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! 
) 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.
:up:
anyway, i think that i'm so nervous is why i'm rambling... so i guess my big question is does anyone who recently took the nclex-rn have any advice for the last day of studying?????
lovingpecola
283 Posts
Thank you and I'm glad it was helpful sisuskye. Yes, go out and have a good time, celebrate how hard you've worked!!!!! Have fun (I still am, um, weeks later I am still in party mode!!!) I earned it, and so have you!!!
LP