How I passed NCLEX..

[RNsali]

Hello everyone! Prior to passing NCLEX, I stalked this website daily to read topics about NCLEX. I promised myself that once I know that I passed, I will post my experience to encourage other nurses to be. This is my way of giving back to all the encouragement I got from all the people here.

Okay, I received my ATT first week of February and decided to schedule my exam on March 24. I gave myself 2 months because I was (and still am) working fulltime. I could not give up my job since it's my bread and butter. Our company was going through some transition and that kinda lulled my review. I did not actually start reviewing until the first week of March. I worked (8am- 2pm) then come home to review.

I used Hurst to brush up my content. I watched the videos and used the student workbook to jot down notes. I did about 2-3 lectures a day. It took me about 10 days to finish all the videos. After Hurst, I tested my content knowledge by taking exams from Saunders. I got the Saunders 2014-2015 book which came with an online resource. I scored around 58% - 80% on the quizzes. I kinda got cocky (not a good idea) after I started scoring higher scores so I moved on to La Charity prioritization, delegation... book.

Again, I bought the La Charity book that came with an online resource. I would do about 200- 300 questions daily. That book is awesome! Highly recommended.. When I got the jest of how to attack questions the right way, I decided to start doing Kaplan questions. Kaplan really trains you how to think. It makes you analyze the questions deeper. I did q1- q7 and scored 60%- 90%. I thought Kaplan was awesome.

The night before my exam, I was so nervous I could not sleep. Luckily I scheduled it in the afternoon since I know for a fact that I don't test well in the morning. I felt like a zombie the day of my exam. I was so anxious when I woke up that morning. Please, please, don't do that to yourself. Do anything that will RELAX you.

Exam day: I was so nervous when I started taking my exam. I could not even think straight. I read my first question and took me 5 minutes before I mustered the strength to answer it. I totally blanked out. I prayed to God to give strength coz I was literally falling apart the first 10 questions. I started to realize that my questions were so easy because I was being asked content questions. I figured I was miserably failing. Question after question, they were all content questions. I was getting frustrated because I felt as though neither Hurst or Kaplan helped me. I depended solely on my long-term memory to answer those questions. Even my SATA were content questions. I probably only got 2 questions that were somewhat complex. I figured since 99% of my questions were relatively easy, that I was failing.

I finished at 86 questions. I had 32 SATAs, 1 EKG, about 20 meds, and rest were multiple choice questions that were so easy. After my screen went blank, I literally started sobbing. I cried for 3 hours straight. I did the PVT 6 hrs later and got the "good pop up" but was not convinced that I passed. I did not check PVT after that. 2 days later, my nursing buddy sent me a screenshot of California BON with my name and next to it showed "Registered Nurse." Wow, I could not believe it. I just could not. I don't know how it happened but I passed.

From my experience, this is what I can advise anyone who's about to take NCLEX:

1) Know your content. If you did not pay attention in your pathophysiology during nursing school, you better practice content questions. Saunders is really good. I recommend it.

2) Do tons of questions. I probably did about 3000 questions total. Answering questions make you use your critical thinking skills.

3) Relax. Don't over study. I got so burned out after studying long hours. Your brain needs to relax so it can function effectively.

Good luck to all of you! Believe that you will do well. You may feel rotten days before the exam and after you take it but know that it will eventually come to pass. Don't do what I did (almost overdosing on TUMS) because I was so nervous. I tend to get acid reflux when I'm nervous :/

[anhthai1991, ADN, RN]

WOW so cool that you passed. i feel so excited and happy for you. My test is coming up this april too (nlclex-PN) so i been study really hard.i have Hurst review and i also brought kaplan Qbank. i got around 45%-60% per quiz. so do you get question about maternity and ped? and also question about meds, can you give example. i know people on this forum said to study the root of the med like olol and dine and such.. but on the quizzes that i did, the meds that pop up are nothing like what i study.

[RNsali]

When I studied medications, I grouped them based on their suffixes instead of memorizing every single medication there is. For example, the "lols", I wrote down, beta blockers - check BP, pulse - assess for hypotension, bradycardia, think of pt safety at risk for injury/fall from orthostatic hypotension.. That's how I studied meds. I also grouped them like this: heart meds (lol, pril, stan, etc). The meds I got on NCLEX were meds I somewhat I had an idea what they were for. You can basically get a good idea what to pick based on the answers to choose from. Also, one tip is to choose the answer that would indicate an adverse effect. For example, antibiotics would mostly have GI side effects, rash, tinnitus etc. always choose the answer that would kill the patient first. So among those effects, you would have to pick rash since it could indicate Steven-Johnsons.

[Mohammed21]

Congrats ....but in fact you make me nervous too .I don't like SATA questions . I took Hurst review and now I'm studying content via Saunders but I still can't deal with SATA questions .

[RNsali]

Congrats ....but in fact you make me nervous too .I don't like SATA questions . I took Hurst review and now I'm studying content via Saunders but I still can't deal with SATA questions .

SATA is not as hard if you look at each answer as true or false. My take on SATA is not to second guess. Choose the ones that you are absolutely sure and leave the ones that are iffy. SATAs don't necessarily mean higher level questions. They're just alternative form of questions. It's scary to think about SATA so just be confident when you get them. I had one SATA in my NCLEX where I was only absolutely sure that there was only one answer that was true. They say that you're supposed to pick 2-4 answers but trust your gut. Just pick the ones that you are absolutely sure.

[Mohammed21]

Oh ..Thanks Sali