If you're not a "good test taker" don't get intimidated!!!

Published Jul 3, 2011

39 Posts

Specializes in Pediatrics.

Hi everyone,

I wanted to share my experience here and in the event that it gives anyone some hope then I will be glad! I was never a "good test taker" ... So for those of you like me, I am hoping you get some tips from this and be confident! J I took the NCLEX this past Thursday and found out Friday afternoon that I passed!! As I took the test, I felt like all the questions I was getting were questions about my weakest subjects and I was so panicked! I was getting a lot of Select All That Apply, and I was thinking "seriously, how is this fair?!" Anyway, I did my best to relax, take each question one at a time and get through this. The computer shut off at 75 questions exactly and I wanted to puke. I walked out feeling defeated, as I'm sure pretty much everyone does. Later that night my husband did the Pearson Vue trick - I couldn't bring myself to do it - and we got the "good" pop up message. This put my mind somewhat at ease because the success rate has been so good. I knew I wasn't in the clear, but it gave me a little bit of hope. The next day I found out I passed and I don't think I have ever felt so happy in my life!! Well seeing my name on the BON website and my wedding :heartbeat

They say to do questions, questions and more questions ... do as many as you can ... I agree with this but here is what I have found to be the key to my success in getting through this test - you MUST read the rationales and understand why the correct answer is correct and why the wrong answer is wrong. Instead of trying to get through as many questions as you can, spend quality time on questions so you learn from them. I used the Saunders NCLEX book and literally went through it front cover to back cover ... reviewing every piece of content, doing the practice questions and understanding the rationales. Speaking of Saunders, in my opinion the rationales they give are a huge help compared to some other books I've seen. Davis is good also, but I believe Saunders really helped me personally. Doing this helped me clarify subjects I wasn't clear about and I actually found some topics in there that I had VERY little knowledge of, so I was very glad I took the time to do that.

Some people might read this and say "well duh, obviously you need to read the rationales ..." and if you are one of those people, please kindly go to the next post instead of leaving a negative comment. There is obviously much more than this to pass the NCLEX, but like I said I wasn't always the best test taker but this strategy really helped me ... so I am posting this in the hopes that it may help even one person out there!! If so then I am happy :)

Good luck to everyone!!!