From failing in 75 to passing in 75 :)

4 Posts

Attempt #1: Jan 20, 2016.

Resource: Kaplan qbank, trainers, and review program

Average Qbank Score: 59%

Time spent studying: One month

How I studied: I did 75 q's a day, and remediated by going over the one's I missed (and my remediation was obviously not enough). I thought my content was solid, but in reality, I haven't touched content since October.

Attempt #2: April 15, 2016.

Resources:

Saunders NCLEX-RN 6th edition; spent 4 weeks reading each chapter and taking notes, focused on CONTENT, and did the questions on the CD. This book is amazing for getting your basics back. The questions are not NCLEX level, but are good for making sure you know your content!

PDA by Lacharity; questions were amazing for prioritization. 21 chapters, I did one chapter a day after studying saunders. Closer towards my NCLEX, I went back and did the questions again a second time, and also did the case studies, which were extremely tricky! I honestly didn't score as high (40's-60's), but they were really meant to get you to think critically.
Uworld; bought the 60 day plan, and this was what contributed most to my success. Questions were extremely similar to NCLEX, even the format of the test! Plenty of SATA (about 30%) questions helped ease my anxiety with those tricky bastards. The rationales are amazing, with descriptive pictures, and even displaying the percentage of people that got that question correct. I did 75 q's a day, with scores from 50 to 69, averaging 54 in the beginning and 58 at the end. Scores are important, but they a just a tool to measuring your success. Making sure you understand the rationales is your utmost PRIORITY. If you were to answer that question AGAIN, would you be able to explain why the other answers were wrong? BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT YOU'LL BE DOING ON THE NCLEX! After going through all 1850 questions (and yes, they slowly add questions, I thought i was going crazy cause I would plan to finish all the qbank by an exact date LOL), I went back and did the incorrect questions. If I still got them incorrect after a 2nd try, I made a chart on that topic. My incorrect charts were a helpful tool for me to study on the go.
HeyRona's Youtube NCLEX Charts; HeyRona on youtube has a video on how she passed nclex, and she has these amazing charts that are available to download. I highly recommending downloading these charts, and going over them every other day, if not every other day. By the time I was taking the nclex, I had a strong stack of charts I could bring me anywhere to study, HeyRona's charts AND my incorrect qbank question charts!
Kaplan Basics; the only reason I used this book again, was to make index cards of the pharmacology charts at the end of the book. These notecards are a simple way for me to study on the go, which I found extremely helpful!
Hurst videos; I also traveled a lot to babysit, and I used those opportunities to listen to Hurst videos. Although I didn't have the worksheets to go along (I later found the PDF); the videos were helpful to keep my mind engaged. I recommend listening if you commute!

As you can tell, I may have used a plethora of resources, and it MAY seem like a lot, but I would rather be overprepared than underprepared, like I was for the first test. Also, pro tip: deactivate/delete all your social media. You may live under a rock for the next 2-3 months, but this is YOUR prime time. You do you boo!

For anyone in California, I figured I'd also explain my timeline to give an idea of how horribly slow the BRN can be. I failed on January 20th, got my letter Jan 29th, sent my reapplication form out Jan 30th. My cash was checked March 9 (5.5 weeks later), and I received my ATT April 5 (4 weeks later). To retake, you're probably looking at retesting in atleast 2 months, if not 3 (they get backed up during the holidays/when summer starts because of graduation).

For the future retakers out there, I want you to know NOT TO GIVE UP. It may seem like the end of the world right now, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. The NCLEX is meant to be tricky, and you will conquer it. Last but not least, you are not alone. Your sacrifice will be worth the reward.

Test Preparation: scheduled two massages the two nights before my nclex, and visited the testing site the day before as well. I did light studying (Charts & cards) for two days before the NCLEX. I knew I would be extremely anxious waiting for the results so I decided to go to an amusement park the day after the test, so i could scream all my feelings out hahhaa.

I passed 4/15 with 75 Q's, and 26 SATA's, and one exhibit question. I binge watched shows on netflix to distract myself and did the PVT on the 18th, and GOOD POP UP! My name was posted on the 19th, and my license came in on the 21st, and my certificate on the 23rd. And I'm starting my new job as a Registered Nurse on May 31st. :) Uworld prepares you well, and i have no doubt that you'll pass, but you have to put in the effort :)

Please let me know if you have any questions! Good luck to you all!