Published Jul 17, 2017
ThrowAway_Account
18 Posts
Hello,
Just going to post my experience with the NCLEX and that is it with this account. I am not a big fan of writing perfectly so just be aware of some errors :)
School - I was a decent student mainly B+,A-, A student. I just studied the night before my exams and managed to get high grades. My clinicals were pretty easy and learned something from them (I actually put myself out in clinical to learn something new instead of waiting in the background). Our school made us take an exit HESI which you needed a score of 900+ to consider passing and if you would achieve it, there is an extreme good chance of you passing NCLEX first time. I failed the HESI twice but managed to pass on the third time with a score of 955 or something.
NCLEX prep - I had a Elsevier live review at school for three days from 8:30 AM to 3PM. (which was completely useless). I feel like it did not help at all. Now for the actual way you should prepare! UWORLD! I used Uworld and finished all the questions ending it at 58% correct. Before I started Uworld I took the assessment and it said I was borderline chance of passing and after all the questions I retook it and had a very high chance of passing. That last assessment I had 70% of the questions correct and ended up in the 92nd percentile. Remember to focus on the rationale and not percentages. So I would study with about 75-150 questions a day for like a month and then I signed up for the NCLEX on July 11.
NCLEX - I took it at 2:00 PM (will not wake up early to take it, forget that). Before the exam, I ate a Greek yogurt and walked around the building to relax. I did some nclex questions just because I was bored. So it gets to 1:30 PM and I start walking towards the room. They do the standard things like palm scan, take your picture, give you your locker and whatnot. I proceed to the next area and the proctor explains to me some minor things which were not really important. So I get to my seat and sit down.
Actual NCLEX - So I started it up and WOW. The questions I had were so random, about 15 SATA, 2 pictures, no calculations, no questions on putting things in order like those column questions, and rest multiple choice. My heart was pounding so fast but I took deep breaths and kept going. About 75% of the questions I had no idea but ruled out options to two left and picked the best one. The rest I knew were from actual nursing school knowledge and Uworld. I told myself at around question 40 that I just want this to end at 75. Later at question 75, it went blank and to a new screen for the research section. I was so relieved but felt like I failed. I did three questions of the research and ended it cause I just wanted to get out.
After - I left and felt so miserable because it was pretty hard and knew I failed. I looked on this website to read peoples nclex posts to calm myself down. I was thinking about the PVT trick but I seen some posts about how it was not accurate for some people but the majority of people had good experiences with it. So I said no and waited for the quick result which occurred 48 hours later (July 13th - 2:00 PMish). I did the quick result and paid like $8 and it said PASS. I was so relieved and I called my friends and boss to let them know!
So pretty much use UWorld to read rationales. Also look at questions where it is like which patient should the nurse assess first cause I had a few of those. After you take the NCLEX, you probably will feel bad feeling like you failed but I do want to let you know that according to the NCSBN, 90% of BSN students passed the nclex the first time from January to March 2017 :). If you have any questions, please comment and I will address them. I am sure I missed some things so please ask me if you do! Also, if you read all of this, thank you as well! Now, I can continue my DNP program with my license!
If I passed, you can pass as well! Good luck!
Dori17
9 Posts
Congratulations and thanks for the insightful post. I have not been as successful with my NCLEX-RN experience. I am a repeat, which in some cases makes me feel like I've been put into a drug rehabilitation program. "Hello, I'm Dori and I've failed the NCLEX-RN." Crowd replies, "Hi, Dori." I've turned to my classmates that have passed and failed. However, I didn't receive the feedback that I was looking for. The ones who have failed are in hiding and some unmotivated to study again. The ones who have passed are happy to share that they passed, but not preparation. I found your post to be the most straightforward post on this website. I am needing my license to continue my NP program as well. I just took my test yesterday. I got 265 questions. I was so excited to keep getting questions that I didn't mind the load. However, when I knew there were no more questions to answer I felt the opposite. I had every question you could think of, except use of the headphones. Many of the questions were triage, SATA and priority. I tried the PVT trick and it had me pay for my exam. Yes, I paid $200 before my results were available. It's not a good indication, but I'm still happy. If I have to take it again, bring it on. At least I have $200 to retest, time before my results are due, and study materials. I've taken Hurst, Kaplan, and NRSNG. To each its own. I wasn't a horrible student in my BSN. I graduated 4.0. I just think maybe my journey is different than others. I will probably find out my official unofficial results tomorrow. I'll work on a study plan and incorporate UWORLD. Thanks again. If you have any other feedback, highly appreciated. My goal is to stay persistent and dedicated to completing this journey.
I am sorry to hear that you have failed. I am glad to see that even after you failed, you are trying right back to pass. That is great trait to have! I hope you pass this NCLEX so you can become a RN and continue your NP program. You will like Uworld, it is super easy to use and helpful rationales. I don't have any helpful tips next to use Uworld though. To me, I sort of felt the NCLEX was a luck based thing hoping you would get questions that you would be able to answer. Please keep us updated on your results!
Dreamofjeann
12 Posts
What is the research section?
They basically asked different style of questions which were not asked during Nclex. You have your typical questions like SATA, multiple choice , picture hot spots, and in order questions. Now these questions were more complicated and if they decided to use them, nursing schools will need to switch up their questions and help prepare for these questions.
Omg I got those questions as well and freaked out about how it was formatted.
Those do not count towards the main score/exam right?
Omg I got those questions as well and freaked out about how it was formatted. Those do not count towards the main score/exam right?
Correct, the research questions do NOT count toward your Nclex score. No worries.
Bryant87
47 Posts
I took my NCLEX today at 2pm and I kind of want to die.
Update: I passed. My license was up and active this morning!
Thanks for the feedback. I've been doing UWorld religiously. I really like it. My score is overall in the 72nd percentile. I'm also doing NclexRN mastery. It seems easier than UWorld, but still gives me some practice and rationale. I'm also over 72%. Each has a bank of about 1800 questions. So my plan is to review notes and read books over systems then take questions throughout the day and check rationale. I'm just playing it like the lotto. Thanks again. I'll keep you updated. Scheduled for September 8th test date.
I've heard 265 times questions is a neat pass and that's what I got the first time.
Congratulations!
Good luck!