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Hi! I promised myself to make a post after I passed because honestly, this site has helped me A LOT throughout my NCLEX-RN journey and I want to help those who are about to take their exam!
A little bit about me: I was an average (B and Cs, rarely A) student from Canada. For those who didn't know, they changed the licensing exam to NCLEX this year Jan 2015 , previously it was the CRNE. I was TERRIFIED because my classmates and teachers would tell us how much more we needed to know (i.e. reading ECG, and the SATA). After graduating, i didn't study, I took around 5 months off to focus on myself and my family. Needless to say I probably forgot some things I learned and just wasn't focused enough to study. But I had to complete the exam because I remember one of my professors said, "that diploma is just another piece of paper if you don't have a license" As bad as how she made it sound, It REALLY motivated me, in fact if was one of the only things that motivated me to study.
What I did: Hardest part was getting started. I didn't know where to being, what to study, what i need to know and how to go upon learning everything. I didn't want to buy a lot of text books because it was SO EXPENSIVE! and I didn't know which one to use! So I went to the public library and borrowed as many recent NCLEX-RN related books as I could. Here is what I found most helpful.
What I did 1-2 days before my exam: OKAYYY so I didn't relax before my exam but i will explain. It was one of my good friend's birthday a week before my exam and she really wanted me to go to her party so I went out and partied then so I couldn't relax before my exam (did that already haha) But if you can, try to do something relaxing before the exam, its good mentally! I did study but I mainly just reviewed my Uworld notes, the Medication documents I found online, and the 35pg all nurses study guide. I also read and watched a lot about test taking strategies because I think I lacked them. Did it help? It was okay, I felt like I knew most of them...
Day of exam: I was not nervous, took the test at 12pm because I knew I was not going to wake up early, all groggy and tired to do this exam. I need all the energy I could get! But for some reason I didn't have an appetite so I ate a banana, packed a sandwich and went. I got to the testing centre at 11am, waiting and sat in the lobby, texted my friends for moral support, did not go over any notes because I didn't want to overwhelm myself. When It was time for my test, I had to put my stuff away in the locker, turn my phone off and seal it in a bag which they provide, scan my hand and take my picture. The people were nice and friendly! When It was time for the test, I thought, here goes nothing!
THE EXAM!!!: IT WAS NOT LIKE UWORLD! I think the questions were actually easier than UWorld BUT the options to select from was REALLY REALLY BAD and not as good as Uworld. Most times, I'm either torn between two options or didn't like any of the options! I had >10 SATA, 2 infection & precaution, 3-4 meds which luckily I knew about (weird thing happened...i got the same med twice? My answer was the same twice...because i knew it was right!), 2 peds, 2 maternity, 1 community, but mostly priority and client education/teaching. No med calculations (which i was upset about bc i'm amazing at those), no hot spots, and no cardiac (which im also upset about because I studied my butt off for those), no ordering. There were a couple diseases and conditions I didn't know and I was not confident with ANY of my answers. I had some community health nursing about preventions that i did not study at all so I for sure got that one wrong (it was a SATA). My goal was to aim for 75 questions so the first few questions, I really thought hard about it. Later when I felt less anxious, I started to breath and answer the questions as if I were at home. I made sure to read the questions carefully and pin point what the question was asking me. When I finished the 75th questions, I was ready to sit through the whole 265 questions. It was just me and the computer! But then, after 3 question, IT SHUTED OFF at 1hr 30min. MY heart was racing because I was so unsure about the last 2 questions that I did but there was nothing else I could've done, can't go back now or beg for more questions I left shocked, shattered, and exhausted. All I wanted to do was go home and cry myself to sleep. HOWEVER, I couldn't even go home bc the subway was closed, a dog was stuck on the tracks (he didn't make it sadly) So I decided to take a long walk to the next subway station that was running (30 min walk) and just walked out my sorrow.
After the NCLEX: In Canada, we do not have quick results but our results usually come pretty fast (i got mine in 2 days by mail). I did not do the PVT trick bc i was too scared. I cried 3 times when I got home and I just felt horrible. I searched up the questions I remembered having and some were right but some where SO WRONG. I event thought to myself, HOW COULD I HAVE GOTTEN THAT WRONG?! I also had some terms I didn't know which was another mistake. I knew 100% I had failed. I was even thinking about where and how to pick myself up when I do. Not going to lie, this exam was VERY DRAINING. The 2 days before I got my results were TORTURE. I even thought about going back to school and doing something else, it was that bad. But when that letter came in, I cried tears of joy. I honestly didn't even think there was a possibility I could've passed. Everyone believed in me but i never believed in myself.
Take away
Sorry for this insanely long post, thank you for reading! I've never posted anything on this site before, just read other people's post. Hope this was helpful. If you guys have any other questions, let me know! I'll try to answer as best as I can :)
GOOD LUCK!! AND REMEMBER.....BREATHEEEEEE!!!!
I say going through the WHOLE book will take a month. But skimming it probably 2 weeks. My advice is skim through it all for 2 weeks, dont take notes, just read and understand content. Then, do some target practice tests (i.e. practice questions only on GI systems) and figure out what you need to work o (i.e. which conditions), then go back to saunders make notes and read it more in depth. For me personally, I forget things easily, so i have to keep going back and reviewing. I like to write notes on cue cards so whenever I'm free, I can review it. Cue Cards are especially helpful when doing electrolytes and medications!! Let me know if you need any other help!
aakanee
7 Posts
Thank you everyone, I have sent the notes!