How do you study for the nclex?

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I've taken the nclex this past march unfortunately i did not pass. Now I'm taking it soon, but I don't know how to study for it because a lot of my co-workers are telling me to just answer the practice questions because it's not knowing everything it's knowing how to answer the questions. Well, when I took my nclex in march I studied by just answering questions 150 per day. But that didn't help because when I took the nclex i could not rule out 3 or 2 or even 1 of the answers. They all sounds good. I tried eliminating them by using the ABC and assessment/intervention technique but I still couldn't do it! and now that i'm taking it for the second time around I've been studying things that i don't know because when I took it the first time i didnt' know some stuffs. That's why i couldn't answer them. Some of my co-workers are telling me that i'm wasting my time studying everything because I will never know everything! Please help i really don't know what to study for the 2nd time around. :confused:

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

It isn't just a case of practising the questions but understanding what they are asking you. Did you look at the rationales to the questions especially on the ones you got wrong?

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i do pretests (no content reading) and post-tests (with content reading)..then i make notes on my mistakes or if i dont understand the concept i read the entire material.....you're not expected to know everything but comprehension should make it less pressuring when it comes to knowing the content (an exception to this is knowing the exact values of lab results because you have to know these values in black and white)...

i do practice tests also and read the rationales (sometimes even when i get correct answers my rationale for choosing the answer is different from what i read in the book LOL)

and considering that you have seen the actual test, you should be able to know your own areas of difficulty...

i havent taken NCLEX yet but my goal is to hit 80% on my diagnostic tests before taking the exam...i dont know if its possible but iv been getting 65-77% on post tests...sometimes i get higher results in my pretests than postests w/c i find it weird...

and yeah i keep a record of my practice tests to see pattern (which should help me modifying existing study strategies)

goodluck to you !!

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Thanks guys for the advice!! I'll read more into the rationales to understand what they're asking and I'll do more pretests & postests to see how I'm doing.

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have a study paln monitor your progress your weakness and strengths and need repetition in the exam mode in your content area..btw try suzannes plan its free shes really nice in doing this tips

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