Took the NCLEX twice, passed the second time;)

It has been 6 months since I took the dreaded NCLEX RN exam and passed!I promised myself that I would post something on allnurses.com once I pass the NCLEX. It took me a while because I am currently job hunting!

For those of you who failed the first time, DO NOT GIVE UP! I repeat, DO NOT GIVE UP!

I know it is HARD,DEPRESSING,FRUSTRATING to fail the biggest test of your life. BUT if you really want to be a REGISTERED NURSE aka RN, you have to pass this darn test!

The first time I took the test, here are the things I did:

I used Kaplan Qbanks , attended the classroom sessions. I did not really focus on content. I just wanted to get this thing done and over with! I did not study consistently, maybe answered a few questions everyday and did not have a plan of what I am going to study for the day. I changed my test date MULTIPLE times, like literally the day before the test I told myself, ok ill just take this test! bad move on my part because I was still studying before the day of the test. I did not prepare as much as I should have.

Let me tell you that the first time I took the test (July 2013), I was sooo nervous, like my HR was probably 120-130. From the moment I took the cab from my house to the examination room! It took me a total of 4 1/2 hrs to complete the test. I tried the PVT and it went to the credit card page, I FAILED... oh and by the way, I answered a total of 265 questions. I waited for the official result by mail and it broke my heart. i really failed! I was sad, depressed for a while, embarrassed and felt like a failure. It took me a while to get back to studying because I was going through so much after graduation (personal issues). But, after a few months,I regained my confidence, studied my butt off and voila, I PASSED THE SECOND TIME! :) I am a RN! It was probably one of the best days of my life. I found out 2 days after New year's day that I passed! Best gift ever Yeah I answered 265 questions, AGAIN! I was soooo tired, drained and had a major headache after that test.But i Passed so thats okay.haha!

TIPS FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE ABOUT TO TAKE THE NCLEX

(These worked for me, so feel free to try it out).

1. MAKE A PLAN: use that planner and write down topics you want to read on (example, this week, Med surg). If you want to answer questions from whatever resource you have,write down the # of questions (e.g July 14: answer 50 questions on med surg). Next day 50 questions on Maternity, so on and so forth. STICK TO YOUR SCHEDULE. I know things happen unexpectedly. But you have to have self discipline and tell yourself, I am studying for this test because I want to a Registered Nurse. I can party, hangout with friends AFTER this is over! We all made sacrifices in nursing school: not getting sleep, not hanging out with family and friends because nursing school required so much time. YOU CAN DO IT for a couple more weeks, months (depending on how long you have until you take your test). They will understand .

2. I used Saunders Comprehensive Book (the yellow one). YES this book is so dense BUT if you need to brush up on content, this is going to be your bestfriend until you take the NCLEX! what I did is read/skim topic/s that I was weak on and answer questions. You know those end of chapter questions which are multiple choice,select all that apply, matching. Yup I answered those. I had another book full of questions, I believe it was the Lippincott Book. I answered questions after reading a chapter.

3. WRITE. IT.DOWN. : I am serious. I wrote everything down, I have notes about EVERYTHING! If I felt like I am getting a lot of mistakes on COPD/respiratory diseases, I would read up on that particular topic, write my notes and answer questions until I get the concept : meaning I understand and can explain to other people what COPD means,what it looked like on a person, what meds to give etc.

4. YOUTUBE videos, Hurst audio: Reading a dense book gets boring especially if you are reading 10-15 pages of content. I switched things up from time to time. From reading, I would watch some video clips on youtube or listen to my Hurst audio. I picked up some tips on how to memorize labs, simple mnemonics on how to memorize other stuff because as nurses, we are suppose to know everything. Just kidding.

5. MEMORIZE THY LAB VALUES! I cannot stress this enough. You need to know you labs,if you don't , then you are screwed! lol

6. TRY TO RELAX THE DAY BEFORE YOUR TEST! Do not study. Well maybe study a little, but not too much! Try not to freak out too much because if you do, then you wont be able to focus on the question!

7. BRING SNACKS,WATER, Take a break if you must: Go to the bathroom to pee, eat a snack on the day of your test! Me? I couldn't focus or think properly if I'm hungry or my bladder is telling me, hey You gotta go to the bathroom right now! haha

8. PRAY, meditate

9. BE CONFIDENT! You finished nursing school, you can pass this test!

10. Don't forget to rest/relax. Take care of yourself. very important!

If you don't pass the first time, its not the end of the world. It may feel like that for days, weeks or months. But are you going to give up on becoming a RN just because you failed? NO. You have come too far to give up! Do what you have to do to regain your confidence. Take a break, talk to a friend, exercise,cry your eyes out etc. When you are ready, pay the appropriate fees,schedule that test again,STUDY EVERYDAY and believe that YOU WILL PASS!

GOODLUCK EVERYONE! Let me know if you have any questions, or let others know what worked for you:)

RNeabv