Graduated 2 yrs ago & just passed NCLEX-RN = Refresher course?

i actually can't afford to take a refresher course right now. i'm interested in continuing education though once i start working to further my knowledge. i hope all goes well. thanks

the 1st time i took the nclex, i didn't know where to start and how to study. i would just watch judy miller videos and listen to feuer & kaplan mp3 lectures, read some saunders and answer practice questions from nclex-rn 4000. i was thinking that i will pass the exam so easily because i survived nursing school with good grades and without ever failing. i guess i learned my lesson that nobody knows everything! i was also overwhelmed with prioritization & delegation that i wasn't prepared for. it was so funny, i was so nervous that my stomach started to ache in the middle of the exam and the restroom was so farrrr. the more closer i was to the restroom....the more my wet & wild poop wanted to come out. sorry for the description. good thing it was past 2 hrs already so i had the option for a break and i did make it to the potty by the way. hahahah

in preparation for studying for the 2nd time, no more videos and mp3s. i bought lacharity & kaplan. continued with saunders and nclex-rn 4000.

saunders comprehensive review 5th edition by linda silvestri book. (i think it’s ok if you have the older editions). it’s a great book because the content is so rich. i did the 75 questions assessment mode which generated a 6 wk calendar. it’s basically all the chapters in the book but broken down like for day 1 read chapter 34, 35, 50 day 2 chapter 52, 54....day 6 & 7 rest relax. i still read on day 6 or 7. i only made notes for the pharmacology section and on the endocrine section (confusing opposing disease). i still have normal values stuck in my mind so i didn't make notes on that section. do what works for you. everybody has different studying techniques. and yes i finished the whole book! i didn't do practice questions on the cd though because it has easy questions. study your meds…..indication, side effects, special precautions, important nursing intervention.

nclex-rn 4000 cd - i did a lot of practice questions in this cd. i usually do the study mode so that i can read the rationale as soon as i answered. the problem with me is that if i do the test mode, sometimes i skip reading the rationale for the questions that i got right which i think is a big mistake. and also, i always get disappointed with my scores because i couldn't get higher than 68%. always read all your rationale!

prioritization, delegation and assignment by linda lacharity book - i highly recommend this book. this really helped me prepare for the prioritization & delegation part. i was only able to do 8 chapters because of my exam date. i also made list of things rn, lpn, na can do based on the rationales. when answering a delegation question, i would identify each of the 4 choices (rn lpn na) and eliminate one by one.

*only rn can assess, evaluate, and teach.

*only delegate the most stable patient.

*who would you see first = look for the most unstable

*remember your abc, maslow, adpie, safety, what else?

kaplan nclex-rn 2010-2011 strategies, practice, review book - most people probably like this book but i didn't. it was too complicated for me.

allnurses.com anyone up for random fact throwing? thread – look on page 385, comment no. 3847……i downloaded the prado random facts.doc. i read it a few days before my exam. it also contained infection control my chicken hes tb, spiderman, and mrs wee which really helped a lot. after you download the file, search for infection control and study it!

prayer and positive thinking – have faith. on a piece of paper, i wrote “i will pass my nclex-rn successfully” and i posted it on the top corner of the computer screen so that i’ll always see it. i also wrote it on the 6wk study calendar. i would say it few times a day sometimes adding the word “i believe” or “i will answer confidently & critically” and at bedtime i would say it again “i will pass my nclex-rn successfully”. i may look crazy but by doing these often….the thoughts of “i can’t do it” or “i might fail again” were overpowered by positive thinking that i only thought of those positive words instead of those negative. during the exam, i said it again “i will pass my nclex-rn successfully”. well except after the exam that negativity came back!!! since my computer shut off @ 75 again. i wished i had more questions and thought i failed. did the pvt for 3 days and it said something about being on hold. and on the 4th day (i tested on friday), the quick results tab were finally up so did pvt & got the good pop (contact board). i couldn’t believe it so i paid for quick results and it said pass. i cried and thank god.

on sata……i would read each option & rationalize with it.

for me, i would say that nclex-rn is like nclex-rn 4000 and lacharity. i hope i have helped and have not confused in some way. good luck to everyone and believe that you will pass! oh and i did a lot of eating!!! i was so hungry every hour while studying. don’t skip your meals.