My take on how to best prepare for NCLEX-RN

[hellogorgeous]

First off, let me say that I very recently took my NCLEX-RN for the first time, and I did indeed pass. My computer shut off at 75 questions, and in general, I felt ok about the test. I wanted to write a few suggestions I have for those that will be testing in the near future and give some encouragement.

1) Know Thy Self: To begin, I wanted to stress the importance of knowing yourself. This is probably the most important point I can make. No one knows you better than you. Therefore, you know your strengths and weaknesses. For example, if you struggle with a certain body system, be sure to take time to review that system's content and run through specific questions related to that system. Also, if you struggle with a particular question format, such as select all that apply or ordering actions, be sure to practice those types of questions and identify strategies. On another note, whenever you think of something you struggle with, are unsure of, or need to review, write it down. I kept a master list of things I wanted to run through or flag in my review book before taking the test. Also, some people feel they need to take a review course; others do not. Some feel they need to study with a group; others prefer to work alone. The take away message is to make a study plan that is specific to you and your needs. Think of how you studied through nursing school and what seemed to work and not work. Please do not panic if your preparation style seems different from what others are doing.

2) Use Multiple Resources: I have read quite a bit of conflicting information on which resources to use. Some people say certain books/question banks are better than others. My best suggestion for this is to use a variety of study materials. Try to use a few different books, flashcards, or internet resources.

3) Practice many questions but also review some content: I struggled with whether my focus should be on the content aspect or simply doing as many practice questions as possible. In the end, I feel it's best to try to do both. This again comes back to the self awareness point and focusing on the content that you usually struggle with or haven't retained.

4) Try to practice each day/frequently: Sometimes it is not realistic to expect to get through 200 practice questions seven days a week, but even doing twenty a day is something. My main point here is to not have huge gaps between studying times. After all, the idea is to try to keep everything fresh. For easy access, I downloaded multiple NCLEX study applications on my phone, so I could practice questions anywhere practically-on long car rides, at the beach, at the beauty parlor, and so on.

My best wishes to everyone who will be testing. Remain calm and trust yourself.