I need advice from newly licensed grads!

[klv5088]

I am just about wrapping up my fall semester of my senior year. I graduate in May and am starting to anticipate studying for my NCLEX. I am not a good test taker in the slightest. I am strong in clinical, and am much more confident about my nursing abilities with hands on demonstration. I suffer from test anxiety, and struggle when it comes to standardized tests. With that being said, I absolutely need to pass on the first try. I have a job lined up from my externship, and need to make sure I pass. Can anyone who recently took the exam (2013-2014) give me any advice what-so-ever? (what to expect, study strategies, etc.) I want to purchase a good review book over Christmas break, and have heard mixed reviews about Kaplan, Hurst, Saunders, etc.

What worked best for all of you, and what do you recommend?

Also, I struggle with SATA (Select All That Apply) questions. What is the technique to get really good at approaching these questions?

Thank you very much. God Bless.

[kimmy20]

First of all...congrats on almost finishing! Your last semester is going to go by really fast! If your school offers NCLEX prep sessions take advantage of that! My school had an optional class for students to attend to go over NCLEX content. My regret and mistake was not utilizing that free resource. My plan was to finish school without worrying about NCLEX and wait until I graduated to get serious about it. I obviously didn't take it seriously enough and only studied a little here and there for about 2 and a half weeks and failed on my first try with 265 questions. I had to wait about 4-5 months to start seriously studying again because of personal issues but when I finally had the time I purchased Hurst and Kaplan and LaCharity PDA book. I used Hurst for content and Kaplan for questions. I think for me that was a good combination because I finally passed the second time around (with very little SATA). If you purchase Kaplan or Hurst it is only active for about 3 months I believe? You can extend it for a fee but I would suggest holding off on buying it until it's a little closer to your exam date. I heard good things about Saunder's comprehensive review book so if you want to study early that might be a good option. Good luck!

[akulahawkRN, ADN, RN, EMT-P]

I used primarily Saunders and NCLEX 4000 (program) for NCLEX study. When it comes to taking exams, just focus on the question directly in front of you. The one you just answered and the one you're going to answer after this one just do not matter. You have 6 hours to answer all the questions. That's normally plenty of time.

When you're dealing with SATA questions, treat every answer as a T/F statement. It must be 100% true for it to apply. If it's 99% correct, then it's wrong. Just be sure of what the question is actually asking you. While the questions will be very straightforward, they can be easy to misread. Look for key words and phrases that will clue you into what they're looking for.

[scaredsilly, BSN, RN]

I used Saunders and Kaplan. I agree, if your school offers a discounted prep course, take it. Otherwise, Kaplan and Hurst are both supposed to be great. Hurst will give you one week free, so if you are looking to start reviewing during winter break, you could sign up for that. It's a great way to see if the course feels like it's right for you before paying for it. I don't think Kaplan does that, but not sure.

I studied for 5 weeks, 5-6 days a week and forced myself to take off at least one day a week to relax. Passed first try.

[NightBloomCereus]

I passed in 75 questions. I find that 95% of what it takes to pass happens while in the nursing program, studying thoroughly every day and not cramming. Once you graduate, it's too late to learn content. You just have to do tons of nclex questions.

I wouldn't suggest Saunders for the questions because they're too easy. I used Kaplan and a bit of Lippincott. The most important thing is to take your time and review every single rationale. Sometimes I would spend 15-20 mins reviewing a single question's rationale, looking up the information and reading all about it until I understood why the answer was the correct one. I'd do this even if I got the question right. If I did 50 questions it would take me 30-40 mins to do the questions and 2-3 hours to review them.

Lippincott has a book that's entirely select all that apply questions, "Lippincott's NCLEX-RN Alternate-Format Questions." It helped me get over my fear of them. Remember if you're getting a lot of them on nclex it means you're doing well! About 1/3 of my nclex was alternative style but don't worry, they were actually pretty simple and straightforward, much easier than the ones in nursing school or kaplan.

In short, just buckle down and do tons of questions, and really review rationales. Put your powerpoints and books away, and do not review content unless it's in reference to a rationale. Also, do not wait too long to take it. Don't wait more than 2 months after graduation, preferably 4-6 weeks.

Best of luck to you, hope this helps :)