I passed - you can do it.

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Graduated May 9th and took my exam 2 days ago. I can't believe the journey is finally over. I did not care to pass with 75q's or 265q's I just wanted to pass, but I was shocked when I saw that blue screen after submitting the 75th question.

My resources and my opinion.

I know that everyone requires different needs so this is just my opinion. Many of these were acquired throughout nursing school and some were gifts so thankfully I did not dig such a big hole in in my pockets.

Saunders Book 5th Edition (yellow book)

  • I used this book throughout school so I thought it would be a good source for the exam. Although it worked for me while in nursing school, to be honest, I did not like it for NCLEX. Some of their answers were similar therefor easy to eliminate and get the correct questions. I thought that NCLEX would not make the answers that easy to eliminate.
  • Good content book, boring read.

Lippincott's Q&A book (required by class)

  • One of my course required use to get this book, along with online access to Prep-u. THis is just questions. I used this for the SATA questions only.

Prep-U (required by school)

  • This was very helpful because it provides full range of format. The best part about prep-u is that it has adaptive mastery levels. As you increase you mastery, the harder the questions.

LaCharity PDA (suggested by classmate)

  • THis was suggested by a classmate from Meg/Surg 1. I used this through out nursing school as well. It was very helpful for prioritizing and delegation.
  • Did not use as much for NCLEX.

NCSBN Learningext (suggested by a friend)

  • Don't know why I got this. It was just another content review.

Anderson Live Review Course (provided by school)

  • I was definitely sick and tired of school so it was challenging for me to pay attention.

Hurst Online Review (suggested by a friend)

  • I saw this as content review. Enjoyable to watch.
  • I had to combine both Anderson's with Hurst review because Hurst was a bit shorter on their content.

Three weeks before my exam I felt that I had the content but I needed more test taking skill. I begged my BF, I NEEDED Kaplan.

Kaplan on Demand w/ Qbank (positive reviews on AN)

  • I did not watch any of the videos (felt that I had enough of content).
  • This was very helpful for test taking strategies, and helped me dissect the questions.

35 page study guide floating around

  • Loved, loved, loved this study guide. Save my behind a few times.

I had plenty of time to study, no kids, no job. I studied every day but not 10 hours. I did 2-3 hours at a time and if I was tired or not in the mood, I would not study... this is not conducive for me. The last two weeks all I did was use Kaplan and Prep-u. Read every rational, I mean EVERY single rational.

For my personal needs I found that Kaplan (test taking strategies) along with Anderson and Hurst (content), prep-u, and 35 page AN review where the most helpful.

My most important advice is to stay positive. Please DO NOT read the "I failed NCLEX" posts on AN. I must admit that I read a few and it did nothing but increase my anxiety. The day before your exam, use this time to relax, exercise or meditate. Slow down, do not rush. Read the questions and answers five times if you have to (I did). Take deep breaths, stretch your arms, ask for breaks, you do not have to wait for the break they give you.

Good luck to everyone!

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Oh yay thank you! I feel like all I hear or read is how awful nursing school is, and all these "I'm failing miserably" posts, so thank you Jesus finally someone who says it's possible to pass! Lol. I'm hoping to start in August, and I also have no kids/no job with plenty of time to study, so it feels nice to have someone to relate to :) thank you for all your suggestions!

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Hello!! I'' be taking the Nclex in a few days and I've heard some people say that for medications there is only one name coming up in the questions (some say it's the genetic, others say it's the brand name). I know I should know both, but there are sooo many medications that most of the time I recognize one or the other! I can't stop thinking about this because I don't know anyone that has taken the test recently. Can you please tell meeee :nailbiting:

Thank You!

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Hello!! I'' be taking the Nclex in a few days and I've heard some people say that for medications there is only one name coming up in the questions (some say it's the genetic, others say it's the brand name). I know I should know both, but there are sooo many medications that most of the time I recognize one or the other! I can't stop thinking about this because I don't know anyone that has taken the test recently. Can you please tell meeee :nailbiting:

Thank You!

To be honest I can't recall if I had the genetic or both, I want to say that I had a mix of both… but they were medications that we can all recognize. I had about 5 medications questions and I knew every single one of them.

Please, please do not stress out. It could get the better side of you and that is when you make mistakes.

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