vaishnavee

Hello, 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 others 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 bc 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 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 ability to provide the same rationales that they 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. 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.

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.