grammar. They include speech, important terms used in grammar, and common grammar mistakes. It is allocated up to 50 minutes for completion. Reading, grammar, vocabulary, and math have an additional 5 questions each. This makes the
number of questions 55 for each section. The extra 5 questions are pilot questions and cannot be used to determine the candidate’s final score. To be considered for admission, a student must get an average of at least 80%. Registration for the HESI A2 exam costs $53.50.
II. HESI Entrance/Exit Exam– LPN to RN Program
This is a practice test given to nursing students who want to advance their studies and career. It assesses the candidate’s ability to think critically and answer the provided exam questions. The test enables a student to know whether they are ready for the NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination) exam, or they should consider practicing more. The test is designed by Elsevier in such a way that it takes the NCLEX exam into account. So, it is basically a test taken when a student is in their last semester of their nursing school academic program. There
are nursing schools that require passing the HESI Exit exam to determine if a candidate is ready for NCLEX.
Once the candidates passthe HESI test, then they are ready to take the NCLEX-RN exam meant for registered nurses or the NCLEX-PN licensing exam for practical nurses. Both of them check the skills required to efficiently provide nursing care services to those who require it.
The HESI Exit exam consists of 150 questions for the RN version and two versions of 75 and 150 questions for the PN version. These questions can be of multiple choice with a single or multiple answers. You may also find fill-in-the blank questions, hotspots, or charts in your exam. To qualify, a candidate must score at least 850 points. But first astudent is required to pay an exam fee of $34.50.
What preparation tips can help prepare for the HESI test?
A candidate can prepare for the exam by following steps:
Enrol for study courses
There are many courses that a student can make use of in preparing for this exam. To prepare for their HESI NCLEX test, the candidates can also look for online courses, but remember that most of such courses require you to pay a fee to access them.
Use practice tests
PrepAway Hesi A2 Practice tests are a great way of knowing how ready you are for your exam. These tests are usually prepared in a way that they mirror the actual exam. This way, you can know your weak areas so that you can work to perfect them.
Know the exam objectives well
Understanding the topics of the exam that you are about to sit for will help you during revision. Go through the objectives step by step and make sure that you understand those steps. You can review the topics using study guides and video lessons. In case you enrol for a course, your trainer can help you understand the topics better. Understanding the exam policies and procedures will also be useful as you prepare for your test.
Use study guides and flashcards
Study guides and flashcards will help you understand the topics well, as well as what to expect during the actual exam. These revision resources available online will be of great help to you. HESI also avails simulations for those who want the feel of a real test environment. You can also make use of these study guides for your HESI Entrance exam.
Become a part of a study group and HESI online community
If you have friends who are preparing for the same exam as you, you can come up with a group for the sole purpose of study and revision. You can share ideas on how to prepare and pass exam, ask questions on the topics you don’t understand and help each other through the revision period. The HESI online forum or blog can also be helpful during exam revision. This is where people share the best ideas as well as their success stories.
Relax and stay confident during the exam
When the exam day arrives, you must prepare yourself early enough, at least 30 minutes earlier than the designated starting time. Go through your testwith confidence and try to answer all the questions. Once you have completed the test, it’s now time to wait for your results. You will receive an email after about seven days informing you that your exam results are ready. You can check your scores online as well. Remember that the HESI test results are valid for 2 years.
Conclusion
The HESI tests have been very useful in determining a student’s readiness for the nursing program courses or board exams. In this case, there won’t be any disappointments like a student discovering later that he or she is not capable of continuing with the course program due to the lack of academic knowledge. This method of using advanced testing before admission is definitely the best one.
