Passed nclex march 2015_hurst_kaplan

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I promised myself that if I were to pass the nclex that I would post on this website to help other nursing students, and other people who are studying for the nclex. So here it is! I am returning the favor for all those people who posted on this website that helped me when I needed it the most.. :yeah:

I graduated from an accelerated nursing program in December 2014. It was a 15 month accelerated nursing program in NYC.

I graduated Dec 16, 2014. I took two weeks as a vacation. Especially since it was the holidays..I knew I wouldn't be able to focus. So I officially started studying after new years..

From jan 5-8, i took a kaplan course given thru my school. It definitley helped me get in the mood of studying. It was a my first big taste of NCLEX questions, and it was difficult.

Before the kaplan course, I took a predictor and got a 54%

after one week course given thru my school i took the readiness and got a 59%.

My teacher told me you are supposed to get 60% and above, so i knew I had to work harder

On jan 12, I started studying by myself. I went to the library from 1030am-5pm. I spent 5-7 hours in the library every day for two months and two weeks. I took breaks on sundays.

I did HURST AND KAPLAN. For me I had to use both. You need Hurst for content and you need Kaplan for questions. I cannot stress that enough. HURST was amazing for content.

Here is a break down of my regime:

For the whole month of January I did content. I listened to recordings from Hurst. I did one topic a day. Fluid electrolytes, acid base, burns, oncology, endocrine, cardiac, psych, renal, gi, neuro, resp, ortho, how to pass, critically thinking exercises, maternity, complics of maternity, peds, nclex strat , rn mgmt and deleg and lpn coordination. It took me the whole month of January and I finished all the recordings by first week of February. After I listened to content everyday, I would do (search questions by topic) from Kaplan. If I did maternity, then I would go under focused review and do all the maternity questions. Go over rationales. Focused review are not as nclexy, but it helps you know your content

I Started doing q bank questions Jan 14. After doing content during the morning, I would end off with 50 questions. I started scoring low 40s-50s. But towards the 7^th q bank set of questions, I started doing questions with my cousin. I saw the way she thought thru questions, and how she started analyzing each question. I just picked any answer that I thought was good, but when I started doing questions with an outsider, I started taking my time. That was my problem, I realized I was too fast and impatient. Our first q bank we did together I scored a 60%. SO I knew my problem was time. After I practiced with her, I noticed my scores started to go into the 60s. I did questions with her once a week. Rest of the 5 days I was on my own. But having to do atleast 50 q with an outsider definitliey helps. I started off doing 50 a day, and gradually started 65, then 75 a day from the q bank un till I was done. I finished all 1000 QUESTIONS by second week of February. After this every week, I did a question trainer. Every weekend.

**remember to read rationals for the questions you get right and wrong. I cannot stress that enough

*You're def going to have bad days, where you dont want to do questions or study, remember to take time off and relax.

I did question trainer 1,2,3 before I did Hurst. 1,2,3 are not NCLEXy questions. They are just for you to learn conent.

I did trainer 4, 6 weeks before my exam

i did trainer 5, 4 weeks before my exam

I did all the sample tests 3 weeks before my exam

trainer 6 2 weeks before the exam

trainer 7, one week before exam.

you dont have to follow my schedule of exams, but DEFINITELY DO TRAINER 6 , 2 WEEKS BEFORE. AND DEF DO TRAINER 7 1 WEEK BEFORE THE EXAM, you need to score above a 60%, thats how you know you're in good shape

I also made a note card for cardiac, resp, and psych meds, For one whole week I studied the cardiac meds, the second week only looked at resp, and the third week I looked at psych meds. From hurst. Then until the day of my test, I kept looking at these meds. You will also memorize other meds when you do questions from Kaplan.

I went to barnes and nobles and did a Kaplan premier 2015-2016. It took me 4 days to do 265 questions, but I would make sure I understood why I got the question wrong and read rationales.

I also used the 35 sheet study guide that has been floating around online. I would look over it once a week. I Commited to memory the acronyms.

After I finished my 1000questions. I DIDN'T HAVE any more questions to do except trainers, so I wanted something to do everyday, so everyday I went and reviewed each of my q bank.22 days, one q bank each day.

I WOULD look on all nurses.com everday, and watch you tube videos every day.

I PASSED WITH 75 QUESTIONS AND USED 4 HOURS. I know it was a bit lengthy, but I knew i rushed thru my exams ,so i def took my time.

I had no drug calc, 10 meds, 5 ekgs, 2 exhibits, and 17 SATA

I used KAPLANS DECISION TREE. and wrote that on the side of my paper

1. TOPIC

2. ASSESSMENT

3. MASLOW- PHYSICAL OR PSYCH

4. ABC'S

5. Will it help?

I'm go to post up my scores on all the q banks, trainers, and sample tests

I really hope my advice helps people, because many people and prayers helped me.

Always remember to talk out each question, it truly helps.