NCLEX

caliotter3 · Jul 6, 2011

Study as if you had never tested before. You sound like you also really need to work on your anxiety. Practice relaxation techniques.

senseiRN · Jul 7, 2011

Are you usually anxious when you take tests?

Liyah24_RN · Jul 7, 2011

You sound like me I was very anxious when I took the test I didn't even sleep the night before and of course I failed to. I just hope I can get it in check the next time I take it. were you having problems sleeping? if so I decided to try this pill called midnight PM you can get it at wal-mart its suppose to be all natural Im going to try using this when it is close for me to test.

HNS12 · Jul 7, 2011

I was always anxious when taking tests in nursing school, even though i did well in most them and kept a 3.0 or higher GPA but never to the level of panicking like it did during nclex, never anxious in clinical setting though. First time i had to experience that. I got anti anxiety medication prescribed but i def. dont wana be on them i just want to solve it without meds :/

Yea i didnt sleep well at all either, after i took the test i realized how much i was lacking on sleep and how exhausted i was! When i started to sleep 8 hrs a night afterwards i felt better. I was in complete shock that i let my anxiety level get to me during the test! I cant recall if the test was hard that i didnt pass or b/c i was so anxious that i couldnt understand the questions..b/c certain people in my class passed the nclex but barely passed the program with a C!!!??!!

senseiRN · Jul 7, 2011

It's okay. I've never had test anxiety (always preferred tests to projects/papers). But the NCLEX was a different test. Everyone was passing, if I failed I would have to wait 45 days to retake etc. I just felt so much pressure to succeed. I was super anxious the night before and I couldn't sleep. I ended up reading through my pharm notes and slept for a total of 2 hours.

Here are some tips that worked for me:

1) scheduled the test in the afternoon (in the past, afternoon tests has always been better for me)

2) drank coffee, studied up to the last hour (this has worked for me in past exams/finals... isn't nclex just another exam?)

3) during the test, did deep breathing

4) if i came across a question I didn't know (happened once), i looked at all the answers and determined if they were true or false.

5) there was a drug question... it was like this is X drug, the patient is taking it for...? then it gave me some choices, it listed HTN, DM, RA, and Y disease. I knew what you would give for HTN, DM, and RA.... so it must have been Y disease (educated guess). I looked it up later and it was the Y disease.

6) for the positioning questions, I always imagined how you would place the client

I find out my 'official results' tomorrow. In the end, you have to do what works for you.

If you need study tips, let me know.

Liyah24_RN · Jul 7, 2011

HNS you sound like me. IDK if I was even thinking straight I wasn't sleeping good I was studing 10 hrs a day and so nervous and stressed and I to had A's and B's throughout nursing school so it came as a big shock to me. We let our nerves get the best of us, also I let hearing what I saw from Fb PPL braging in my class about passing get to me aswell as them saying there was no way to study for the exam and how hard it was I internalized that and stressed myself out even more. Try those pills they are natural and not habit forming.

HNS12 · Jul 7, 2011

I will try the pills if i have trouble sleeping at nights, i picked up yoga and its also helping me as well. People def. stressed me out about the exam prior to taking it too. I also took the kaplan review and i am doing that right now, its helping with the studying but i hope it help bring my anxiety level down as well.

HNS12 · Jul 7, 2011

Thanx for the tips, i will def. try them as i study/test. I hope that u passed.

Liyah24_RN · Jul 7, 2011

Yea it should help bring the anxiety down. We will get through this. I have also stayed off of fb as well lol. to help me not worry or see what others are saying or doing.

HNS12 · Jul 7, 2011

I hope so. Lol, i did the same, i had to close mine and ignore peoples calls or txts cause they kept wanting to know how i did on the exam. Good luck.

Liyah24_RN · Jul 8, 2011

Again This is what I had to do, they have been ringing and texting my phone off and messaging me on FB its been crazy but I have avoided it. Im to sad as it is and I don't need them throwing it in my face that I didnt pass and not being sincere with the im sorrys lol