First of, I would like to say that this has been a long journey. Perhaps short compared to some, but long nonetheless. After struggling through nursing school, having been a horrible test taker accompanied by test anxiety, the NCLEX exam was another dreadful ordeal to overcome in order to FINALLY become an official Registered Nurse *sigh* How great do those two words sound? Absolutely amazing! Especially when you don't get it just handed to you, but instead, have earned it with each drop of sweat and tear manifested by all the stress that comes along with it.
If you want to know the difference between the first and second time experience, just ask me and I'll be more than happy to share. There were a few perks that possibly made the experience better 2nd time around, but again, I don't want this to be too long of a thread
Time and time again, I see people stating that you need to spend 1/3 of your time on comprehension and 2/3 of your time doing questions. I never really believed that this would be true for myself, and prepared for the exam the first time, quite the opposite of the norm. I would say I spent most of my time on comprehension and a week or two on questions. That was not enough for me! And it was apparent when I failed at 160 something questions.
MY ADVICE:
QUESTIONS QUESTIONS QUESTIONS. I really stress that for any new graduate taking their NCLEX exam.
Learn how to take NCLEX-style questions. They're not like the exams you have in nursing school. Learn WHAT they're asking you, and HOW they want you to respond. Each and every question you face while practicing as well as on the NCLEX-RN exam, should be approached in this manner. I recommend Kaplan. Kaplan taught me how to appropriately defeat the questions.
You should have 1,200-5,000 questions under your belt before walking into the NCLEX. I did approximately 50-200 depending on how felt that day. Occasionally I took a day off to rest up. By the time I took the NCLEX-RN exam, I did about 5,400 questions
If you're taking Kaplan, I would recommend finishing the entire program i.e. ALL the Q-trainers and Qbank questions before taking your exam. First time around, I only finished 50% of what they had to offer. 2nd time around, I finished 100%
While practicing questions, every rationale should be reviewed. Even the ones you got right (just to see if what they're looking for matches up with what you thought they were looking for). If you know you won't remember a detail, write it down and if you want, review before bed every night (in my opinion, best time to retain information).
I would recommend Exam Cram. The "style" of the questions is very similar to the NCLEX. I also liked how some questions were repeated but in a re-worded manner. Repetitiveness is great! They include 5 tests, and also a CD in the back with a mock NCLEX exam, that actually shuts off in the same manner and tells you whether or not you passed or failed. I personally didn't utilize the CD because of my test anxiety, but many have found it useful as a diagnostic guide to what their weaknesses were.
My input about Saunders. I love the comprehensive book, having used it whenever I forgot a disease etc. But that was it. I also love the pictures in that book. There's also the internet for those of you who can't afford this book. Saunders Q&A is not a personal recommendation. I did the first 200 pages, and then stopped because the questions were too easy. I felt that Kaplan and Exam Cram were closer to NCLEX style and more challenging for that matter.
Last but not least, if you feel that you need more time to do questions...do not be afraid to post-pone the exam date. Better you post-pone than to waste hundreds of dollars only to do it again.
Take a deep breath as you face each question on the NCLEX-RN exam. Oxygen to the brain... You can do it!!
congratulations on passing the exam. i have taken the nclex twice so far. the first time i was there for the full 6 hours,,,the second time, i bombed out with only 75 questions. i took kaplan twice, but i found the question trainers to be pointless the second time around because my answers were tainted since i had already seen the questions before. i also have severe test anxiety, and i got through nursing school by studying more than i have ever before. i'm not one to read something once, retain it, and score an a on the test....i have to study study study...
i'm dreading taking this exam for the third time. i have already lost a fantastic job bc of not passing the nclex. and honestly, i don't really know where to start with studying this time around.
does anyone have any advice? is anyone out there in the same situation as me? i feel like the longer i wait the more difficult it will be to pass.
i'm open for suggestions...
first of all, i would recommend reviewing your first two attempts at the nclex-rn examination and recognize how you prepared for it. i would then take this information...and change your plan for the 3rd time around. it obviously didn't work for you the 1st and 2nd time...it's not going to work for you the 3rd time. when i prepared 2nd time around, i recognized that i needed to do more questions rather than content, and set goals i.e. finish all of kaplan q-bank and finish all of exam cram. this new plan should include goals you're going to set for yourself. if you don't reach those goals (i.e. finish one whole book of questions) by your exam date, then you should change that exam date so that you have time to finish those goals. remember to do 50-200 questions a day! if you take a day off every now and then, don't fret! our brains need time to relax. but, the week before your exam, i would consistently do at least 50 a day. i too have test anxiety, and even felt the need to review old questions and their rationales (about 15 questions) the day of my exam (my exam was at 2pm). not a lot of people recommend this...in fact, most recommend that you take the day off before...and obviously the day of. i did not listen to this piece of advice, and did a few questions the day before, and the day of. i also read over lab values and my one cheat sheet full of random info (i.e. burn %, labor decelerations,etc) the day before and day of. figure out what works best for you and stick with that plan. i too had to work my butt off during nursing school and repetitiveness seemed to be the key for me. so every time i did 50-200 questions a day, i would go over every single answer and their rationale regardless of whether or not i got it right or wrong, and if i didn't know a certain drug or disease, i would type it up and then read what i typed up before i went to sleep. week before my exam, i got 10 pages of notes reduced down to one cheat sheet. exam cram is a book i recommend to everyone and have heard countless praise about how this book has helped. if you haven't tried it, i would recommend buying it and doing all their questions! the form of the questions in this book are very similar to the nclex and so are the topics!
if you need more advice, please let me know. i'm more than happy to share!
oh and day of... wear a rubber band on your wrist! It helped more than one graduate with keeping their attention on the computer. If your mind starts to wander...flick the band on your wrist. Also, DEEP BREATHES! Take a deep breathe if you're stuck on a question...take your time with each question...and don't look at the clock. These tips will all help your anxiety :)
My situation is strangely a lot like yours. I've taken the NCLEX twice...I'm still waiting for the results to come in the mail because CA doesn't have quick results. The first time I failed at 77 questions and the second time I finished with 75 questions. I also lost a great job offer because I didn't pass my test..that was a really horrible feeling because through this whole process, I thought that getting a job would be a lot harder than passing this one test. Unfortunately, I don't really have any advice...I don't even know if I've passed. But...I feel for you and I wish you good luck the next time around!
Congratulations on passing the exam. i have taken the nclex twice so far. the first time i was there for the full 6 hours,,,the second time, i bombed out with only 75 questions. i took kaplan twice, but i found the question trainers to be pointless the second time around because my answers were tainted since i had already seen the questions before. i also have severe test anxiety, and i got through nursing school by studying more than i have ever before. i'm not one to read something once, retain it, and score an A on the test....i have to study study study...
i'm dreading taking this exam for the third time. i have already lost a fantastic job bc of not passing the nclex. and honestly, i don't really know where to start with studying this time around.
does anyone have any advice? is anyone out there in the same situation as me? i feel like the longer i wait the more difficult it will be to pass.
waterpaint
82 Posts
first of all, i would recommend reviewing your first two attempts at the nclex-rn examination and recognize how you prepared for it. i would then take this information...and change your plan for the 3rd time around. it obviously didn't work for you the 1st and 2nd time...it's not going to work for you the 3rd time. when i prepared 2nd time around, i recognized that i needed to do more questions rather than content, and set goals i.e. finish all of kaplan q-bank and finish all of exam cram. this new plan should include goals you're going to set for yourself. if you don't reach those goals (i.e. finish one whole book of questions) by your exam date, then you should change that exam date so that you have time to finish those goals. remember to do 50-200 questions a day! if you take a day off every now and then, don't fret! our brains need time to relax. but, the week before your exam, i would consistently do at least 50 a day. i too have test anxiety, and even felt the need to review old questions and their rationales (about 15 questions) the day of my exam (my exam was at 2pm). not a lot of people recommend this...in fact, most recommend that you take the day off before...and obviously the day of. i did not listen to this piece of advice, and did a few questions the day before, and the day of. i also read over lab values and my one cheat sheet full of random info (i.e. burn %, labor decelerations,etc) the day before and day of. figure out what works best for you and stick with that plan. i too had to work my butt off during nursing school and repetitiveness seemed to be the key for me. so every time i did 50-200 questions a day, i would go over every single answer and their rationale regardless of whether or not i got it right or wrong, and if i didn't know a certain drug or disease, i would type it up and then read what i typed up before i went to sleep. week before my exam, i got 10 pages of notes reduced down to one cheat sheet. exam cram is a book i recommend to everyone and have heard countless praise about how this book has helped. if you haven't tried it, i would recommend buying it and doing all their questions! the form of the questions in this book are very similar to the nclex and so are the topics!
if you need more advice, please let me know. i'm more than happy to share!