Confessions Of A New Nurse

mackenzie, BSN, RN

Nursing School Felt Like Hell

Plain and simple. While others were breezing through with straight A's, I was having mini meltdowns about my clinical rotations. For a little backstory, up until nursing school, I was a straight A student. I didn't know the meaning of a C until my first little encounter with a beast known as pathophysiology.... That was the first time I thought I was going to have to repeat a course (luckily I did not). After this course, I began to put a little less pressure on myself, and not take my grades so seriously.

So, why does nursing school get such a bad rap? Sure, the tests can be hard, but that was not what caused my meltdowns. The problem I faced was the emotional torture. Unless you're used to caring for the sickest of the sickest on a daily basis, it's going to take an emotional toll on you. Waking up at 4am to drive to the hospital after staying up late to work on that care plan, and then coming home after dark only to have homework for the next day is something that (to this day) gives me nightmares. It's terrible. The one thing I wish I had learned earlier in school is to take care of yourself. Treat nursing school like a job. Set aside time to complete your work throughout the day, and then give yourself a break at night. Don't procrastinate, because you will never feel caught up. Watch your favorite show, take a bath, or (what I recommend) go to bed early. Your body will thank you.

My point is that nursing school is do-able. You probably won't like it, and if you're like me, you'll probably want to quit on more than one occasion. But don't. Nursing in "real life" is NOT like nursing school. You will hear that a thousand times, but believe it. Nursing school is, in my opinion, designed to push you to your breaking point. You'll probably have mean teachers, mean patients, or a terrible assignment on clinical day, but get through it and move onto the next day. Take it one day at a time. Find a hobby so your life isn't consumed by nursing school. Suddenly, you'll find yourself getting pinned on graduation day wondering how it all went by so fast.

Holiday Break?... More Like NCLEX PREP DAYS

I decided to take some days off after my December 18 graduation to catch up on some much needed sleep. After finals, I drove home (Atlanta) from my school in Nashville to take a breather. On the 18th, my family made a day trip for my pinning ceremony and graduation. Needless to say, it was an exhausting but wonderful blur. So, extra sleep for the next week was a must.

For NCLEX review, my school recommended Kaplan, and I was scheduled for an online live review starting January 2nd. After I received my authorization to test, I scheduled my exam for January 22nd at 12pm. Truth be told, I did not study for the NCLEX before this review. My brain was shot, and I knew I wouldn't retain anything. So, on January 2nd, I logged onto the class with an open mind ready to learn. Within the hour, I felt as though I had learned NOTHING in school. It's overwhelming, and there's no way to sugarcoat that. However, after this 4-day review (which I HIGHLY recommend), I felt much more confident in my ability to answer NCLEX-style questions. For anyone wanting to compare my scores were as follows:

QBANKS (average 63- ranged anywhere from 45-80) keep in mind that some of these tests were new and incorrect, so I could make sure I understood why I answered questions incorrectly the first time)

Question Trainer (QT) 1- 69.3%

QT2- 54.7%

QT3- 45% (keep in mind that I took these 3 trainers before the live online review course, and yes I was panicked that my scores were steadily declining...)

QT4- 61.3% (YAY...the review course was starting to help!)

QT5- 69.3%

QT6- 67.5%

QT7- 67.2%

Readiness Test (taken on the last day of the 4-day course)- 68.3%

As you can see, my scores got significantly better after the review course. However, I still did not feel "confident" about taking the dreaded NCLEX. I suppose it depends on how you study, but I managed to get trainers 4-7 and most of the Qbanks done in the 15 days I had to study after the online review (Kaplan was a part of one of my senior classes, so we completed several 75-question Qbanks and QT 1-3 in that semsester).

So, don't feel like you need 8 weeks to study (unless, of course, you can't dedicate 6-8 per day of studying like I was able to do). I was a solid B student (a few C's /: unfortunately), so understand that I was not the best nursing student grade-wise. I did terrible on the mid-curricular and exit HESI, and was nowhere close to the benchmark...oops. But do not let those scores get you down.

Put in the studying time. I was not the great of a nursing student, and only managed an overall GPA of 3.4 (started out as a 4.0 until I started my nursing classes, so wasn't too thrilled with how much it went down). However, in my experience, Kaplan did an amazing job of teaching HOW to answer NCLEX questions. You can cram all the info you want, but that will be useless if you don't understand what the question is actually asking.

Then, REMEDIATE. Remediate everything- correct and incorrect. This was most likely the SINGLE. MOST. IMPORTANT. part of my studying. You must understand why you got an answer wrong or right. You need to understand why you guessed on a question but still got it right. Don't skip over this part.

Also, try not to get so hung up on learning every medication. It's too overwhelming. My advice, learn some of the common endings of generic meds and important side effects. I.e. stopping antidepressants and some antipsychotics abruptly can cause seizures. Good thing to know. Or if an alcoholic patient visits the emergency department, ALWAYS find out when that patient's last drink was to anticipate withdrawal symptoms. Basically, safety is priority, and it's important to remember which symptoms could lead to a safety issue.

NCLEX-RN

On the day of the NCLEX, I was a nervous wreck. I hugged my family goodbye that morning, and drove to my testing site an hour and a half early to make sure I didn't hit any Atlanta traffic. Sit in your car, say a prayer, meditate, deep breathe, call your family... do whatever you need to be able to walk into that test site with a clear and calm mind.

Yes, the NCLEX is hard. Yes, the process is stressful. Go into each question with an open mind, and if you don't know the answer use your ABCs (airway, breathing, circulation) or go with your gut. Do not overthink answers.

I ended getting 78 questions and finished in about an hour. I panicked because who gets 78 questions?? The questions started flying around in my head.. Wouldn't the computer just have shut off at 75 if I had passed?! Why didn't I get more select all that applies (I only got 5 or 6)? I felt like I was getting a lot of analysis/priority/application questions, but this still did not alleviate any of my anxiety. Basically, I was pretty confident I had failed.

Pearson Vue Trick?

There is no relief right after you finish the test. There's panic, feelings of failure, and more panic and anxiety. Regardless, I chose not to do the Pearson Vue Trick. I know of many other friends who had used this trick and it worked, but I simply did not trust the trick. The thought of thinking I had passed only to find out I had failed a couple days later gave me even more panic attacks. So, I waited.

I took the test on a Friday, and by Monday morning, I saw something that was heart attack-inducing: "Quick results available." $7.95 for the quick results was more than worth it. My sanity depended on it. I typed in my credit card information and felt my stomach drop- PASS. Surely, it was a mistake. But after checking the Board of Nursing website, there was my name and license number (the $8 was pointless...). I was ECSTATIC. RN. BAM.

Was It Worth It?

Looking back, nursing school and NCLEX prep was not as bad as it felt in the moment. I would do it all over again. So don't give up hope, because I am proof that it can be done. You don't need to be the test taker to get through all of this. You just have to care enough to put in the time and energy.

Just in case you're wondering, I managed to get a residency spot at my #1 hospital choice in cardio. Yay! Good to look to everyone!

Confessions Of A New Nurse

Nursing School Felt Like Hell

Holiday Break?... More Like NCLEX PREP DAYS

NCLEX-RN

Pearson Vue Trick?

Was It Worth It?

About mackenzie, BSN, RN

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