Passed NCLEX-RN, 2nd time was my charm

long story, just super excited

omg i still can't believe this is over with. it has been a frustrating and exhausting two months but i never lost hope and faith in god. i took the exam for the first time in june only because my school was telling everyone to hurry up and take it. majority of my classmates took it and passed, half already have jobs. so i scheduled my test date thinking i could do the same thing, i thought knew the material to pass. i had a month to study for my first attempt, i only studied for two weeks maybe a combined 10 hours, did maybe 300 questions, read the rationales but didn't bother to understand them. well i screwed myself over, took the exam went all the way to 265 and failed. i obviously didn't know everything like i thought. i don't get super nervous or have major anxiety so i can't blame it on anything but the fact that i didn't know my content. i didn't cry the first time or made excurses, i did feel bad because i let my mother down, she is my biggest cheerleader and i felt like i let her down, but being the super mom she is, she smiled and said i'll get it next time. don't want to leave anyone out, the only other people who knew i failed were my dad, sister and brother-in-law, everyone was supportive and told me i'll pass next time.

so i received my performance report about a week later and found out that i was near passing on everything, which made me feel better but sad at the same time because i believed if i had tried a little harder i might have passed the first time. i hurried up and paid to re-take it and everything was finalized within 3 weeks giving me a total of 5 weeks to study.

this time around i studied everyday for 2-6 hours a day (really at night, i'm nocturnal). i used saunders 5th edition and learned my content, i can tell you the endocrine system and my labs in my sleep thanks to this book. i didn't do the whole book; i read the first 21 chapters, than skipped around to the endocrine, respiratory, gi, gu section. did the question after each chapter and scored in the 70's. i purchased exam cram questions book and did 3 1/2 of the 5 exams they have which are 250 each. i did the kaplan qtrainers, and the la charity book which i only did the first 14 chapters, not a big fan of the book but it is very useful, i also used other resources i found from allnurses.

i didn't have a life for a whole month; the only time i went out was to go to church. i reached out to god and asked him for guidance which i didn't do the first time. i know he was there with me through the whole experience.

the day before my exam i know everyone says to relax, but being a second time taker it was hard to do. so i studied until the last minute but nothing huge. went over the endocrine system, infection control and lab values. i also forgot to tell you all that i didn't tell anyone about my test date until the day before when i told my mom and sister that i was taking it. i wanted to keep it between me and god, but at the last minute i couldn't keep it from my mommy. she hugged me and told me i'll pass. love her so much.

so i got to the testing center, a different one from before, set down and starting attempt #2. i prayed throughout the whole exam, when i noticed it didn't stop at 75 i took a break, told myself i was close, i prayed even harder. it kept on going, didn't get nervous, took another break, prayed again for guidance and around 175-180 the computer shut off. i was like omg, it's over. i left not sure of how i did but i believed i passed. some questions are harder and worth more, my last 4 questions i remember were a sata which i know i got right and prioritizing which i also i believe i got right.

the proctor said that she knows i did great, she saw me praying throughout the whole exam; if you ask for help he will answer. i went to my car, cried and prayed some more, thanking him for everything. i went to the nearest place i could find wi-fi, did the pvt and got the good pop-up, and yes i cried again, let's keep in mind i didn't cry the first time i failed and i've already cried twice.

i was skeptical of the pvt like most are but it has worked for me twice. the first time i failed it took me to the cc page, this time i got the good pop-up. 48 hours later i found out that i passed my exam . told those close to me and they all were expecting it, i have the greatest support team. :heartbeat

ok i know long story, almost done

on my exam i had 12 sata, 2 ekg strips, 1 math, 2 delegations, around 6 infection control, some pharm questions, i knew all of them but not sure if i picked the right answers, majority of my exam was prioritizing.

here are my practice exam scores

exam cram

test 1 72%

test 2 72%

test 3 80%

kaplan qtrainers

#1 77%

#2 75%

#3 67%

#4 70%

#5 73%

#6 76%

#7 79%

to me the actual test was harder than both exam cram and kaplan, but it helps a lot to do as many questions as possible. i did around 3000 using other resources as well.

this part of my journey has ended, job hunt begins.

those who haven't taken the exam or have and failed like me, keep your heads held high, have faith. good luck