Passed NCLEX-RN 3rd time in 236 q

After 8 months post graduation, 3 attempts and 766 questions later, I can finally say that I passed my NCLEX on December 15, 2015. I'm still in utter disbelief. I honestly never thought that I would be writing this. I told myself that after the 3^rd attempt, what ever happens, I am moving on with my life.

I also have to point out, because I have read probably a hundred testimonials on this website and many others. No one has stated that the NCLEX is the ABSOLUTE WORST representation of how competent you are and will be as a new nurse. In fact, it is a horrible evaluation of somebody's ability and should certainly not be what will qualify a new grad to receive his or her license.

Moving on.

I'm here because I want you to find hope and encouragement from this post just as I did from dozens of others before.

I want to let you know that you WILL pass. You have it in you and even at the many moments of complete despair and debating on giving up entirely, PLEASE PUSH EVEN HARDER, AND DO NOT GIVE UP, YOU DON'T KNOW HOW CLOSE YOU ARE. Because, as I said earlier, I was prepared to fail the third time, I was prepared to find a new career path, but God has a plan and He is ALWAYS faithful.

~A brief background of my previous attempts and how I prepared leading up to them~

1. The first time I took it was in June, I thought that 2 wks was enough time to study. Sorely. Mistaken. I came back from a post graduation vacation and thought I would be completely fine if I went through a decent amount of practice questions. I bought NSCBN 3 wk review and went through the content (which is not as thorough as I needed) and then I only had time to do 20% of the practice questions and strolled in there with some lab values memorized and no isolation precautions looked over or electrolyte imbalances or abgs pr anything. And 265 questions later I found out I failed and had near passing” in every section.

2. After failing, I buckled down. I went to a 3-day live review in Tampa for Hurst, I followed every step of Aunt Marlene's plan. It really is a wonderful review for content; it condenses everything you need to know into the review plus the online supplemental material. I did all 6 Q Reviews from Hurst as well as bought NCLEX mastery app and did a good amount of questions through that. And for SATA practice, I had Saunders Q and A NCLEX-RN Review through evolve. I studied my ass off this time, but I think I was focused a lot more on content and I should ahve given myself more time to know how to answer practice questions. After 6 weeks of solid studying I took the test August 15th, and failed with the lovely 265 questions again. This time I was below passing in pharmacology and safety and infection control. I was devastated after that point. I took a big break, two months off and didn't touch anything related to NCLEX. It just was depressing and I knew I tried my hardest that time, I gave it everything I got, I didn't work, I moved back in with my parents, I sacrificed everything and still failed.

3. I found encouragement after talking with a previous nurse manager and a friend who had recently passed NCLEX after her 4^th attempt, I decided to start it up once again. But this time, I wanted to specifically focus on practicing NCLEX questions. And that exposure, is key. In all I did over 4000 practice questions before taking it a third time.

I bought the MOST WONDERFUL BOOK ever written for NCLEX review. And yes you guessed it, the LaCharity Prioritization and Delegation book. This book was one if not the biggest reason I passed. I'm serious, you better get this book because when I went in there and took the 236 questions on my last attempt, about 75% of those questions were prioritization questions. These are the higher level questions and these are the ones they really want you to know!!! I completed every chapter in LaCharity and scored between 60-90% in it, mostly around 68% though.

Because I was below passing in pharmacology I made flashcards of drug endings of the most common NCLEX drugs (this list was found in NCLEX mastery app under resources) and I memorized over a 100 endings. This I can tell you, did help.

Another resource I decided to use again was the NSCBN… this time I bought the 5 wk review and I did 5 practice banks a day (50 questions) a day. And I finished all 1500 questions. I was scoring in the 70-100% range towards the last half of the review. I also went to a free live review through Hurst again, it was a good refresher for content and also nice to be surrounded by students who were in the same boat as me, a great motivator. I still used NCLEX mastery app as well on the go, when I was in the line at the grocery store, when I was talking to my grandmother haha, anywhere and everywhere. I did maybe 500 questions through that. And finally, I found a wonderful podcast that I would listen to at night before I went to sleep. It's called nrsng.com and it was created by Jon Haws, RN. He has these segments called med of the day” where he talks about a common NCLEX med for 3-5 minutes. He also has an interview with a girl who failed her nclex 3 times and passed on her 4^th attempt, it is a must listen. It helped me to realize I'm not alone.

The number one thing I did throughout my journey, sometimes not as much as I should have at times… I prayed. I prayed during my test, the nights I was in doubt, and I listened to a sermon about testing your faith. I will leave the link below. It just gave me a lot of reassurance, and allowed me to put my full trust in His plan. And to believe that this season of struggle is only temporary.

This was a very long post but necessary, because every person who got through nursing school deserves to pass this exam, and you will.

Sincerely, Rebecca White

Your Faith Is Being Tested