NCLEX June 2017

[cece06]

Hey everyone!

Looking for a bit of advice and guidance from fellow nurses and future nurses. I recently took the NCLEX (1st attempt) and unfortunately didn't pass. I got the max 265 questions and was in there for 5.5 hrs. It was brutal. I got the results the next morning via MQA website. It was official, FAIL. I was hoping it would cut me off at 75, but after I passed 75 and reached 100, then 150, and then 190 I realized I was in it for the long haul. To say I was out disappointed would be an understatement. I don't know exactly what went wrong or where it went wrong to be exact.... it just all went terribly wrong

My school offered us the Kaplan course at a discounted price so I bought that during my last semester and completed the program after I graduated.

These were my Kaplan scores:

Diagnostic: 56%

QT1: 56%

QT2: 52%

QT3: 44%

QT4: 58%

QT5: 50%

QT6: 51%

QT7: 50%

Readiness: 62%

Who do you see first: 87%

I was told when I was in school that Kaplan offered a 100% guarantee pass or your money back. Well....... I got refunded 100%. So now I'm stuck looking for other options and study resources. My nursing school friends have all passed the NCLEX 1st try and all have jobs already. I am super happy for them but don't want to bombard them with my NCLEX struggles and failure as they embark on the next chapter of their lives. I did tell them I didn't pass and they were very supportive but now I'm on my own after this. As I do my best not to sit and sulk about my huge disappointment and failure, which is hard mainly cause I now have to explain to family/friends that I didn't pass and relive the disappointment all over again.

I'm ready to put plan B together... I was wondering if you guys could share resources you used that helped you pass the NCLEX. I've heard of UWorld, PDA LaCharity, Exam Cram, Hurst. I don't want to study so many resources and just be all over the place. I was really hoping, focusing on Kaplan would have guaranteed me passing the nclex but apparently not. Now I'm at a loss as to what to do or where to turn.... I'm more than willing to put in the work. I just don't know where to start...

If you guys would care to share your stories and what helped or didn't help you that would be awesome! Happy to take any advice!

[tracyminter]

I did Kaplan and Uworld, I took mine yesterday and cut off at 75 not sure if I passed yet. I was not a Kaplan fan. I thought Uworld was amazing and was very good to prepare. It really depends if you think you are lacking content more than how to answer questions. Uworld covers questions more but you do pick up a lot of content on the way.

[cece06]

Thank you for the feedback! I'm going to be giving UWorld a try, heard good things about them. Best of luck on your results and congratulations if you passed!

[nurse234]

the good news: you got 265 questions- meaning you almost passed.I would analyze your studying. Did you cram? Did you study for months? What works for one person with studying may not work for others

The majority of NCLEX passing questions are analysis and application questions, which in my experience require critical thinking with priority, safety, and precautions. These are the categories I think should be paid most attention to. I did not receive content questions on my exam- meaning, I did not have to decipher patho, anticipate what medication will be given for this disease, what are the s/s, etc. I over studied content and minor details. I would suggest looking at the main picture of each body system, and put together in your mind nursing interventions that would typically go with that system. The disease may be different, but nursing interventions typically are the same. Example: respiratory--> give O2 if low, elevate head of bed, restless? probably hypoxic, draw ABGS. Then decide priority interventions: priority for respiratory? give oxygen! If you study the systems like this you spend less time studying tiny details and think critically.

Finally, Kaplan is confusing. It was a part of my program too. But again, this may not be the best program for you. I would recommend LaCharity prioritization and delegation. This helps you prep for those higher level questions. The book is short and too the point. Do not go back over content as you know it because you took the full 265. Focus on priority questions. Good luck to you, you can do it :)