The NCLEX experience from a procrastinator

Nursing Students NCLEX

Published

The NCLEX experience from a procrastinator

I took it on Wednesday the 25th and I thought I'd share with everyone how I prepared for this draining test. This is gonna be one of those TL;DR posts...

I didn't think I would pass. I wasn't a good nursing student, procrastinating and never studying on a schedule. Always crammed for exams and quizzes. I have a shoddy long term memory but a better short term memory which made studying last minute work for four years of nursing school. Downside is, I don't retain anything and I'm blank a day or two after the exam.

I felt so unprepared and was horrified when I finally got my test date. I have an internship lined up at a hospital I am currently working in as an NA and would lose my position if I failed the exam... I felt a lot of pressure scheduling this test and was rushed even though I was nowhere near ready. I had to hurry to meet the internship start date even though I would've preferred another week, another month to study...

So I started studying about a week before July. I kept working as an NA part time, and I didn't have my test date set until two weeks before the exam due to the slow ATT process. I was distracted, stressed from the BON's pathetic progress on my application. I wish I had taken time off from work to study but I couldn't.

When I began studying, I didn't know where to start. I read this forum for some studying tips and there were a lot of recommendations. I first tried to study with the Saunder's book I borrowed from my coworker but it overwhelmed me with such large amount of information. I would never ever finish reviewing that book with the short amount of time I had on my hands! Skimming through that book scared me because it reminded me of how much basic nursing knowledge I was lacking due to all that procrastination in nursing school. I searched awhile for how to study and what I should study with and Hurst seemed like a great option. It was a series of videos that looked feasible to watch completely. I watched a sample lecture and I liked it so I signed up.

The two main study material I used was Hurst and Kaplan. Along with the videos, Hurst also has a question bank which gives you 6 attempts at 125 questions. I would recommend Hurst to anyone who is a visual learner and those who are not experts at strict memorization. Hurst's videos are entertaining to watch as far as online lecture videos go and they break down the content very nicely by focusing on the why behind everything. It helps you understand why the patient has certain symptoms with certain diseases or why you position the client a certain way. The questions are great for reinforcing the material learned from the videos. However, I found the quality and style of questions to be not quite up to par. Kaplan qbank on the other hand, was excellent because the questions were the most similar to the ones I saw on the NCLEX.

I also used a couple of iphone apps, one of them being the free qbank app from Kaplan and the other being one with a bunch of NCLEX flashcards. I studied on my phone whenever I had downtime at work or I was on the bus or train. I downloaded the Saunder's program on my computer and it was great for reviewing content and practicing alternative format questions like SATAs which I got a TON of during my exam. I would not recommend using Saunder's alone for practice questions as it is a lot easier than the real thing.

The night before the test I couldn't fall asleep. Went to bed around 2am and woke up at 5:30am to get ready.

Here's a list of things I recommend to bring to the testing center:

A snack (i.e., granola bar)

A light cardigan or hoodie (It can get cold in the testing center thanks to the A/C even though it's a hundred degrees outside.)

Things I recommend to NOT BRING to the testing center:

A watch (I wore mine because I always wear one but it's forbidden.)

Study material (I did take a look at my NCLEX flashcard app but it started to give me an anxiety attack. By the day of the test, you either know it or you don't. Do not add to your nervousness and leave those index cards or printouts at home.)

I'm not a breakfast person and it was way too early in the morning but I forced myself to eat something and I am glad I did because I got hungry again about two hours into the exam. The exam lasted about 3 hours and I made sure I took my time with each and every question because I realized that I score far lower on timed practice tests (I felt rushed) than the ones on study mode which is untimed. I took all my scheduled breaks, and I strongly recommend that you take at least one of them. During the test, whenever I was guessing on a question (which was often), I tried to tell myself that NCLEX isn't about getting every question right. It's about staying above that baseline. What matters is the LEVEL of difficulty of the questions.

I was extremely nervous and constantly stressed throughout this whole experience and one thing I would've done differently is to give myself more time. I would've taken a week off from work and would've signed up for review courses first thing after graduation, giving myself more room to study. My instructor told me that NCLEX is like a marathon. You need to start training way ahead of time, but I'm a fool who never listens. During the span of less than a month I reviewed for this exam, I didn't contact any of my friends and was holed up in my room getting more and more anxious each day as the exam got closer. No fun, just work, study and STRESS but I deserved that because... I'm a fool who never listens. I was extremely lucky to make it to the finish line even though I ran it like a sprint. Give yourself plenty of time to study. Reward yourself for having a productive study session with watching your favorite show or hanging out with friends. Don't study the day before the exam like I did. Go out, relax.

I hope everyone who's preparing for this exam do well. Wishing everyone the best of luck!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
The NCLEX experience from a procrastinator

I took it on Wednesday the 25th and I thought I'd share with everyone how I prepared for this draining test. This is gonna be one of those TL;DR posts...

I didn't think I would pass. I wasn't a good nursing student, procrastinating and never studying on a schedule. Always crammed for exams and quizzes. I have a shoddy long term memory but a better short term memory which made studying last minute work for four years of nursing school. Downside is, I don't retain anything and I'm blank a day or two after the exam.

I felt so unprepared and was horrified when I finally got my test date. I have an internship lined up at a hospital I am currently working in as an NA and would lose my position if I failed the exam... I felt a lot of pressure scheduling this test and was rushed even though I was nowhere near ready. I had to hurry to meet the internship start date even though I would've preferred another week, another month to study...

So I started studying about a week before July. I kept working as an NA part time, and I didn't have my test date set until two weeks before the exam due to the slow ATT process. I was distracted, stressed from the BON's pathetic progress on my application. I wish I had taken time off from work to study but I couldn't.

When I began studying, I didn't know where to start. I read this forum for some studying tips and there were a lot of recommendations. I first tried to study with the Saunder's book I borrowed from my coworker but it overwhelmed me with such large amount of information. I would never ever finish reviewing that book with the short amount of time I had on my hands! Skimming through that book scared me because it reminded me of how much basic nursing knowledge I was lacking due to all that procrastination in nursing school. I searched awhile for how to study and what I should study with and Hurst seemed like a great option. It was a series of videos that looked feasible to watch completely. I watched a sample lecture and I liked it so I signed up.

The two main study material I used was Hurst and Kaplan. Along with the videos, Hurst also has a question bank which gives you 6 attempts at 125 questions. I would recommend Hurst to anyone who is a visual learner and those who are not experts at strict memorization. Hurst's videos are entertaining to watch as far as online lecture videos go and they break down the content very nicely by focusing on the why behind everything. It helps you understand why the patient has certain symptoms with certain diseases or why you position the client a certain way. The questions are great for reinforcing the material learned from the videos. However, I found the quality and style of questions to be not quite up to par. Kaplan qbank on the other hand, was excellent because the questions were the most similar to the ones I saw on the NCLEX.

I also used a couple of iphone apps, one of them being the free qbank app from Kaplan and the other being one with a bunch of NCLEX flashcards. I studied on my phone whenever I had downtime at work or I was on the bus or train. I downloaded the Saunder's program on my computer and it was great for reviewing content and practicing alternative format questions like SATAs which I got a TON of during my exam. I would not recommend using Saunder's alone for practice questions as it is a lot easier than the real thing.

The night before the test I couldn't fall asleep. Went to bed around 2am and woke up at 5:30am to get ready.

Here's a list of things I recommend to bring to the testing center:

A snack (i.e., granola bar)

A light cardigan or hoodie (It can get cold in the testing center thanks to the A/C even though it's a hundred degrees outside.)

Things I recommend to NOT BRING to the testing center:

A watch (I wore mine because I always wear one but it's forbidden.)

Study material (I did take a look at my NCLEX flashcard app but it started to give me an anxiety attack. By the day of the test, you either know it or you don't. Do not add to your nervousness and leave those index cards or printouts at home.)

I'm not a breakfast person and it was way too early in the morning but I forced myself to eat something and I am glad I did because I got hungry again about two hours into the exam. The exam lasted about 3 hours and I made sure I took my time with each and every question because I realized that I score far lower on timed practice tests (I felt rushed) than the ones on study mode which is untimed. I took all my scheduled breaks, and I strongly recommend that you take at least one of them. During the test, whenever I was guessing on a question (which was often), I tried to tell myself that NCLEX isn't about getting every question right. It's about staying above that baseline. What matters is the LEVEL of difficulty of the questions.

I was extremely nervous and constantly stressed throughout this whole experience and one thing I would've done differently is to give myself more time. I would've taken a week off from work and would've signed up for review courses first thing after graduation, giving myself more room to study. My instructor told me that NCLEX is like a marathon. You need to start training way ahead of time, but I'm a fool who never listens. During the span of less than a month I reviewed for this exam, I didn't contact any of my friends and was holed up in my room getting more and more anxious each day as the exam got closer. No fun, just work, study and STRESS but I deserved that because... I'm a fool who never listens. I was extremely lucky to make it to the finish line even though I ran it like a sprint. Give yourself plenty of time to study. Reward yourself for having a productive study session with watching your favorite show or hanging out with friends. Don't study the day before the exam like I did. Go out, relax.

I hope everyone who's preparing for this exam do well. Wishing everyone the best of luck!

so did u make it? was it really hard? i took mine today and i feel the same way too. i think i didnt make it again. i know i got low level questions but i know i got hard ones too. if i fail i will try again. goodluck!!

Up Vote Up Vote ×

ishi - did you try the PVT??

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I passed. :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×

congrats..:w00t::yelclap:

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Wow good for you! I have the same problem I would always procrastinate. But congratulations to you though!! :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Add a Comment