Passed NCLEX-RN on 1st Try, Plus Study Tips!

[NursePallasFNP2b]

All the sleepless nights and anguish-inducing anxiety paid off. I was a nervous wreck after the test, so I was too chicken to try the re-register trick, but fellow classmates did, and it worked for them (you order the test again, put your card in, hit submit, and if you passed, it won't go through). I started studying back in May, stopped for a bit, then started again.

Anyway, I'd like to share the resources I used, to pay it forward, with links to them and rank them according to how closely I felt the material and question style mimicked the NCLEX:

1. NCSBN's Learning Extension

This was, by far, one of the best resources I used. I used the $50, 3-week course option, and it was a small price to pay for the great info given! The question style, in my opinion, most closely mimicked the style of what's on the NCLEX. This makes sense, since they're the company that makes the NCLEX. The support via "Ask a Teacher" was polite, prompt and professional and the lessons were presented in an easy to understand manner. I didn't get a chance to do all of the lessons. I mainly did the comprehensive quizzes and exams. I didn't like that it was really only optimized for use in Internet Explorer (I loathe IE), but otherwise no complaints.

2. Saunders Comprehensive review for the NCLEX

This book was required to be purchased by my school and we sometimes had to do questions out of this book as homework for various classes. I pretty much only did the questions on the disc and learned from the rationales. It does contain a comprehensive review of material for each lesson, but I didn't want to read all of that . I did, however, do pretty much every question on the disc (same questions as in the book with more added). The material on this disc is phenomenal, especially when it comes to learning about diets for specific diseases and medications. And the alternate format questions (ie. SATA, math, Audio, etc) are just like what I saw on the test (in some cases even a little harder), so very good practice. It will give you an optional pretest to assess your knowledge, and then give you a customized study calendar to use at your discretion. My advice is to not do practice questions on paper. Not only will this give you practice for answering during the actual NCLEX, it will allow you a better chance to resell the book because it won't be all marked up. ?

2. NCLEX Mastery iPad App

As you may have noticed, I have 2 things ranked at #2, and that's because this app was hands-down the best on-the-go study app I tried. I ended up purchasing the full app for $29.99, and I am telling you, it was SO worth it! The material provided absolutely was covered on the exam. It's convenient, provides loads of practice questions and thorough rationales for right & wrong answers, timed quizzes, mnemonic devices, lab values, and images to go with many questions (ie. pressure ulcer typing and burns). The support team for the app is also very helpful, pleasant, and will respond to any questions in a timely manner. They also take your suggestions for the app to heart when they make upgrades to it. Additionally, they offer a 200% money-back guarantee if you do all the questions in the app and still don't pass. I personally know someone that they did honor this for (they gave her $60 back after she didn't pass).

4. Buy @ amazon Kaplan NCLEX-RN Prep 2019: 2 Practice Tests + Proven Strategies

I know most people love Kaplan, but I honestly didn't find this book to be that helpful. I got it free, and I'm glad. I did read the whole book, and was glad to get the Kaplan strategies for answering questions, but I'm sure those could have been "googled." It would often briefly mention a topic, like "You should know about transfusion reactions," but it wouldn't go into what you should know or interventions. So, it was more of a topic guide, in my opinion. An accurate one, but that's it. I did do the 2 practice tests that came with the book, and they were alright. Nothing bad to say about it, just saying that I think you could be fine without purchasing this particular book.

Finally, I used that ever so famous study guide that I found on this forum, and did just like the original poster suggested- I read through it in my car at the testing center. I arrived an hour early just to do that, and it was helpful. I will attach it to this post.

I hope this post helps someone. I was an A-student in nursing school, but it was very hard for me to get the hang of answering NCLEX-style questions (especially the SATA style). I was the student always in a professor's office getting help on how to answer a test question via not just knowledge re-call, but strategy (aka critical thinking) as well. I made it through, and you can too! God's got us! So, keep the positive vibes flowing, pay attention in class and clinical, and you will be just fine.

NCLEX-Study-Guide Must READ before test.pdf