angelsare44

Hi everyone, I have a super odd situation going on which is the complete opposite of what I expected. I'm a newer nurse, 9 months working in med-surg and I absolutely love it! I started on days and have been working nights now for a few months and have noticed a steady decline in my weight since day 1. I was a normal weight to begin with and have been exercising a lot less since working because I just want to chill! I figured I'd bounce back and then probably gain weight but it doesn't seem to be happening yet and I'm wondering if anyone else has had a similar issue. I do take ADHD medication but this has never impacted my appetite or weight. Occasionally on nights off I only get 2 meals because I sleep most of the day but the majority of the time I don't do that. I bring a ton of calorie dense food to work and feel like I should at least be maintaining by now. For context I have lost about 15# since starting my career. I know that isn't much but I started out a slim weight for my height and have been getting concerned comments from family and my psych NP. I know I should probably talk to a doctor and I will....eventually (LOL) but I'm a "stereotypical nurse" in that I do not prioritize my own medical care! I would appreciate any input/suggestions/tips and would love to know if anyone out there has also experienced this. Thank you!

In my area, COVID is uncommon as well but they had the same precautions. I was spaced very far apart from other testers and wore a mask too. They kept the testing room very cool and I didn't notice the mask at all. I also get overheated easy especially when nervous but I dressed lightly and it was comfortable. I hope you have the same experience! I was lucky to get a test date that was so soon because they had shut my local centers down completely for a while. All my classmates who I graduated with in May have to wait until October to test and many are very upset to have to wait that long to be licensed because the longer you go between graduating and testing the poorer the testing outcome. The testing centers where I live are only allowing 50% capacity to attempt to lower the risk of COVID transmission even in a low-incidence area. I think getting as many nurses licensed as is safe is best for communities right now and doing all we can to avoid infecting the caregivers is huge which includes masks and distancing. That being said, if it's that bothersome for you and you feel it will impact your testing performance, why not reschedule your exam for a later date and hope that they won't be requiring a mask? I hope everything works out for you!

With things opening back up like they have been they'll start allowing more capacity soon. At the time I took my exam they were at 50% capacity so hopefully they'll be bringing more in shortly! Thank you!

Congratulations to you too!!

for sure! I didn't think I was prepared at all because I only studied for 2 days. I found that I didn't know much about what they were testing me on. The most important thing is to focus on understanding nursing priority because even though I didn't know what the content was about very well, I was able to answer them correctly by knowing what the biggest harm to the patient would be. The questions on my test were all so vague and so broad that there's no way I could have studied all of that in any reasonable amount of time. So focus on your biggest most important categories and then follow your priority framework and your ABC's!

I was inconsistent like that too but I believe you can do it! Just do as many as you can and try to keep your mind framed around priority and you'll be good! I truly felt like I didn't know anything either!

Thank you! I honestly regretted registering that early as soon as I did it thinking there was no possible way I would pass. But other than money and a little pride I didn't have much to lose! I used ATI and a little bit of I think Nurselabs questions and then just brushed up on labs and pharm the morning of. Honestly I didn't study nearly as much as I thought I should and then only had the two days to really study hard but I'm so grateful it worked out! You're so right, once you understand what the questions are really asking and how to prioritize, you can answer most questions even if you're unfamiliar with content!

You'll get it! Just keep going!

Hi everyone!! I took my NCLEX 3 days ago and just wanted to share my experience because it was really unusual and super scary for me but it ended up working out fine. I hope this can help someone prepare for their upcoming exam during the pandemic. My intention was to take my NCLEX in about 3-4 weeks from now...and I planned to do the most studying after I got scheduled and I took the few weeks after graduation pretty relaxed as far as studying goes. I got my auth to test last Thursday. As many of you probably know the testing centers are booking out quite a ways and I couldn't find a spot until October which was a huge bummer because I'm impatient and also didn't want all that fresh knowledge to leave me. One of the testing centers a bit further away had a single opening two days later and in a panic I scheduled it because I really REALLY wanted to have a shot at being done with this whole thing. So, I did a whole bunch of questions on ATI for the next two days but I didn't over-do it because I figured if I knew the information...I already knew it. Fast forward to test day and I was optimistic that somehow it would be easier than I imagined...I graduated top of my class so this was going to be cake! The staff at my local testing center were so sweet and that helped me calm down quite a bit. But when I got into that test room I felt like a toddler...and like I didn't know a single question aside from the first one. I felt like such a jerk for thinking I could possibly pass the test with a day and a half of serious studying when some people study for months. I actually considered giving up at one point, that's how much I felt like I was bombing. The computer shut off at 60 and I didn't know what to think. I called my mom on the way home and after reviewing some information and realizing what I got wrong I was CERTAIN that I failed. My mom even said that she had all the confidence in the world in me but when she heard my voice it "wasn't the usual self-deprecating tone...this was different.". It was a long 48 hours but yesterday I found out that I passed! So, I want to share my experience with others because I wish I'd known what I know now. 1.) You very well may feel like you don't know anything during the test...please don't let that discourage you. If you're getting consistently hard questions and you were a reasonably good student you are probably doing great and the questions you're getting are at a higher level. 2.) Don't cram the day before. Give yourself a rest and don't assault your brain like that. Test day is so stressful and you're going to need max brain capacity! 3.) Don't forget to breathe!! Very important. 4.) I found that the test questions were not like I experienced with practice questions. I've seen some other folks say that they found the questions to be very straight forward but I found everything very vague. (Don't get me wrong, practice questions are the best way to study in my opinion so keep doing them!!). I had to infer a lot of information from the questions and there were a lot I didn't know. But my instructor told me that they're not testing your knowledge but they're testing what you do with your knowledge in order to recognize and address the things that are most dangerous to the patient! So even if you haven't a clue what the question is asking, break it down and really consider the answers, use your ABC's and think about patient priority. I think you'll do just fine! I hope I helped some of you fine people who are gearing up to take your exam!!

I took my exam Saturday. Finished in 60 questions in an hour, got the good pop up with the PVT and found out yesterday I passed! You got this!

I took my exam Saturday after getting my authorization to test on Thursday....this was not on purpose. I found out today that I passed! Originally I intended to schedule my NCLEX for early July in order to get done in time for my ED fellowship program to start at the end of the month. Because if COVID, like you experienced the scheduling is super weird and all my local testing centers were booked until October except one time slot 2 days later on 6/6. I had done ATI in my program and had been taking 50-100 practice questions a day and didn't plan to "seriously" study until I was scheduled. Well let me tell you I was freaked when my only option was to wait until October or give it a shot two days later. I spent a day and a half doing about 4 hours of review questions and that's all I had time for. I went in for the exam and was certain I bombed it because every question seemed so hard. Computer shut off at minimum 60 and I amazingly passed. The test at 60 questions minimum is no different than it used to be because the 15 they took out were the questions that were being tested for use and didn't count. Honestly I think that if you do as many review questions as you can, that's hugely helpful. And really pay attention to your ABC's because I didn't know all the content on the exam but was able to answer correctly by considering the PRIORITY action for the patient. My instructor said they're not trying to test what you know, they're trying to test what you do with what you know. And don't get discouraged it panicked!! I felt like I was absolutely bombing the test and wanted to throw in the towel thinking I was so unprepared and silly for thinking I could pass with two days notice. But I did! And you'll do great, just remember to breathe and trust your nursing instincts!!