An NCLEX Story

Published

Hi folks.

I just wanted to come and share my story because I read so many of these posts when I was getting ready to take the test and a whole lot more AFTER I took the test!

BACKGROUND: I am a master's degree student who came into nursing through a "direct entry" program (meaning I had a bachelor's degree in an unrelated topic, came into an accelerated master's nursing program where I earned a certificate to sit for the NCLEX-RN exam, and am now 1 year away from a master's degree in nursing). I took my MedSurg course from September 2006 to December 2006. Since then I took a couple more courses like maternal/peds/community health, etc. Then I started my midwifery classes in fall of 2007. SO, IT HAD BEEN A YEAR since my regular nursing classes! And I was very nervous because all of that midwifery content was what was fresh in my mind. To complicate matters, my MedSurg clinical experiences were not on standard medsurg floors where you learn a ton of different things - mine were on the cardiac stepdown unit and an oncology unit.

STUDY: (*please read this whole paragraph, not just the first sentence!) I took my last final on Tuesday May 13th, and my test was scheduled for exactly a week later on May 20th...this week was the only one that I really studied. I studied HARD...between 10 and 12 hours per day. I did every section of the Saunders Comprehensive Review CD, plus questions from the Saunders Q&A review, plus questions from Mosby's PDQ for NCLEX-RN, and I read the Kaplan Strategy Book cover to cover and did the questions that came in the book. This amounted to over 2,000 questions in a week w/ rationales, plus reading and reviewing content. NOW. OK. Yes, I only studied for a week and crammed a lot into that week, BUT, I am also in a very good program (I think) and had A LOT of clinical experiences in the midwifery portion of the program, and a good class on primary care which really helped me retain some stuff like respiratory and GI issues. I had also JUST taken my final in Advanced Pharmacology which I spent countless hours studying for and almost aced that exam - so that helped a lot when it came to the pharm content. I did not take a Kaplan course. (See more about what I studied at the end of the post)

TEST DAY: I hated the process of checking in...all the fingerprinting was not good for my spirit, lol. FYI: they give you sterile ear plugs and they work great. After sitting down to the computer I took a few deep breaths, took off my shoes, put in the ear plugs, and set up my scratch dry erase board. (When studying I used the Kaplan method of striking out the answers I knew were wrong...so I numbered my scratch pad in the same way I used to number my practice test papers) Then I said my affirmation that I had written and memorized 2 days before: "One test does not determine how much I've learned. I've come a long damn way. I survived 2 years of nursing school. Pass or fail, I've accomplished more than I ever dreamed." (Cheesy, I know, but it helped!) Until the end...

AFTER THE TEST: First of all, I hadn't been consciously checking what number I was on because I had been preparing myself all week for taking the entire test and I didn't want to get discouraged if it didn't cut off at or soon after 75 questions. But the last time I had looked I was on like 60 something, and I was moving very slowly (though I didn't realize it) All of a sudden the screen shut off, asking me if I wanted a break! I had reached the 2 hour mark. I was thinking what?? NO!! Not now, lol. I sat for a second to decide if I should stop even though I didn't feel like I needed to. I decided not to, and pressed the button to keep going....but then nothing happened. I raised my hand for the attendant to come out but before she could even get there, the screen was saying I was done!! And telling me about a survey. I was so shocked and upset that I didn't have more questions because I felt like I failed. I had had 19 SATA questions, 14 med, and 9 math. (I kept tick marks of what kinds of questions I was getting) I was so frustrated because I felt like I didn't get enough multiple choice questions...I also had done the poorest on the SATA while studying for the exam and so I was very panicked. I managed to make it out to the car before I really broke down. Um, it wasn't good...I was a MESS. Crying, shaking, nausea, everything. (sigh) I sat there until I got myself together in respect for other people on the roads...I was in no condition to drive. I just knew I had failed. I called my husband and he was so supportive, then my friends started texting me offering support reminding me that everyone feels this way after the test and about the 85% pass rate at 75 questions, etc. I managed to get myself together and drive home - playing great music all the way there...music that I had specifically chosen for it's ability to remind me of how far I had come and lift my spirits. That helped. Then the waiting began...

THE WAIT: Of course it was terrible. But I really celebrated my accomplishments, and I ate well, and partied hard, and treated myself to the spa and shopping (I had finished 2 years of a very demanding nursing program afterall! :yeah:) And then I started checking the Pearson Vue website every hour after 24hrs had passed (and my state board of nursing) But even 48 hours later it still wasn't up! (I took the exam at 8 am, but at 8 and 9 there was still no record of my results) But at 10 am I finally saw those four little letters: pass. And I could not believe it.

AFTERTHOUGHTS: Even though you can read allnurses and *know* that a lot of people swear they failed but they didn't, it doesn't change how you feel after the exam...you just feel like you're going to be one of those who was doing so poorly that they knew you couldn't pass at 75 questions. No one could convince me...I came back to allnurses and read as many posts as I could find trying to guess whether I passed or failed. These posts were a little helpful, and that's why I'm telling my story, but in the end, the MOST HELPFUL thing was to celebrate all I had accomplished before the day of that test! Even in that week of studying for it, I stopped early one day and went to a pub crawl my class had. I drank and danced the night away and I highly recommend it (or whatever you do for stress relief) while studying and as much as you can handle on those two days after the test when you're waiting, waiting, waiting for the results.

A FEW DETAILS ABOUT WHAT I STUDIED:

~All normal lab values

~Reading a cardiac strip

~Common procedures: sterile cath, pin care, EG tubes, IVs, ect

~Know how to do the med math backwards and front!

~Positioning

~Foods high in: Fe, K, Vitamin K, Ca

~These meds (+antidotes): Coumadin, Heparin, Lasix, Digoxin & Metformin

~S/SX/TX of: digoxin toxicity, pulmonary embolism, cardiac shock, compartment syndrome, Hyper/Hypo K

The list above were things I came up with after doing a bunch of questions and seeing what I didn't know enough about. I also just brainstormed things that I think nurses do a lot of (since I don't have much experience as a nurse) and simply things that I refused to go into the test not knowing! I would also add maternity subject matter to this list, but since I'm in midwifery school I pretty much knew all of that content already.

Good luck to everyone preparing, and waiting, to accomplish one of many goals! Keep your eyes on the prize, work hard AND smart, and then breathe. Remind yourself that one test does not define you! I know it's all easy to say AFTER you've passed, but give yourself credit for everything you've accomplished up to to this moment, and even for having the courage to sit down and take the test in the first place.:bow:

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you rock! congratulations and I appreciate your encouragement as I near the NCLEX myself...

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So I shouldn't give up then! :stone I took mine yesterday morning and I've been checking the state board site all day...I am beginning to think hope is gone...it makes me feel better that you are describing exactly how I feel and you passed.

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Specializes in Med Surg, Telemetry, Long Term Care.

congrats

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Hi folks.

I just wanted to come and share my story because I read so many of these posts when I was getting ready to take the test and a whole lot more AFTER I took the test!

BACKGROUND: I am a master's degree student who came into nursing through a "direct entry" program (meaning I had a bachelor's degree in an unrelated topic, came into an accelerated master's nursing program where I earned a certificate to sit for the NCLEX-RN exam, and am now 1 year away from a master's degree in nursing). I took my MedSurg course from September 2006 to December 2006. Since then I took a couple more courses like maternal/peds/community health, etc. Then I started my midwifery classes in fall of 2007. SO, IT HAD BEEN A YEAR since my regular nursing classes! And I was very nervous because all of that midwifery content was what was fresh in my mind. To complicate matters, my MedSurg clinical experiences were not on standard medsurg floors where you learn a ton of different things - mine were on the cardiac stepdown unit and an oncology unit.

STUDY: (*please read this whole paragraph, not just the first sentence!) I took my last final on Tuesday May 13th, and my test was scheduled for exactly a week later on May 20th...this week was the only one that I really studied. I studied HARD...between 10 and 12 hours per day. I did every section of the Saunders Comprehensive Review CD, plus questions from the Saunders Q&A review, plus questions from Mosby's PDQ for NCLEX-RN, and I read the Kaplan Strategy Book cover to cover and did the questions that came in the book. This amounted to over 2,000 questions in a week w/ rationales, plus reading and reviewing content. NOW. OK. Yes, I only studied for a week and crammed a lot into that week, BUT, I am also in a very good program (I think) and had A LOT of clinical experiences in the midwifery portion of the program, and a good class on primary care which really helped me retain some stuff like respiratory and GI issues. I had also JUST taken my final in Advanced Pharmacology which I spent countless hours studying for and almost aced that exam - so that helped a lot when it came to the pharm content. I did not take a Kaplan course. (See more about what I studied at the end of the post)

TEST DAY: I hated the process of checking in...all the fingerprinting was not good for my spirit, lol. FYI: they give you sterile ear plugs and they work great. After sitting down to the computer I took a few deep breaths, took off my shoes, put in the ear plugs, and set up my scratch dry erase board. (When studying I used the Kaplan method of striking out the answers I knew were wrong...so I numbered my scratch pad in the same way I used to number my practice test papers) Then I said my affirmation that I had written and memorized 2 days before: "One test does not determine how much I've learned. I've come a long damn way. I survived 2 years of nursing school. Pass or fail, I've accomplished more than I ever dreamed." (Cheesy, I know, but it helped!) Until the end...

AFTER THE TEST: First of all, I hadn't been consciously checking what number I was on because I had been preparing myself all week for taking the entire test and I didn't want to get discouraged if it didn't cut off at or soon after 75 questions. But the last time I had looked I was on like 60 something, and I was moving very slowly (though I didn't realize it) All of a sudden the screen shut off, asking me if I wanted a break! I had reached the 2 hour mark. I was thinking what?? NO!! Not now, lol. I sat for a second to decide if I should stop even though I didn't feel like I needed to. I decided not to, and pressed the button to keep going....but then nothing happened. I raised my hand for the attendant to come out but before she could even get there, the screen was saying I was done!! And telling me about a survey. I was so shocked and upset that I didn't have more questions because I felt like I failed. I had had 19 SATA questions, 14 med, and 9 math. (I kept tick marks of what kinds of questions I was getting) I was so frustrated because I felt like I didn't get enough multiple choice questions...I also had done the poorest on the SATA while studying for the exam and so I was very panicked. I managed to make it out to the car before I really broke down. Um, it wasn't good...I was a MESS. Crying, shaking, nausea, everything. (sigh) I sat there until I got myself together in respect for other people on the roads...I was in no condition to drive. I just knew I had failed. I called my husband and he was so supportive, then my friends started texting me offering support reminding me that everyone feels this way after the test and about the 85% pass rate at 75 questions, etc. I managed to get myself together and drive home - playing great music all the way there...music that I had specifically chosen for it's ability to remind me of how far I had come and lift my spirits. That helped. Then the waiting began...

THE WAIT: Of course it was terrible. But I really celebrated my accomplishments, and I ate well, and partied hard, and treated myself to the spa and shopping (I had finished 2 years of a very demanding nursing program afterall! :yeah:) And then I started checking the Pearson Vue website every hour after 24hrs had passed (and my state board of nursing) But even 48 hours later it still wasn't up! (I took the exam at 8 am, but at 8 and 9 there was still no record of my results) But at 10 am I finally saw those four little letters: pass. And I could not believe it.

AFTERTHOUGHTS: Even though you can read allnurses and *know* that a lot of people swear they failed but they didn't, it doesn't change how you feel after the exam...you just feel like you're going to be one of those who was doing so poorly that they knew you couldn't pass at 75 questions. No one could convince me...I came back to allnurses and read as many posts as I could find trying to guess whether I passed or failed. These posts were a little helpful, and that's why I'm telling my story, but in the end, the MOST HELPFUL thing was to celebrate all I had accomplished before the day of that test! Even in that week of studying for it, I stopped early one day and went to a pub crawl my class had. I drank and danced the night away and I highly recommend it (or whatever you do for stress relief) while studying and as much as you can handle on those two days after the test when you're waiting, waiting, waiting for the results.

A FEW DETAILS ABOUT WHAT I STUDIED:

~All normal lab values

~Reading a cardiac strip

~Common procedures: sterile cath, pin care, EG tubes, IVs, ect

~Know how to do the med math backwards and front!

~Positioning

~Foods high in: Fe, K, Vitamin K, Ca

~These meds (+antidotes): Coumadin, Heparin, Lasix, Digoxin & Metformin

~S/SX/TX of: digoxin toxicity, pulmonary embolism, cardiac shock, compartment syndrome, Hyper/Hypo K

The list above were things I came up with after doing a bunch of questions and seeing what I didn't know enough about. I also just brainstormed things that I think nurses do a lot of (since I don't have much experience as a nurse) and simply things that I refused to go into the test not knowing! I would also add maternity subject matter to this list, but since I'm in midwifery school I pretty much knew all of that content already.

Good luck to everyone preparing, and waiting, to accomplish one of many goals! Keep your eyes on the prize, work hard AND smart, and then breathe. Remind yourself that one test does not define you! I know it's all easy to say AFTER you've passed, but give yourself credit for everything you've accomplished up to to this moment, and even for having the courage to sit down and take the test in the first place.:bow:

I really needed to hear that. :yeah:

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great story thanks for the inspiration! thanks for the tips.

I couldn't imagine myself answering all 19 SATA questions! grrr..

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Specializes in so far really med surg.
:yeah: CONGRATS TO YOU!
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Specializes in OB, Cardiac.

congrats & thanks for the helpful tips!

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Thanks guys and you're all welcome! Good luck, you can do it!!!!

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Congrats! i will follow your tips, thanx a lot..:yeah:

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Congratulations!!!:balloons::balloons::balloons:

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Your story was exactly what I was looking for, I need not read more. I walked out of the testing center less than an hour ago and I feel like crap! I got the 75 questions also and I hope to God I didn't sink this ship! Thank you for taking so much time to explain your last week and day of the test. I ran away from my boyfriend's house before anyone could tell me how great they thought I did! HA! Like they would know, the Laymens crew! Anyway, I will do exactly as you, go out this weekend, starting tonight, and let it all go. I want to feel a sense of relief, not suffocation! Congratulations on passing your test, you and everyone else really knew you could do it!

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