Failed my NCLEX; need to know a more productive study plan

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I recently took the PN NCLEX and did the Pearsonvue trick only to find out the bad news. I really felt that I passed after I took it because I really studied a lot. =(

I will take this again but this time I'm not planning on failing so I want to know how did you guys study and how long did you study everyday? It's really hard trying to study when your working at the same time so I want to know how you all did it for all those that worked and studied at the same time? My work is either from 8am till 5pm or from 11am till 8pm and I'm usually exhausted by the time I get home. There has to be a better way to do this because I'm not losing hope. I will never give up until I pass this because I know that I can.

Thanks for any advices in advance...:):)

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There are lots of posts in this forum where people describe their study methods. You might want to consider taking a leave of absence from work to get some full time study time before the exam. Best wishes.

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Specializes in Cardiology, NCLEX instructor.

Also make sure you have a basic competency of general nursing care. You must know about medication administration, isolation precautions, and assessment findings for different disease processes. This can be done a little at a time but do not wait because April 2011 the NCLEX PN will get more difficult.

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I dont know what kind of a job you do, but you may need to take some flash cards or study notes to work with you and review them whenever you can. Study in 20 min increments because if you're tired you won't retain the information. Focus on your weakness, and pray. Good luck, blessings!

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Specializes in Psych.

I agree with Sheila. Short bursts of study time are way more productive for me than cranking away for hours. Since you're wiped out after work, I'd make a point of getting up a half hour early and working on NCLEX questions for 30 minutes each morning before work.

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check out Excel review!!! Kaplan is a waste of money and time and they dont teach you anything that you already know thru out your school!! Hurst is cover all the basic but it lack of nursing intervention. Excell review emphaised on the contents and if you understand the contents, regardless how difficult the questions on the nclex you will have the knowledge to answer!! I took the review and passed it with 75Q!! and it seems every question I know exactly what nclex want!!! Hope this help!!

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In support of the post of Sheila and general jinjur,if you own an iPod or iPhone, there are flashcard apps you can use. You simply have to download it for free:) and I'm not sure if they have saunder's q&a for PN.. That's like reviewing on the go.... :) but this one is quite costly...but hopefully worth it:) good luck!

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Everybody has their own opinion. But as for me, I failed it the first time, and this Thursday took it again and passed in 75 questions. I took the HURST review. Let me tell you that there is NO SUBSTITUE for knowing your content. Learn every disease, with symptoms, learn all the signs such as Gray turners sign, etc. And learn the main drugs in each class, ya can't know them all, but know the side effects or toxicity of your drug classes anyway. But more importantly, study the techniques of prioritizing your patients. You will have MANY questions that say: The nurse is planning to teach a client regarding_____________, what should the nurse include in her plan? So knowing general nursing content will help you with those. Don't select ANYTHING you have never heard of in any question. On SATA questions, don't select ANYTHING just because it sounds possible..trust what you KNOW you have seen. I hope this helps, and I have to admit that 2 weeks studying the Hurst review, with PLENTY breaks, gave me enough content to pass in 75 questions. I had been out of school 7 months and forgot EVERYTHING..I learned more in this review than I did in Nursing school. Good luck to you! God bless.

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Everybody has their own opinion. But as for me, I failed it the first time, and this Thursday took it again and passed in 75 questions. I took the HURST review. Let me tell you that there is NO SUBSTITUE for knowing your content. Learn every disease, with symptoms, learn all the signs such as Gray turners sign, etc. And learn the main drugs in each class, ya can't know them all, but know the side effects or toxicity of your drug classes anyway. But more importantly, study the techniques of prioritizing your patients. You will have MANY questions that say: The nurse is planning to teach a client regarding_____________, what should the nurse include in her plan? So knowing general nursing content will help you with those. Don't select ANYTHING you have never heard of in any question. On SATA questions, don't select ANYTHING just because it sounds possible..trust what you KNOW you have seen. I hope this helps, and I have to admit that 2 weeks studying the Hurst review, with PLENTY breaks, gave me enough content to pass in 75 questions. I had been out of school 7 months and forgot EVERYTHING..I learned more in this review than I did in Nursing school. Good luck to you! God bless.

thank you for this advice....i feel more confident now that i know this and everyone's advice. Thank everyone.

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