Pass California NCLEX-RN in 60 Questions

[2mint]

THE CALIFORNIA MINI-SERIES, PART 1: MATERIALS USED

Hello guys, I'm looking to doing a three-part mini-series on prepping for the NCLEX-RN on the CHEAP. There are lots of passing NCLEX posts, but none actually touch on the actual exam experience, which is the purpose for this mini-series.

Part 1: Materials; Part 2: Exam Play-by-Play; Part 3: Big Tips

STUDY TIME

Two months, Average of 2 hours per day

SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCE

Took five months off to relax after graduation; apparently "you'll forget what you learned" was n/a.

MATERIALS USED

1) Saunders Comprehensive 5th ed, CD Questions

-A good Amzn user review comparing 5th and 6th ed.

-Reading was too daunting so I did only CD questions (about 25% completed prior to NCLEX)

-Less difficult than Q-Trainers, but challenging enough to build confidence

-Adequate rationales and strategies

2) ATI Practice Questions (our Nrsg program uses ATI—ahem...a ripoff...)

-Only did 3 targeted system practice tests

-I felt like it was too content heavy, rationales too sporifice, and Saunders strategies were mostly n/a.

-I ditched it because it was destroying my confidence level (averaged low 60s)

3) Kaplan Q-Trainers

-All QT's found freely via google

-Slightly harder than Saunders' with slightly better rationales

-I did only QT 1, 2, and 3 simply because I found out about it too late in my studies

-Similar to actual NCLEX questions in terms of answer choices

4) Nursinglab.com

-Free NCLEX-RN questions and reviews--what a GREAT resource!

-I reviewed all the Nursing Bullets—surprising not boring

-I did only 3 exams simply because I found out about it too late in my studies

5) The 35-page NCLEX notes floating around here.

6) Allnursingnotes, Medcram, Empowern (utube channels): watched nearly all videos

*Note: try to watch them at 1.5 speed—could possibly help you think faster as a result

NCLEX-RN STATS

-First time; Passed in 75 questions; Took an hour and a half

-20 SATAs

-Sizable delegation and lots of priority questions

-CA license (December) posted 1 and a half day later :)

-Not as difficult as I thought it would be

PERSONAL STATS

-An all-around 'A' student prior to nursing

-4.0 nursing pre-reqs

-3.0 nursing (in my book, that's a high-C)

-Scored a lowly mid-60's on ATI Predictor Exam a week before Finals

If a high-C nursing student who scored miserably on the ATI Predictor Exam could pass the NCLEX-RN in 75 questions first time around, you all could too.

I actually wrote down my experience after getting home, so if anyone would like to see Part 2: Exam Play-by-Play, please let me know.

Merry Christmas!!!

[2mint]

My plan was:

1) Do well in school.

2) Use whatever free resources I could get at school, online, and from classmates.

....

My very basic plan worked....There are above the line SATAs and below the line SATAs....

Overall a very good advice. Props for being frugal--the main message of Part 1.

As with what you implied, we don't have much info on the NCLEX besides that the first question is a passing level question and that a correct response begets a harder question and vice versa.

Therefore, as an example, if one gets 3 correct answers in a row and a 4th question is a SATA, then I find this SATA meaningful.

[2mint]

A study example of Saunders:

As mentioned in Part 1, I read only one section in Saunders 5th ed. and felt unmotivated because studying contents all over again from a textbook/prepbook was kinda boring...must be true that boring stuffs have a tough time motivating people

So I ditched contents altogether and just focused on the CD questions and immediately I realized how excited I was doing questions and reading rationales--and as others have mentioned, you get a lot of contents just by reading the rationales.

Here's what I did:

On CD questions: Study -> Content -> Cardio

I would do 20 questions on Cardio, watch some videos on cardio; done for the day.

I'd start off on 10 Qs on Cardio, then do 20 Qs on Neuro, watch vids on neuro, done.

I'd start off on 10 Qs Cardio, 10 Qs Neruo, then 20 Qs on Renal, etc.

I'd start off on 10 Qs Cardio, 10 Qs Neruo, 10 Qs Renal, then 20 Qs GI, etc.

I would continue this pattern down the content areas; that's how I got 150 Qs Cardio but only 50 Qs on Delegations.

And besides OB, I did not do any Qs on Peds (this is when knowing the NCLEX test plan comes in handy--I had only one Peds question but it was r/t cardiac procedures so my heavy Cardio Qs helped me out).

Everyone studies differently; this just one example.

Hint: My whiteboard was just a laminated graph paper; when one SATA shows up, I'd write '1' in the first box, '2' in the second box; if the 3rd SATA is not consecutive then skip a box and write '3.'

Good luck.

[sayers3]

This is the strangest thread I've ever read in my life.

The person who posted it acts like he/she is a wizard/genius/whatever of sorts with a secret formula of knowing everything.

Do well in school, graduate, study hard for 2-4 weeks, stay calm, and pass (like 85% of people do).

Go to work, save money, have a family, do good, & make sure you receive a nice coffin.

[2mint]

This is the strangest thread I've ever read in my life.

....secret formula of knowing everything....

Hahaha....you got a good eye for originality; my thread was meant to be unlike any other

I could be wrong--how much faith could one have in a C+ nursing student anyways? --but to the best of my knowledge and experience so far, I think the "secret formula of knowing everything" requires at least three qualities: desire (i.e. curiosity), motivation (i.e. directed purpose), and dedication (i.e. the perseverance to follow through).

[2mint]

THE CALIFORNIA MINI-SERIES, PART 3: BIG TIPS, A SPECIAL SATA

Hello guys, I was planning to delay Part 3 to see if any one would mention seeing this special SATA in their exams, but it seems that I will be getting busier pretty soon, so here's the completion of this mini-series, written specifically for frugal Californians

The following video, from utube and safe to watch at 1.5 speed helped build my confidence:

Mastering the New NCLEX-RN Test Plan by Kaplan

At 15:35 to 20:00 about what to expect from a CAT exam

At 27:47 to 32:00 about trends in Pass Rates (New passing standard in April 2016)

BIG TIPS

*Respect the test

*Doing a little better than 50% is all you need

*Attitude: cultivate an attitude that if you missed a question, tell yourself that you'll get the next one right.

A SPECIAL SATA

It's just a SATA that asks you to choose the wrong options.

Good luck to all new and repeat test takers

[2mint]

Just a quick update:

Please disregard: "...(New passing standard in April 2016)...."

From CBON:

"Posted: 1/5/2016NCSBN voted on Dec. 9, 2015 to uphold the current passing standard for the NCLEX-RN Examination. The passing standard will remain at the current level of 0.00 logit that was instituted April 1, 2013. This passing standard will remain in effect through March 31, 2019."

Very good news indeed, as with each new passing standard, a drop of 5-7% in passing rates has been a trend. Good luck to all.