Greetings allnurses and fellow nurse grads / students,
First, I would like to Thank everyone on allnurses for all the inspirations, motivations along with numerous helpful posts. When I got rejected from a nursing program at University due to my "distractions".. I was devastated. I come here for positive insight. When I started nursing school and needed some guidance, I come on here. When I Failed NCLEX for the 1st time, I come on here for help, support and motivations. I promise to post my story and experiences, hoping that I can inspire others to Keep Pushing Forward and Never Give Up on your dreams.
Yes, I FAILED NCLEX 1st time, and that was in August 2015. I did NOT stay focused. I did NOT take breaks. I was anxious, shaking and nervous. Throughout the exam, I felt my heart pounding as if it's about to explode through my chest. I rushed. I was looking at the clock, constantly. I was afraid that I may run out of time. Well, I did not run out of time, instead - I FAILED with 169 Q within 2.5 hours. I panicked with 39 SATAs.The last 3 questions were SATA before the computer shuts off. I came out from the testing center Hyperventilated and disappointed, knowing that I have Failed.
Prior taking the exam, I used Kaplan: which I scored mid to high 50's on Trainers and qBanks. I used Hurst for content Review. Then close to NCLEX, I purchased NCSBN learningext revei.; I forgot what my score was; and I did not care. I had a death in the family along with a few more death news from family friends. Whatever faith I had was gone. With life, jobs and only few hours of sleep - I was "burnt out" by the time I took my first NCLEX exam. I took the exam with " Let's get this over with " attitude. All I wanted to do was - pick up my daughter and drive 13 hours to be with my family ... and I did just that right after the exam.
I vaguely remember what was on the exam. From my experience, NCLEX is very Unpredictable and very Random. I had a good mixture of Priorities, Pharm, Delegations, EKG strips, Mat / Peds and A Lot of SATAs! So just bc you had numerous of SATAs, delegations, priorities Q will NOT predict your progress.
I gave myself about 3 week off..
My 2nd time, I PASSED with 75 Q in 3.5 hours! I had 17 SATAs and a good mixture of Priority, Delegations, Pham. I did EVERYTHING DIFFERENTLY this time around. I prayed, A LOT. I prayed to GOD. I prayed to my families and friends that had passed. I prayed to myself at times. Praying strengthen my Confidence, Faith and Beliefs. Before EVERY Question and Before I pushed "Next" on the exam, I pray. I took breaks, twice. I stretched, drank some water and had a small snack. I did NOT pay attention to the clock. I read EVERY question very carefully. With every question, I asked myself, "what will the outcome be if ...?" Majority of the questions, I do recognized from my study materials.
I reviewed Hurst for content, Only. I only brushed up on the math equations with Kaplan. I downloaded the NCSBN Medication app (FREE, very helpful and up-to-date informative infos). In addition, I typed and printed out almost Verbatim from the app so I can write notes.
Then the Best thing, I invested UWORLD. It has up-to-date detailed content reviews. It is very comparable to NCLEX - from the color of the screen, the style questions, A LOT of SATAs, delegations, priorities ... Exhibits, illustrations of diseases and procedures. What I find most helpful , UWOLRD also has an app that I can download. So, when Im in bed with my daughter, I can review UWORLD and NCSBN meds.
Prior to graduation, my class were pressured into investing in Hurst, then Kaplan, then ATI.. they were all over place -- which was very frustrating, overwhelming and unnecessarily expensive! Out of all the Reviews I have invested, UWORLD was the best !
Importantly, I allow myself at least 6 hour of sleep. I did not overwhelm myself with different study reviews plus I learned how to relax, alot more. O yea, I deactivated FB and all social media :)
Thanks for reading my Novel . I hope that my story will help , at least a lil.
I do have some notes I would like to share with those that can use the help. Leave me your email address and I will email them to you.
Have a Blessed one!
Volley88
107 Posts
I am using UWorld too. But I am not sure what should be my expected scores.
BTW, the Kaplan decision tree can be applied too!