If You Fail to Plan; Then Plan to Fail

Usually this forum has thread of either great joys of passing or great sorrow of failure. I'd like to take a step back before both you and my own future turns into the nightmare that some have feared for years...failing the NCLEX exam. Nurses Announcements Archive Article

If You Fail to Plan; Then Plan to Fail

It's been a while since I've written anything lengthy. I'm nearing the end nursing school, and on top of family and school, I've added a job to my life because I got to pay for this somehow.

I got about 4 months before I graduate and I want to ensure success. I keep reading post after post that some people just do 2 or 3 weeks of "whatever review plan" after they graduate and BAM! they are surprised that they have failed the NCLEX.

Honestly, I don't think any particular review plan leads to success. There are people who passed with Review X and people who failed with Review X. So what exactly is the difference? It's your own planning and commitment to passing the NCLEX.

As with anything, the more you practice and the more you study, the better you become at it. A lot of this knowledge takes time to accumulate and although I've been in nursing school forever, so it seems, a good plan at the end of the road is the only way to ensure success.

The other thing one has to remember is that it makes no sense making a plan and having no accountability. If you create an awesome timetable but during your study time you are up watching Scandal...well that scandal is not going to help you much is it?

Too many times browsing these NCLEX forums, I read of people begging for help, yelling they have done everything in the world and they still could not pass. Have you really done everything?

Can you list your plan of accountability? Let's look at your plan as opposed to what you actually did.

THE well-intended PLAN

  • 7am-8am breakfast
  • 8am-12pm study
  • 12pm-1pm break
  • 1pm-5pm study
  • 5pm-6pm break
  • 6pm-9pm study
  • 9pm-7pm sleep

THE anything goes Plan

  • 10 am wake up
  • 11 am breakfast
  • 12pm-1pm watch daytime soap
  • 1pm-2pm sorta study
  • 2pm-3pm Ellen dance break
  • 3pm-5pm Facebook break
  • 5pm-7pm browsing allnurses for more help to study
  • 7pm-9pm recheck Facebook updates
  • 9pm-10pm watch the latest gossip girl
  • 10pm-11pm watch the all-new Scandal
  • 11pm-1130pm study sorta
  • 1130 - 10 am sleep

Please pardon my sense of humor because this is not true for some. Some people really do study and put their all into it and stick to the well-intended plan. They do the hard time and still fail and those are the ones I admire because they dust themselves off and go right at it again. If that's you then this thread is not for you.

My hope is that for those who are taking the NCLEX for the first time that we really put it the time. Not 1 or 2 weeks before the test, but 3 to 4 months ahead of the game.

It beings now, while you are in nursing school.

It is not my plan to offend or hurt anyone who has honestly done their best and put their heart and soul into this because they really want it. My point is to encourage those who say they want it, but their actions prove otherwise. They waver in making the real sacrifice and commitment that passing this test needs. If you really want to be an RN then make a commitment to ensure your success. Make a plan that you can live with and follow. So at the end of it all, you can honestly say I did it all, I put everything I got into this test and into being a nurse.

Let's continue to be successful in nursing school and make a Plan to Succeed.

Just ask yourself, Do you have a calendar or plan of accountability for passing the NCLEX?

Who is keeping you accountable?

List it here and help others formulate their own plan. Let's help each other succeed.

ArrowRN

About ArrowRN, BSN, RN

I am a senior non-traditional nursing student and PCT.

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Specializes in ICU.

I graduated a year ago and passed my NCLEX a month after graduation on the first try. Like you, I was a non-traditional student. I also worked a full-time AND a part-time job all the way through school. Not fun, but I wouldn't change it for the world now!

My NCLEX study plan was fairly close to the "well-intended" plan. Every day I was not at work (so 4 days a week), my nose was buried in either a practice questions book or an ATI practice exam. My study sessions were long and grueling, and I think I single-handedly kept my local coffee shop in business while I was studying. I would sit there for hours on end, and made myself get through at least 500 practice questions each day. Add all those questions I did between graduation and NCLEX day to all the questions I did to prepare for exams, and I was probably well over 12,000 questions by the time I sat for the exam.

In a typical study day, I probably put in about 6 hours of actual study time. My routine was to get my coffee, sit down, allow myself 20 minutes or so of Facebook or some other web-surfing, then I got down to business. I would stop every 100 questions or so (usually a couple of practice exams) and take a 10 or 15-minute stretch/bathroom/Facebook break, then I was back at it. I would say the breakdown of my time was probably 90% questions and 10% reviewing material. I only went back and reviewed material if I had bombed a particular topic in a practice exam, such as nutrition.

I hope this is helpful to you - I really believe that if you know your material well, the vast majority of your time should be spent on questions. I would do as many SATA questions as you can - I felt like my 75 NCLEX questions were at least 1/3 SATA. Good luck! :)

Specializes in Pedi.

11 hrs of studying in a day? Really? That's more than I "studied" for NCLEX total. Actually, I only got back in town a day and a half before I took the test and I passed in 75 questions on the first try.

Specializes in Med Surg, PCU, Travel.
11 hrs of studying in a day? Really? That's more than I "studied" for NCLEX total. Actually, I only got back in town a day and a half before I took the test and I passed in 75 questions on the first try.

Were you studying regularly duing school? That maybe it, I don't know how some people pass without studying, just luck or genius I guess.

I think doing your best in nursing school contributes to your passing as well. I did 100-200 questions a day a month before I took my exam (sometimes I didn't do any at all) and passed the first time with 100 questions. I'm a horrible test taker, but I paid very, very, very close attention in nursing school and studied very, very, very hard for the tests and did well.

Everyone is different and no one single plan will work for everyone. Sometimes people can study too much and then won't retain the information they are studying.

This article has been a needed reminder for me that I can not falter in preparing to take the nclex. I certainly have been following the 'anything goes' plan!

I also believe and agree that it takes a good plan and commitment to succeed in life. I am now switching back to the right plan. Thanks for sharing this!

Specializes in Family Medicine, Pediatrics.

Man, this brings back memories! I took the NCLEX 4 years ago, but I was on the 'anything goes' plan for a while until the last week before I took the exam, I decided to actually do the 'well intended plan.' Passed on the first try with 75 questions, but I don't recommend that. I'm definitely a much better planner now when it comes to exams and projects with nursing school than I used to be.

Specializes in Med Surg, PCU, Travel.
This article has been a needed reminder for me that I can not falter in preparing to take the nclex. I certainly have been following the 'anything goes' plan!

I also believe and agree that it takes a good plan and commitment to succeed in life. I am now switching back to the right plan. Thanks for sharing this!

Hello eternalbride. This article is actually my own reminder. In case anyone wasn't following the cues, this article is about my own study or lack of study. I mean, I've made it this far, but I think I could have done a lot better. You see I too have been on the "anything goes plan". Sure I could use the kids, family and work excuse, but that won't get me anywhere and many people who have kids are successful in nursing school.

It seems that life always gets in the way or I admittedly get too lazy to change. Nope I don't watch Scandal, but if it's a sci-fi movie, I get all caught up in it. I really think I got to step it up if I am to pass the nclex. If I was to take it today, I'd surely fail.

So now that I wrote this down, I think its a way to hold myself accountable. I will do it...We can do this.

Specializes in Pedi.
Were you studying regularly duing school? That maybe it, I don't know how some people pass without studying, just luck or genius I guess.

Luck had nothing to do with it. I spent 4 years learning what I needed to know to pass the test. NCLEX was easier than any test I took in nursing school.

Specializes in General Surgery, NICU.

I spent less than 20 hrs studying for the NCLEX. I think everyone is different in terms of preparation, but I was taking a summer session of stats during the same time and took the exam sooner rather than later.

I totally agree about the preparation for the NCLEX starting when you are in nursing school. This is a huge test that takes months to prep for and you are the only one that is accountable for how much time and effort you put in. I just started nursing school this quarter and it has been so overwhelming, I have a long ways to go before I prep/take my NCLEX but I have and will continue to mentally prepare myself for it! Happy Nursing :)

The NCLEX is made for you to succeed. As long as you participated in school and retained the information you can succeed with minimal studying. I had ATI throughout my entire career that was mandatory through my school. I hated it, but at the end we had a 3 day live review course which was very helpful. We didn't go through facts like patho or pharm or fundamentals we all been studying that For the past 2 years. We learned how to read the question. We have all been through school and know the correct answer, we just get intimidated by the stigma of "the test". I read the review book which was about 250 pages total. And did some questions from various sources. I bought the Saunders book and the ncsbn review course, but barely even looked at them. I did some of the questions but that's about it. The nursing schools prepare their graduates well with the information, but if you don't read the question right you'll get it wrong. My suggestions is read what it is asking, each word is there for a reason. If it says every it means every don't assume it meant to say almost every. Good luck to all!!