Passed the NCLEX

:ancong!:

Im taking my NCLEX-PN soon on Feb 22nd.... of course Id like to know How you studied and What you studied from and how you were feeling during the exam thanx!

Response: First off congratulations on finishing your nursing program; with that said you must believe that you already possess the fundamental skills (clinical experience) and knowledge (content) that you will need to succeed on the day of your NCLEX date. Secondly, you will have to own the following trait to prepare yourself to succeed on the NCLEX and on the day of the exam: CONFIDENCE!!! It is the difference between you feeling unstoppable and feeling scared out of your seat as you prepare to beat NCLEX. I approached this by visualization that I would finish the exam at 75 questions. I would also, write down the entire length of a single page spiral bound notebook, "I passed the NECLEX, I passed the NCLEX, I passed the NCLEX."

Next, practice doing questions, questions, questions, after questions and questions; to help me with answering the questions, I enrolled in KAPLAN's NCLEX prep course. The questions in KAPLAN'S test bank and question trainer makes you really use your critical thinking skills as you examine the questions and examine each answer choice. Everyone that I know who has taken KAPLAN passed their NCLEX the first time out. Knowing how to answer questions is very important and KAPLAN will help you through this; remember you already possess what it takes to do well on the NCLEX, if you did not then you would have not made it through your nursing courses. So, be confident that you will do well on the day of your exam. Besides KAPLAN, the other test banks that I used to get ready for the NCLEX were: NCLEX-RN 3500/4000, learningext.com, and Mary Ann Hogan's NCLEX RN questions. If you don't want to spend the money for Kaplan's review course then I would suggest to purchase and review their NCLEX review book at your local bookstore or borrow it from your local public library or the circulation desk at your school's library.

If your school made you take an exit examination (i.e., HESI or ATI) than you can rest assure that the exit exam questions are more challenging then the NCLEX. But of all the test banks that my friends and I have tried, KAPLAN seems to be the most challenging; but rest assure that in passing any of the schools exit exams you are then prepared to sit for the NCLEX.

I also found it useful to switch between KAPLAN and the other test banks that I mentioned above. One reason, I enjoyed the other test banks was the option to answer questions in study mode, since the rationale is given immediately after you've answered a question. It is very important that you review all of the rationales for each question no matter which test bank you use; yes it can be tedious but you must be patient for in the end the results will show in your successful pass of the NCLEX. If you must read content, then quickly skim over the content you feel comfortable with and slow down on the information that you feel you need to improve on.

Skimming will allow you to recall information that you already learned while in nursing school.

Make sure that you know the normal values of common lab tests (ABG, fluids and electrolytes, renal values, hematologic values etc...), in addition to math calculations (just in case you get a math questions), disease process, signs and symptoms, nursing considerations and patient education. Since the lab values tend to vary from source to source. So you don't go crazy as to whose lab values you can trust than just stick to the values of only one book. Know your basic/fundamental nursing skills, since the NCLEX will want to know if you have the fundamental skills required, as a new graduate nurse, to practice as a safe nurse. Ultimately you will have to believe that you WILL pass the NCLEX and that is nothing more but confidence.

The more questions you do the better your confidence will be. Remember, you already know the content; now learn how to answer the questions. Good Luck.