How I passed the NCLEX

[brownsc2]

I tested on March 12 at 10 am.

This is what helped me to prepare.

I used NCSBN and Saunders Comprehensive Review for NCLEX. I studied off and on for about 5 weeks. In the beginning, I read through Saunders and highlighted the important content and answered some of the questions from the online question bank.

After reading a few discussions on here, I decided to purchase the NCSBN 3-week NCLEX review course. I didn't read through the content but, instead I dove straight into the question bank. (However, I will say the NCSBN review content appeared to be very organized and concise. I didn't use it because I need a book, and find it a little difficult to follow along when reading a large amount of content online.) I answered 1000 of the 1200 questions. In regards to NCLEX style questions, this review is the bees knees. I highly recommend it.

I didn't have a study calendar set in stone. I used what worked best for me. I answered 50-100 questions a day, sometimes 150 questions. I read each rationale, and when I didn't understand, I wrote down the rationale and looked it up in the Saunders book. I didn't purchase Kaplan or Hurst because it's too expensive. Also, I can't sit in a classroom for 6-8 hours for 3 days and listen to someone lecture. My attention span wouldn't allow it. Most importantly, I know I have to read some thing to get an understanding. When it comes to learning, for me, it's all about connecting the dots.

Studying the for the NCLEX isn't all about memorizing as much content as possible. The test is designed to see if you can think critically and keep your patients safe. To pass the NCLEX you need to know basic anatomy & physiology, nursing skills, and the cause/patho of an illness. When you know the proper function of the body system and the cause of an illness, then you know how it presents. Most importantly, you know how to thinking your way to nursing interventions, nursing priorities, and the correct answer.

I hope my rambling made sense, and I hope it helps.

[Silverdragon102, BSN]

Moved to the NCLEX forum

[strawberryluv, BSN, RN]

Thank you so much for your advice. I'm preparing to take it when I graduate and I find your method is the most suitable for me. I, also, don't want to pay for a review course because its expensive. I had originally planned on buying the NCSBN 3-week course but had my doubts but now I'm definitely purchasing it. Thanks.