I want to give up

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Hello all! I graduated from lpn school last month and I've been reviewing for the nclex for 3 wks. Nothing sticks. I practice with the ati questions my scores just suck. So I purchased uworld did a few qbanks my scores are still low. I read the rationales wrote them down but I feel by the time I take the exam I'll forget everything. There's so many rationales how do ppl memorize from them? Im overwhelmed I haven't been sleeping too well like idk what to focus on. It's just too much. This exam is making me crazy I didn't even schedule it yet bc I know I'm not ready but I just wanna take it now and get over it. Am I overthinking this?

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Specializes in Med/Surg, LTACH, LTC, Home Health.

You don't memorize the rationales; you learn the concept behind them. You must think about how each correct answer ties in with the question. Then you must think about what the incorrect rationales contained that eliminated it in regards to the question. Once you are able to put two and two together, you understand the rationale and can correctly answer any question about the condition no matter how it's phrased. But you have got to be able to make that connection.

On the NCLEX, you're going to have very few black-and-white, cut-n-dry questions and answers. What you're going to have are scenarios where you will have to select the best possible answer...sometimes all​ of the best possible answers. So, take your time. Think about each question. Sort through the fluff in a question to see exactly what the question is asking you, and pick the answer(s) that is/are specific to that question. Once you're able to do that, not a whole lot of studying is required.

Understanding concepts helps you to better approach many of the questions that could possibly be asked. What you're studying now may or may not be found on your NCLEX. But you better believe that the concept will be there. If you try to memorize those rationales instead of understanding their meanings, you're going to be screwed come test day when they paraphrase the same question. Take your time and don't move on to the next question until you fully understand why the answers are correct and/or incorrect. Good luck!

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You don't memorize the rationales; you learn the concept behind them. You must think about how each correct answer ties in with the question. Then you must think about what the incorrect rationales contained that eliminated it in regards to the question. Once you are able to put two and two together, you understand the rationale and can correctly answer any question about the condition no matter how it's phrased. But you have got to be able to make that connection.

On the NCLEX, you're going to have very few black-and-white, cut-n-dry questions and answers. What you're going to have are scenarios where you will have to select the best possible answer...sometimes all​ of the best possible answers. So, take your time. Think about each question. Sort through the fluff in a question to see exactly what the question is asking you, and pick the answer(s) that is/are specific to that question. Once you're able to do that, not a whole lot of studying is required.

Understanding concepts helps you to better approach many of the questions that could possibly be asked. What you're studying now may or may not be found on your NCLEX. But you better believe that the concept will be there. If you try to memorize those rationales instead of understanding their meanings, you're going to be screwed come test day when they paraphrase the same question. Take your time and don't move on to the next question until you fully understand why the answers are correct and/or incorrect. Good luck!

Okay thanks! I wrote the rationales down and I'm just looking up what I don't understand. Hopefully when I retest in uworld I get a better score. I'm just nervous that's all. I don't wanna fail the first try. I wasn't an A student in nursing school I struggled a bit. What I'm more worried about is pharm what if they ask drugs I've never heard of? Was it a lot if med surg?

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Hello there,

don't give up!!!! Continue with the questions. Your scores shouldn't really matter, but understanding why you got the question wrong and understanding the rationales is most important

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don't let it overwhelm you take it a piece at a time. you got really great advice and I hope you follow it, you're psyching yourself out! too soon to make yourself crazy lol just work out a study plan and think the questions through. good luck!

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Specializes in Med/Surg, LTACH, LTC, Home Health.
Okay thanks! I wrote the rationales down and I'm just looking up what I don't understand. Hopefully when I retest in uworld I get a better score. I'm just nervous that's all. I don't wanna fail the first try. I wasn't an A student in nursing school I struggled a bit. What I'm more worried about is pharm what if they ask drugs I've never heard of? Was it a lot if med surg?

I can't say whether it was a lot of any one particular area or not. It's been six years since I took the NCLEX-RN. What I do remember is that my one and only fill-in-the-blank was my one and only math question. Also, I only had 75 questions when the computer stopped. But I would suggest that you do know Med-Surg as every aspect of nursing has a Med-Surg overtone in my opinion. My main approach if I were you would be to really focus on learning the whys and why-nots. Your knowledge of Med-surg helps you to apply what you know to the scenarios.

You may actually be asked something like 'why is aspirin contraindicated in a patient who is receiving warfarin?' Or 'what type of diet is recommended for a patient receiving warfarin?' The next question may ask why the answer you selected considered to be the best answer.

And yes, there will be things you've never heard of on the NCLEX. Some of those are pre test questions and are not graded. But they won't be identified as such, so here is where you take your best guess and move on instead of panicking. Nobody knows everything because new drugs are always being produced; new diseases are being discovered; new ways of doing things are being developed. Concern yourself with the what-is instead of the what-ifs. You should have enough what-is's that you need to grasp to keep you busy. Forget the what-ifs until they actually become a what-is.

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Thanks all for the great advice. I scheduled my test for Nov 30th. I'll update you guys on the results.

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Update: took the test I ended up with 205q so I know I failed. It didn't even shut down it just ended at the maximum. I had SATA but not right after each other it was more multiple choice, 2 drag and drop 2 math and 1 strip. It was a lot of mental health and some diseases I've never heard of. A few ob some infection control. I failed I know I failed I hate my life I studied real hard and the wording was just vague. :(

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Specializes in PICU.

If you failed... try and just read the question, when you know the answer select it, right down why you selected it, then look at the answer and rationale, see if you were close. DO this for all of the questions you do, as you get better at answering the questions, the less you will be writing down. You will need to understand why you answer questions correctly and why you didn't Yo will need to do about 5000 questions, at least that was what I did.

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If you failed... try and just read the question, when you know the answer select it, right down why you selected it, then look at the answer and rationale, see if you were close. DO this for all of the questions you do, as you get better at answering the questions, the less you will be writing down. You will need to understand why you answer questions correctly and why you didn't Yo will need to do about 5000 questions, at least that was what I did.

I did the whole uworld bank everyday I did Ati questions the school provided. I was sure confident I was gonna pass this. I wrote the rationale I even rewrote the ones I got wrong into questions. I looked up what I didn't understand. When I retested my scores improved on ati and uworld. When I went in for the test I wrote all my lab values on the dry board, mnemonics etc. I really thought I was prepared but I was wrong. I really wanted to pass this and be done now I gotta deal with this for another 45 days. I'm just so devastated I let everybody down and my instructor was counting on me:cry:

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@dreamer0x did you try the PVT trick? Stay positive. Don't pull yourself down. Good luck! Wish you all the best :)

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@dreamer0x did you try the PVT trick? Stay positive. Don't pull yourself down. Good luck! Wish you all the best. :)

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