Well, I took the NCLEX-RN today. I graduated in August and my ATT came in mid-September. I signed up to take it this morning at 0800 (there were no 1000 time slots left in 2008). They asked us to arrive at 0730, so I left my house at 0700 even though I knew the drive was only 15-20 minutes. I got there at 0720 and sat in my car to finish my coffee. I went upstairs, took a number, and had a seat. They give you a laminated page with rules and regulations, most of which I had already read in some form or another. My number was 5, so I was called in less than 10 minutes. I handed over my ATT and my DL, signed my name, and gave them an electronic fingerprint - that took several tries, not sure if my hands were just sweaty or what, but it took a while to register. They snapped a quick photo of me, and then I was told to put my things in a locker and the proctor would seat me. You have to put EVERYTHING in a locker - I left my purse in the car, but they had me lock up everything that was in my pockets except my ID. I had to show my ID and fingerprint again to enter the testing room, and I was taken to a cubicle with a computer and given a dry erase board with a marker. She logged me in, and that was it. It was still before 0800, but they just let everyone start as soon as they're ready - it's all individual.
I took my tutorial (it's not nursing-related, it's just to make sure you understand how to click on answer choices and do alternate format questions), which does count against your total time so don't spend all morning on it. It was about 7 questions, then I was asked if I was ready to begin the exam. I got to question 1, and I made sure I took my time. I'm not allowed to share my actual questions with anyone, but I think I can talk about them generally. I didn't notice the questions getting harder or easier - if you get one wrong, it doesn't automatically give you a "To give a pt a subcutaneous injection, you 1 - inject into SQ tissue, 2 - inject into muscle, 3 - inject into right eye, 4 - ask pt to swallow med" type of question. I took my time, writing notes to myself and using my dry erase board to cross out answer choices. About an hour (and 50 questions) into the exam my dry erase board was full, so I raised my hand and the proctor brought me a new one. I also took a break, went down the hall and used the restroom. No one follows you and watches you pee or anything, they just make you fingerprint and show your ID to leave and to return, and the time is logged.
I had 75 questions total - I started getting nervous at 65, wondering if it was going to shut off or not. I have no idea how I did. I didn't think the questions were impossible - I was at least familiar with the subject matter of all but one question (it was a drug I'd never heard of, couldn't recognize the root). About 1/3 were SATA, but I didn't get any other alternate format questions - no fill in the blank, no clicking on diagrams, and no ordering of a list of answer choices. That made them at least somewhat tough - of 5-6 choices, two were obviously wrong, 1-2 were obviously right, and the other two I wasn't sure of. Most of my questions weren't what I would call "easy," but they weren't completely unreasonable either. I had no math questions at all (I think of them as easy) and a TON of infection control/PPE questions. Don't know if that meant I got some of them wrong, or if it was just the luck of the draw. I had maybe 2 questions each on psych, peds, and maternity - it was pretty much all med-surg/fundamentals. There were a lot of med questions too, no strips to interpret, and fewer complicated questions about specific disease processes. I'm taking all the SATAs as a good sign, that maybe it was trying to give me "difficult" questions. My school always has a 95%+ pass rate, and it's been 100% the last two classes. I also did extremely well on my exit HESI, and I got great grades throughout school. I studied between graduation and today, but not excessively - I did 100 questions most days, occasionally 150 and occasionally I'd skip a weekend day. I did a few hundred every day for the last week, more to help with my anxiety than to try to cram.
It's been 3 hours since I left Pearson, only 45 to go before I can check my score! Wish there was ANYTHING I could do to make the time pass a little faster. I did study, and I did my best. I thought I'd post this for anyone else who gets stressed about the little details like I do, and who wants to know EXACTLY how the process will work. Of course, it may differ slightly where you take it, but this was my experience. I'll update when I find out if I passed...
