Re: I'm SUPER NERVOUS & need HELP with the NCLEX-PN!
I took my test about 10 days after graduation. The ATI comprehensive test told me I had a 99% probability of passing the NCLEX on the first try. I did some studying using Saunders materials and took some of the ATI exams. About the only good I felt like they did for me was to keep my brain working along the same lines as the test questions. I decided to rely on my training and knowledge from school rather than some crash course that costs a few hundred dollars. Other than that my strategy consisted of making sure I got a good night's sleep and arrived for the test rested and relaxed.
When I took the test I ran into drugs I had never heard of and and illnesses I had never studied. I had a very high number of pharm questions along with education and infection control. I had only one calculation (one of my major strengths, I never missed one in school) and only a couple of patient care questions. They say you start with easy questions and as long as you get them right the questions get harder. Well, I must have been getting a lot of them right because I would have really appreciated a few easy ones.
When my test shut down after 85 questions I was relieved. I figured that if I was passing the thing then great, let me out of here. If I was flunking, a hundred more questions wouldn't help so let me out of here. I was shaking all the way outside and was a nervous wreck all the way home and for the next 48 hours. What was bad was that I really had no feeling one way or the other about how I did on it. I think that was worse than thinking I flunked.
Bottom line: I PASSED THE SUCKER! I have my license and am working as an LVN.
My advice is to relax and not tie yourself up in knots. Don't start thinking about how bad you believe you are doing. Use your knowledge and common sense. If the questions keep geting harder you must be doing something right. Don't dwell on questions you have already answered because once you hit the "Next" button you can't go back. IMO, study programs have a limited value because there is no way to predict what each individual will see on his/her exam, but if you feel more comfortable using one, by all means do it. Go ahead and use the "trick" when you get home. I'm not totally convinced that it's a hundred percent accurate but it can help relieve anxiety.
Have a little faith in yourself, relax, and just take the dang test.
haha.
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