Help passing NCLEX

Mazee · Apr 3, 2012

I think your answer might be a simple antianxiety med. I was told by the instructor that no matter how hard you prepare/study for this exam, if your nerves get to you you are bound for failure. My instructor for psyc had actually recommended to take a pill the morning of the exam to alleviate anxiety (for those who are severe). I might just take her advice the day of my exam.

boisern84 · Apr 4, 2012

You have taken this test enough to know exactly what you need to do to pass. Kaplan questions can be distracting and hasn't worked for you in the past. Try to get a NCLEX review that offers exactly what you are looking for. There are many out there.

Spiderman74 · Jun 4, 2012

omg, i feel your pain and frustration!!!! i am happy to say that i finally passed my nclex 8 months after graduation, and after taking it the 3rd time. i have read post after post on allnurses.com and many people offer great advice.

bostonterrierloverrn wrote some great tips earlier on this thread. i prepared by taking the kaplan review the 1st time and failed at 141 questions. although i did learn a lot, it wasn't enough for me to think on a higher level bc i was not connecting the dots. i did buy the saunder's review 5th edition, but only read the 1st 100 pages & eventually just used it to look things up. i felt like it was information overload because they went into too much detail. also, i completed all the qs in the q-back and all test trainers.

for the second preparation, i re-took the kaplan review course and started to make exams using question i previously did not get correct. i saw all the hurst review videos & thought it was tremendously helpful. marlene hurst has a great way of breaking subjects down. i re-took the nclex exam 2 months later and applied the kaplan tree (when i could bc it was not applicable to all questions), and stayed there for the full 6 hours. i failed at 101 questions.

after crying & sulking for a couple of weeks (and taking a mini-vacation immediately after finding out i didn't pass), i picked myself up and tried a different strategy. i waited for the brn to send me the letter stating which content areas i did not do well in, and concentrated on those areas.

i used the kaplan book they sent w/the program, and reviewed the kaplan videos for that section. i made sure i stopped, highlighted/ underlined everything in that section. i would pause & rewind when i wasn't clear about something. i reviewed the hurst videos for a second time by just sitting there and following along with my notes (absorbing the information). the first time i was too busy writing everything down.

i kept the book "exam cram" in my bathroom so that i could read questions, answers & rationales while in there. tmi (i know), but i used every opportunity i could to review questions. i made sure to review the pharm. section & videos kaplan provided (for a 2^nd time). i also bought the book, "prioritization, delegation, and assignment” by barbara bartz, candice k. kumagai, linda a. lacharity. that book was soooo...useful! it made me think about how to answer the critical thinking questions. and the majority of my test consisted of the type of questions from the book, along w/ sata.

i have serious test anxiety & could not focus when i studied as the test date approached. i was a completed mess during the exams bc i couldn’t concentrate & i forgot things i already knew. the anxiety was paralyzing me. so this time, i started taking a low-dose prescription of paxil and it completely helped!!! mazee was right on the money when s/he recommended “i think your answer might be a simple antianxiety med.” it helped me tremendoulsy!!!

the last thing i recommend it that you memorie your lab values (all of them). they vary from book to book so i just picked one book and went with that. i didn’t worry about memorizing the values for pediatrics, but you definitely have to know them. and write them down on the scratch board they give you as soon as you start the exam.

any other tip i recommend is memorizing your standard precautions. i used the chart i provided at the end that i found on allnurses.com to help me memorize them. it helped me answer 8-10 questions!!

and lastly pray (or meditate)! whether you are religious or spiritual, you need to find a happy place so that if you freak out on the test, you can center yourself and re-focus. i went to a church ½ away from my home the day before the test and prayed to st. jude (i was raised catholic, but i’m more spiritual now-a-days). anyway, it helped me center myself & i drew from that energy while i was midway through my exam and i started to panic.

i finished the exam with 75 questions (this time) and subsequently passed my nclex. i really think it was a combination of everything i did to prepare on my third try that really took me to the level i need to be at in order to pass. don’t give up...if i can pass this exam, you can too! i struggled taking my state boards and it was very humbling. however, the day i passed was the day i proclaimed i was not leaving until i passed. you have to believe in yourself...you can do it!

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airborne precaution

my - measles

chicken - chickenpox

hez - herpes zoster (disseminated)

tb - tb

private room

negative pressure with 6-12 air exchanges per hour

uv

mask

n95 mask for tb

droplet precaution

think of spiderman!

s - sepsis

s - scarlet fever

s - streptococcal pharyngitis

p - parvovirus b19

p - pertussis

p - pneumonia

i - influenza

d - diptheria (pharyngeal)

e - epiglottitis

r - rubella

m - mumps

m - meningitis

m - mycoplasma or meningeal pneumonia

an - adenovirus

private room

mask

contact precaution

mrs.wee

m - multidrug resistant organism

r - respiratory infection - rsv

s - skin infections

w - wound infections

e - enteric infections – clostridium difficile

e - eye infections

private room

(or pt of same infection)

gloves

gown

skin infections:

v - varicella zoster

c - cutaneous diptheria

h - herpes simplex

i - impetigo

p - pediculosis

s - scabies, staphylococcus

bhagta01 · Mar 2, 2015

I have the same problem. I did all the kaplan questions, read the book, did questions from saunders and nclex mystery app. But still failed my nclex on my first try. My instructor also recommended that i take an anti-axiety pill. I was afraid to take it before because I hardly ever take any medication. But since I can feel my heart beating so fast every time I study for NCLEX .. Now I am considering visiting my doctor as well. It sucks!!! I thought I was well prepared and was scoring above 55% on my kaplan. Before my test, I was told by my Kaplan instructor that I was ready. MAY BE my anxiety got in the way. Lets keep our fingers crossed and beat this monster!!!!! We got this!

marvz87 · Mar 2, 2015

this thread id so helpful..thanks guys!..hope to pass my exam on the 3rd time..ðŸ˜”ðŸ˜”ðŸ˜”