Passed NCLEX, first time---My Story

Nursing Students NCLEX

Published

Hey everyone!

First off I want to start off by saying thank you to everyone who has posted their story about the NCLEX on this blog. You all have inspired me tremendously throughout my journey.

To start off, I graduated on December 13, 2013, started studying for the NCLEX on January 2, 2014 and I took the exam on February 20, 2014. In nursing school, I was no where near to an A student....C's and B's were my comfortable place it seemed (although I made an A in Maternity and Leadership Development).

When I first started studying for the NCLEX, I was buying every possible resource until it got overwhelming. So I decided to study from a select few:

(1) HURST review - in class review, I was able to take it twice since I registered & graduated within the year. I believe this really helped with content. I waited to use my lectures until it was close to my NCLEX day so that it wouldn't expire on me. I reviewed the book/lectures twice some 3 times (like cardiac, respiratory, & renal), and I took all the Q reviews ....My scores ranged from 84-99 questions correct out of 125.

(2) NCSBN 3 week course - I believe this review is way TOO detailed for how the NCLEX is. A lot of the information I couldn't even retain because it went so in depth. The review questions and rationale helped me the most.

(3) NCLEX 3500 - This site is amazing !! The questions were harder than the NCLEX but the rationales helped and the questions helped you with critical thinking. Even if I skipped a day of studying I was doing at least a 40-75 question practice exam. Some of my classmates even said they saw almost the same questions on their NCLEX. Here's the website http://nursing.slcc.edu/nclexrn3500/mainMenu.do

(4) Saunders Ed. 6 - This book is great, very detailed so I only used it as a backup. I would review the HURST topics and use this book to clarify anything I didnt understand & for practice questions. The CD is great because you can choose from all types of questions.

(5) Lippincotts Prioritzation, Delegation, and Assignment - This book is a MUST HAVE for NCLEX. I got it for really cheap on amazon. I believe I completed all of the questions (& read rationales) ....minus the case studies.

(6)NCLEX RN app on iphone - used for questions on the go

(7) And I used 2 study guides that may or may not be floating around this blog. One of them helped tremendously. Helped with at least 10 NCLEX questions, which we all know by now, each one counts! I can send it to you just email me [email protected]

About my test: ...All together I got 105 questions, finished in about an hour and a half (in a really fast test taker so I had to slow myself down).

I had 3 picture questions, 2 put in orders, no med calc, about 15 SATA's. 2 pharm questions, (the rest of the meds were included in the question). The test was extremely hard even though I studied 4-8 hrs a day depending on the day (I can also send my study plan, email me). I walked out of there on the verge of tears. Later that night I got the good pop-up and cried endlessly! The next day my license number was up on the Georgia Board of Nursing and now I start work at Northside Hospital residency program on the Cardiac Progressive Unit next week!

I am extremely blessed and thankful. Praying and studying has been my life for the past month and a half and it has all paid off because now I can call myself Chante Sylvester, RN BSN.

If you all have ANY questions at all please don't hesitate to email me again at [email protected] ....Study hard and pray harder and I know you all will do GREAT! :cat:

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Post emails here if you have questions!

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Congratulations! Sounds like you studied really hard!

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Congratulations BSN,RN :nurse:

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Thanks for the info and for that website! I just did a practice exam on that website and scored a 68%, I feel like this is horrible? Do you know around what % I should be scoring that would indicate a good chance of passing NCLEX? I take it this Friday and I am SO afraid of failing!!!

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Jessrose, I used that same nclex 3500 website and I was averaging around 70% and passed nclez on the first try last week! You can do it :) good luck!!!

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I'm extremely nervous for the amount of SATA questions, I've heard horror stories that people have had 2/3 of their exam SATA. However, I have also heard that it is good to have a lot of SATA because that means that you are doing well. My point is, I am HORRIBLE at SATA, I literally either bomb it, but the majority of the time either select one too many or one not enough :-/ Do you have any pointers for that? Also, any other last minute pointers I should do this week to maximize my last few days of studying? I have mostly been doing practice questions, averaging around 250 questions per day. I am starting to feel like I am overdoing it, but then I feel like it's not enough! I did make an appointment Thursday afternoon to go get a massage the day before I take my exam to relax and unwind and reward myself for working so hard on studying, and I also plan to go get a pedicure/manicure in the morning :) Should I just keep trying to do as many practice questions in the meantime? Or try to read over content because I haven't done much of that. Lastly, did your school use ATI? We did and had to take the predictor, we were required to get 91% chance of passing NCLEX the first time or better before they would sign off to allow you to graduate. The first time I took the predictor, I got a 93%; I then had another chance to take it just for fun to track my study progress, that time I got a 99%. ATI seems relatively "easy" to me so I'm just curious if people who have taken NCLEX feel that ATI is comparable difficulty level wise?

Thank you so much for all your advice/tips, sorry for the million questions, I'm just so nervous and anxious to hopefully get this done and over with the first time to put the nightmare of nursing school behind me once and for all! ;) lol

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Christinaxxcheer

I'm extremely nervous for the amount of SATA questions, I've heard horror stories that people have had 2/3 of their exam SATA. However, I have also heard that it is good to have a lot of SATA because that means that you are doing well. My point is, I am HORRIBLE at SATA, I literally either bomb it, but the majority of the time either select one too many or one not enough :-/ Do you have any pointers for that? Also, any other last minute pointers I should do this week to maximize my last few days of studying? I have mostly been doing practice questions, averaging around 250 questions per day. I am starting to feel like I am overdoing it, but then I feel like it's not enough! I did make an appointment Thursday afternoon to go get a massage the day before I take my exam to relax and unwind and reward myself for working so hard on studying, and I also plan to go get a pedicure/manicure in the morning :) Should I just keep trying to do as many practice questions in the meantime? Or try to read over content because I haven't done much of that. Lastly, did your school use ATI? We did and had to take the predictor, we were required to get 91% chance of passing NCLEX the first time or better before they would sign off to allow you to graduate. The first time I took the predictor, I got a 93%; I then had another chance to take it just for fun to track my study progress, that time I got a 99%. ATI seems relatively "easy" to me so I'm just curious if people who have taken NCLEX feel that ATI is comparable difficulty level wise?

Thank you so much for all your advice/tips, sorry for the million questions, I'm just so nervous and anxious to hopefully get this done and over with the first time to put the nightmare of nursing school behind me once and for all! ;) lol

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I'm extremely nervous for the amount of SATA questions, I've heard horror stories that people have had 2/3 of their exam SATA. However, I have also heard that it is good to have a lot of SATA because that means that you are doing well. My point is, I am HORRIBLE at SATA, I literally either bomb it, but the majority of the time either select one too many or one not enough :-/ Do you have any pointers for that? Also, any other last minute pointers I should do this week to maximize my last few days of studying? I have mostly been doing practice questions, averaging around 250 questions per day. I am starting to feel like I am overdoing it, but then I feel like it's not enough! I did make an appointment Thursday afternoon to go get a massage the day before I take my exam to relax and unwind and reward myself for working so hard on studying, and I also plan to go get a pedicure/manicure in the morning :) Should I just keep trying to do as many practice questions in the meantime? Or try to read over content because I haven't done much of that. Lastly, did your school use ATI? We did and had to take the predictor, we were required to get 91% chance of passing NCLEX the first time or better before they would sign off to allow you to graduate. The first time I took the predictor, I got a 93%; I then had another chance to take it just for fun to track my study progress, that time I got a 99%. ATI seems relatively "easy" to me so I'm just curious if people who have taken NCLEX feel that ATI is comparable difficulty level wise?

Thank you so much for all your advice/tips, sorry for the million questions, I'm just so nervous and anxious to hopefully get this done and over with the first time to put the nightmare of nursing school behind me once and for all! ;) lol

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Congrats!!!

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Thanks for the info and for that website! I just did a practice exam on that website and scored a 68%, I feel like this is horrible? Do you know around what % I should be scoring that would indicate a good chance of passing NCLEX? I take it this Friday and I am SO afraid of failing!!!

I was scoring anywhere from 65%-79%....practice is the key...continue doing practice questions and read the rationales...write down the rationales...take another practice test and continue to review your rationales...that helped me the most...Good luck!

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Christinaxxcheer

I'm extremely nervous for the amount of SATA questions, I've heard horror stories that people have had 2/3 of their exam SATA. However, I have also heard that it is good to have a lot of SATA because that means that you are doing well. My point is, I am HORRIBLE at SATA, I literally either bomb it, but the majority of the time either select one too many or one not enough :-/ Do you have any pointers for that? Also, any other last minute pointers I should do this week to maximize my last few days of studying? I have mostly been doing practice questions, averaging around 250 questions per day. I am starting to feel like I am overdoing it, but then I feel like it's not enough! I did make an appointment Thursday afternoon to go get a massage the day before I take my exam to relax and unwind and reward myself for working so hard on studying, and I also plan to go get a pedicure/manicure in the morning :) Should I just keep trying to do as many practice questions in the meantime? Or try to read over content because I haven't done much of that. Lastly, did your school use ATI? We did and had to take the predictor, we were required to get 91% chance of passing NCLEX the first time or better before they would sign off to allow you to graduate. The first time I took the predictor, I got a 93%; I then had another chance to take it just for fun to track my study progress, that time I got a 99%. ATI seems relatively "easy" to me so I'm just curious if people who have taken NCLEX feel that ATI is comparable difficulty level wise?

Thank you so much for all your advice/tips, sorry for the million questions, I'm just so nervous and anxious to hopefully get this done and over with the first time to put the nightmare of nursing school behind me once and for all! ;) lol

Continue to do practice questions...if you are using Saunders there is a CD in the back with great practice questions...you can even set it to only SATA questions!...also on NCLEX 3500 you can set it to only SATA questions...practice practice practice....Content is very vital as well as critical thinking...review lab values, EKG, and electrolyte & endocrine disorders.

When you are doing SATA ....think true/false next to each response....if you dont know, dont select it!

Good luck!

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