Canadian NCLEX-RN Experience

[cassiebeern]

I made a promise to myself that after all the piece of mind and comfort that allnurses gave me, if I passed my NCLEX I would come back and take the time to share my experience, especially since I didn't see many from Canadian RNs since the NCLEX became our standard board exam.

I am from Toronto, and so my board is the CNO (College of Nurses of Ontario). My program completion was in May of 2015, and once completed my school (UOIT) submitted my eligibility status to CNO. I was sent (via mail) an initial registration form four weeks after my official program completion date. I went (in person) to the CNO to submit my application. I would recommend completing the citizenship requirements at this time as well to avoid having to do this later and causing delays in registration.

Once my application was in, about two days later I received my ATT in the mail. I booked my NCLEX online, and gave myself roughly three weeks to study (I had begun some element of studying since the January prior as my school took part in the HESI mock exams, but mostly fundamentals and meds). During this time, Kaplans NCLEX review was my second bible. I can honestly say out of all the materials I used, it was the most helpful, probably because it helps to guide your studying and organize what content is important to review, and I found it had the best approach to it as well. I highly recommend it.

Test day came, and for anyone taking out of Toronto, the testing center is very helpful - just make sure not to bring too much stuff because the lockers there aren't very big. I was happy to see that a lot of the content I was being tested on was from Kaplan, they served me well! My strategy was to take my time. Each question I gave a good amount of thought and effort in. I had over half of my test as SOTA, and I took the time to consider each option. In some cases, all options were correct. In one particular question, only one was. When the test stopped at 75 questions, I was surprised and a little nervous. I couldnt tell if that was good or bad. Two days later, I tried the PVT, and got the "good" message, but I was still just as nervous because I didnt know if that trick worked in Canada. Turns out it did :) I took the test on the Thursday and I received my pass letter on the Wednesday following.

In truth, I can say that following the Kaplan book meticulously (including studying in detail the procedures and protocols outlined there) was what really helped me to be succesful. Content is not going to help you much here, the test is very application based and you have to know how to apply the knowledge, solve problems and PRIORITIZE. The worst part is, you walk out feeling really unsure because unlike any practice question, the answer isnt obvious. All you can do is eliminate the other options and find rationales. I just wanted to share my experience so that other Canadian nurses know that it is possible to pass even though there was a lot of anxiety about the sudden change in licensure exams. You have the knowledge, its just a matter of teaching yourself how to think like the NCLEX!

Good Luck to everyone.

[cdwo11]

Congrats on passing! I too am a Canadian student, and I've purchased the Kaplan Classroom Anywhere. Is that what you used with the content book from Kaplan?

[cassiebeern]

I didnt personally do the classroom anywhere, i studied from the book. But a friend of mine purchased it and said it was the same content. It really just depends on how you learn i imagine

[c2ha]

I wrote my nclex in Hamilton, it's been a week and I still don't have access to the quick results. I got the "good popup" but it still concerns me that most people got to see their results in 48hrs.