Passed NCLEX in 75 questions!

[GlitterPrincess]

Hey gang,

I wanted to share my NCLEX experience with everyone, and hope it can help you if you're preparing to write your NCLEX. I wrote my exam yesterday morning (bright and early at 0800). I got maybe 4-5 hours of sleep the night before my exam, as I was super anxious and couldn't shut my brain off for the life of me. The morning of the exam I got up at 0630, ate some peanut butter toast, drank a RedBull and a large glass of water. I left my house and got to the testing centre around 0720. The check in process was quick and painless, the staff were super friendly at the testing centre! I was seated and started my exam probably around 0745. My exam shut off at 75Q’s and I walked out with my stomach in knots and I just had this overwhelming feeling of failure. I was done my test in less than an hour. I was certain I had failed. I kept thinking “I didn’t get any of X, Y, Z type questions- why didn’t I get any of those? I must have done so bad if I didn’t get that many of those types”. I also felt like I was only 100% certain on maybe 5Q’s. The rest I felt like I was making educated guesses and critically thinking out the wazzoo! My husband picked me up and we went for breakfast, I was in that mood where you want to laugh and cry at the same time because you can’t possibly believe what just happened.

While we were in the parking lot of the restaurant I got the email from Pearson-Vue indicating I had completed the exam, so I decided to try the PVT- to my surprise I got the ‘good pop up’. Although, this was a relief, I still couldn’t believe it. I tried not to get too excited until I received my official results. I spent the rest of the day cleaning and taking down Christmas decorations (I know super late but my entire January was occupied with studying ?). I found out this morning at 0830 that I officially passed!

Upon reflection of my exam experience I would have to say- it was not difficult overall (content wise). At the time I felt like I did so poorly, but this was because I was actually doing well. This test is designed to get harder the better you’re doing. It’s designed to test your critical thinking and deductive reasoning given your basic nursing knowledge. Were there things I had never heard about on there? Absolutely. Did I have to break words down to try and figure out what they meant? You bet! Did I have to stop and remind myself to breath from time to time? Yes!

I used Uworld and the Mark K audios while studying. I always did about 100Q’s a day (sometimes in larger tests [25-50Q’s] and sometimes in smaller tests [5-10Q’s] depending on the content and how I was feeling). I finished the majority of the questions bank minus 70 pharmacology questions. My scores ranged from 20-80% on my Uworld practice tests. Regardless of my scores I always read the rationales. On my Uworld assessment I scored in the 92nd percentile. I took a few days off here and there, and had adequate breaks throughout the day. I drank way too much coffee and RedBull, and got myself into the worst sleeping schedule. I stayed sane by eating nutritious meals/snacks, drinking lots of water and praying PRN! The combination of Uworld, and Mark K were awesome! I feel like they both over prepared me content-wise, and they fine tuned my critical thinking skills and my ability to answer NCLEX style questions. I would recommend the combination of the two to everyone ? To be honest, if you're still in nursing school I would recommend tracking down the Mark K audios and giving them a listen (he simplifies and explains things SOOOO well). I didn't find them until halfway through my month of studying (so I was solely using Uworld), and I wish I would have known about them sooner!

My two biggest NCLEX tips would be: do practice questions, and manage your anxiety. Remember to take deep breaths, remember to pause and gather your thoughts and feelings (both while you're studying and during the actual exam). Studying, and preparing, for the NCLEX is very important, but the NCLEX is not content heavy. It is more so, do you know the bare-minimum of nursing knowledge, and can you critically think/apply that knowledge. Don't psych yourself out (or keep yourself up at night) thinking about all of the things you need to memorize, and all of the things you don't know yet. Keep saying to yourself "I am going to be an RN".?

I hope this helps ?

[Floor_Nurse]

That's great! Please don't wait to obtain nurses insurance... It's a really good idea.

[vaishnavee]

Hello exam-takers,

I am writing this post mainly for those who failed the NCLEX on the first try and preparing to sit for it again. There is nothing different than what others have already said, but I am going to say some specific things that I personally did to pass the NCLEX the second time around.

Hx:
I have been a practicing RN for about 12 years in Canada and wrote the CRNE in 2008. Made a huge decision try nursing in the States which requires the NCLEX. So I was advised to go through the Minnesota Board of Nursing to expedite the Licensure by Examination process. Received my ATT in Jan 2018, wrote the NCLEX for the first time in Apr 2018 and failed. Then took a whole year for me to recover from the failure and get back to serious business. Minnesota BON required me to take a review program and I chose HURST (after doing extensive research). SO I completed the HURST review program and this time I also purchased the UWORLD question bank. Sat for the exam again on 25/Feb/2019 and got my license number the next day!

Do NOT waste your money on anything else! SERIOUSLY! The only 2 things I will recommend are:

1. HURST Review

a. I recommend the self-paced videos as opposed to the live review because the live review is pretty intense. The recorded videos is the selling point because you get to watch them over and over and over again! (Notice how many times I said the word “over”?)

b. Yes, that’s exactly right! Watch them over and over until you memorize the lectures and I kid you not!

c. Watch those videos (IN ORDER) like Aunt Marlene says because there is a reason why they designed it that way.. and it WORKS!

d. The videos touch on key things that you’ll be tested on NCLEX.. period! You can’t possibly know everything that’s on the thick nursing textbooks and you’re not expected to! Remember that this is an entry-level exam that tests your basic nursing knowledge/skills and it would be wise to focus on common Dxs, S&Ss, practices (HURST) rather than an unheard illness (textbooks) that you’ll probably NEVER come across in your entire nursing career J

2. UWORLD (Question bank)

a. Now picture yourself walking into a room, dressed casually only to see a room full of people dressed so formally? I MEAN it! Picture that for a moment and what would your feelings be? Embarrassed, intimidated, feeling stupid etc… Well, that is how I felt the first time I wrote NCLEX. I did not feel the need to do practice questions before the exam and heavily relied on just watching HURST videos. HUGE MISTAKE!

b. NCLEX is not all about what you know. It is also about how you’re going to apply what you know. A good analogy is that you know that bananas and cantaloupes are foods high in Potassium. Now, just knowing this fact is not going to do you any good because what if you’re caring for a client who has too much of it in their blood (Hyperkalemic)? You’re going to have to know that these foods are contraindicated for those hyperkalemic clients…(Connecting the dots). That’s what NCLEX tests you on. It tests you how well you can apply what you already know. So, that’s where UWORLD comes in.

c. Use UWORLD to your advantage from the very first day you’re preparing for your exam. The advantages of UWORLD are:

i. First of all, the layout and design mimics the ACTUAL NCLEX. This is a VERY important factor in reducing anxiety. When your testing environment test format is exactly the same as your daily, home test format, you will feel very comfortable during the test. This one, I can guarantee you because I personally experienced it.

ii. The “timed-tutor” feature gives you the option to read the rationales right after you answer a question. I highly recommend this because UWORLD gives you in-depth rationales for a question, right after you answer it. So, even if you get a question right, make sure you read THEIR rationale because it may be totally different from your rationale for choosing that answer. (This is a MUST because that’s the only way you’ll start looking at a problem from many different angles).

iii. UWORLD gives you the option to re-test yourself on all the questions you got wrong. This is a great option because you’re testing your critical thinking skills and the ability to provide the same rationales that UWORLD did when you first got that question wrong.

iv. The flashcard feature is also another great tool that allows you to save pictures, charts, diagrams and anything else that is important to you. USE it to your advantage.

3. Additional resource

i. The only other resource I used was the comprehensive notes by “The Black Nurse”. I sincerely thank her for putting the time and effort to compile this. She has made this available here: https://theblacknurse.files.wordpress.com/2017/05/nclex-study-guide-2.pdf

One final advice… one day before the exam:

1. Do NOT study anymore. Do not even mentally quiz yourself because you don’t want to induce panic. I am dead serious about this.
2. If you believe in the Supreme Almighty, go to HIS sacred house (church, mosque, temple, synagogue etc) and speak to HIM openly. These sacred houses have lots of positive energy.