Passed NCLEX 2nd time around - Sept 2015

Hey all!! I took the NCLEX this past week and found out I have passed! I just wanted to share what I did to prepare. The first time I took the NCLEX I had all 265 questions and did not pass. It was a huge bummer. But I found encouragement from my professors, family and friends and kept chugging along. So DON'T GIVE UP! It was hard to think positively but remember YOU CAN DO IT! Try your best.

My study materials

Virtual ATI - One of my professors referred me to this and I was a little hesitant at first because I disliked ATI in nursing school but I didn't want to pay an arm and a leg for another review course. I had taken Hurst review the first time around, and it was not for me. With Virtual ATI, I had a coach who gave me assessments to do. I wrote down ever rationale to questions I missed and would study the topic more in my ATI books. At the end, there was a comprehensive predictor that I took.

LaCharity Prioritization, Delegation, and Assignment, 2nd edition - This book was amazing! HIGHLY recommend for those leadership type questions. I was definitely hung up on those the most the first time I took it. By the end of this book, answering those type of questions came more naturally. I didn't have time to do the case studies, just the tests.

Elsevier Adaptive Quizzing - this came with my nursing classes and was great for practicing questions because it is adaptive. I wrote down rationales for questions I missed. It was easy to pull up on my tablet and do, very convenient!

Lippincott's Q&A Review- Since most of my time was used with Virtual ATI, I was able to only do a few practice tests out of this book. These questions were difficult to me and if I had more time, I would have done more out of it for higher level questions.

I did between 100-200 questions a day. I read over my notebook of rationales and notes a couple times a week. I studied for a total of 7 weeks. I also did some exercises to help with test anxiety, like breathing and thought stopping.Test anxiety was huge the first time.

Day of the exam

I didn't touch any books or notes at all. I ate brunch with my grandma and kept telling myself YOU CAN DO THIS. I also reminded myself that it is NOT the end of the world if I have to take it again. I focused on staying calm on the hour drive to the test center, listened to my favorite songs, then went in. I focused on each question and took my time. I didn't take any breaks but I was planning to at question 100. Somewhere in the 90s my screen turned blue and I was done!

In conclusion, PRACTICE! As much as you can. And learn from those questions that you miss. Stay calm, stay positive, and take breaks during the exam if you need to. Don't listen to yourself when you start to have doubts. YOU CAN DO THIS!