Passed nclex RN in 75 here is my story

[aashleyr416]

Hello Everyone!

I said after I had finished the nclex pass or fail that I would write a blog about my study tips, my emotions, and my opinion on the test. coming to this website helped me so much when I was preparing for the nclex.

A little bit about myself, I am 26 years old from Ohio. I graduated from a community college and received my degree in May 2015. Throughout school I was an A and B student. If you averaged it out more of a B student. I worked hard for my good grades, some people don't have to study...that was not me. It took some time after graduation to get my ATT, I didn't get it until july... WHAT IS TAKING SO LONG! ok so I get my number and schedule the nclex for August 4. I had 13 days from the day I scheduled to do my final preparation. I am ready for this, if I am not now I will be in 13 days!

Ok to the good part... what you all have been waiting for..

August 4 THE DAY IS HERE! wow I cant believe it. I wake up nice and early get my coffee and head to the testing center. The people at the testing center could not be more friendly they were GREAT! smiling faces is a nice thing on such a stressful day. I read some rules, and wait for my number to be called. I am number 2 I don't have much waiting to do. They assign me a locker, take my ID, do a simple palm scan for both hands, take my signature, and I am ready to move onto the next person who is going to walk me to my computer. thinking positive thoughts, I got this, I can do this. Bring it on. the nice man logs me onto the computer and next thing you know I am on the first question. WOW. Ok so yes its scary, you will NOT know everything on the test. You didn't know everything on every nursing exam in school you took so you will not know it all this time. Don't let that get in your head, they don't expect you to know it all. Make the best choice you can and move on. Well I made the choices I thought were best and after I answered #75 the computer went to a blue screen. I had finished the NCLEX... OH MY GOODNESS. Wait wait give me a few more questions please I know there is no way I could have passed. Man this is a bummer. Well come to find out I did PASS! such an amazing feeling.

My advice, some will agree and some will not but that's with everything. Do not give yourself too much time to take the test. Give yourself enough time but not TOO much. Once your date is picked stick with it. Do not go changing your date, that was your date for a reason stick with, work around it, if anything MAKE IT YOUR MOTIVATION!

*My study tips:

Do not over do it.

try to make a study schedule (study m,w,f, and every other weekend) for 3 hours a day.

do not over study meds, know the basics and MOVE ON.

Content is important but do not waste all your time on content

QUESTIONS QUESTIONS QUESTIONS!! Do as many nclex questions as you feel you need I did around 2,000

don't use too many different study guides or books or programs (I used 2)

Be confident and take breaks when you need them!

What I used:

I used the 3 week NCSBN, bought it twice. I loved it. I did every single question, and reviewed every rationale no matter if I answered it right or wrong. It was amazing and I highly recommend it. If you need to touch up on content, they have a ton of content. It was a bit much in my eyes, but use it if you need it. I used the points to remember. They were a great feature

I also used PDA by lacharity. Very helpful for SATA and prioritization and delegation. Wonderful book, I used the online version. Its much easier to grade and its on the computer you save paper. I also Highly recommend this book.

Please remember its all about your mind set. It doesn't matter your scores on the questions just keep doing them and reading rationales. I wrote down every single rationale. It helped ALOT!

You can do this!! I have faith in you all. Work hard and keep your head in the game, it is almost all over. Good luck to you all! Any questions let me know I will try my hardest to answer them!!!

-Alyssa, RN

[crashcartqueen, BSN, RN]

Congrats on passing NCLEX! I remember that feeling not too long ago myself. I also passed in 75 questions and used the 3 week NCSBN review course. I thought it was very thorough and was a bit overwhelming but definitely covered all the bases! I will second what you said about not waiting too long...Many of my fellow students were recommended to study for 8 weeks plus post graduation based on Kaplan testing results... well maybe it is just me but I felt like Kaplan questions were totally different than what I had on NCLEX. I feel like the longer you wait the more hyped up you get yourself and the more you may forget... cramming with info isn't usually helpful and I found the thing that helped me most was my critical thinking development, not just simply facts or knowledge per se.

Again CONGRATS!

[aashleyr416]

Congrats to you!! Again I can't say it enough I feel like waiting too long is just mentally exhausting. Also studying for 12 hours a day is just too much. I loved NCSBN I totally agree it was a bit overwhelming feeling you had to get it all done, but in the end the questions were so helpful! thanks for your comment! good luck with your nursing career :)