Sincere appreciation and warmest thanks are extended to the many individuals who in their own ways
have contributed to the publication of this book.
First, I want to thank all my nursing students at the Community College of Rhode Island in
Warwick who approached me in 1991 and persuaded me to help them prepare to take the NCLEX-RN
examination. Their enthusiasm and inspiration led to the commencement of my professional
endeavors in conducting review courses for the NCLEX-RN exam for nursing students. I also thank
the numerous nursing students who have attended my review courses for their willingness to share
their needs and ideas. Their input has certainly added a special uniqueness to this publication.
I wish to acknowledge all of the nursing faculty who taught in my review courses for the NCLEX-
RN exam. Their commitment, dedication, and expertise have certainly helped nursing students achieve
success with the exam. Additionally, I want to acknowledge and sincerely thank my husband Laurent
W. Valliere, or Larry, for his contribution to this publication, for teaching in my review courses for
the NCLEX-RN exam, and for his commitment and dedication in helping my nursing students prepare
for the NCLEX-RN exam from a nonacademic point of view. Larry has supported my many
professional endeavors and was so loyal and loving to me each and every moment as I worked to
achieve my professional goals. Larry, thank you so much! A special thank you also goes to David
Morrow, RN, BSN, for writing a chapter for this book about his experiences preparing for and taking
NCLEX-RN examination :–
I sincerely acknowledge and thank two very important individuals from Elsevier who are so
dedicated to my work in creating NCLEX products for nursing students. I thank Kristin Geen,
Executive Content Strategist, for her continuous assistance, enthusiasm, support, and expert
professional guidance as I prepared this publication. And I thank Laura Goodrich, Associate Content
Developmental Specialist, for her tremendous amount of support and assistance, her weekly priority
lists to keep me on track, her ideas for the product, and for her professional and expert skills in
organizing and maintaining an enormous amount of manuscript for production. I could not have
completed this project without Laura! So a very special and sincere thank you extends to both Kristin
and Laura.
I also thank Angela E. Silvestri, MSN, RN for reviewing content and practice questions and for her
assistance with creating new practice questions; Dr. Eileen Gray for her assistance in reviewing
practice questions submitted by item updaters; Elodia Dianne Fiorentino for researching content and
preparing references for each practice question; Nicholas Silvestri and Allison Bowser for editing,
formatting, and organizing manuscript files for me; and James Guilbault for researching and
updating medications. A special thank you to all of you for providing continuous support and
dedication to my work in preparing this publication and maintaining its excellent quality.
I want to acknowledge all of the staff at Elsevier for their tremendous assistance throughout the
preparation and production of this publication and all of the Elsevier staff involved in the publication
of previous editions of this outstanding NCLEX review product. A special thank you to all of them. I
thank all the important people in the production department, including Clay Broeker, Senior Project
Manager; Jeff Patterson, Publishing Services Manager; Lisa Godoski, Multimedia Producer; David
Rushing, Multimedia Manager; and Brian Salisbury, Designer, who all played such significant roles
in finalizing this publication. Also, I would like to thank Hannah Corrier, Content Coordinator, for all
her help organizing the numerous contributors and reviewers involved in this project. I sincerely
thank those in the marketing department who helped with the promotion of this book, including Bob
Boehringer, Executive Marketing Director; Pat Crowe, Executive Marketing Manager; and Danielle
LeCompte, Associate Marketing Manager. And a special thank you to Loren Wilson, Vice President,
for her years of expert guidance and continuous support for all the products in the Pyramid to
Success.
I would also like to acknowledge Patricia Mieg, former educational sales representative, who
encouraged me to submit my ideas and initial work for the first edition of this book to the W.B.
Saunders Company.
I want to acknowledge my parents, who opened my door of opportunity in education. I thank my
mother, Frances Mary, for all of her love, support, and assistance as I continuously worked to achieve
my professional goals. I thank my father, Arnold Lawrence, who always provided insightful words of
encouragement. My memories of his love and support will always remain in my heart. I am certain
that he would be very proud of my professional accomplishments.
I also thank all my family for being continuously supportive, giving, and helpful during my
research and preparation of this publication.
I want to especially acknowledge each and every individual who contributed to this publication:
the contributors, item writers, and updaters for your expert input and ideas. I also thank the many
faculty and student reviewers of the manuscript for their thoughts and ideas. A very special thank you
to all of you!
I also need to thank Salve Regina University for the opportunity to educate nursing students in the
baccalaureate nursing program and for its support during my research and writing of this publication.
I would like to especially acknowledge my colleagues, Dr. Eileen Gray, Dr. Ellen McCarty, and Dr.
Bethany Sykes for all their encouragement and support.
I wish to acknowledge the Community College of Rhode Island, which provided me the
opportunity to educate nursing students in the Associate Degree of Nursing Program. A special thank