2 Attempts Later, I passed the NCLEX-RN!!

[nrcolee6]

That is right! I have officially passed the NCLEX-RN! First off, praise God! I couldn't have gotten through the heartbreak and hard times of studying with God's grace! Second off, thank you allnurses.com the support on this website is amazing! To be in contact with people going through the same thing is more helpful than I realized and wish I would've found this website a long time ago!

After I failed, I typed..."Failed the NCLEX at 265" into Google and was brought to this website. After reading a few posts, I wrote my first thread about my experience and received unconditional support and motivation. I got great tips and continued to read other's success stories about failing 1,2,3 times and then finally passing. So I told myself when I pass I have to write a post about it to help others get through the battle and see that they can do it---so hopefully something in this post will help you!

No one wants to fail. And when I saw the word fail on pearsonvue...tears streaked down my face. 265 questions was bruttle. Honestly I can't tell you what kind of questions I had on that test because it was such a blur. I tried to stay focused and think through the questions but I know I was really just hoping the test would shut off. 4.5 hours later it did and I ran out crying. I felt like I didn't know anything but assumed that I passed, because everyone else did right? Well those 48 hours after were horrible! I had panic attacks, couldn't sleep, dreamt about the questions I had and realized wow I probably answered them all wrong, looked up topics I had seen to see if I got some questions right, etc. I tried to calm myself down and say I hope I passed etc, but I think deep down I knew the end results. When I found out the results, I tried to keep myself together as I was running a 5k that day with another nursing school friend but deep down I was dying. I had never failed at something before. How could I fail the test after making it through nursing school? I was in the top half of our class. Always got A's and B's, excelled in clinicals. How am I going to get through this? I was fortunate enough to have a wonderful support system---my family, lots of close friends, and my nursing school friends. All had faith in me and knew I could do it I just had to realize that for myself. After taking a few days off to cry and be really depressed I told myself that I was going to get out of the rut and get back into studying.

Through reading threads I realized wow I probably didn't do enough content review as I should've because I just assumed after graduating I had a good base of knowledge, etc. First time I solely did Kaplan---they had a 100% money back guarantee right? Well I didn't really realize that the class had no content review in it and was purely practicing their strategey for 8 hrs a day. Ok fine, practicing the questions was really helpful and I did ok on qbank and qtrainers--qtrainers from 50s-low60s, qbank 63%. But because I didn't get the magical scores of 65% two weeks before I now realize I started doubting myself. I was double guessing my answers and rationales. A week before the exam after an emotional breakdown I was able to pick myself back up and talk myself back into studying and saying I can do this. But I was scared, nervous, etc. Walking into the exam I know deep down I doubted myself and didn't fully believe in myself just from my studying experience and being intimatidated by the exam.

So second time, I started off just reviewing content after content for probably 4 weeks. Using Mosby's, Saunders, and Prentice Hall. I felt better about things and I was really learning and understanding the patho behind things which was helping me critically think through questions. During those 4 weeks I didn't put a ton of emphasis on doing lots of questions, when I read a chapter, I did the practice questions and really read the rationales, I would go back through the chapter if I still wasn't sure and moved on. 4 weeks seems like a lot but I wanted to continue reinforcing the content because that would provide me a base to answer hard questions. I started to do Saunders questions after review and was ranging from mid50-90s. Saunders works hands down for some people but I felt like the questions weren't hard enough. Great to practice to make sure I was getting the basics down but I couldn't just rely on Saunders. So I started up my Kaplan again because I thought the questions were similar to NCLEX in difficulty. But this time with Kaplan I did not even think about their strategy ever! Even during my second test. Just used the qtrainers and qbank--this time I was ranging from high 50s-70s. Feeling better that I actually could think through the questions. I then bought LaCharity-Prioritization, Delegation, and Assignment because I read great reviews about it. Love the book! If you are looking for something to help you critically think through questions like "who would you see first" "what's most important" etc, get this book! It's $29 at Borders and so happy that I used that because I feel it really improved my skills on prioritization which was huge on my second test. Then after getting my ATT I scheduled my test to be in 3 weeks. I was feeling good. Ready to move on with this chapter in my life. I decided to buy a 3 wk subscription of NCSBN because again it had good reviews and I was going to do anything to pass this test. I was not going through this depression/heavy weight on my shoulders again. Plus the more resources and variety of questions I felt was helping make me more prepared. I highly recommend NCSBN---it's cheap and simple. Has great review of content which if you have done content before it's pretty quick. But the questions were very similar to the NCLEX in that they were short questions with short answers. I was doing well on the questions and continued to use NCSBN and Kaplan in the final preparations.

2 weeks before the exam I started getting really nervous. Anytime I got a bad quiz grade I kinda freaked out. But soon I reminded myself to not let my scores affect me because that brought me down last time. One bad study days I stopped doing questions and just kept reviewing my notes and content. Whenever I took practice tests I treated them like I was actually testing for the NCLEX. So I could practice calming my nerves and taking my time. I felt good leading up the my test date, Sept 2, I was staying focused, getting good sleep, eating well, keeping my workout schedule, and taking time off to relax from studying. I keep all outside pressures to a low and just wanted to focus on the NCLEX but also not let it control every thought. Monday (2 days before the test) I wrapped up my final studying, but knowing this was my last study day I studied all day, haha, I wanted to make sure that everything was somewhat fresh in my mind and kept wanting to look things up just in case they were going to be on the exam. Tuesday (the day before) I told myself I would not study because the first time I took the test I studied for 6 hrs the day before and I think because I was nervous everything jumbled together--not helpful. But of course after studying for 2 months what the heck was I suppose to do. Well I gave in and looked at my lab values and notes and then took a quiz on NCSBN and told myself no matter the score it would not bring me down. Well I got a 95% on that quiz and shut off my computer and relaxed the rest of the day, went to a soccer game, out to dinner, etc. So helpful because yeah I realized I was testing the next day but I wasn't anxious or frantic about it. I was more relieved and calm. Got good sleep.

Woke up, showered, ate well and allowed plenty of time to get to the testing center. Didn't bring any notes or anyting--the first time I brought lab values and briefly glanced over them before I walked into that test center--No No! Walked in, went to the bathroom, checked in, went to the bathroom again. Asked to sit in a corner desk where I wouldn't notice other people getting up or whatever. Grapped the ear plugs. Sat down and wrote out my lab values and a few other things. First question...read the question twice, put the question in my own words and kind of developed what the answer may be. Read the answers, eliminated the obvious wrong ones whenever possible and then thought about each answer and how that would affect the question and what would happen if I did that one thing and went home. Took my time and reminded myself, one question at a time. Felt like it was going ok, question topics were familar with me rather than being a scary unknown. Started getting SATA, 2 of which I know I nailed, a drag and drop, lots of infection control and prioritization. I didn't allow myself to keep looking at the question number as the first time I looked like every 5 and was just hoping to shut off. I went in with the mindset it would be nice to shut off at 75 but I'll do whatever it takes to pass and will not get nervous if I go pass 75. Well at 70, I took a deep breath and reminded myself of that again and prayed. Did a few more questions and after I clicked next on 75, it shut off! Honestly, right away I smiled and felt good. But then I started realizing shoot I better not have failed at 75. I walked out and felt ok, called my family members and honestly felt 10x better than the first test. I had seen things I had seen before. I thought through my answers and picked the ones I felt were correct rather than just picking an answer because I wasn't sure of the content or what the question was asking. It took me an hour and twenty mins. When I left I was kind of upset not knowing if I passed or failed and realizing 2 months of hard studying for 75 questions and an hour or so of testing. Man what a stinkin test. The 48 hrs after the test were not even as bad as the first time around. I felt like such a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders, I was smiling, laughing, and just at peace which was hard to do while studying and being reminded that I failed the first time. Tried the pearsonvue trick, got the pop up, which put me more at ease, but that doesn't mean I didn't try that trick 10+ times, and everytime I held my breath that I would stillget the blocker. Went out with friends and came home and checked for results..no results. So I slept on the couch (near the computer) and woke up every few hours to check. 6am--results available. Type in my credit card info---and hold my breath and click next. "PASS" What?! AHHH! Refresh the page. "PASS" OMG!!! I did it!! Call my family for a nice early morning wake up call! Come back to the computer and log in again "PASS" OMG! huge smile and relief. Try to go back to sleep but I was so excited and couldn't wait to let my friends know who have all been by my side this whole time.

So the moral of the story is....do not give up. Yes it hurts to fail, yes I struggled with dealing with my emotions about failing even leading up to my second exam. But I studied hard. I made a study schedule and stuck with it. I did not study for 6+ hours a day. In the beginning I studied for 2 hrs and gradually moved up to 4 or 4.5 hrs a day. I studied at the library everytime! I took Sundays off and went to church and enjoyed a break. I prayed a TON! More than a TON! Everyday. I wrote inspiration quotes on my mirror and my name with RN, BSN after it. I tried to do anything and everything to remain positive and keep my hopes high. I surrounded myself with positive people that believed in me--can't emphasis how important that is because if your loved ones believe in you, soon you will realize oh yeah I can do this. Although I studied briefly the day before the test I would say try try not to. Stay busy, pamper yourself and relax. Walk into that testing center believing in yourself. I walked in to that center with a smile and self talked myself into remembering I can and will do this. I worked and studied hard and now was the time to knock this test dead. Take each question as it comes and do not worry about what type of question or how many, because every question counts. I prayed about every 8-10 questions. And felt calm and relaxed.

So that's my story :) Although my state has not changed my license to active yet, I know I am finally a registered nurse! And it feels good! If you are struggling through the loss, hopefully you found something to add to your study routine, because you can and soon will have a story similar to mine. Keep your head up.

If you have questions or anything please let me know I'll do my best at responding to them because I know how helpful that was to have that from others!

As for drugs....oh yes pharm. I was dumbfounded at to where I should even start. Read through the random fact throwing thread---as there is so much helpful information but also I found a list of drug endings, I wrote that list down, added a few of my own, and then added like SE and important teaching of that drug class. I read the list every day or so. And although it wasn't as helpful as I thought on my test, it still provided me so much knowledge that when I did see an unknown drug and was able to pull about the drug I could narrow down my choices to what seemed most right. But do not get so upset about trying to know every drug. There is no way. And more than likely you will see very unfamiliar drugs on the test, but think through the quesetion and answers. Usually there is an answer that is most severe or very important.

Happy Studying! Thank you for your support!

-Nicole, RN, BSN:nurse::redbeathe:yeah:

"I can do everything through him who gives me strength." -Philippians 4:13

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knows, the door will be opened." --Matthew 7:7-8

"And this is the boldness we have in God's presence: that if we ask God for anything that He agrees with what He wants, He hears us. If we know He hears us every time we ask Him, we know what we have what we asked from Him." --1John 5:14-15

"Do no worry about anything, but pray and ask God for everything you need, always give thanks." --Philippians 4:6

[lilkrngrl7]

wow~ first of all CONGRATULATIONS~ you did it!!!!! i'm so happy for you..and your my inspiration I test for the second time soon to..and i really hope i pass. my anxiety level is so high..

[Silverdragon102, BSN]

Congratulations

[UjonesRN]

Congrats!!! Very motivational story Nicole,RN,BSN!!!!

[MH24]

nrcollee- I have been doing questions and really reading the rationales. But everytime I sit down to read content i just cant focus dont know what my problem is because I know there is specific content I need to review. My scores are improving on exam cram, ncsbn, and ati and lacharity. Any tips for content. Im reading the content on ncsbn but I feel like I have such a hard time just focusing when it comes time to read the content. I dont know what my problem is. Help or advice would be great. I retest the end of this month and if I cant start getting thru content Im going to reschedule.

OH and one more time CONGRATS!!!! You are truly my inspiration. I failed the first time with 265 I hope to pass the second with 75! Congrats again Im so happy for you!:D:bow::cheers::clphnds::hpygrp::dncgcpd:

[RNindmaking]

nicole, super congratulations!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:up::up::up:

i know you could do it!!

i am so happy for you!!!!!!!

isn't it worth all the sacrifices during review?

and the feeling of passing on second try is like heaven,isn't it?

again, super congratulations!!!!:yeah::yeah::yeah:

[nrcolee6]

thank you!!! :):):):)

[nrcolee6]

nrcollee- I have been doing questions and really reading the rationales. But everytime I sit down to read content i just cant focus dont know what my problem is because I know there is specific content I need to review. My scores are improving on exam cram, ncsbn, and ati and lacharity. Any tips for content. Im reading the content on ncsbn but I feel like I have such a hard time just focusing when it comes time to read the content. I dont know what my problem is. Help or advice would be great. I retest the end of this month and if I cant start getting thru content Im going to reschedule.

OH and one more time CONGRATS!!!! You are truly my inspiration. I failed the first time with 265 I hope to pass the second with 75! Congrats again Im so happy for you!:D:bow::cheers::clphnds::hpygrp::dncgcpd:

maybe evaluate why you are having a hard time focusing...like if it's other things you are thinking about rather than studying, getting frustrated with scores or whatever. when i did review i broke up chapters and made a schedule for a week at a time. example. monday im going to do endocrine and respiratory chapters and really understand those chapters, make simple notes about hyperthyroidism/hypo and what not. tuesday im going to do cardio and neuro. etc. for me it was repitition, you can't know everything even after reading content. but every time i reviewed stuff i was picking up more and more information. dont beat yourself up that you don't get it the first time or second time...we are not robots. i probably reviewed content on every section 3-4 times over the course of 2 months. still can't tell you everything! it's just how it is. but with my notes it made it easier for me to understand a disease and important s/sx and teaching etc. also try not to put a ton of pressure on yourself. you are your worst enemy. if you beat yourself up it defeats the purpose of studying. so take a deep breath and take it one thing at a time, one day at a time. you can do it! the light at the end of the tunnel is coming closer! hope that helps!

ps. with you scores improving thats a good sign too! so celebrate the successes! be proud of yourself for small progress!

[KAYBDT6, BSN, RN]

Am very glad you pull through.:ancong!::grpwlcm:

[MH24]

Thanks nrcolee. Im trying not to. I have my good days and bad. I know what I truly need is a place with no distractions. I will find it. The library where I live did not work out so off to find somewhere else. Thanks again and congrats on your success! Enjoy it you deserve it :)

[+one]

thank you for sharing and congratulations :)

[Linda detroit]

Thank you for your story. My 3 years will lapse soon. Your story motivates me to give it my all. Already tried 3 times, this time hopefully i can shout to the rooftops, i passed. I'm going to give studying my all. Pray for me. I'll give myself 2months.