Hey guys, I just recently signed up for this forum, but I have been lurking for a while now reading the success stories and tips from different people. I must say, you guys are pretty inspiring and now that I have passed the NCLEX-RN myself, I want to inspire some people as well. Hopefully, this will xD.
I am a recent(2014) international grad from the Philippines. I grew up here in California and I only went to the Philippines for college. Luckily, I can speak two language :). I got my BSN degree and graduated Cum Laude. I am only 22 years old and never worked so I was fully supported by my parents. I am so lucky to have them. Anyways, I got back to Cali in April and I started self-studying for the NCLEX-RN right away.
I applied to two boards, California and Hawaii. I applied to two because being an international graduate, I knew California was going to be strict with me, and that was a true statement. The California BORN sent me a letter telling me that my OB/DR cases were not concurrent with the theory. I did my DR cases around the end of my sophomore year when the BORN was just starting to become strict with international graduates, so my school found out that many international grads were getting denied/rejected late and just assigned me at the end of the year. I still completed my cases, but I was still worried about the concurrency, and it did bite me in the rear in the end 
. Luckily, Hawaii wasn't difficult to apply to and got my ATT right away.
As I got my ATT, I picked up my pace and studied my heart out. For 3 months straight I was just reading and reading and answering questions. Finally, my 1st attempt at NCLEX-RN came in August. I admit I was VERY over-confident since I graduated Cum Laude and I was studying hard. But that was the problem, I was studying HARD not SMART. Like many honor students, I was good at memorizing and that's exactly what I did. My first approach to the NCLEX-RN was based on that, and it didn't work! I was hit hard by the grueling critical thinking questions that were based on prioritization and delegation. I also was expecting the test to end at 75 questions, but that wasn't the case. The questions kept coming and coming after 75. I ended at 133 questions. I got A LOT of prioritization and only a few SATA. Around the 110 mark I was starting to get knowledge-based questions, but I didn't notice until I finished and thought to myself how easy they were. I admit, I was tired and just wanted to finish and go home. I didn't test smart from that point on and that lead to my failure. On a side note, I also didn't take a break form my exam.
My failure was VERY, VERY DEPRESSING. I always did good throughout school and getting slapped in the face with a big fat FAIL was just heartbreaking. I can't blame it though, it was my fault for rushing and playing with the exam and also being overconfident. It took me about one week to get over my failure, and big factors to my quick recovery were my parents and girlfriend. They told me it was okay and that I can take the test again. I felt so bad because I wanted to help my parents and repay them for everything they have provided me. From that point on, I implanted in my mind that I was going to pass this second time.
The first 6 weeks of my second attempt was self-study from Saunder's Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN Examination. I followed the calendar they provided me from when I took the assessment test on the CD. I also had my girlfriend change my passwords to my facebook, instagram, twitter, etc because they were BIG, BIG distractions. After 6 weeks, I enrolled in Excell Nursing Review. For 9 straight days I was in a struggle of 8-5pm review, and driving 1.5 hours to and 2-3 hrs back cause of traffic. It was tough because i was always tired. I got home late and had to wake up early, but I said to myself, HARD WORK PAYS OFF. I learned to study smart at Excell Nursing Review. Instead of memorizing, I was understanding the content.
After the nursing review, which ended on October 31, 2014, I continued studying for two more days because my examination was on November 4, 2014. I took a rest the day before my test and just enjoyed it. I played basketball, watched movies and ate my favorite foods.
Finally, the test day came. The feeling was different, I was more anxious than last time, but I was also excited to answer the questions, since I've see them before. As I registered(I was the first one LOL), I kept saying my prayers(I had been praying every single day since my failure and I am a Catholic) and kept saying to myself that I was going to become an RN. As I started the test though, the same thing happened. I was getting hit with DIFFICULT prioritization questions and VERY few SATA. I started to think to myself, "Am I doing good? How come I'm not getting any SATA questions," and I must say I was starting to lose hope. But my faith God did not allow me to do so. I kept saying my prayers and I answered the questions with confidence. As I reached 75(did not expect it to end this time xD), I answered the question and then question number 76 came up. This time, I raised my hand and took a quick 5 minute break to get some water and go to the bathroom. As I came back, I felt rejuvenated and more confident than ever! I answered the questions with confidence and as I got to the 110 mark, I was still getting prioritization questions. It was different from last time, so I kept my head up and said to myself, "You got this. RN RN RN." As I reached the 2nd to the last question I surprisingly got a SATA and finally the last question(118) seemed like a knowledge-based question.
As the computer shut off, I felt that I had failed, but I knew that I got the last few questions right so I had some hope. I just kept praying to God that I will accept whatever his plan for me was. Pass or fail I will never give up on my dream. The 48 hour wait was very, VERY grueling. I kept checking the Hawaii BON website for my name, but it never came up.
The morning of November 6, 2014, I saw on pearsonvue that my quick results were up. I quickly told my mom and we paid the $8 for them. There it was, "PASS." I jumped with joy and hugged my mom and told my girlfriend right away! I went straight to our altar and prayed to God and told him thank you very much. None of this would be possible without God. I could not believe my eyes. I was so speechless and happy. I was finally an RN.
For those people that are losing hope, if I can reach my goal, then so can YOU. If I can fall down and rise up, then so can YOU. If you feel down just remember this, God won't give you an obstacle that you CAN'T get past. Remember that you have many people that are supporting you through your goal and you should use them as motivation. Never give up on your dream, because you never know what the Lord can bless you with(Kelly Rowland).
Also, don't forget to study HARD, but SMART also. Understand the content, not just memorize. You an memorize lab values, but also understand what their significance means if they are abnormal. Hard work pays off! God bless(or whoever you believe in) all of you future RN's!!
MATERIALS USED TO STUDY: Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN Examination 5e, Kaplan NCLEX-RN Strategies, Practice, and Review 2013-2014, Saunder's Q & A Review for the NCLEX-RN Examination, and the materials that were provided by EXCELL NURSING REVIEW :).
