Anxious about the NCLEX? Please Read!

[jdperaz]

I wanted to write an entry regarding the NCLEX- mainly because during the time that I was preparing for the NCLEX, reading posts on ALLNURSES truly helped me out a lot. I took the NCLEX a couple days ago and found out today that I passed! If you are like me and have test anxiety and feel a lot of pressure to do well (mainly from yourself), then the NCLEX can be a daunting task. So I thought I'd post my experience in case it might help people out.

NCLEX vs HESI

At my school we took a HESI every single semester and then a cumulative HESI at the end of the program. Long story short, I did not get a passing score on any of the HESIs I took with the exception of the very last one. Throughout nursing school I let the HESI discourage me A LOT- I kept feeling like "If I can't pass this test, I have no hope of passing the board exam." However, this is not true. The HESI is a difficult test, and many (myself included) believe that it is harder than the actual board exam. No one ever gave me anything in writing that attested to that, but I did find it to be true. That certainly does not mean that you shouldn't care about the HESI, because doing well on the last one did increase my confidence. What it DOES mean is, don't despair if your scores aren't high on the HESI because it doesn't mean you will not pass the board exam.

PREPARATION FOR THE ACTUAL EXAM

There are a lot of people who will tell you that they are good test takers, let me tell you... I AM NOT ONE OF THEM. The fact of the matter is, I have terrible test anxiety. Sit with me and have a conversation about a topic and I will be able to discuss it.... But ask me to choose the right answer out of four and I second guess myself. There is certainly a lot to be said about reviewing content for the NCLEX. Believe me, you will hear 1,000 different stories about what people did and did not study. The fact of the matter is, the NCLEX pulls questions from a pool of 3,000+ questions (I think), so don't always take what people say and think, "that's what I need to study." I suck at anything related to OB- and if you asked me a year ago I would have told you that I was going to study OB for months and take the exam. I am glad I didn't. The approach I took was to review content from all areas, and perhaps dedicate a bit more time to weak spots. DO NOT ASSUME YOU NEED TO SPEND ALL YOUR TIME IN ONE AREA BECAUSE SOMEONE SAID THEY HAD A LOT OF QUESTIONS ON THE NCLEX FROM THAT AREA!!!

For content I used Mark Klimeck and Kaplin, both of which were a HUGE help. Even if you live far away, I am confident enough that Mark Klimeck will help you that I'd say to fly in for a weekend to hear him speak.. However, there are dozens of avenues to review- don't let people discourage you. Sometimes finances just don't permit a formal review course- does NOT mean that you won't pass.

There is something else besides nursing content, though, that I think is important. If you are like how I described myself, and not good at reasoning through things when you know that you are being tested.... I would spend a good deal of time developing skills to help you be a better test taker. There is a piece of advice given in EVERY review book and EVERY review class- PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE! If you do, it will pay off. You will find yourself able to work through the questions, and the NCLEX will not be as much of a shock.

THE EXAM ITSELF

Needless to say, everyone in my life was glad to see me get this over with. I am not going to pretend I walked into the test feeling great.... I was very nervous. I don't think that being nervous about boards is abnormal. However, I did walk in with something I can safely say that some people cannot. I walked in KNOWING that I had put 100% into my preparation and so if I did not pass, it was not for lack of trying. I sat down, I went through the questions. I did not sit at each question and analyze whether the question before was harder. I'm strong in some areas, weak in others. Therefore a HARD question is in the eye of the beholder (that is my opinion). There were plenty of times that I said, "oh man, I don't know what the heck this medication is" or "I didn't review this at all." I got to question 75 and was PRAYING for question 76. I was not ready to let go. I knew more- I wanted to show them I knew more. But the test shut off. I felt awful afterwards but knew it was out of my hands.

I used the Pearson Vue trick later in the day and it worked- I got the good pop up. However, I understood that it wasn't official by any means and I was not going to get comfortable until I KNEW that my license number was on the board's website.

OVERALL MESSAGE:

The most important thing I can say is that it is very important to prepare for the test. However, don't wrap your self-esteem up in it. Test-taking can really suck a lot of the time. However, if you are diligent in preparing, I hope you will have the same experience I had and know that regardless of what happens, I worked hard. Everyone's experience is different and everyone's questions are different so don't let people rattle you with what they say they had on the test (which they are not supposed to do anyway). I knew that if I failed I would need to take it again- not really any way around it if I want to be a nurse. So I worked hard. Congratulations to the "GOOD TEST TAKERS" and their ability to "WING IT." However, I was not blessed with that gift and I was glad I prepared.

I hope that this helped - and I wish everyone the very best of luck on the NCLEX.

[smartkrissy]

Congratulations!

I'll be taking my exam soon, I postponed it for this month cause I realized I wasn't ready yet. Goodluck to your career. Hope your story will help others too.

[debra3]

That so true what u say i believe this test is a person's luck what they get that day on the exam

[caliotter3]

:ancong!:

[Spydered]

Congratulations and thank you for sharing...:)

[~RNinProgress~]

Congrats to you! All your hard work payed off and you deserve a giant pat on the back!!!!! :hpygrp:

-Your words are inspiring and allow future NCLEX takers to breathe a sign of relief and hit the books! Thanks again for taking the time to share and Congrats!

[winsome08]

Thanks for sharing your insights. Congratulations on passing your exam, hoping to have the same experience this July.