I promised myself that once I passed the NCLEX that I would post on this forum words of encouragement and my experience, since I read so many encouraging posts from others here.
I took the NCLEX on Feb 26, 2015....and I passed (woooohoooo)! And I'm here to say that if I can do it, anyone can. So I've already had people asking how I prepared, so I'll get right to it.
1. Hurst review - I took the 3 day live review, and watched ALL of the videos and took ALL 6 of the Q reviews. I read over most of the 5th day material as well. Honestly, I had no questions on the NCLEX that Hurst helped me with. HOWEVER, I do think that by doing the review that it got my brain working and thinking the right way to answer questions. I did not do well on the Q reviews, all were less than the 84 that they suggest is passing the NCLEX. My scores were:
QR 1 76/127
QR 2 77/125
QR 3 75/125
QR 4 81/128
QR 5 80/125
QR 6 78/125
2. LaCharity's Prioritization, Delegation, and Assignment - Buy this book. Seriously. If you use nothing else, use this book. I can't remember my scores, but they weren't super great.
3. NCLEX Mastery Iphone app - I really liked that I could use it on the go. My scores weren't great, but again, it got my brain working to answer tons of questions.
4. Kaplan Q Bank - I didn't do any content at all from Kaplan, just a few trainer tests. I only took 4 trainers because I ran out of time. My scores were:
Trainer 1 61
T2 64
T3 58
T4 63
And that's it. I decided not to study meds because there are so many and I didn't want to confuse myself at the last minute. I had the basics down for the meds from school, lols, pines, etc. So I just decided that, that would be enough. The main thing is read the rationales on every question.
The day of my NCLEX, I was freaking out and I didn't feel ready based on my below "average" scores on Hurst, Kaplan, and NCLEX mastery. I almost rescheduled my test because I was feeling so unprepared, but I decided to take it anyway that way if I fail, I'd know what to expect next time.
So, when I went into the test center, my heart was pounding, the entire time I was doing the orientation I was trying to calm myself down. I honestly can't remember one thing about the orientation because I was so nervous...then the test started. The first question was pretty easy (Is this a trick? Should I pick a different answer? This seems too easy.) And from there, all hell broke loose, and the SATAs started coming, then the right order questions started coming. (I know you aren't supposed to tell people what Qs are on the test, but honestly even if you could, I was so nervous, I can't really remember anything super specific anyway) There were SEVERAL med Qs that I have never heard of before, and there were a couple of procedures that I've never heard of. I felt terrible, like I was getting every single Q wrong. I was taking my time, and reading the Q many times, and all of the answers over and over before selecting the answer and moving on. When I looked up and I was on Q 75, I prayed to God to not let the test turn off because I didn't want to fail....I clicked to submit my answer, and hallelujah! Q 76 came up on the screen (a dreaded SATA) I clicked to submit....blue screen. I screamed in my head....nooooo!!! I can do better! don't turn off!! But alas, nothing I could do at this point but hang my head and walk out. I left the testing center at 5:30 pm.
I walked to my car going over the Qs in my head, where exactly did I go wrong? I sat in my car for awhile, petrified. Only one way to solve this particular problem....cheesecake. I drove the over an hour drive, swung into the grocery store, and picked up some cheesecake and decided to go sulk in front of the TV with my puppies and eat cheesecake until I was ill. So, I did (turns out, one cannot eat as much cheesecake as you would think) My daughter called to see if I survived the test, and she asked how many Qs I got, I LIED because I just knew that I had failed and I didn't want her to know that I had failed it in 76 Qs.
I was so upset, that it was consuming my thoughts, so even though I told myself I wasn't going to do the PVT, I did...2 hours after the end of the test (I know, I know...don't do it for 24 hours) I couldn't stop myself. I had a visa gift card with a few bucks on it...what could it hurt? Good pop up. WHAT??? Are you kidding??? I told myself, not to get too excited because it doesn't matter until 24 hours.
24 hours later, I did the PVT again...good pop up. WooooHoooo! But wait, what if I'm one of the few that it didn't work for? Don't get excited yet...
Yet another 24 hours pass, and I got the quick results. I passed!!!
So, to make a long story even longer, I'm 42 years old (43 in about 3 weeks), I never graduated high school, as a matter of fact, I quit school while I was in the 9th grade and got my GED when I was 16 years old and pregnant. I had another child when I was 18. I never went back to school until my kids were both grown and moved out of the house (and I have a grandchild). I decided to get into nursing when I was 38, took the prereqs, and applied to a community college nursing program...NOT accepted, but I did get on the "alternative" list. Well, lo and behold, somehow I made it in off of the alternative list and started the ADN program Jan 2013. I passed every class (mostly Bs, a handful of As and Cs), and graduated Dec 2014. Took NCLEX Feb 2015, and passed in 76 Qs. So I'm here to tell you if I can do it, so can you! Good luck to everyone out there that wants to be a nurse, just starting nursing school, or preparing for the NCLEX, YOU CAN DO IT!
Have faith.
Now...time to find a job!
P.S. I am NOT encouraging anyone to try the PVT before 24 hours, or with a regular credit card. PLEASE wait 24 hours and use a visa gift card!
