Graduated 4 yrs ago... need ANY advice on how to study!!!

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Hey everyone!

Im scared/nervous/embarrassed to do this but I'm desperate for advice. I graduated from a VN program in 2014 took the test twice that year and did not pass. First time i rushed to take the test straight from graduation thinking i was going to be prepared. Second time I feel I didn't study enough/didnt know how to study at that point. I also have the worse test anxiety EVER!!!!

When I failed the second time i felt very discouraged and set my next test date but kept changing it. Life happened... and 4 years later I still want to take this test. I am basically loosing money by not having my license. because i could of been getting paid LVN pay!!

I have a almost 3 year old and my husband at home and pretty busy with everything. I need advice/ideas on how to study! I was thinking of getting the saunders book and read over it.then also do practice questions and kinda read off the rationale and look up things that I may not remember?

I'll take any suggestions, tips? how did you study?

thank you so much in advance!

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Specializes in Surgical, Home Infusions, HVU, PCU, Neuro.

Check with your state BON you might be required to take a refresher course, and if you are not, it might serve your best interest to take one anyways.

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You might want to consider a review course like Kaplan. Unfortunately, you won't be eligible for the pass guarantee but it might help. You might also want to research if there is an LPN refresher course around since employers might be hesitant to hire someone with such a big gap. At the very least, I would go through a comprehensive review book like Saunders (I really like their RN version, but am not familiar with the PN version).

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Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

Moved to NCLEX forum for more assistance

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I failed my first two attempts and finally passed last month. Thing is I graduated from my LVN program last March so the gap wasn't as long. Since you're 4 years since you last graduated or look at anything NCLEX related and/or nursing overall. I would suggest a review course like Hurst or Saunders. Saunders is good if you have the time to read over everything and do practice questions on UWorld or Saunders. After failing twice, I decided that revisiting core content is the best approach to me and will help me be better prepared to take the NCLEX. Your test anxiety goes hand in hand with not knowing your core content basics and I'm not assuming that of you I'm just telling you based on the fact that I also have test anxiety and that's why I chose to go with Hurst because it made things click and the student manual was very easy to read and not all over the place. Remember, you are not expected to know everything but you should still take ample time to study and refresh your memory. Any questions feel free to PM me and I'll be glad to help.

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I was in the same boat graduated in May 2015 took it twice and failed. And kinda gave up. I was stuck and didnt know where to even begin studying I did some research found NCSBN did a 8 week review, then purchased Uworld 30days. Took my test on Friday 10/19 and got the " good pop up" I live in California can't do quick results. So have to wait to see if I really passed. Make sure your focused and put in the work and I'm sure you'll do great. It's never too late to try. You'll definitely have to spend some money but I'm sure it'll be worth it. Best of luck !

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I was in almost the same exact position as you. I graduated PN school in August 2012 and I never took the NCLEX. Between then and now I got married and had a baby who is 3 as well. The only thing I used to study was Saunders. I read the entire book front to back. Once you read a chapter do the questions in the book and go to the online portion and do all of the questions in that subject category. Once you do all of the chapters and questions in study mode go into exam mode and do the 100 question exams. Do them multiple times a day like one in the morning one at lunch and one at night if you can. You need to go over the rationals and also do SATA questions just to feel comfortable. Before I took my test I was scoring in the mid 70's on my Saunders exams and I was so nervous because I wasn't sure if that was good enough. I just took my NCLEX on October 15th and passed with 85 questions in about an hour. Once it shut off I immediately knew I passed and felt very prepared from Saunders, it felt like half my test was SATA but I was prepared. You don't need to spend a lot of money on review courses or online question banks just buy the $60 Saunders book and use it religiously and you should pass feeling confident.

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Check your local public library for resources too. Ours has a lot of resources for NCLEX and other standardized tests.

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