I took NCLEX-RN this morning.......

Thank you :)

Thanks so much guys for all of the good vibes and congrats! I know that all of you will make it if you are not already there!!! @ogold, here is my detailed study plan

I would like to point out a few things about me personally, because I think it affected the way that I learned and studied for this big exam.

I am a 26 year old single female with no children, a supportive family and a supportive employer. My mother is also an RN. I basically have no responsibilties except for myself. I only mention this, because I know many people have children and super busy lives. THAT DOESNT MEAN YOU CANNOT DO IT!!! I know you can and you will see why as I continue...

So here some steps I took right before I began to study for my exam...

1). Deactivated my Facebook and got a twitter in the meantime :)

Facebook is extremely distracting! Well it is for me anyway lol. So I turned it off and hit the books.

2). I prepared for my exam 6 weeks in advance with the last 9 days completely off from work.

I really spent a lot of time studying. At least three to four hours after work each day and all day on weekends. I told all of my friends that I was gonna be on hiatus for over a month and for them to please not tempt me with invitations or anything fun lol. I did not date or even go to family functions. 100% study mode, for those who have babies, don't ignore them, they need you! Try and study while you are at work, or while they are down for naps or at their bed times.

3). Materials I used to study

I took the Kaplan course way back in January and I just loved it! I did 100% of the qbanks and question trainers. Here is the good news... I KINDA SUCKED AT THEM!!! I would get anywhere from high forties to low sixties on the qbanks. I think my diagnostic was 48% and my readiness was 55%. I git a 56% on QT 7 SO PLEASE DO NOT BE DISCOURAGEd IF YOU ARE NOT GETTING HIgh SCORES OR ARE ATTEMPTING TO RETAKE THE EXAM YOU CAN DO IT!!!!!

I also watched all of the Hurst videos which my friend lent me and filled out all of the lesson plans that came along with each video. Super helpful if you are lacking in content.

I also used the study guide here on allnurses which was awesome.

My last study guide was the Saunders 5th eddition. Very very good for content, I really loved this book.

Bottom line, if you are lacking content use Saunders and Hurst. If you want amazing test strategies use Kaplan. Or if you feel like you are lacking in both areas, use them all like I did!

4) Test day prep

I decided to go a different route in preparation for this exam. I usually procrastinate and study at the last minute and even the night before. This time around I got very serious. Like I previously mentioned, I studied for 6 weeks and took the last 9 days of those 6 weeks off from work to really get into super woman study mode! The day before my exam I stopped studying completely. I hung out with my family, went to the gym and even got a massage to relax me. I took a Xanax (yea yea I said it) and fell asleep by 9:30pm. I woke up fully rested at 5:30am and my sister made me eggs and potatoes for breakfeast and I felt great. I had my other sister drive me to the test center and I was there 30 minutes early. The employees at the center were super nice and encouraging so that was awesome.

Just a side not for those who have not tested yet, remember your ID and just know you will be finger printed and your palm will be scanned. You will also have to empty out your pockets and put everything into a locker.

5). What did my exam consist of

I had A TON SATA blah... but they were fairly easy like you know for example what would be most important to tell a patient with Crohns disease etc, easy stuff. Saunders has great practice for these types of questions. I also got a lot of infection control, isolation precautions and which patient would you see first. Three math problems 4 identification probs (based off of pictures) and one drag and drop. a total of 145 questions which took me roughly about 3 hrs.

So good luck to everyone, if I can do it I know that you all can too!!!!

@lovebi, Im sorry I don't have the NCLEX 4000 link I did not use it.

One last thing, Kaplan questions are the CLOSEST TO NCLEX. I really think so. I wasn't as taken a back by the questions, because I had prepared for them using Kaplan.

@mcunanan, I have read some of your post and I just wanted to say keep on truckin' girl! You can do this!~ My birthday is July 29 close to yours! Let me know if you need any help ok!!!

Thanks again everyone!!!

@bluegeirdwirl Thank you so much! You will pass! I have seen your study log and I think that you are doing great! You putting in study time way in advance so I think you will pass and do great!