My BSN journey and NCLEX RN with 75 questions

I would like to share my personal experience about my NCLEX RN and the journey of my BSN program as a contribution to the site. I also explain my study method to help any of you studying for the exam.

As soon as I completed the LVN program, i found out about the bridge program from LVN to BSN and applied for it. I worked as a licensed nail tech while in the BSN program due to its flexibility schedule and the hard time to find an LVN job (because I moved to a different state for the BSN program).

I did very well in school and took the exit ATI exam with 95% of passing the NCLEX RN on the 1st attempt. I was the only male in my class, I simply focused on school and left behind all the drama from other female students.

I graduated in September 2017 and studied crazily for the NCLEX. I studied every day at any chance I got. This was my study method:

I found out my strengths and weaknesses in order to form an effective study plan. I was not a big fan of pharmacology and question types of SATA, drag and drop, and orders. So I forced myself to "love" them by drilling them EVERYDAY. I usually began the sessions by reviewing pharmacology and labs. Quizlet helped me a lot in memorizing them. It was very easy to confuse the side effects of medications, so I used mnemonics from various nursing and medical websites.

I used ATI and Hurst for content review (from our school). For question practice, I used Board Vitals (from school), Saunders, and Davis. I also read Kaplan strategy book. I highly recommend Davis NCLEX RN question and answer because it explains clearly the strategy after each question. To pass the NCLEX, you must know how its questions are constructed. Davis book explains in detail about different levels of difficulty in NCLEX questions and how they are constructed. The highest levels are analysis and synthesis. Most nursing school exams are designed at comprehension level, which requires you to memorize and understand the materials to answer them. NCLEX questions are mostly at analysis and synthesis levels, which force you to analyze, combine and create from what you learn. It requires more critical thinking. I spent a lot of time training myself to be familiar with them.

When I studied, I did not just sit in one spot and face myself in the wall. I found it boring and unproductive to do so. Our brains can only absorb at some point; after that, it may not be as productive as we hope. God blesses you if you can sit in one spot and study straight for 2, 3 hours. To me, after an hour or a little more of studying, I moved around, stretched myself or ate some snacks, then back to studying. I sat, stood, and walked around to study. Studying for the NCLEX does not mean you should eat and sleep less to spend more time to study. Force yourself to eat because you need it to fuel your brain. Force yourself to sleep because you need it to refresh your body and mind. Moderate exercise will help you to release stress.

Staying positive all the time is a must. The ONLY person can motivate you is YOU. Whining will lead you to the circle of confusion and negativity. When I got tired, I said to myself "I am a hard working student. I will prove to everybody how good I am by nailing that test. Let me prove myself," and I repeated "I am an RN, BSN" over and over.

My ATT got to me so late at the end of October even though I was so clean in my background check (it is California, no wonder). Since it was so late, I could not schedule for the exam because I had to fly half of the earth away back home for my sister's wedding. It was said that I was on a vacation, but it was not quite a vacation for me. I brought all the materials there to study for the exam. Except for the wedding date, I forced myself to receive very little invitations of friends and family to go anywhere because I had to study. I literally studied every day like I did in the State. Some people got mad at me for refusing (It was almost 12 years since I was back home, it was understandable to see why they got mad).

I took the NCLEX RN 2 days after I was back to the State. I had tons of SATA, drag and drop, diabetes, insulin, priority, and no math question. The computer stopped at 75 questions. 2 days later, I saw my name and license on Breeze. It was such a relief for all the hard work I did.

To all nursing students who are studying for the NCLEX RN and LVN, you finish the nursing school; now the only thing between you and RN or LVN title is the exam. You may know some who never get a chance to get into the program, some who get into the program but fail half way, but you have made it. It shows that you have the ability and mind to finish school.

Stay motivated and focused. Nothing else matters. People before me did it, I did it, now it is your turn.

To my deceased and beloved father who didn't have a chance to see me walk the graduation stage, I am officially an RN, BSN, but I won't stop here.