How to study for Nclex-RN, 2014

Yes, I am an official RN! My dream finally comes true!!

I've also got accepted to work at VA Long Beach Hospital! Woo hoo!! J

But in order to come this far, I've had mixtures of feelings and thoughts that I almost gave up on taking the exam. I'd say getting started to study for the Nclex after finishing nursing school is the hardest part for me, especially when many others told me that it only took them 3-4 weeks of studying to pass the exam while it took me 2-3 months after graduation just to get focused seriously on the studying. I'd say I'm not a smart student but I'm very hard working. But when I did the practice questions, I doubted myself and felt so dump since I got so many of them wrong. Reading the posts on the forums actually made my self-esteem worse. For instance, some said in 1 hour they can do 80-100 Saunder (content) questions or 50 Kaplan (critical thinking) questions, while I can only do around 20 questions in that same 1 hour. I kept postponing the exam date and even thought about giving it up, like forever... However, now I am sitting here with the license! I'm so grateful that I want to share with you some of the strategies that at least worked for me:

• Strategy 1: Practice as many of critical thinking questions as you could.
  
• Strategy 2: make "Elimination" become your second nature. ("Elimination Elimination Elimination!" = Key!)
  
• Strategy 3: utilize what is called "NCLEX Decision Tree" (just search on google)
  
• Strategy 4: Figure the "patterns and techniques" out of the practice questions!
  

In terms of nclex study materials, after taking the exam, I would suggest that Kaplan question style is very similar to the actual exam since it focuses more on critical thinking instead of content. Since you can never study all of nursing contents, training yourself with the "patterns and techniques" will help you answer a question even when you're unsure with the content. Even with tons of the flashcards I created for the content, I was still unsure with all the questions on nclex and felt as if I didn't study at all.. However, as I've trained myself so much with Kaplan questions and "elimination" technique, I was able to eliminate and finalize the answers.

• Strategy 5: Isolate each content statement!
  

For those who study better when they really understand the core contents, I suggest NOT to open nursing textbooks and start reviewing from the beginning. Doing this will cost you so much time and will overwhelm you when thinking about how much more you will have to study. Instead, just start with practicing the questions. Then, take notes on the questions that you answered wrong + the questions that you "luckly" or randomly got them right. To take notes, some prefer writing down in a notebook as the writing part will help them remember longer. Some prefer typing in a word document to make it faster and easier for editing. For me, I cut flash cards into smaller pieces, then on each piece I write a short/rephrased statement that I got from the questions' rationales. For examples: "Pain = NOT priority", "Chicken pox = airborne", "Droplet precaution = 3 feet away", etc. (hint: Isolation Precautions are very very important to study). To me, doing this makes the statement stand out and subconsciously stick to my brain rather than looking at a lengthened notebook page with full of words. The reason that I cut the flash cards into smaller pieces (6 pieces for me as my hand writing is small) is because it makes it less overwhelmed at the end (I wouldn't want to review a carton box of flashcards the day before the exam ).

• Rule: do not discourage yourself after getting another wrong question! Remember: no healthcare personal knows all of the medical contents + the nclex lady just want to see how to react to certain new situations, so with just a tiny twist in a question can change a question completely à thus it is impossible for you to know all the answers; so just keep reminding yourself that you are trying to get a pattern from answering the questions, not to answer every single question correctly! Also, remember that you do not have to do 100% to pass the exam, right?
  
• Also, do not discourage yourself after reading certain posts from forums. Remember that you never know how far they've studied before posting their progress and whether they paused to take notes frequently and intensively. Some might have practiced 2000-3000 questions before reaching that 70%-80% on an nclex practice exam.
  

Being able to hold the license in my hands is such a special feeling that I can't explain! So I want to share this with you all but I don't know where to start. So just feel free to ask me any further questions regarding how to study for the exam as well as how to overcome the emotional barrier.

You may also ask me to explain certain hard-to-get concepts and I will try to explain them the best I can even if I have to spend hours searching for the answers. :) Good luck with your studying, you can do it!