I passed NCLEX (and here's what I did)

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Specializes in Gastroenterology, PACU.

I graduated nursing school in December, took my NCLEX-RN Monday, and found out I passed today. I took the exam at 2PM in Texas and finished 75 questions in 40 minutes, walking out at 2:42. I thought my entire test was easy. I know that's going to tick some of you off, but it's the truth. Almost every answer (including the SATA/alternative format questions I had) seemed obvious to me, which is how I breezed through it. I'm going to share what I did.

1) I took advantage of my clinicals. For those of you still in school, do this. During my ER rotation, I spent a great deal of time looking at EKG strips. Let me tell you that I didn't have a single patient in the ER with an EKG strip that looked anything remotely like the cookie cutter ones in my books. I volunteered to do the EKGs and talked them over with my preceptor. I'm so glad I did this, because I had an overwhelming number of strips on my boards and recognized them AND what to do with them immediately. I know not all of you will have loads of EKG strips, but the concept is true for everything. Use your preceptors. Use your charge nurse. Use the physicians. I learned more about the endocrine system while observing and chatting with a physician performing a thyroidectomy than I did in class. What he said stuck with me, especially seeing it live.

2) Hurst review videos. Someone passed onto me her DVDs and workbook, and Marlene Hurst is like a holy being. As I was taking it, I heard her in my head going, "you going to see THAT patient first? That's fine, if you want the one with the obvious signs and symptoms of a GI obstruction to die." Doing the review and studying the packet was incredible.

3) I did practice questions. I had the Saunders book as well as a few others books, but to be honest, I didn't crack them open that much. I'm not the type of person who can sit there and read and retain information. I have to actively be doing something, and questions seemed to be the right thing to me. About six months ago, I registered for Lippincott's Question service (the point), and I started doing questions. I went from doing 20 a day when I had lots of homework to doing 150/day after I graduated. I read the rationales. ALL the rationales. If I got 45/50 questions right on a test, I still read all 50 rationales. Doing this reinforced the information I already knew, taught me information I didn't, and more than that, it offered me the CORRECT rationale for questions I answered correctly even though my thought process wasn't correct. This taught me how to 'think' NCLEX. And furthermore, I would say that about 50/75 questions I had on the NCLEX were VERY similar to questions I answered on Lippincott. And the other information I pulled from things Marlene taught me.

4) While taking the NCLEX, I had a strategy that worked mostly for all my questions. Whenever I read a question, I thought to myself, "what is it asking?" Then, I answered. If it's a priority question, you think, "which patients are stable?" If someone has had an issue for a while, they're fine to wait a few more minutes. If it's acute onset/immediate post-op, there's a good chance that's your answer. If it's an intervention question, you think FIRST OF ALL, "is my patient in danger?" then think, "Patient over equipment," and then think, "what solves the problem, if there is one?" That's all there is to it. I found a lot of my questions had answers that involved harming my patient. NEVER HARM YOUR PATIENT! If your patient has mag toxicity, TURN OFF THE MAG. If your equipment says one thing, but you see another, LOOK AT YOUR PATIENT!

Anyway, hope this helps, especially for anyone like me who's more hands on/active and hates sitting there reading for long periods.

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Thanks for the tips! I am starting my nursing program at the end of march. im so excited and nervous. I graduate December 19,2015 which seems so far away but itll come quick!

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Where did you get the hurst review videos?

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Specializes in Gastroenterology, PACU.

I've gotten a few people asking me if by the Lippincott I mean the Q&A, and I don't! I meant this: http://thepoint.lww.com/Template/RenderTemplateByInstanceId/-9

If you go to that, and then click on the learn more button, it should take you to an NCLEX 10,000 page, and then if you register, you get to The Point login. It's kind of hard to find the registration, I know. :(

But part of the reason I like this is because it starts you off on level 1 with easy questions, and as you master whatever topic, you 'level up,' and get harder questions. Like for me, my weak area was Peds, and so it was nice to be able to start with easier questions.

At first it annoyed me that you can't do question by question and look at the rationale, but toward the end, I was kind of glad the minimum quiz you could take was 5 questions, because it gets you in the habit of taking tests.

Plus, I have the Saunders book and CD, and visually their CD kind of bothers me.

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Thank you for the tips,this info will help me with my nursing classes.

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The theory-based learning is helpful but putting it into action is a different thing. Do what you have learned and it will retain the most in your memory. You just have to do out of what you have learned.

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Specializes in Gastroenterology, PACU.
The theory-based learning is helpful but putting it into action is a different thing. Do what you have learned and it will retain the most in your memory. You just have to do out of what you have learned.

Exactly! It sticks in your memory when you do it. I know more about medications I've given than about ones I simply studied. That's why I found clinicals so important, and I never understood why some of my classmates didn't care as much.

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Hi everyone,

I took my NCLEXRN last dec 12, 2013, and my name just showed up on breeze website today. its a little late coz i went for a vacation for a month when i came back i got the letter asking for my live scan/fingerprint.i had it done the other day and this morning my name is on breeze website with my license number.

i had a lot of questions about infection control. i answered maybe @150 questions, not much of computation and strips not much of medications either but lots and lots of infection control (cohorting and precaution and isolation)

I took a review class at America Helathways Education. this review class was so awesome. they really made me feel so prepared and ready for the exam. its so worth it!

it was my first review class. i graduated back on 2008, took my first nclex on 2010 and failed. since then i lost my confidence but i gained it back thru AHEC. they pushed me, encouraged me and helped me in every possible way they can.

I'm one proud CA RN because of America Healthways Education.

to all future registered nurses good luck and congratulations in advance.

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Specializes in Gastroenterology, PACU.

@charlique_13_RN: That sounds like an ad if I've ever seen one. LOL.

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Yep, might be. First post, total commercial material ... Oh well.

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Hallelujah! That just summed it up really nice... thank you

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Hello I go by the name Nu Lpn I also went to nursing school in 08 and and I recently after many tries passed my Nclex. I work for this agency but lately I don't understand they're giving me Trouble, and like the people before every ones asking me for at least a year of experience. I want to know how in God's name am I gonna get the experience if no one's willing to give me a chance. I am currently seeking a school as well Lpn toRn? Advice Reference source Help ....

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