I passed NCLEX-RN! Info about the test and what I did

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Specializes in Med-Surg/Oncology.

I took the NCLEX on Friday and just found out today on PearsonVue that I PASSED!!!! I got 75 questions and it took me one hour and ten minutes.

Questions on NCLEX

Infection control (mostly it gave you the illness the pt had, such as TB, and then you had to determine what you had to wear into the room, if you could leave the door open or shut, etc), priority (which patient would you see first), two or three dosage calc questions (only one of which was semi-complex, in that I mean it took more than 2 or 3 steps), a cultural/religious question (pt was a specific religion and was dying, what would you expect to see the family or the spirital advisor do), a few drug questions (mostly along the lines of your pt is on this medication, what would you expect to see), some pathophys but not a lot, had NO labor and delivery questions but did have a few peds questions (one pertaining to cleft palate/lip). *Please remember that every test blueprint is different, and this was mine.. The general outline is the same in regards to topics (I can pretty much promise EVERYONE got infection control and priority, at least) but how you answer each question determines the next one so don't rely solely on my blueprint thinking you will get the same.*

How I Prepared

I took the Kaplan review course. Everyone who has taken this knows that they teach you a systematic way of going through and dissecting each question. I'll be honest - I used this system maybe twice on the exam. What I found MOST beneficial was the online content that came with the class - they give you thousands of opportunities to answer practice questions, I'm not sure how many questions total I took but I took EVERY formal practice test and I answered all the QBank questions.. Honestly I probably got close to answering 5,000 questions, no exaggeration. I also did a little bit of ATI that I had access to from school. I answered every question I could get my hands on and read EVERY rationale for why I got it right or wrong. I cannot stress to you enough how important this was to my success - I learned so much from answering all those questions and reading all those rationales. The night before the test I also was sitting in a local bookstore and reading the "NCLEX-RN Made Incredibly Easy!" review book, there are 6 comprehensive tests in the back of the book (not to mention tons of questions in each chapter of the book) and I really liked this book, it was very easy to understand (imagine that!).

I chose to not spend much time studying drugs, simply based on the fact that I knew no matter how many I studied, the odds of me getting a question on one of those drugs on the NCLEX was very slim. I did completely guess on at least half of the drug questions I got. That's just me and how I chose to study, not necessarily recommending everyone do the same.

I also read through probably 50 pages of the "random fact throwing" thread here, and it helped me tremendously. I wrote probably 20 pages of notes as I went through it, especially the mnemonics I found. If you have time I recommend you go through some it, it is, if nothing else, a great review.

The PearsonVue Trick

I'll be honest, I thought this was incredibly silly when I first read about it, but I tried it anyway, and it did stop me before I got to the credit card page. I would still encourage you not to pin all your hopes and dreams on this trick however, because it simply could have been coincidence.

A Note for Those Taking Your Test on Fridays

You SHOULD get your results in two days, which means Sunday, even though some places say two BUSINESS days (which would be Monday - Friday). I'm rejoicing because I got it two days earlier than I thought I would :D

I would encourage you to do something fun not only the day before your test, but also the day after. Those 48 hours will be the longest of your life, but it will go much faster if you spend the first 36 enjoying yourself, and the last 12 sleeping ;) I thought I would be an emotional basketcase, but on Friday I went to work after the test and that killed 8 hours, I got up on Saturday and had a wedding to go to (which is always a happy event to watch!) and then left to go out of town to go watch an arena football game. I encourage you to fill the day after your test with as much fun stuff as you can pack into it, and it'll be time to get your QuickResults before you know it. :) This obviously only works for you guys in the states that participate in QuickResults, my prayers are with those of you in states that don't, I have no suggestions on how to fill up four weeks!

In the end, I wish all of you good luck and I am praying for you, and thank those of you who prayed for me. I am so excited to call myself an RN!

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:ancong!:

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WOW your studying and test sound so similar to mine....except I had no math at all....I did about 5000 questions too, glad I wasn't alone on that...haha

I also used the incredibly easy review!!! Front to back, and everyone of the questions!

Congrats, I passed too!

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Congrats! :yeah: You sure studied enough! I did Hurst and Kaplan and passed too! HOORAY for us!! :p :nurse:

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I see that most of you used Kaplan, I am highly considering it for myself since it has been 6 yrs since I took the exam. Which package should I purchase? CONGRATS, I hope I get to call myself an RN someday!

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I used Kaplan as well. Did all the QBank, NCLEX sample tests, and QTrainers 1-7. When I ran out all unused questions, I did all missed questions. When I got those, I made sure I really read and understood the rationale. When I got tired of Kaplan, I did Medspub, all the tests in Medspub, read the rationales, and when I got tired of Medspub, I did Saunders and Lippincott. I think all in all, I may have done close to 5000 questions in a month's time period.

I also passed NCLEX with 75 questions. And I had some of the SAME questions on my NCLEX that I had seen on Kaplan. The format for NCLEX was EXACTLY like Kaplan. I had tons of SATA's, but they were not that bad as in Kaplan. In fact, I found Kaplan to be harder than NCLEX. There were only a few meds I didnt know, the rest were very common. I had one drug calc, and it was a fill in the blank. Not really that hard. I had a couple of peds and OB. I had a few legal questions as well. But majority of my test consisted of priority, infection control, and delegation. So, while doing Kaplan, I really focused on these areas. Also in Medspub, I focused on Management, which included the legal and delegation questions.

I didnt really read any books, expect for Saunders, and it was only for clarification on an area I was scoring weak in. Other than that, I just focused on answering questions everyday.

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congratulation everyone! my taking mine in July 20th ..i'm using Learningextension and would like to have you Guy to pray for me and for us....to pass and have the time to share our experiences. I like the way you advice about filling the time after the exam...thanks a lot...PLEASE PRAY FOR ME!!!!!!!!!

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Specializes in Med-Surg/Oncology.
I used Kaplan as well. Did all the QBank, NCLEX sample tests, and QTrainers 1-7. When I ran out all unused questions, I did all missed questions. When I got those, I made sure I really read and understood the rationale. When I got tired of Kaplan, I did Medspub, all the tests in Medspub, read the rationales, and when I got tired of Medspub, I did Saunders and Lippincott. I think all in all, I may have done close to 5000 questions in a month's time period.

I also passed NCLEX with 75 questions. And I had some of the SAME questions on my NCLEX that I had seen on Kaplan. The format for NCLEX was EXACTLY like Kaplan. I had tons of SATA's, but they were not that bad as in Kaplan. In fact, I found Kaplan to be harder than NCLEX. There were only a few meds I didnt know, the rest were very common. I had one drug calc, and it was a fill in the blank. Not really that hard. I had a couple of peds and OB. I had a few legal questions as well. But majority of my test consisted of priority, infection control, and delegation. So, while doing Kaplan, I really focused on these areas. Also in Medspub, I focused on Management, which included the legal and delegation questions.

I didnt really read any books, expect for Saunders, and it was only for clarification on an area I was scoring weak in. Other than that, I just focused on answering questions everyday.

I agree, I found Kaplan was actually harder than the actual NCLEX!! Much to my relief. :)

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Specializes in Med-Surg/Oncology.
I see that most of you used Kaplan, I am highly considering it for myself since it has been 6 yrs since I took the exam. Which package should I purchase? CONGRATS, I hope I get to call myself an RN someday!

I feel Kaplan's online content was invaluable, and I definitely got my $400 worth. Like I said I did not use Kaplan's system of dissecting questions on the exam but I do not feel I would have passed with 75 questions if I had not used their online content so thoroughly.

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