Hi everyone,
I have some serious eye strain from all the studying and may need
stronger perscription glasses :)
I took my last exam today...Health Differences. All eight completed. Onto FCCA.
Matter of fact I failed a total of two exams while going through the process.
( I began July 2011. Money and life situations held me up)
Those exams were Health Difference and Chronicity. I passed both the second
time. When I look back on why I failed, it's because I didn't understand the concepts
of the material. I first thought it was because I didn't study long enough...
My study habits...
I started with just the paid practice exams from excelsior and very little textbook
reading for these two exams:
Health and Safety
Transition to RN Role....I passed them both 1st try
Chronicity and Health Difference...I failed 1st try
I only used practice exams...the textbook reading was becoming ineffective
for me with my work schedule and life. I was falling asleep studying,
getting discouraged by the study time...just wasn't working for me.
I was blocked from registering for the failed exams by Pearson Vue
for about a month.....point is I couldn't register for them right away.
A policy of there's regarding failed exams I guess.
Onto Reproductive Health...I passed with 'A' 1st try. My favorite subject anyway :)
I used:
my boyfriends college network learning modules. (read all 17 ch)
excelsior's practice exams
Nclex books ( I only used two of them and both were similar to Excelsior Exams I state the books at the bottom)
I was determined to pass and not lose my money again.
College network modules are really good for testing they
have all the material that you would see on the exam. My
only thing is the reading...lots of chapters like 17 or over 20
and most of the information is just "extra" material...but good nontheless
Took Chronicity again...passed.
I used:
College network (read some chapters)
practice exams
Nclex books
Lifespan 1, 2, 3...passed...1st try
I used:
excelsior practice exams
Nclex books
NO college network...the readings were time consuming very tiring. chapters were too much.
took health differences again....passed
I used:
Excelsior practice exams
Study group 101 notes (I marked all ques. I seen from 1st try)
nclex question found online
nclex books
Health difference was difficult for me to study for because most NCLEX books/questions
do not have enough material on those subjects that the exam covers.
So I had to do a lot of "looking" for those question types.
Last four exams I finished within a month. Exam per week.
To have an effective studying time that is not wasted I would recommend;
First, reading through Excelsior's practices exams Both A and B. This will
give you a good overall idea of the material the Exam will focus on.
That way you spend less time reading and studying material that you may never see for that exam.
Second, get your NCLEX books. Read and study the material covered from Excelsior
practice exams. I recommend these two NCLEX books: Nclex made incredibly easy; questions and answers. and Saunders Q&A review for NCLEX-RN EXAMINATION 4th Edition. For Saunders, make sure the book has the CD with it. I bought mine off Amazon under 20 bucks used with CD. With the CD you can break down the study material you want to review unlike the book that mixes all subjects. CD is better.
Transitions to RN role
Health and Safety
Health Difference you may have to do other reading to supplement the information needed to test.
I couldn't afford anymore text books ( bought about 5 of them...med-surg, maternity, peds, nursing diagnosis, pharm. Only used books for 1st two exams.
In all, please remember this is what worked for me. I write this to help those who may be wondering how to start or how to restart testing. Results may vary :)
Either way, you will pass all the way to the end and we will become a RN !!!
