NCLEX

Silverdragon102, BSN · Jan 17, 2020

Practice questions and read the rationale even on questions you get right

Courtney Fritzler · Jan 17, 2020

I was doing this prior. Felt it helped but also didn't

2 minutes ago, Silverdragon102 said:
Practice questions and read the rationale even on questions you get right

I was doing this and felt it did but didnt help

KrCmommy522, BSN, RN · Jan 17, 2020

That is very discouraging to be near passing on everything!

Do you know how to breakdown questions? To really look at specifically what the question is asking?

Also, make sure that you remember NCLEX is a perfect world. You have everything that you need. So, don't read a question and say something to yourself like, "Well, this would be correct but …" Just remember never to read into a question. Read what the question is asking specifically, and then answer it according to that.

Also, one thing that might seem really small, but was a big thing when I was practicing for the NCLEX. I realized a lot of the questions I got wrong were because I was messing up the difference between best and first. BEST is if there is only ONE thing I can do, which one will it be? Looking at the options, I can do ONE of these things, but NOT the others, so what will that be? FIRST is all about ORDER. What is best and first might be the same thing, but not always. There are cases where what you will do first, is not always the best thing to do; and cases where what the best thing to do is not always the first thing you will do. So, for instance, you go into a patients room and find him on the floor. He is unresponsive and has no pulse. What will you do? A) Place the patient on a backboard. B) Start chest compressions.

Now, if this is asking what the FIRST thing I would do would be, I would place the patient on a backboard. Remember, this is the NCLEX. It's a perfect world. You have everything you need right there. So the backboard is right there, I grab it, roll the patient, and place the backboard. THEN, I start chest compressions However, if this was asking what the BEST thing to do would be, it would be to start chest compressions. With questions asking what the BEST thing to do, that means out of the options, if there was only ONE thing I could do, but NOT the others - what would it be? Well, if I placed a backboard, then I couldn't do chest compressions, that wouldn't be helpful! So, I would start chest compressions. However, FIRST is all about order, so the FIRST thing I would do would be place a backboard, THEN I would start chest compressions. You see what I'm saying? It's a very simple example, but hopefully it gets the point across. When I kept getting things wrong, I had an old instructor of mine go over some of my practice tests. She saw most that I were getting wrong were related to that, and that's how she explained it to me. Once she explained that, it stuck. I started doing soooo much better on my practice tests - and I passed!

If you were near passing on everything, it's hard to say where you fell short. However, my guess would be that you just need to practice breaking down questions. Finding out exactly what it is asking and answering it. Maybe look at some test taking techniques

Good luck! You got this! There are tons who have to take the test more than once! Just study, and go try again!

Courtney Fritzler · Jan 17, 2020

2 minutes ago, KrCmommy522 said:
That is very discouraging to be near passing on everything!
Do you know how to breakdown questions? To really look at specifically what the question is asking?
Also, make sure that you remember NCLEX is a perfect world. You have everything that you need. So, don't read a question and say something to yourself like, "Well, this would be correct but …" Just remember never to read into a question. Read what the question is asking specifically, and then answer it according to that.
Also, one thing that might seem really small, but was a big thing when I was practicing for the NCLEX. I realized a lot of the questions I got wrong were because I was messing up the difference between best and first. BEST is if there is only ONE thing I can do, which one will it be? Looking at the options, I can do ONE of these things, but NOT the others, so what will that be? FIRST is all about ORDER. What is best and first might be the same thing, but not always. There are cases where what you will do first, is not always the best thing to do; and cases where what the best thing to do is not always the first thing you will do. So, for instance, you go into a patients room and find him on the floor. He is unresponsive and has no pulse. What will you do? A) Place the patient on a backboard. B) Start chest compressions.
Now, if this is asking what the FIRST thing I would do would be, I would place the patient on a backboard. Remember, this is the NCLEX. It's a perfect world. You have everything you need right there. So the backboard is right there, I grab it, roll the patient, and place the backboard. THEN, I start chest compressions However, if this was asking what the BEST thing to do would be, it would be to start chest compressions. With questions asking what the BEST thing to do, that means out of the options, if there was only ONE thing I could do, but NOT the others - what would it be? Well, if I placed a backboard, then I couldn't do chest compressions, that wouldn't be helpful! So, I would start chest compressions. However, FIRST is all about order, so the FIRST thing I would do would be place a backboard, THEN I would start chest compressions. You see what I'm saying? It's a very simple example, but hopefully it gets the point across. When I kept getting things wrong, I had an old instructor of mine go over some of my practice tests. She saw most that I were getting wrong were related to that, and that's how she explained it to me. Once she explained that, it stuck. I started doing soooo much better on my practice tests - and I passed!
If you were near passing on everything, it's hard to say where you fell short. However, my guess would be that you just need to practice breaking down questions. Finding out exactly what it is asking and answering it. Maybe look at some test taking techniques
Good luck! You got this! There are tons who have to take the test more than once! Just study, and go try again!

This is very helpful and i will def try this! I think i tend to miss key words like these! I agree i may need to practice how to break the questions down and read carefully.

LvANrse80, ASN, BSN, MSN, CNA, LPN, RN, APRN, NP · Jan 18, 2020

Hi, I just took Nclex on 1/15/2020 and did not pass . So I understand. I have just purchased Uworld. I scored below passing on two topics and the others were near passing standard , which definitely is not enough to pass Nclex. Hoping Uworld helps me the 2nd time around . It’s frustrating when your job depends on it. I did well in school 3.6 GPA and passed Exit HESI as well. If you’d like a study buddy please let me know.

Courtney Fritzler · Jan 18, 2020

9 hours ago, LvANrse80 said:
Hi, I just took Nclex on 1/15/2020 and did not pass . So I understand. I have just purchased Uworld. I scored below passing on two topics and the others were near passing standard , which definitely is not enough to pass Nclex. Hoping Uworld helps me the 2nd time around . It’s frustrating when your job depends on it. I did well in school 3.6 GPA and passed Exit HESI as well. If you’d like a study buddy please let me know.

I thought about purchasing uworld. But, my college offers kaplan and the ensisted that kaplan is better for studying then uworld and all my classmates that have taken didn't use uworld and passed. Not sure what to do.

LvANrse80, ASN, BSN, MSN, CNA, LPN, RN, APRN, NP · Jan 18, 2020

Hi, my school actually uses a HESI as a study tool and had 100% Nclex pass rate until now?. I was told my numerous of people who have actually used Uworld to put all the other books away and simply focus using Uworld . Lots of people swear by it, I have the Kaplan book too and the portion I find helpful is test taking strategies. You can try a demo of Uworld as well.

Rionoir, ADN, RN · Jan 18, 2020

I found the in-person Kaplan sessions to be the most beneficial. You can know all the content in the world, but if you can't figure out the best option you aren't going to pass NCLEX.

allnurses Guide · Jan 21, 2020

On 1/17/2020 at 3:21 PM, Courtney Fritzler said:
I did noy pass on the first attempt and received my report from Pearson. Can anyone offer some guidance moving forward?

What did you you do differently between your first attempt and second attempt? Did you take a live review class? Do they have a passing guarantee?

**emergenceRN17, ASN, BSN, RN** · Jan 21, 2020

I didn't pass the first time or second time and was also discouraged. What works for one may not necessarily work for another as we all have different learning styles. I tried everything from Kaplan, Hurst, UWorld, and Simple Nursing videos. What truly "clicked" for me was Mark Klimek. His layout just really resonated with me and I was able to think through each question. I passed on the third try in 75Q. Third time is a charm! Don't give up!! You made it this far!!

Best of luck!!

Teemama · Feb 27, 2020

I took mine on the 20th February but yet to get my result. I tried the PV trick and bad pop up showed for me. I want to start reading now before I retake the exam in May.

Goodluck to us as we retake the exam.