NCLEX/Needing to talk it out

chris82 · Jun 17, 2010

I am taking the test in about a week for my first time. I graduated nursing school a year ago, for the past few months I have been doing questions, reading content ect. I pretty much feel like if I don't make it the first time, at least I have another chance. You can do it! Perhaps you should do at least 265 questions in one sitting a few times before the next test that way you won't have test anxiety! Just relax for a bit, and start over!

Leonardo Del Toro, RN · Jun 17, 2010

This might help:

I wrote this thinking of those who are struggling and have taken the test more than twice but it could be useful for first time takers too. This post reflects my experience with the NCLEX and the changes I did in order to pass. The NCLEX is a passable test and perhaps not even as hard as most people think. I like to point out aspects which are not well explained or easy to miss for some of us. We all hear stories about students who are so smart and have failed, so there must be something these students are missing and it might have something in common, so read on carefully and you might find the key to set yourself free.

In the NCLEX world there are a few important components: knowledge and how you apply that knowledge quickly are the two main ones. Another major component is how to take the test. I think that for those who are struggling is very important to start re-thinking the test in a brand new way; to understand what is being asked of you and realize that what you have been trained to do during your school years with traditional tests is now basically useless. There are a few points I like to go in detail and it might be helpful to understand them well. It might set you free from the deceptions and traps of the NCLEX which ultimately reflect the nursing practice. If you are trying really hard and still not passing, it’s time to do a whole evaluation and change the way you think about the test, so read on and have fun.

1)TIMING: as they say, timing is everything. This might be one of the most misunderstood components of the NCLEX. The bottom line is: you must walk in the test room and even if you are completely clueless DON’T TAKE MORE THAN ONE MINUTE FOR EACH QUESTION, I cannot stress this enough. All the knowledge you have acquire is useless unless you can answer the questions fast and (hopefully) correctly; and remember that the NCLEX will not punish you for getting wrong answers, you only need to be at the knowledge level they are looking for. I am not sure about this but I now believe there is an algorithm which measures the time you use for each question crediting or discrediting you. The NCLEX really likes when you go fast. And that makes sense for nursing where emergency situations come up and you know little about them and only have a minute or so to make a decision. So when they say “don’t over think”, is more like you don’t have the time to – “over think”. Have you ever noticed how some questions keep coming back? Even though you might have answered them correctly, but because you took too long, they (the NCLEX computer program) is not sure that you really know it well or just guessed. So if the questions keep coming back two things can happen: you get too tired which is not good because your performance suffers or, run out of time which is another problem that can cause you to fail. They want you to look at the questions, read it carefully, make a decision select the best one, and move on. You must have the ability to answer the questions like you playing ping-pong game and be able to play a long game and not get tired. So there is not much to figure out at the moment of the test; you either are there or not. I know it sound a little fuzzy and fluffy but you have nothing to lose at this point; do you? Another timing issue is how long you delay to re take the test. Don’t. You are never ready for it; put that in your mind. If you take too long between the tests you get cold, so use your failure as a practicing match and go take it again while you still hot. So go to PearsonVue website and schedule that test right now and go face the beast! Smile at fear.

2)YOUR KNOWLEDGE: of course the more you know about nursing the better, but not really. All you have to have is “NCLEX type knowledge” and that you can get by using the so many books available and listed by other posts in this site, Kaplan book/course, is a good source of that as well. Here’s an example of NCLEX type knowledge: when they ask about chest tube, they might want to know a, b, or c (about chest tubes) and usually it does not stray too far from a certain number of options: know these options by heart. These are the building blocks NCLEX is made of and you must know it well enough to retrieve it from you mind on a heart-beat. The more you have these building blocks in your mind the better because it will help you to answer fast and correctly without thinking too much and getting tired (which is a very important point). So the way to look at knowledge is not in the traditional way of really knowing it but using your NCLEX knowledge to play the NCLEX game.

3)STUDY TIME: don’t drive yourself crazy. I would practice 60 questions per day in one hour. Buy a timer and keep the pace, don’t ever take more than one hour. If you are getting above 65% in one hour you looking good but try to get higher. One day per week go all the way to 265 (ouch!) because most likely this is what your test will be like! So in essence you are building up endurance with that kind of knowledge rather than becoming a nursing genius. Have fun with it, if you drive yourself to pain you will also learn pain so when you get to the test that’s what you will remember.

4)THE TEST: it’s important to know about this test and its components. One fact I think is interesting is that the NCLEX will test everyone differently. The NCLEX has two ways to make a decision about you: (1) you will pass or fail with an “X” number of questions, so if you are really good you can pass as little as 75 questions and if you are doing really bad you will fail with 75 questions. (2) but at a certain the computer makes a decision, it can’t figure you out, you have missed a bunch of questions but you’ve also hit some important ones, so it decides that you need to be tested in the whole gamut of questions, so you are going all the way to 265 baby (ouch again). However remember, if you are not consistent and begin to do poorly because you are tired you can fail too and not go all the way, or go all the way and fail too. So you must stay in the game and perform consistently. If you are struggling forget about that magical “oh a passed with 75 questions”, be prepared to go all the way and most importantly be consistent throughout the entire range and that’s why is so important to train yourself to endure long periods of time answering these type questions. The NCLEX will be really impressed with your consistency and you will be credited for that. Remember, the NCLEX is not about getting questions right and building up points like in regular tests, the NCLEX is testing how you perform under stressful situations and in certain ways your ability to improvise. I believe the algorithm of the computer program is very sophisticated and can measure everything you do.

5)TAKING THE TEST: you must understand what is critical thinking. Some people are there already, but if you are not for whatever reason you should begin to pay close attention to “what is to critically think”. You must focus on that question in a way you never did before, you must zero in to that question only and not stray one bit from it. I developed this way of thinking in which I would imagine myself there, at the hospital with a real situation at hand and then think “what would I do here…for real” and make that decision in terms of what would I do in order to be the safest. When you take the test you must be confident in your intuition. Another way to interpret when people say: “don’t over-think” is that your mind goes into this overdrive mode where decisions are made quickly and without thinking but they are the correct ones. It’s like playing a video game where you only have a split second to make decisions but as the rhythm speeds up your mind speeds up and you actually make better decisions than if you think it over. This is the kind of mind set you have to have when you take this test. In my opinion this is exactly what they are trying to test: your ability to quickly decide emergency situations. How many of those did you get right?

6)GUESSING: there is nothing wrong with guessing. You and everybody will guess about 10-20% of the test. The test is designed that way, otherwise you would know what to study for the test as you did in your nursing classes. So learn how to guess right, and in order to do it right you must be completely random and not go on a hunch. It is an irresistible impulse to guess following a hunch that you know something about the answer which makes you feel safe. The problem with that is that you might fall in the trap set up the writers. So first eliminate as many as wrong answers you can than guess RANDOMLY. One safe way to do that is to always pick the first one bellow the last question you have eliminated, if you have not eliminated any of them pick up C or any other but randomly.

7)PLAY TETRIS: and here’s why, Tetris is one of the first video games made for computers and in my opinion it simulates several of the brain functions required in for the NCLEX. It will help you with the brain stamina you need to endure all the 265 questions without lowering your performance. You have to make quick decisions in shorter and shorter amounts of time. It forces your brain to critically think faster and faster as the geometrical shapes fall down and you have to figure out where they fit. I was amazed to find out how much I improved as I started to play. If you don’t believe this is helpful, just play for fun and it will your mind from the study.

8)PRAY FOR ST. JUDE THE PATRON OF THE IMPOSSIBLE CAUSES AND THE BEST LUCK TO YOU.

adengelRN · Jun 17, 2010

Lisa, is it possible for you to find a place to stay close to the testing facility the night before the test? I would definitely consider it. You need to be at your best, rested and having eaten a good breakfast. Another book I got from the library is Kaplan's NCLEX RN Strategies, Practice, and Review 2010-2011. I have heard it has helped some people. There is even a chapter on "Taking the test more than once".LaClarity's Prioritation, Delegation and Assignment has helped as well. I take mine in July. Keep you head up! You are not alone!!

PRN22 · Jun 17, 2010

Hi Lisa,

Thanks for sharing your experience, I will take my exam next week, I'm get very nervous. I have a big problem with give up thinking in middle of the test. That scare me the most.

Anyway Good Luck on your study.

NowPedsRN · Jun 18, 2010

Since my failure on my first attempt on June 10th I can't stop thinking about the NCLEX. I have been to the bookstore about 5 times trying to find the right books. It's killing me knowing I have to wait 45 days. I am not saying I am ready today nor tomorrow just knowing about the wait!! uggghhh!
I know where I went wrong after much thought! There are some areas I am going over, I have come up with a new study plan and I will be ready to tackle the beast again. I don't think I practiced enough questions. I did a lot on Saunders but found them too easy. Yesterday I purchased Exam cram and from just flipping through the book I found 3 questions that were identical to the NCLEX with the exceptions of wording differently and age change of the scenario. I hope that Exam cram will help me. I also have to understand how to answer, since this is where I went wrong.
My biggest problem that was totally my fault is when I go to question 150... I gave up. I just read the question, read the answers, and didn't even think about them just picked one.... and I did that all the way up to question 265! I was so tired and exhausted from the drive there. I wish there was more Pearson Vue test centers and it would be nice if I had one close by!!!
I guess I feel I needed to express my feelings! Good luck to those up coming test takers! My advice more questions and definently learn the strategies on how to answer!!
-Lisa

I know its hard for you right now, but now that you have where you weak points you can go from there. Exam cram is a great book, as well as Lacharity. Try not to think about the past and work on trying to practice more questions. I know 45 days looks like a long time from now, but trust me I will fly by. I will be retaking the nclex in the end of June and it seems like 45 days went by so quickly. Whatever you dont give up and keep practicing. Good luck. Keep us updated.

wannabHishands · Jun 18, 2010

Lisa, giving thought to where your biggest obstacles were is a SUPER step in the whole retest process. Good for you, it seems like so many people just chalk it up to, "The test sucked and I have no idea what I did wrong", then continue to study as they did before, only more. I think you have a great chance of learning everything you need to know to make it next time!

Good luck, hang in there!

oscarfarnacio · Jun 18, 2010

i think you should focus on just 1 book, having too many resources might get you even more anxious and overwhelmed. i recommend saunders 4th edition nclex review book..good luck next time around :)

Lisa1980 · Jun 18, 2010

Thanks all for your gread advice!! I really do appreciate it!

Kay_lpn2rn · Jun 18, 2010

i think you should focus on just 1 book, having too many resources might get you even more anxious and overwhelmed. i recommend saunders 4th edition nclex review book..good luck next time around :)

I agree. Focus on 1 book. It's too overwhelming to try and use too many books. I used Saunders for NCLEX LPN and NCLEX RN. Works for me and many other people.

Lisa1980 · Jun 18, 2010

oscar and kay thanks. I was def. considering that.

I think I am sticking with Exam cram right now Q & A.

If there is an area I don't feel comfortable from a question I missed I have open my Saunders review book to read just that area. I've only had to do that twice. I just started really studying yesterday. I did 100 questions yesterday. Broken apart though, I did 50 in the Am then 50 in the Pm.

: )

Kay_lpn2rn · Jun 18, 2010

oscar and kay thanks. I was def. considering that.
I think I am sticking with Exam cram right now Q & A.
If there is an area I don't feel comfortable from a question I missed I have open my Saunders review book to read just that area. I've only had to do that twice. I just started really studying yesterday. I did 100 questions yesterday. Broken apart though, I did 50 in the Am then 50 in the Pm.
: )

You'll ROCK it next time...promise.