NCLEX Dec 2016 - Don't Worry About the "Tricks"

Nursing Students NCLEX

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I feel compelled to share my experience over the last 48hrs as a post of hope for those who are in the midst of their wait, or who are about to take boards.

On 12/28/16 I took NCLEX. Awful is an understatement. I received 110 questions, and virtually all the questions I could remember, I missed. I sat in the parking lot for quite a while. While I sat, I googled my last question. I had heard, if you can actually remember and look it up, you'll know you passed based on whether you answered correctly. Suddenly excited, I realized I had gotten the last question right. It was literally the only question I could remember that I didn't miss. It an insanely uplifting realization! But then, doom and gloom set in, and I remembered what Hurst said: It's possible to get a pilot question as your last question, so this "strategy" to predict whether or not you passed is a myth. Shucks. So then I thought about how many "select all that apply" questions I got. Not many. I couldn't remember, but it probably wasn't more than a handful. I thought about what level my final questions might have been (were they hard or simple). I got the last question right and missed all the others I could remember, so they must've been simple. Right? So, like many posters here at AllNurses, I decided to use the almighty "PVT" to try to re-register for the exam when I got home a few hours later. Sure, I've read one or two stories about it not working, but there are lots of posts on the internet that purport its infallibility. So, I used a card that had less than $200 on it (gotta to love that student salary!), and Pearson let me re-register. No "good pop-up." It was devastating. It confirmed what I already knew to be true: I failed. The last years of my life felt like they all rested on this one exam, and I had failed. It was absolutely devastating. BUT, not quite as traumatizing as what I did next. You see, I read that the Texas Board of Nurses updates its site at 9am on Tues/Thurs. Theoretically, if I passed, my name would pop-up. I took my test Wednesday 12/28 at 9am. Thursday morning, my suspicions would be confirmed; it seemed like lots of people were saying it works. At 0900 on the head, I checked. No name. I checked again and again throughout the day. Still no name. It was yet another sign that I had failed. It was being spelled out right in front of me. In fact, I was so crestfallen, I immediately went to my supervisor and asked for the next day off: I couldn't be at work when I received the Quick Results. I also knew there was no way I wouldn't check the Quick Results as soon as they became available. I told him I had a family matter to attend to, and was given the next day off. I spent the latter half of yesterday tearful. The pressure was immense, and my mind wasn't helping things.

Why do I tell you this? Because, just now, a little over 48hrs after finishing the test, I purchased the Quick Results. To my shock, I passed. I write this because there was a post in February from an individual who also tried "the trick", and it didn't work. She ended up passing. While my frantic mind partly wrote that off as "one in a million" (there's even a website called "150,000 people can't be wrong"), it managed to give me an inkling of hope. It is my hope that this post will do that for someone. And that it will show that, even if you get more than 75 questions and the PVT doesn't give you that famed "good pop up" and even if you also look up your name on the BON website and it doesn't appear... don't fret. In fact, don't even do those things. Your mind does crazy things in that 48hr window. I read someone profoundly call it "paralysis by analysis." Well, it's true. And, at this very moment, it doesn't feel like hyperbole to say I traumatized myself.

Moral of the story: You're gonna have to wait no matter how you slice it. Try your best to contain yourself. Watch a silly movie, if that's your thing. I chose a serious movie (to capture the mood), and had copious amounts of red wine. I still also went crazy trying to predict whether or not I passed this crazy test, and that was a bad idea. For those of you reading who just took -or are about to take- NCLEX, this is a lesson in patience. After your test shuts off, it's out of your hands. And, yes, it feels like the worst. But, take it from me, save the angst and devastation of chancing the PVT and/or checking for your name. Sure, these tactics might work for you, but it's totally not worth it. As someone who did both and had both let me down, it has finally dawned on me that it was truly out of my control this whole time. All you can do is your best. There's no "real" prediction. There's no way to know. And it sucks. But 48hrs will pass eventually.

What did you utilize as studying materials? I am also freaking out about this test and I don't want to take it more than once but have heard different outcomes. I have heard the the NCLEX truly isn't that bad and is easier than uWorld questions but I have also heard from others that the NCLEX was insanely hard.

Hello WhiffofGas,

Can you please share any advice or material you use on how to prepare for the test. I am taking my this January ending. i will appreciate if you can help.

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