hello all! i just wanted to give anyone who was interested an insight about my nclex-pn experience...before, during, and after...the good, the bad, and the ugly...and i hope you all will find it beneficial to you!
first off, i used kaplan's nclex-pn strategy and tips book. it's a very thin book, but i think it was by far the most important book i used. kaplan really gave some good tips on how to approach the test. remember, this test will not be like any test that you took in nursing school.
kaplan explains that there are 4-levels to test taking: knowledge, comprehension, application, and analysis. here's an example of a question in each of these areas:
topic: hypovolemia
knowledge: hypovolemia is defined as....
comprehension: s/s of hypovolemia are....
application: a patient is showing s/s of hypovolemia. what are your nursing interventions?
analysis: a patient comes into the er bleeding profusely from a recent mva. what would you do first?
do you see how all four levels of questioning surround hypovolemia, but they are asked from different vantage points?
when we are we are in school, we are given test at the knowledge/comprehension level, but the nclex will test you at the application/analysis level. therefore, you have to remember when you are answering questions at the analysis level, all the answers will be right b/c they exactly what your nursing interventions should be. so, don't look for the right answer....eliminate answers! remember, it's not asking you what your nursing interventions, it's asking what you would do first!
next, i used exam cram (mainly, the cd). exam cram is made by pearson vue, which is who gives the test, so the test resembles the layout of exam cram on cd. i had to use exam cram's 2nd edition and i had 2 questions that were word-for-word on my test. my answer choices were not the same, but the questions were exactly the same. the only thing bad about exam cram 2nd ed. is that it has absolutely no sata (select all that apply) questions...which were a good 1/3 of my test. i believe the 3rd ed is coming out in sept, so hopefully they've included sata questions in the new edition. another bad thing about exam cram is that it only had 1000 questions. i did about 300 questions a day, so i was done cd within a few days.
the last study tool i used was saunders 4th ed (again, mainly, the cd). on the cd, under step 1, i clicked on "study". under step 2, i clicked on "content area". then i would click on an individual subject. i would go through each question, read the rationale...and when i was all done, i would do the same questions again to test myself. the best thing about saunders is that you can practice the sata questions under "alternate item formats" in step 2.
i graduated in june, and i dabbled with exam cram here and there until i got my att on aug. 5th. that's when i really buckled down and studied at least 300 questions a day for 2 1/2 weeks. actually, it was 600 questions since i did each question twice (1st time to study...2nd time to test/reinforce). however, i refrained from studying the night before b/c i figured that if i didn't know it by now, i was never going to know it. i also exercised (running, walking, going to the gym) before i started studying b/c i felt trying to study continuously all day without any breaks would hinder my studies rather than help it. you really to take breaks in order for you to rejuvenate yourself. it'll help you focus more.
i tested on aug. 23rd. i was so nervous the night before that i couldn't sleep. i only slept about 3 hrs. i kept tossing and turning. i took a shower, got fully dressed in my best (but comfortable) outfit, put on my makeup as best as i could all in an effort to make sure i felt as best as i possibly could going into the test.
when i was studying, i noticed i had a tendency to read really fast and not fully understand what the question was asking. i was messing up on stupid mistakes. so when it came test time, i made sure that i slowed down and fully understood what the question was asking.
i noticed i had a lot of: sata, prioritizing (which patient would you see first), and patient teaching. i had like 5 pharm questions (drugs i had never heard of), 2 put-these-in-order questions, and 2 dosage calculations. it took me 2 hours when the computer to shut off at 85 questions. my head was hurting so bad from concentrating so hard!! despite all that, i felt pretty good. i didn't feel like i aced the test, but i didn't feel like i failed either. i actually felt like i made the test harder than it really was.
i immediately went out to breakfast with my husband b/c i needed to decompress. about an hour and half later, i came home and did the pvt and i got the good pop up! 
official results come in 3-4 weeks, so i'll give an update then on if i really passed! i hope this helps! :heartbeat
pinayme
38 Posts
congratulations phallenangel!
i just have a question.. are they nclex-pn your exam-cram and saunders reviewer cuz i'm planning to take nclex-pn too but i have a saunders 5th for nclex-rn.. thanks!