My NCLEX EXPERIENCE!

I would like to share my experience of NCLEX with you all since others have been kind enough to share their experiences and maybe I can be one to impact someone and make them feel a little more at ease...I Have separated this into sections so if you dont want to read the WHOLE thing you can just scroll to the area of interest:
NIGHT BEFORE THE EXAM
NCLEX EXPERIENCE
TRAVEL THROUGH NURSING SCHOOL
HOW I STUDIED
HAVING THE CONFIDENCE

NIGHT BEFORE THE EXAM:
Today (Jan. 15, 2013) I took my NCLEX @ 8AM!...it started out rough...I kept waking up in the middle of the night.. I went to bed at around 0930/1000 last night and woke up at 1100 fell back asleep but then woke up again at 3AM then I NEVER FELL BACK ASLEEP! =( so as I start to get ready for the exam I start freaking out..thinking what if I fall asleep during the test?!?...ahhh!!!

NCLEX EXPERIENCE:
Anyways I get to the testing center and PRAY in the parking lot, leave me phone and other belongings in my car...I am the first one to get checked in and the first one to get seated at a computer....I take my time reading EVERY single word even through the tutorial!!!! This is where i PRAYED AGAIN!....(Im telling you it helped me soooo much during the test) then this is where the TEST began! OMGosh I nearly had a heart attack my heart pounded out of my chest like I could feel it pounding in my feet!!!...by question three I got my first SATA question ....may okay...it wasnt as hard as I thought it would be....ok...(im thinking in my head maybe I'll do better than I expected!) later in the test i decided to cover up the time and question number (was getting to nervous...i prepared myself to get the whole 265 questions) after more questions I started to think oh man...I am about to fail these questions are crazy?!?...after an hour or two (cant remember) into the test I the screen changes...i got scared....but it was just asking me if i wanted to take a break or not LOL i took at least 2-3 minutes deciding if I wanted a break and winded up not taking the break! lol as soon as I chose not to take the break I had the sudden urge to PEE sooooo baaaaddddd!!!!!! but i wanted to stick it out and take a few more questions....more SATA questions popped up....1 med calculation.....1 EKG..more SATA (14 in total)...I used one whole erase board and had to request a clean one to finish with other questions on it...i peeked at the timer and the question number #73....oh my gosh!!!!!! anxious!! I said Id answer a couple more questions then take a break and go to the bathroom....so after answering the next two questions ALL i can remember is the screen going blank and the survey popping up WOOOOWWWW!!!!!..... Im finished reallly?!? this was the test that I prepared weeks and weeks for to sit for 2.5 hrs and only 75 questions?!? Was this going to be enough?! (man i hope so) I hurried out the testing center went to my car checked my phone was about to do the PVT but decided to wait till I got home....as soon as i walked into the house I was on the phone with my boyfriend and checking the computer simultaneously!!!! There it was the..."good pop up"....OH DO I HOPE THE PVT IS REAL!!!!!

TRAVEL THROUGH NURSING SCHOOL:
While in nursing school I was the average kid literally I DIDNT make straight A's I didnt always ace my test...but I worked hard and did my best and that was all I could do....at my school we had four semesters FALL & SPRING semesters so while over the summer I would forget a lot of the things we learned in the SPRING semester which sucked alot!!! so it felt like while I was studying for NCLEX i felt like i was teaching myself these things ALL OVER AGAIN! We took the HESI exam on the last day of class and on that I failed horribly on it...I forgot the exact score that I got but it stated that I may need remediation and needed to test again...(I still passed my class though) That HESI exam discouraged me sooo much but of course I didnt let it depict my future!...so after Leadership is when I began my studying for the NCLEX. I graduated on December 10, 2012 and that when I full force studying started. I was given the opportunity to gather my classmates together and offer them a free strategy seminar from KAPLAN which helped with tips for NCLEX and then I received the KAPLAN course for FREE....the details are on the website so if you are short for cash check on the details to take apart of this opportunity!


HOW I STUDIED:
the way I studied was a bit different than most....I have a very short attention span and undiagnosed ADD so I cant read a whole NCLEX review book because I will be thinking of other things lol so what I did was first listened to all of HURST review....HURST is great for content review Marlene makes things soooo much easier to understand....I made sure that I understood the reason WHY a disorder has the s/s it does so it would be easier to recall them later...then i did about 50-200 questions throughout the day and reviewed rationales...when it was time for me to do KAPLAN i did all the questions on there to make sure I get a goo amount of review ...I didnt really watch the content videos because they were VERY dry to me and again SHORT ATTENTION SPAN lol...my scores for KAPLAN in case you're curious:

Diagnosis test: 68%
QT1: 60%
QT2: 64%
QT3: 58%
QT4: 58%
QT5: 52.47%
QT6: 74%
QT7: 72%
Readiness test: 60%
Qbank 100% done: 62%

So for those of you who feel that your scores suck or are too low...dont be worried because look at mine?!? lol KAPLAN is great for their questions since the screen is set up like NCLEX as well as the questions really prepare you for the actual thing...I would totally recommend this to anyone out there. I tried to read sauders although it was a bit rough because it was just sooo much to read but then again it is an easy read and easy to understand....there were time when I would break down and cry and just tell my boyfriend maybe I wont be a nurse maybe this isnt for me...its too hard....becaus after some of the Qbanks I would 43% or 50% would make me feel like a failure....what Im trying to say it you cant let these scores get you down they are just practice!

HAVING THE CONFIDENCE:
Sorry for the lenghty post....but I thought this would help someone who might be on edge about things....To anyone getting ready to take their NCLEX or even waiting for their ATT to schedule an exam and havent begun studying....dont fret...you are prepared or you wouldnt have made it this far!!! you might be saying to yourself..."HA! yeah easy for you to say"...i used to say that all the time but REALLY dont worry....I was once in your shoes before...take deep breaths and be CONFIDENT in yourself....dont put too much stress on yourself as well because that will make things that much harder..

Another thing that really helped me was drawing on my dry erase board "YOU worked HARD for this YOU CAN DO IT! Chanel (My last name), RN" this reminded me that I will reach my goal in the end I took a picture of this and put it as my screen saver and background on my phone, My boyfriend also wrote on the white board at his job (because he works at the hopsital) Date: 1/15/13 day: Tuesday Nurse: Chanel, RN TECH: Vlad patient Goal for today: BE CONFIDENT AND PASS...that made me feel much better about it as well...I also had great people surrounding me supporting me and giving the boost to keep going and telling me I WILL PASS!! not to mention I had a job on the line that was depending on me passing on ther first try! lol I hope this helps?! (sorry for any typos as well...Its late, im tired and trying to type this fast lol) Thanks for reading!