Graduated 2 yrs ago & just passed NCLEX-RN = Refresher course?

caliotter3 · Mar 25, 2011

Look into the cost of a refresher course and determine if you can afford it. Two years really isn't enough time to warrant it on a day to day basis. After all, you are due for an orientation to any job when you start. Now if you had never worked in 12 years past graduation, that would be a different story.

sayfocused · Mar 25, 2011

congrats! can you give me some tips on how you prepared for your exam? it will be 2 yrs in may for me too.

nikkipooh · Mar 25, 2011

I need tips as well... Paid for the exam, got scared and still haven't done it

jl4321 · Mar 26, 2011

i actually can't afford to take a refresher course right now. i'm interested in continuing education though once i start working to further my knowledge. i hope all goes well. thanks

the 1st time i took the nclex, i didn't know where to start and how to study. i would just watch judy miller videos and listen to feuer & kaplan mp3 lectures, read some saunders and answer practice questions from nclex-rn 4000. i was thinking that i will pass the exam so easily because i survived nursing school with good grades and without ever failing. i guess i learned my lesson that nobody knows everything! i was also overwhelmed with prioritization & delegation that i wasn't prepared for. it was so funny, i was so nervous that my stomach started to ache in the middle of the exam and the restroom was so farrrr. the more closer i was to the restroom....the more my wet & wild poop wanted to come out. :eek: sorry for the description. good thing it was past 2 hrs already so i had the option for a break and i did make it to the potty by the way. hahahah

in preparation for studying for the 2nd time, no more videos and mp3s. i bought lacharity & kaplan. continued with saunders and nclex-rn 4000.

saunders comprehensive review 5th edition by linda silvestri book. (i think it’s ok if you have the older editions). it’s a great book because the content is so rich. i did the 75 questions assessment mode which generated a 6 wk calendar. it’s basically all the chapters in the book but broken down like for day 1 read chapter 34, 35, 50 day 2 chapter 52, 54....day 6 & 7 rest relax. i still read on day 6 or 7. i only made notes for the pharmacology section and on the endocrine section (confusing opposing disease). i still have normal values stuck in my mind so i didn't make notes on that section. do what works for you. everybody has different studying techniques. and yes i finished the whole book! i didn't do practice questions on the cd though because it has easy questions. study your meds…..indication, side effects, special precautions, important nursing intervention.

nclex-rn 4000 cd - i did a lot of practice questions in this cd. i usually do the study mode so that i can read the rationale as soon as i answered. the problem with me is that if i do the test mode, sometimes i skip reading the rationale for the questions that i got right which i think is a big mistake. and also, i always get disappointed with my scores because i couldn't get higher than 68%. always read all your rationale!

prioritization, delegation and assignment by linda lacharity book - i highly recommend this book. this really helped me prepare for the prioritization & delegation part. i was only able to do 8 chapters because of my exam date. i also made list of things rn, lpn, na can do based on the rationales. when answering a delegation question, i would identify each of the 4 choices (rn lpn na) and eliminate one by one.

*only rn can assess, evaluate, and teach.

*only delegate the most stable patient.

*who would you see first = look for the most unstable

*remember your abc, maslow, adpie, safety, what else?

kaplan nclex-rn 2010-2011 strategies, practice, review book - most people probably like this book but i didn't. it was too complicated for me.

allnurses.com anyone up for random fact throwing? thread – look on page 385, comment no. 3847……i downloaded the prado random facts.doc. i read it a few days before my exam. it also contained infection control my chicken hes tb, spiderman, and mrs wee which really helped a lot. after you download the file, search for infection control and study it!

prayer and positive thinking – have faith. on a piece of paper, i wrote “i will pass my nclex-rn successfully” and i posted it on the top corner of the computer screen so that i’ll always see it. i also wrote it on the 6wk study calendar. i would say it few times a day sometimes adding the word “i believe” or “i will answer confidently & critically” and at bedtime i would say it again “i will pass my nclex-rn successfully”. i may look crazy but by doing these often….the thoughts of “i can’t do it” or “i might fail again” were overpowered by positive thinking that i only thought of those positive words instead of those negative. during the exam, i said it again “i will pass my nclex-rn successfully”. well except after the exam that negativity came back!!! since my computer shut off @ 75 again. i wished i had more questions and thought i failed. did the pvt for 3 days and it said something about being on hold. and on the 4th day (i tested on friday), the quick results tab were finally up so did pvt & got the good pop (contact board). i couldn’t believe it so i paid for quick results and it said pass. i cried and thank god.

on sata……i would read each option & rationalize with it.

for me, i would say that nclex-rn is like nclex-rn 4000 and lacharity. i hope i have helped and have not confused in some way. good luck to everyone and believe that you will pass! oh and i did a lot of eating!!! i was so hungry every hour while studying. don’t skip your meals.

ounsrey · Mar 26, 2011

I think you should start applying. You passed NCLEX. You have the capability as a new RN. It really depends on your situation too. If you have time on your hands or need to start working right away for money.

When I went in for my interview, she told me there's a hospital educator that you can get information from on the common drugs they give on your floor and all the common procedures performed. You can study that information before you start your orientation. Good Luck.

aspiring RN 27 · Apr 26, 2011

Hey jl_421..i am also batch 2009 in pi...failed my first nclex exam...i live in california... i am just wondering if u end up taking a refresher course..coz i feel lyk the reason y i am not getting a single interview has something to do with the year of my graduation...i am starting to get frustrated...

melcah28 · Aug 30, 2011

Hi nurses from pi..I am in the same position and I decided to enroll for refresher course class this october. One of the rcruiter told me that they cant hire me for RN internship because it's been awhile since I graduated..Goodluck

fmAtoZ&backagain · Aug 31, 2011

Its difficult to say anything since I have not pass the NCLEX yet, but I will be applying ASAP as many places that you are interested, just prepare for interview, most of the time there are the clasic questions, you need to look confident, and ready to start, if I was you probably will play down the time I was off and focus in your strenghts... look in the interview of politicians, they skew the questions right. Give 2-4 wks for them to review and apply to the next places you want next... you can always look in Home Health, but that varies according to your state, since some states are more difficult to hire GN without experience.

Thank you for sharing how you pass the test!

Wish you the best of the best...

aspiring RN 27 · Sep 28, 2011

@melcah28 hi i read ur post..i am wondering where will you take your refresher course...i am looking into one too...coz i think that is the reason why i am having a hard time to find work too.. and also r u currently working ryt now?

melcah28 · Sep 29, 2011

@aspiring27..I will have my refresher course class at methodist hospital at dallas.im working right now but it's a non-nursing job...goodluck.where did you graduate?

angielue · Oct 3, 2011

I am right there with you. I graduated in May of 2010 and just passed (my 2nd time to retest). I have been applying at several places, but I already had one recruiter tell me the fact that I had not worked as a nurse would raise some questions for the nursing manager who does the hiring :/ How could I work as a nurse when I failed the first time?! It is a little frustrating, but I am going to be persistant. I don't have the money to take a refresher course, so I guess we will see what happens.

For you guys studying to take/retake NCLEX.. The first time i tested, I was about 2 months out of school & didn't study well...this time I really cracked down with NCLEX 4000, I went system by system on questions and read all of the rationals on them and I also followed along with Illustrated Study Guide for NCLEX (it's a great review book). Also, if you have a smart phone I used Kaka Flashcards and Studystack.com. Good luck to you guys!!! Just take your time! Think the questions through carefully! We all know they are extremely tricky! I got all 265 q's both times and the second time I was in there the full 6 hours! Compared to 3 & 1/2 the 1st.