Nursing28

I did about 200 to 300 a day and studied from 1:00p to about midnight minus all the breaks i took in between. Hmm let see.. I took my exam 7/28 and failed then re-took it 10/02/06...about 2 months...good luck. Stay really focused on question trainer 6 & 7....that is similar to the test....

First time I took NCLEX (7/28/06) I used Kaplan. Studid most of the book that came along w/it and did the 90% of q-bank and all the question trainer. Took all 265 questions and failed. Most of my questions were peds and ob. Didn't study too much of peds and was not focused. Failed. Took 2 weeks off due to depression. Second time around, studied the Saunder's comprehensive book. Did all the questions that was in the book and did the questions again in the book. What I didn't understand, I went back to the content and kept reading it ad trying to figure out why the answer was wrong. And when I did that it stuck in my head. Went and brought the Saunder's Q & A book and it came w/a great CD inside. Inside that CD it had over 5000 questions. I went to the "study mode" and did every system (took me forever but got throught it). For example, they had Pharm questions only (about 500 questions). I did all that and took notes then moved on to peds and so forth. After I had finished that, I gave myself a week to review my notes prior to the exam. days before the test, I RELAXED. Did not open up no book, went out w/boyfriend, did my hair and spent times w/friends. The day of the test, so nervous, boyfriend calmed me down and wentin there....sat down...still nervous....they through me my first ob question...sat there and thought to myself, what are they asking me? Eliminate the two answers I knew wasn't right and picked the answer and it kept going and I end up stopping at 102. Thought to myself it wasn't that bad where I thought I failed. 3 days after the exam, found out I passed. Oh and by the way I also did ONLY question trainer 6 and 7 from Kaplan.

NCSBN is not good. Saunder's and kaplan is the best.

congrats.....

I was watching grey's anatomy and ER and everytime they had a DX....my mind would think of all the interventions I would do and what s/s the patient has. Or if my friends were saying something that had to do with medical stuff or they were sick or had a dx, I would think to myself all the possibilities that can happen.......that is when I knew I was ready to take the monster test........I was right cuz I pass......but then again, no matter how much you study, there will always be something you just don't know. this is when you take an educated guess. Good luck.

Hi stressgal, There are a lot of people failing at 75 questions. The number does not tell you if you pass/fail. People pass or fail at all sorts of numbers.

I did not study 3 days before my nclex. Went out w/boyfriend, did my hair, watch a movie, hung out with friends (who I haven't seen for yrs), ate a lot of fish (which I really hate) teacher said it helps you remember....worked cuz I passed. Bascially I RELAXED and it felt good not to study............

sorry to hear that u didn't pass. did you try Saunder's????????

Use Saunder's.....Failed first time w/kaplan and pass second time w/Saunder's.......................

Hi Cyndi, My friend just took her NCLEX-RN last wednesday and found out she passed this morning...(SAT). It really depends on BON. One of my friend had to wait a month......The boards update the website everyday (Monday thru Saturday at 3:00a)

According to BON, before taking NCLEX you worked w/your permit. Now that you failed, the permit needs to be sent back to BON if you are taking the test again. You can no longer work as a GN. I know this cuz it happen to me.

The Saunder's comprehensive CD always have technical probs. Go and get the Saunder's Q&A book, it comes along w/a CD that is helpful. Iused that and passed. so sorry

Hi trekJudy, What I did different second time around was Saunder's.....I read most of the Saunder's Comprehensive book then did the quizzes in the back. After that I went and bought the Saunder's Q & A and did the whole thing then went over it one more time. In that Q&A book came along a CD rom (over 5000 questions) Really helpful cuz I went to the "study mode" and did all their content......Along w/doing the questions, I took notes. After all the questions I just went over my notes. Okay NCLEX is all about critical thinking....BUT you have to know your content as well. Then you put two and two together. I did kaplan question trainer 6 & 7 only for critical thinking....helped a lot. Funny thing is, second time, I got a lot of questions that I studied from Saunder's. It wasn't as bad as the first time around. I studied my little butt off...all worth it at the end. Stay FOCUSED and don't freak out if you don't understand what they are asking you....sometimes it is in the answer choices. Eliminate as much as possible. I'm glad I took it the second time around, cuz now I'm wrking and I remember a lot from what I had previously studied. Know your mech. vent....understand why pt is on it. Always think the possible things that can go wrong and what you as a nurse would do to prevent it. I still think that way when I am a working. Don't memorize the labs but understand why it is low or high...what is the pt's DX etc....really important cuz you will need to know it when you pass NCLEX. No matter how much you study for the boards, there will always be something that you don't know or never even learned in school, this is where you make an educated guess. Well good luck to you......

For me, Saunder's is the best. Took NCLEX-RN second time and passed with the Saunder's book. Did over 5000 questions. Saunder's is really good for content and Kaplan is good for critical thinking. You need to know the content for NCLEX and apply critical thinking to it as well. I think that is the only way to pass the exam. Good luck

Kaplan would be similar to NCLEX...( no same questions though) I would highly suggest you focus more on question trainer 6 & 7. Also use the Saunder's book........really good for content. I did all of Saunder's CD which was about 5000 questions along with question trainer 6 & 7 from Kaplan and passed. good luck

how did you study?????????? are you understanding every rationale......(really important) last but not least, did you receive the letter stating that you failed????????????

2 dollar difference at my hosp. w/ a BSN

Congrats to both of you......................go celebrate for your hard work

Yah..........congrats....I know what you are feeling........New Nurse in the house....................Go CELEBRATE!!!!!!!!!!!! Your next FutureNurse35

wishing you all the best

Listen to RNKay31.....I did that too and passed................

I too live in CA and took my boards on 10/02/03 (Monday) and found out the result on THursday morning. Sometimes they take long so wait for the letter. If it is a thin one, you passed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My prayers are w/you.

Good luck guys!!!!!!!!!!!

Best wishes to all who are still waiting.........keep us posted

When you have two simliar answers, elminate both of them......then you are left with 2 answers left. Okay....so use your ABC's whenever possible. Don't just memorize the content but understand it. For example: Pt JUST had a biopsy. One of the complication of this procedure is HEMORRHAGE. In knowing that, they can bleed out and go into shock right? If NCLEX ever ask you this but does not list the word "Hemorrhage" then you must know the s/s of shock. ---->>>>> increased pulse, decrease b/p, increased resp.---->>> all theses s/s indicates shock. This is where you take all your information that you studied and choose the one that indicates shock. I might be confusing you. Sorry...Anyhow, this is how I prepared myself....I always ask myself "okay pt has so and so DX, what are the s/s, what med's are they taking, what are the side effects of this med, and what intervention I need to do. Sounds a lot but truly rewarding at the end. Even though I pass the test, I still study like if I am taking the NCLEX again. I know, sounds crazy but I want to be a good nurse.