i'm getting ready to take my nclex for the second time the beginning of october. I was wondering if anyone had advise, tips, or a study schedule to help me prepare. if i do not pass this second time i will be fired from my job at the hospital that i have now. i have already been knocked down to an intern position and pay because i didnt pass the first time. please help me

i have been using kaplan and only getting like 55-60% on all the practice stuff

thanks :'-(

based upon the results of your last nclex that you received in the mail, you should be focusing on your areas of weakness while you incorporate all other areas into your study process. i am not sure how long you have been using kaplan; but if you used it to study for your first nclex, those questions may not be as useful now, since you have practiced with them already (i.e., you answered them once, you now know the correct answer--but not necessarily the rationale behind the answer).

when you practice your questions, try to determine if you are understanding the rationales for each answer. if you are not, focus on reviewing the content for that area/material. if you do not understand the material, it will be hard to understand the rationale.

try other sources for practice questions... use an nclex rn comprehensive review book (i.e., saunders, mosby, davis, lippincott, exam cram...) you may find that switching to a new review source can possibly "open your mind" to what you were not understanding before--rationales are written differently from book to book.

if you feel that you are not ready when your test date comes around....reschedule. but hang in there. don't give up!!!

I would suggest watching the Kaplan online content videos, they really helped me review and get more questions right. I agree with the above focus on your weak areas and really read the rationales. Good luck, you can do this!

I also agree that you should reschedule if you do not feel that you are ready. No sense in rushing in there not ready. Your biggest problem now might be inability to relax. Just chalk the job up to being gone and don't even waste time thinking about it. Time wasted worrying about the job is time better spent in thoughtful preparation or in practicing relaxation techniques. Good luck.

I would suggest trying Exam Cram. The book is really straight forward and easy to learn from. Get the book that has informational chapters, not just the questions (there are 2 different books). I took my boards today and I used mostly this and some of Saunders b/c it's what we used in school. Good Luck!