Passed NCLEX 1st try!!! You can too!

First I wanted to start off and congratulate all the student nurses out there who have graduated and made it thus far in the journey to become Registered Nurses!

I have not posted much on this site, but I have come to it many times in need of advice. I have read a lot of posts about the NCLEX and took in the advice of others. It truly helps to hear about other peoples experiences and know that we can do this!!

How I studied.....I used the Davis success series all through school and I did all the online extras that came with it. I mainly used U World for 3 weeks straight. I felt that as far as content, it had everything and high level questions. After taking the NCLEX, it mirrors it pretty well.

I started out the question bank getting 52%-53% on 75 question exams. After a few days I went up to 56%-58%. Few more days later I was hitting scores 62%-64%. I stayed pretty consistent hovering in the 66%-68% for about a week and the final week I was hitting scores in the 70's.

I would try to do 2-3, sometimes 4 exams a day and I made it through 1800 questions! I read the rationales to ALL the questions, even the ones I got right. Just refreshing my mind on the content area with the detailed explanations U World offers help solidify my choices. I felt much more comfortable answering priority and SATA questions after doing U World.

While preparing for my NCLEX exam, I read this forum daily. I took the advice of a previous poster who stressed treat yourself.....rest the day before and the day of the exam. And that is exactly what I did. I did not do any U World questions on the days before my exam and I felt relaxed. I enjoyed watching my oldest boy play ball and that was that.

The day of... I made sure I scheduled my exam in the afternoon so I would not worry about sleeping in and being late. I woke up refreshed and ready to conquer the day. I arrived to the testing center 45 min early and I checked in. I read the "rules" got my palm scanned and was ready to go. I was then called back to take my exam!!

I am really proud of myself for not being nervous because I had major test anxiety in nursing school. I sat down at the computer and said to myself, "this is it. one question at a time. " During the exam I read each question carefully and I found myself going at a steady pace. Before I knew it I was at question 50! I kept the pace up and when I got to question 75 I was prepared to keep going. I hit next and my computer shut off! I was not expecting that so I completed the survey and raised my hand indicating I had finished. I walked out of there thinking this could not be good....... I have looked at the clock and only 1hr and 15 minutes had gone by. I didn't even need to take the mandatory break.

The next few days were painful......I got no sleep. I kept thinking I failed it. After 3 days, my license was there! Relief set in! All my hard work and now I am an RN!!!!

So..... You can do it!!! If you can pass nursing school, study with a question bank, and refresh your brain you should be able to pass the NCLEX too!!!