LAW79

hi nina43, i would recommend waiting until you graduate to begin studying for the nclex. i am a big believer in compartmentalizing things...it helps prevent feeling overwhelmed. so just worry about school for now. then after you graduate, 3-4 weeks should be enough time to study if you make it the priority. i was working part-time while i studied and i did so for about 3 weeks. best of luck!

Hey Kasha, I don't think you have anything to worry about. I posted something about this on Saturday. Anyway I took the NCLEX last Thursday, got 75 questions and PASSED. My Kaplan scores were not great, at all! My highest score was a 62% on QT #7. I then used the q-bank for the areas I was scoring low in, and it totally helped. Don't reschedule, remember you are never going to get a "great" grade on the NCLEX. It sounds to me like your scores are were they need to be, just do practice questions in between your next two question trainers. You'll be fine!! Good luck.

hi there, i never got great scores on kaplan. they told us we should get over 65% on the question trainers and i never got that score! i got a 62% on QT #7. on the q-bank, my scores were really variable. the way i took the tests is i only tested in one area, e.g. basic care and comfort. i always took only 25 questions. then, i kept testing in the same area until my score was over 60%. for example, my first score in basic care and comfort was, get this, 32%!! that's right, my weakest area, lol. the second test i took in that area i got a 64%. i did that for all of the content areas, but i mostly spent time on the areas that i did poorly in on the question trainers. personally, i think 50s and 60s are just fine. just take practice tests in the areas you are getting the lowest scores and i am confident your scores will go up like mind did. you start to learn "how" to answer the question even when you don't know what they are asking ;-) good luck, i am sure you will do fine.

hi everyone! i PASSED the nclex on thursday june 21 with 75 questions. thanks to the goddesses :-) i read this site a lot and got lots of good studying tips and wanted to share my own impressions of the exam. i studied for this test much differently than i have done for any other test...i did not memorize ANYTHING. i really believe the key to acing this test is not to learn content, but to practice your questions! i attended a kaplan review and felt like the classroom learning was a waste, but their online question trainers and q-bank were worth every penny. their q-bank tests are EXACTLY like the real deal. there were absolutely no surprises, i felt just like i was at home practicing on kaplan. i just took test after test in tutor mode (kaplan's q-bank), and every time i missed a question i wrote my rationale down in a spiral notebook, then reviewed that notebook once a day. seriously, that is ALL I DID. it was really hard to resist "cramming" for this test, but i am so glad i did not. a lot of questions on the nclex are so random that cramming most likely won't help, but the ability to think critically will. (even though i am an OB person, hate med-surge and know nothing about buck's traction or the like.) just thought if there are other "type a" folks out there, my experience may help. resist the temptation to "know it all!" also, my other piece of advice is to take the day before the test off from studying and get some R&R. the day i quit studying was so hard, i had to keep fighting the urge to take another test, so needless to say i was a little wound up. oh, and this has been said before but it bears repeating: the test is designed for everyone to get 50% wrong, so be prepared to get a lot of questions on the test you don't know. just don't let it trip you up. remember 85% of people pass on the first attempt, the stats are in our favor. very best of luck to all the test-takers out there!!! thanks again for this great supportive group. in peace, law.

Congrats, ohmygosh!!! That is excellent news! Vector, I am in the same boat as you. I am taking my NCLEX June 21...and I took Kaplan's review course. I agree with the posters whi said Kaplan's questions are most similar to the NCLEX. I have been using Saunders to review content and Kaplan to practice answering questions (and their strategies are quite helpful, too). I am feeling very overwhelmed at this point. I must admit, I am a bit of a perfectionist...how do I learn all this information?? Is memorizing helpful, or is there just too much to know (please say yes!)? I have read through all of Saunders and I am now trying to plan my next three weeks of studying. What should I do when I am not doing Kaplan's Q-bank and question trainers? Any thoughts would help...TIA.

Thanks everyone for the replies!! I graduated last week, and I just took a Kaplan review course so now I am just waiting for that letter :-) I do hope it comes soon...I don't think I will be able to relax until I get that test out of the way! I will take the first available appointment, and I will be studying until that day. I have been trying to plan a vacation but I think I may need to wait until I know when I can test, as it looks like there is a lot of variation about when people can test. Thanks again!

I have not had a lot of luck yet in finding a position. However, I admit that I am quite particular in what I will accept. (E.g. I can't work nights, need maternal-child nursing and want to work a limited number of hours.) I have also found that the large academic medical centers are stricter in what they will offer. I haven't found any that will be flexible with new grads. I do think that smaller community hospitals are more flexible, and if you are willing to take a position in a less competetive specialty you should hopefully have an easier time finding work. I have had some luck with non-traditional jobs, such as home birth practices and antepartum clinics, which is fine with me. It just takes a bit more work to find these jobs. Good luck!

For those of you in Grad Entry programs who have already taken the NCLEX or are preparing to: Are you planning on working as a RN after you pass the NCLEX, but while you are a full-time APN student? If you ARE intending on working as a new grad RN, are you planning to work part-time or full-time? Finally, for those who want to work part-time, are you only applying for part-time or per diem positions? Or do you apply for full-time positions, get through the orientation, and then ask for part-time work? I would like to work part-time as a new RN, but I am finding it next to impossible to find a hospital that will hire a new-grad RN for part-time work. For those of you who have already been through this decision, your advice would be much appreciated!! Many thanks, and congrats to those completing the pre-NCLEX portion of your programs!!

Hi- I am graduating in May (YAY!!), and I was wondering how long I should realistically expect to wait before I can take the NCLEX? My school said we will get our Authorization to Test letter 4-6 weeks ater graduation--does it really take that long? Once I get the ATT, how long will I have to wait before I can get an appointment to test? Any information would be very much appreciated. Many thanks.

There have been some great, thought-provoking points here! I thought I would share my plan with you, because I am in a Master's Entry CNM program. I will get my RN in May and begin my master's specialty coursework in September. I have decided to do that portion of the program in 3 years...while working FT as a L&D nurse. The first year of classes will be theory (more patho/pharm, etc.), and clinicals won't begin until the second year of school, at which time I will have a solid year of RN experience under my belt. I, too, agree that the experiences of each person are individual and what is right for me may not be right for someone else. I did find it quite helpful to learn about what was right for others, which influenced my decision. In the end, I decided that I really want to work as a RN. I think it will be extremely helpful in developing my confidence and competence. And, I realized that working part-time as a new L&D nurse would not cut it for me. I need to do it consistently for a while. Best of luck to you!

many thanks to all for providing such useful info! midwives are the best :) i have managed to find some out of hospital birthing experiences here, which i think will help feed my soul while i remain in a medicalized institution for midwifery training :) so i am going to stay put and get as much experience as i can for the next few years...thanks again!

Many thanks, Mitchsmom. I think I am going to stay-put for now. I have located a few alternative birthing experiences to augment my midwifery education, so I think I can manage to get a well-rounded view of the field (even in the midwest :) thanks again

I know that Penn and UCSF both give you dual-degrees. UIC offers the WHNP as an option if you are getting your CNM--I think you just need to take an extra course. CNMs can be primary health care providers of women, so it is not necessary to become a WHNP. I think the benefit of it is if you decide you just want to do GYN for a while; some employers might prefer to higher a WHNP rather than a CNM for GYN care. I have decided that if I attend a school that offers dual degree, that is super, if not, I am not worried about it. Good luck!

Many thanks, Anon Nurse, for your great suggestions. I think that getting a great education in midwifery can take a lot of investigation! Thankfully most people in the field have been super supportive and have helped me develop some direction. I like your thoughts on working in the hospital, and I think that working in a family-friendly hospital might be the perfect compromise. I need to do some more investigation to find those places. So are you at Frontier? How do you like it? Cherrymary, thanks for your suggestions abour UW. I have heard lots of good things about the state (generally I find the west is more progressive and midwife-friendly). I like the idea of a diverse range of clinical experience...and it is good to know that students are really enjoying their experiences. I will look into it, thanks! What made you decide to apply to Yale first?

Thanks, Anon, for the great reply! Yes, I am at UIC, and while it does have a very good reputation, I have learned that it might not be the right fit for me. It seems to be very medicalized, partly due to the AMA which is headquartered in Illinois. Free-standing birth centers are not allowed in Illinois, nor can homebirth midwives get malpractice here. There are some midwives who go bare and deliver anyway, but my school doesn't offer clinical placements outside of the hospital. I have talked to them about it, and they say I can leave the state to do it but it will have to be an additional semester, rather than part of the program. The more time I spend in the hospital, the more I realize it is a less than ideal place to give birth. I started to wonder how not having those outside experiences will shape me as a midwife, and I think that they will. My master's portion will be 3 years because they require me to work FT as a L&D nurse (which is not thrilling to me), and I can only imagine how frustrating those three years could be. I am not from Chicago, and I do not plan to stay here and practice, so I thought now would be an ideal time to think about making a switch. I am just in the research stage, so I may find that other schools are about the same as UIC, but I want to make sure I am making the best decision. Where are you studying? Thanks for your thoughts on Yale. I originally applied there but I turned down their offer of admission because it was more than I could afford, but I liked the program. It is good to know that I might not be incorporated in the mainstream, because I am looking for a supportive group to spend the next couple of years with. I saw that Penn offered some alternative birthing opportunities, and I am just wondering if there are any students that have personal thoughts on it. What do you think of Frontier? At first I was a bit turned off by the whole distance thing, but it sounds like a wonderful program that could be tailored to my interests. I have this idealistic idea that spending the next couple of years with the right group who shares the same philosophy of midwifery will help me to go further in my career. Thanks for all your great advice, I will be sure to look into some of those alternative birthing opportunities!