so frustrated... what now?

2012RNJ · Jul 1, 2010

I think you should continue taking the questions and read the rationale as if your reading your textbook to take a test;the more you study the higher your score goes(i found out after three weeks of doing questions).I will also read in details from whatever textbook your using for contents review.Goodluck.I am studying to take my NCLEXPN and after this september i am taking my NCLEXRN as well;one semester to go inorder to become a GN.

Canggih1 · Jul 1, 2010

What I did was review my answers and try to determine where I screwed up on missed questions. Sometimes it was just not reading the question thoroughly. Other times it was not reading all the answers carefully. Others were due to incorrect thought processes. If you notice certain areas that you are weak in, review those chapters in Saunders. I don't think you need to go through the whole book again. Sometimes I had to reread a chapter four times till I got it.

Also take care of yourself. Exercise and eat healthy. (fresh fruits and vegetables) Those will help your brain function better.

Lisa1980 · Jul 1, 2010

I opened Saunders and started reading more thouroughly. Just something in my brain is not clicking!

Thanks all

erinp88 · Jul 1, 2010

Focus on test strategies for a bit. I have the Kaplan Strategy Book and that helped some. However, I found I cannot apply the strategies to my Davis Q & A! The questions are WAY harder than my Kaplan book.

I am testing next week and freaking out. The highest I have been able to get on a practice exam is 69. I tend to zone out on anything over 100 questions, so that doesn't help either! I'm finding it's hard to get into the right mindset when doing the practice exams as well. Now I'm torn with where to focus my energy - content vs. questions.

I wouldn't go too crazy! Just try and do 100-200 questions a day and split it up if you can and maybe do 45 minutes of content review at a time. You'll retain more if you study in smaller increments. At least that's how it works for me!

Hang in there!

Lisa1980 · Jul 1, 2010

Thanks Erin, I don't have a Kaplan book. I have spent a lot of money and just can't afford it right now. I'll try and figure something out.

My attention span after 100 questions is not functioning either. When I tested the first time and got to question 150 my brain went to total shut down and I know that I did not try as hard as I could of. So... I went all the way to 265 questions. That was rough and horrible!!

Good luck to you Erin!! Talking to you throught EC you'll do fine. Your a smart girl.

ONEHAPPYNP · Jul 1, 2010

Thanks Erin, I don't have a Kaplan book. I have spent a lot of money and just can't afford it right now. I'll try and figure something out.
My attention span after 100 questions is not functioning either. When I tested the first time and got to question 150 my brain went to total shut down and I know that I did not try as hard as I could of. So... I went all the way to 265 questions. That was rough and horrible!!
Good luck to you Erin!! Talking to you throught EC you'll do fine. Your a smart girl.

I agree with Erin, the Kaplan strategies book was very helpful.

I know money is a bit tight now, but is there any way you can borrow study materials from a classmate who already took the exam? I did that and it helped a lot.

I understand that it's frustrating too to study 100 Qs/day. But really, practice practice practice. It helps. Maybe take breaks between? I found that having a notebook by my side and writing down random facts from the rationales of questions I got wrong helped me a lot. For example, I wrote down random lab values, drug interactions, drug names, weird diseases I've never heard of, etc. and reviewed them later on. It kept me actively involved with my studies to write something down.

Keep going, you can do it! :)

erinp88 · Jul 1, 2010

Thanks Erin, I don't have a Kaplan book. I have spent a lot of money and just can't afford it right now. I'll try and figure something out.
My attention span after 100 questions is not functioning either. When I tested the first time and got to question 150 my brain went to total shut down and I know that I did not try as hard as I could of. So... I went all the way to 265 questions. That was rough and horrible!!
Good luck to you Erin!! Talking to you throught EC you'll do fine. Your a smart girl.

Lisa -

The strategies are probably ones you're already implementing. I bet you were just so fatigued after all of those questions!! I've already told myself if I start going up , I'm going to force myself to go and take a break. It's not my typical test style as I usually fly through tests, but I think I will need to do it to calm my nerves!!

Thank god I still have 1 Inderal left from the CPNE. That sucker is getting used!!

And Lisa, you're smart too! This NCLEX thing is ridiculous. My EC tests were so spaced out, and then you add the CPNE wait, and for me it took 3 months for the paper work to process for me to get my ATT here in Michigan (Thanks EC and the State of Michigan). It's easy to fall out of the 'self-study' groove. Switching from CPNE to this is crazy. I would have been much better doing my theory examinations and switching over to the NCLEX. Does that make sense? Ha!

Leonardo Del Toro, RN · Jul 1, 2010

Lisa, I feel you pain. This is very hard but we must swim until we get to the shore. I don't know if I sent you this but read it carefully it might make the difference.

I wrote this thinking of those who are struggling and have taken the test more than twice but it could be useful for first time takers too. This post reflects my experience with the NCLEX and the changes I did in order to pass. The NCLEX is a passable test and perhaps not even as hard as most people think. I like to point out aspects which are not well explained or easy to miss for some of us. We all hear stories about students who are so smart and have failed, so there must be something these students are missing and it might have something in common, so read on carefully and you might find the key to set yourself free.

In the NCLEX world there are a few important components: knowledge and how you apply that knowledge quickly are the two main ones. Another major component is how to take the test. I think that for those who are struggling is very important to start re-thinking the test in a brand new way; to understand what is being asked of you and realize that what you have been trained to do during your school years with traditional tests is now basically useless. There are a few points I like to go in detail and it might be helpful to understand them well. It might set you free from the deceptions and traps of the NCLEX which ultimately reflect the nursing practice. If you are trying really hard and still not passing, it’s time to do a whole evaluation and change the way you think about the test, so read on and have fun.

1)TIMING: as they say, timing is everything. This might be one of the most misunderstood components of the NCLEX. The bottom line is: you must walk in the test room and even if you are completely clueless DON’T TAKE MORE THAN ONE MINUTE FOR EACH QUESTION, I cannot stress this enough. The NCLEX is testing your knowledge but most of all is testing how well and how quick you can think through difficult situations you know little. So if you study a lot and still not passing you MUST improve in this area. All the knowledge you have acquired is useless unless you can answer the questions fast and (hopefully) correctly. You must remember that the NCLEX will not punish you for getting wrong answers, you only need to be at the knowledge level they are looking for. I am not sure about this but I now believe there is an algorithm which measures the time you use for each question crediting or discrediting you. The NCLEX really likes when you go fast. And that makes sense for nursing where emergency situations come up and you know little about them and only have a minute or so to make a decision. So when they say “don’t over think”, is more like you don’t have the time to – “over think”. Have you ever noticed how some questions keep coming back? Even though you might have answered them correctly, but because you took too long, they (the NCLEX computer program) is not sure that you really know it well or just guessed. So if the questions keep coming back two things can happen: you get too tired which is not good because your performance go down or, you run out of time which is another situation you want to avoid. They want you to look at the questions, read it carefully, make a decision select the best one, and move on. You must have the ability to answer the questions like you playing ping-pong game and be able to play a long game and not get mentally fatigued. So there is not much to figure out at the moment of the test; you either are there or not. I know it sound a little fuzzy and fluffy but you have nothing to lose at this point; do you? Another timing issue is how long you delay to re take the test. Don’t. You are never ready for it; put that in your mind. If you take too long between the tests you get cold, so use your failure as a practicing match and go take it again while you still hot. So go to PearsonVue website and schedule that test right now and go face the beast! Smile at fear.

2)YOUR KNOWLEDGE: this is also one of the most misunderstood aspects of the NCLEX. Most people think they are being tested on their knowledge and the subjects you’ve learned in school. This is partly true but you must understand that knowledge here plays a different role. All you have to have is “NCLEX type knowledge” and that you can get by using the so many books available. After you have acquired this NCLEX knowledge, then it becomes all about how you use it, apply, and retrieve it. The NCLEX is not looking at your knowledge level per se; they are looking among other things on how you pay attention to detail, how you decide on things you don’t know much about, how you improvise, how much time you take to answer. In the other hand if you knowledge base is weak, you’ll be stuck at the lower level questions which will not pass you. Here’s an example of NCLEX type knowledge: when they ask about chest tube, they might want to know a, b, or c (about chest tubes) and usually it does not stray too far from a certain number of options: know these options by heart. These are the building blocks NCLEX is made of and you must know it well enough to retrieve it from you mind on a heart-beat. The more you have these building blocks in your mind the better because it will help you to answer fast and correctly without thinking too much and getting tired (which is a very important point). So the way to look at knowledge is not in the traditional way of really knowing it but using your NCLEX knowledge to play the NCLEX game. In order to be successful you must walk in the testing room saturated with these NCLEX type questions, so much so your mind is free to think about the other things I mentioned above.

3)STUDY TIME: don’t drive yourself crazy. I would practice 60 questions per day in one hour. Buy a timer and keep the pace, don’t ever take more than one hour. If you are getting above 65% in one hour you looking good but try to get higher. One day per week go all the way to 265 (ouch!) because most likely this is what your test will be like! So in essence you are building up endurance with that kind of knowledge rather than becoming a nursing genius. Have fun with it, if you drive yourself to pain you will also learn pain so when you get to the test that’s what you will remember.

4)THE TEST: it’s important to know about this test and its components. One fact I think is interesting is that the NCLEX will test everyone differently. The NCLEX has two ways to make a decision about you: (1) you will pass or fail with an “X” number of questions, so if you are really good you can pass as little as 75 questions and if you are doing really badly you will fail with 75 questions. (2) but at a certain the computer makes a decision, it can’t figure you out, you have missed a bunch of questions but you’ve also hit some important ones, so it decides that you need to be tested in the whole gamut of questions, so you are going all the way to 265 baby (ouch again). However remember, if you are not consistent and begin to do poorly because you are tired you can fail too and not go all the way, or go all the way and fail too. So you must stay in the game and perform consistently. If you are struggling forget about that magical “oh a passed with 75 questions”, be prepared to go all the way and most importantly be consistent throughout the entire range and that’s why is so important to train yourself to endure long periods of time answering these type questions. The NCLEX will be really impressed with your consistency and you will be credited for that. Remember, the NCLEX is not about getting questions right and building up points like in regular tests, the NCLEX is testing how you perform under stressful situations and in certain ways your ability to improvise. I believe the algorithm of the computer program is very sophisticated and can measure everything you do.

5)TAKING THE TEST: you must understand what is critical thinking. Some people are there already, but if you are not for whatever reason you should begin to pay close attention to “what is to critically think”. You must focus on that question in a way you never did before, you must zero in to that question only and not stray one bit from it. I developed this way of thinking in which I would imagine myself there, at the hospital with a real situation at hand and then think “what would I do here…for real” and make that decision in terms of what would I do in order to be the safest. When you take the test you must be confident in your intuition. Another way to interpret when people say: “don’t over-think” is that your mind goes into this overdrive mode where decisions are made quickly and without thinking but they are the correct ones. It’s like playing a video game where you only have a split second to make decisions but as the rhythm speeds up your mind speeds up and you actually make better decisions than if you think it over. This is the kind of mind set you have to have when you take this test. In my opinion this is exactly what they are trying to test: your ability to quickly decide emergency situations. How many of those did you get right?

6)GUESSING: there is nothing wrong with guessing. You and everybody will guess about 10-20% of the test. The test is designed that way, otherwise you would know what to study for the test as you did in your nursing classes. So learn how to guess right, and in order to do it right you must be completely random and not go on a hunch. It is an irresistible impulse to guess following a hunch, that you know something about the answer which makes you feel safe. The problem with that is that you might fall in the trap set up the writers. So first eliminate as many as wrong answers you can than guess RANDOMLY. One safe way to do that is to always pick the first one bellow the last question you have eliminated, if you have not eliminated any of them pick up C or any other but randomly.

7)PLAY TETRIS: and here’s why, Tetris is one of the first video games made for computers and in my opinion it simulates several of the brain functions required in for the NCLEX. It will help you with the brain stamina you need to endure all the 265 questions without lowering your performance. You have to make quick decisions in shorter and shorter amounts of time. It forces your brain to critically think faster and faster as the geometrical shapes fall down and you have to figure out where they fit. I was amazed to find out how much I improved as I started to play. If you don’t believe this is helpful, just play for fun and it will your mind from the study.

8)PRAY FOR ST. JUDE THE PATRON OF THE IMPOSSIBLE CAUSES AND THE BEST LUCK TO YOU.