Done at 90 with a Pop Up ... (My Strategy Enclosed)

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I passed on my first try. I only studied for about a week and here was the strategy that worked (it also brought me high HESI grades in school):

If you dont know the best answer, narrow it down to two and go with the second best if you have to. Don't get bogged down between two answers b/c you will get credit for the second best answer as well. The NCLEX was ALL about prioritizing and you can always knock it down to one or two so ... Good luck. You can do it!

PS: Without God nothing is possible so the credit goes all to Him!

Don't get bogged down between two answers b/c you will get credit for the second best answer as well.

Who told you that?

My prof explained the grading process in class early in the program. I took the HESI and the NCLEX with the attitude that there are only 1 or 2 possible answers that make sense (rarely a third). So, I just eliminated the ones that were obviously off and didn't stress about it after picking between the two. It may or may not be true but I have been told that by more than one educator. I guess that is open to debate. I just want to encourage those that are freaking out. If you just take a deep breath and stick with the basics in regards to prioritization, you will succeed:

"Questions containing the words initial, first, priority- is asking for your prioritizing skills. The choices are usually all correct but only one should be done first. When prioritizing, you should always remember the following:

  • ABC’s
    - use ABC’s (airway, breathing and circulation). Patients with airway problems or interventions to provide airway management are top priority.

  • Maslow’s hierarchy of needs
    - remember the hierarchy and from there you will know that physiologic needs come first before safety and security and so on and so forth. This is typically used in patients with multiple problems to be addressed.

  • Nursing process
    - Assessment should always be done before planning anything or instituting interventions. Unless the question already has subjective and objective data about the patient, assessment is at the top of the list

  • Patient first before equipment
    - if a patient is attached to an equipment and sudden removal of the equipment causes problems, primary assessment and interventions should be directed to the patient and not to the equipment."

(
The Nursing Show | 7 Tips and Strategies for Taking NCLEX Style Tests
)

Ha ha ha ok. Lucky you passed

Congratulations everyone is passing nclrx WOW.

I passed on my first try. I only studied for about a week and here was the strategy that worked (it also brought me high HESI grades in school):

If you dont know the best answer, narrow it down to two and go with the second best if you have to. Don't get bogged down between two answers b/c you will get credit for the second best answer as well. The NCLEX was ALL about prioritizing and you can always knock it down to one or two so ... Good luck. You can do it!

PS: Without God nothing is possible so the credit goes all to Him!

Wow! Congrats on passing! :)

Thank u for those tips delebern. I want to pass too.

Congrats on passing!!

I would debate the idea that "you will get credit for the second best answer". That is not true. What the NCLEX DOES do, is narrow you down to a competency where you have a 50% chance of guessing correctly (as opposed to guessing 25% correctly, which would obviously be random, and anyone taking the test would have a 25% chance of guessing any given question correctly). In other words: can you rule out 2 questions successfully most of the time? There will almost always be 2 easy rule-outs on any nursing school or NCLEX exam (i.e. you can easily rule out an assessment-type response if it asks you what INTERVENTION you would take). Even if you are successful at ruling out the obvious two "no-ways", you still need to guess or, better yet, KNOW the answer to the question out of the 2 responses left, MORE than 50% of the time. So while your strategy is not a BAD strategy for questions where you don't have a clue and must USE a strategy, the test is still going to narrow you down to a competency, and if you're above their line you pass, below it you fail. I think it's slightly irresponsible to suggest that people will pass the test if they narrow it down to 2 answers and go with either one. This test is also about critical thinking, and in many cases you should be able to narrow down the answer to the absolute correct one.

I think it's slightly irresponsible to suggest that people will pass the test if they narrow it down to 2 answers and go with either one. This test is also about critical thinking, and in many cases you should be able to narrow down the answer to the absolute correct one.

I was of course assuming that the test taker had a good grasp on critical thinking. Yes, you are not going to cheat the system but anxiety can take over to the point that it clouds otherwise sound judgment.

Congratulations! :up:

I would have to disagree with your statement "Don't get bogged down between two answers b/c you will get credit for the second best answer as well." This is NOT true.

Refer to https://www.ncsbn.org/2334.htm and scroll down to Answering Alternate Item Formats and click on "How is candidate performance scored on alternate items?" and watch the video. It's either right or wrong. No partial credits.

Congratulations! :up:

I would have to disagree with your statement "Don't get bogged down between two answers b/c you will get credit for the second best answer as well." This is NOT true.

They must accept a low passing pctg. to "pass," as I know I did not get the first one right that often. In 90 questions I must have missed 25 or more ... yet passed? Maybe I am wrong. Regardless, thanks for sharing the link. I guess it is just the HESI that scores like that. Also, 90% of first timers pass the NCLEX so the passing grade can't be too high, I imagine.

There is no GRADE. It's the probability of more right vs more wrong. If you get more of X amount of questions right than wrong, you pass.

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