Hey guys! First off, I would like to thank the members of this forum. You have no idea how your posts helped me keep calm and stay sane before taking the exam and right after taking it.
I took my NCLEX-RN yesterday and I found out my results after around 18 hours. I didn't have to pay for the quick results. I just kept trying to search for my name in the Board of Nursing website and to my surprise, it showed up even before 48 hours. :) (I applied for New Mexico, by the way.)
I finished the exam with 75 questions in about 45 minutes. I was shocked when I came out of the testing room. I had to double check the time. It really freaked me out knowing that it only took me that long, to be honest, I felt like I was there for hours. It made me second guess everything. "Did I read everything properly?", "Why didn't I take my time?", "Should I have stayed on that question longer?", "Don't I know anything?!", "I was that bad?!." Yep. It wasn't the best feeling in the world.
Fast forward to around 1:00am our time, I tried to search for my name again on the BON website. And there it was. My name, my license number, the date issued, and the active status. It was so overwhelming. Needless to say, I was very happy.
I wanted to share a few things which I hope will help others. I just really want to pass on the great help this forum has given me.
1. STUDY HABITS. While preparing for the exam, I felt like I wasn't doing enough. That's when I started reading around and checking how long people actually studied per day. Some studied about 6 hours, some studied from morning until night, some for just two hours. It actually scared me at first, it got me thinking that 3-4 hours of studying per day wasn't enough. So I tried studying for more hours which turned out to be futile. I just couldn't retain that much information in a day. So my advice, do what works for you. It's nice to know how other people study, but don't let it affect your own habits. Things work differently for a lot of people. Don't gauge your study efforts based on other people. You know yourself and you know what would work best for you :) Personally, I studied from 11pm to 3am. The rest of the day, I workout, hangout with friends and my other half, do other stuff. :)
2. STUDY MATERIALS.
Saunder's 5th edition - Content review and their CD. My study schedule was actually from the diagnostic test on the CD. After you take the exam, they give you a schedule. I printed that out and followed it. It basically covers 2-3 chapters per day. Honestly though, I wasn't able to keep up with 3 chapters per day. So it took me longer than what was planned in the schedule. But I finished everything in a month and a half. Cover to cover.
NCLEX RN Exam Prep - Basically just a reviewer. If you want content review, use Saunders. I didn't read everything on this book. I just used the CD. Good questions. I thought it was harder the the q's in Saunders.
Kaplan Strategies 2014-2015 - I just scanned through the strategies. I was mostly after the questions every after chapter. After answering, I would review the content once again if I felt like I needed to. The last 265 questions after were really useful. I scored 75.4% for that.
PDA La Charity - I loved this book. A must have (for me at least). I got around 10-12 prioritization and delegation questions during my NCLEX exam. I finished this book 2 days before my NCLEX. I didn't read the Case Studies, just Chaper 1 - 18. My scores ranged as low as 56% (Infection Control! Gulp!) and as high as 90%.
Kaplan Trainers 1-5 - I wasn't able to finish 6 & 7. My scores ranged from 66% - 81%. I only had the chance to go thru them once. It is imperative that you read and understand every rationale. Not just in the Trainers but also in every practice exam you take.
35 Page Study Guide that I got here - I read this on the plane on the way to my exam. VEAL CHOP was amazing! Why didn't I think of that?! Lol
3. SCORES. I used to obsess about how much I got in every practice exam. And then I realized, it's pointless. It can be useful to gauge your capacity and weak points, I agree. But to actually get to a point where they discourage you, no. I then thought, well at least I got to know my wrong answers now that after the exam. Right? :)
4. DAYS BEFORE. I answered the Kaplan Trainer 5 two days before my exam. And I was really having a hard time. It actually shot down my confidence for a bit. But then I tried to shake it off. My advice, don't do practice tests this close to your exam date. You can review your lab values, common medications, other stuff. As much as possible, you want a positive attitude going into the exam.
5. TYPES OF QUESTIONS YOU GET. There's a very useful thread around here stating facts about the results. It is true, the type of questions you get really doesn't mean that you passed or failed. I got around 10 SATA's, 10-12 prioritization and delegation, 1 drag and drop and a whole lot of multiples. I got easy recalls and really complicated ones too. I didn't get calculations or ECGs. So don't stress and obsess about the type of questions you're getting. Just make sure you know what it's asking and answer with the best choice you cant think of. And I am not trying to give out false reassurance, but I actually thought the questions in Kaplan were harder than the actual exam. NCLEX questions were really straight to the point. Although their SATA's were still a pain, their multiples were actually stated in a simpler manner.
6. PRAY. Pray before you study. Pray after. Ask for help and wisdom. And then give thanks. :)
Really guys, I'm not saying NCLEX is easy. It's not. But I really believe it's something you can prepare for. It's worth losing sleep over, missing out on a few Saturdays, getting designer bags under your eyes. Hahaha. If other people can do it, so can you. :)
