Less is more - redesign, rebuild, reclaim

After numerous attempts and countless hours of reviewing, the toll of NCLEX prep is truly is something I don't think many people understand. I would even go as far as to say its like preparing for the equivalent of mental olympics with the gold being the actual license. With that being said I had to be both strong physically, mentally, and moreso emotionally. That later part is the thing I think most people forget, having some modicum of control over your emotions is important when your going through the different stages of elation because of an easy by-the-book answer to utter frustration from a rubics cube that is SATA (SATAN in some regards).

Now in terms of actual prep, I rebuilt what I believe were already good foundations such as clocking in the hours 5-7 each day, focusing section by section and not cramming when annoyed. I redesigned my study material, focusing on Uworld questions only and using guided imagery to answer the questions to the best of my ability during the actual exam. Moreover, reclaim that passion not by reading the books but by looking at would could be done professionally and moreso personally - keeping promises to those that have been with me from the start and brought me back when I saw an endless cycle of NCLEX Ragnarok.

Study materials:

Uworld questions at least 75-100 per day.

A review class (American Healthways in my case) that is focused on core content.

Kaplan book for medications

A short list of critical lab values, EKG (with their intended tx's), reversal agents for meds, etc.

As an exercise for yourself, imagine the impact that license has not just on livelihood but to those you will be effecting around you in and out of the hospital. That patient advocacy and beneficence goes beyond what the books and the care you give in hospital; it goes to your friends, family, and people you run across during your lifetime.

Having earned the licensed and the struggle I had endured, I look back at the 11th Doctors quote - "I have a new destination. My journey is the same as yours, the same as anyone's. It's taken me so many years, so many lifetimes, but at last I know where I'm going. Where I've always been going. Home. The long way round."

And that home for me was that passion for nursing.