PASSED NCLEX the 4th TIME in 75 questions!

[kcjd]

I have FINALLY passed the NCLEX after 4 attempts!!! It was a really hard stressful journey but I finally defeated this monster. I would always look at these forums to seek guidance and inspiration and when I read other similar stories to mine it kept me motivated and made me feel like I wasn't alone. So I promised to myself that when this day would come that I pass the NCLEX, I would write my story and hope that it helps others who are struggling to pass to keep on trying and NEVER give up!

I graduated from a diploma nursing school in May of 2014, a little over a year ago. I wasn't the kind of student who was super smart, there were many points where I felt like I was going to fail out of nursing school! It was difficult because our nursing program was going through so many changes and just was so disorganized and I do not think we were well prepared to take the NCLEX.

In August of 2014 I scheduled to take my NCLEX for the 1st time. The only thing I did to review was Hurst Review online by watching the videos and doing their questions. My family was going through HORRIBLE problems and it consumed me so much that I didn't devote that much time to studying and I completely underestimated the NCLEX and failed in 75 questions.

I took it again as soon as possible while balancing school work in October of 2014. This time I used Kaplan Review and their Q bank. The strategies were good but if you didn't know your content well, the strategies were pointless. I ended up getting 265 questions and failing AGAIN. I was also going through difficult struggles during this time.

I then tried to take it again for the THIRD time in February of 2015. I reused all the materials I had from other review programs and got more questions from NCLEX 4000 and PDA LaCharity which were good! But the day before my exam I went through a horrible tragedy and had been so stressed out for a week with personal problems. I decided to just go through with it anyways. I did 265 questions and FAILED for the 3rd time. I definitely rushed through it and was so unstable, it really killed me that time to fail. I was just so horrible devastated. It took a long while for me to recover but after the semester was over I started studying again in June.

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This is what made the difference:

I was FED UP of failing and the judgment I received from people, that it turned into DETERMINATION TO PASS! I started by reading every single word of the Saunders Comprehensive NCLEX review book 5th edition. Literally every single chapter. I felt I lacked so much knowledge in content that I needed to devote myself to re-learning everything. It made me feel confident in myself. I would study by subject and do focused questions on the particular subject of the day every single day. I would study a minimum of 4 hours everyday. It took me at least a month and half to really dive in and read every single thing in that review book. I took notes on everything, I didn't leave one chapter unread.

Once I finished reviewing the whole book I got involved with UWorld. I did a minimum of 150 questions a day. I made sure I reviewed every single rationale. I did every single question and re did everything again. I wanted to be completely thorough because in my experience, after taking the NCLEX 3 times, I knew that any topic was bound to be presented to me.

Now just 2 days ago, I took the NCLEX feeling confident in my knowledge. I took it and was done in 75 questions. For me, UWorld was the GREATEST question bank you could ever use, because they had very similar SATA questions and priority questions. While taking the NCLEX I felt like I was doing good because it felt like at least 40% of the test was SATA! I would get sometimes 3 SATA in a row which means I was getting them right! I made sure I took my time with each question andFOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, when the test ended I wasn't scared or devastated or nervous.

I felt amazing because my last question was a SATA question and I felt like SO CONFIDENT in my knowledge.

Today it is official and I feel great and so grateful for everyone who has helped along the way. All this time I was told by most people, "the NCLEX only tests you on basic knowledge and strategy is more important!!" I wish I was told the opposite. For me, knowing my content thoroughly in detail was the main reason I breezed through this last time and using UWorld!! No other question bank compares! It is worth every penny.

Down below I will list a summarized version of what I used to study!

If you are reading this and you are like how I was: struggling to pass, feeling depressed, devastated, thinking you will never pass or that you aren't meant to be a nurse.. STOP!

Hear me out: DO NOT GIVE UP, NO MATTER WHAT. You graduated nursing school, if you are passionate about nursing and if you start to believe in yourself I promise you will succeed. Don't let anyone get you down, don't focus on other people's success. Love yourself and embrace your mistakes.

SUMMARY OF RESOURCES I USED TO STUDY FOR NCLEX:

1. Hurst Review Online

Unless you were a smart person in nursing school that paid attention and really learned all the content, this review wasn't that great for me. It was VERY general. It was good for just a general review but not good if you didn't really understand the content before. The questions they provided weren't the greatest

2. Kaplan Review Online/ Kaplan Q Bank

As stated before, I wasn't the kind of student that learned my content well in nursing school so Kaplan review wasn't that helpful for me in terms of learning what I needed to know. BUT I have to say that the strategies were great in approaching questions. I would recommend searching the internet or going to your local library to read a Kaplan strategy book instead.

3. Rutgers Live Review

I don't even want to begin to write about this review class. It was so expensive and the teachers were so unorganized and lacked knowledge to teach. The best thing about this course was the booklet they gave you. The lectures were not worth it other than the one Maternity professor who was great.

4. SAUNDERS COMPREHENSIVE NCLEX REVIEW - RN 5th EDITION (YELLOW)

HANDS DOWN THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF MY STUDYING. I spent at least a month and a half reviewing EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER. I made sure I read every possible things about each and every disease process and took notes while I did so. I would do about 1-3 chapters in one day depending on the length. After reading each chapter, I would review the notes I took on each chapter and then I would do about 25-40 questions to solidify the information I learned. I didn't do hardcore questions until I was finished going through this book.

5. SAUNDERS Q BANK ONLINE- (through evolve)

I used this q bank through an access code from the textbook I had. It is not styled like the NCLEX but the questions were good for content learning.

6. UWorld Question Bank - RN

THE BEST QUESTION BANK IN EXISTENCE. HANDS DOWN THE BEST. THE BIGGEST HELPER IN MY PASSING! The rationales they provide for every question, the layout and everything about it was beyond amazing. Kaplan, Hurst, and Saunders, Lippincott questions do not compare. I swear by it, I wish I knew about this question bank the first time I took the NCLEX! UGH LOVE THEM!! I did a minimum of 100-150 questions a day for a month and reviewed it all over again. Did the ENTIRE q bank over and over again till there were no questions I got wrong again.

7. Priority, Delegation, Assessment - LaCharity

Great question book to practice priority, delegation and assessment questions! My first time answering these questions I had awful averages but it's all about learning from your wrong answers! Great resource!

8. GOOGLE

Seriously needed to shout out google because while I read Saunders or did questions and review rationales anytime I didn't know what a specific word or disease was and wanted to know quickly I just googled it! Any word I came across that I didn't know... GOOGLE! haha

9. Misc.

Youtube videos for specific topics I wanted to go in-depth, the 33 page guide somewhere floating around here, EKG practice websites, med math calculation websites, NCLEX 4000 program, listening to music, my cat, Netflix for breaks, sacrificing my social life COMPLETELY, Lippincott pass point (but ehh only used it once), and ALLNURSES FORUMS!!!!!

Ah what a long post! but I hope this helps someone out there! Good luck to all of you!

#FinallyRN