Rianna1

Hi there, I will be starting a new grad program in 4 weeks; the new grad program is 18 weeks long and in Telemetry working 12 hour shifts. I was working during the summer in LTC, but decided to resign and take the few weeks off before the program began. Any ideas of ways to prepare for the new grad program or tips for beginning in a Telemetry unit?

Just wondering if this is pretty standard for LTC/rehab care: no breaks, just 30 minute lunch during an 8 hour shift and no shift differentials for working the 3-11pm or NOC shift or weekends? I started at a nursing home 2 weeks ago; they are giving me 2 weeks of training (10 days) and after that will be on my own with 18-20 pts. I have just finished day 5 and am only doing meds/charting on 7 pts and don't know how I am going to work up to 20. I do know I am lucky to be working as an RN in California, but man it is tough; My thinking is that if I can handle this and stick it out, I can get time management and delegating skills....

Are there any hospitals in the country that are hiring new grads for peds that don't have hundreds of applicants? We might consider leaving Cali for a peds position. it is so bad out here for any new grad.

Here's how I studied for the nclex: 5 weeks, average of 5-6 hours studying every single day, even on weekends. i listened to kaplans lecture once and the pharmacology lecture twice, but i don't think i retained a whole lot. If anything, it made me sit down and do something, even if it just motivated me to do questions. I made myself sit through all the lectures. i broke it up though. an hour and a half of studying before kids got up in the morning, another 2-3 hours after i dropped them off and then if i had any brain power left 2 hours in the afternoon. And then maybe another hour after the kids were asleep. I always tried to go to bed at the same time, somewhere between 10:30-11:30 and wake up at the same time to keep a routine going. I always made sure I did something everyday. I would start off with 50-75 questions in the early morning. 100 more late morning 100 more in the afternoon/evening. The q-trainer questions I did twice and emptied the q-bank questions. I also did NCSBN and Saunders cd for some basic knowledge questions. I think I probably did somewhere between 4000-5000 questions. Whenever I felt like it was too much, I would go for a walk or go to the gym or cook/bake something and then go back to the studying. Always take breaks, but not too long of breaks to build up momentum. Do not study a couple days before the exam. I didn't listen to this and I tried to study, but I think it messed me up cuz really, nothing more could be retained at that point. On test day, I purposely drank a lot of coffee so that I would have to take a bathroom break. I ended up taking a break around question 30 and passed with 75 questions. I also took "mental" breaks between questions by closing my eyes, breathing and stretching my arms out. Take your time in answering the questions. I always had the habit of going too fast, but made myself take as much time as I needed for each question. Good luck!

Good luck to all those taking their NCLEX! Make sure you take "brain breaks" during the test and try to take a bathroom break. Do NOT try to cram any more info at least the day before; i tried to do this and it didn't help me at all when I look at it in hindsight.

aprila1, if you got the pop-up then you probably passed. this trick has worked for so many people. i know how you are feeling i couldn't sleep the 3 days after i took the test and now i am having trouble going back to my regular bedtime cuz i kept going to bed late, getting up in the middle of the night a few times... where did you take your test? rn or lpn? my classmates that took it on a thursday, found their name on CA bon on Tuesday; i took it on Monday and my name was on there Thursday. if you took it right before the weekend, might not show up till monday or tuesday. Relax today. i know it's hard but enjoy the weekend and it is so worth it when you find out you passed.

The trick worked for me, I PASSED! I took the test Monday, tried the trick a couple hours later and it worked. Found my name on BON website this morning. Good Luck to those waiting:hpygrp:

Heather, It's 1120 pm pacific time in Cali and I am up agonizing over it too. well, almost over my mini depression of post-nclex. i get the same pop-up and i have checked pretty much almost every hour since yesterday and get the pop-up. i forced myself to go to the gym and get on the treadmill just to get out of the house and get my sanity back. the first day after the test is hard, but we just have to hang in there. ppl who get 265 questions still pass and it's a good sign you got the pop up from what previous posts have said.

i know what you mean; i studied 4-6 hours a day for 5 weeks. i feel like they tested me on my weak spots. i hope this trick works. it's been 26 hours since i finished the test and i still get the popup. good luck to you all and hope we all pass!

power22, I feel your pain; I feel pretty shook up about it; I left there wondering why I wasn't getting any questions that I studied and questions that I knew nothing about. I felt like at about questions 55-65 or so I was doing okay, and hoping that it wouldn't shut off at 75 so I could keep getting more questions and prove I could do the higher level questions, but it did shut off at 75 and an easy question that i thought at the time, a drag and drop. then i start to wonder, i think i got that last question wrong after all. it was just weird how i felt like i was getting some priority questions then all of a sudden a drag and drop and then it shut off. tortore, i tell ya. i tried the pearson vue trick and it hasn't let me re-register, so i am praying, praying, praying. can't think of anything else...

thanks brvhart and everyone who's replied. i forced myself to go to bed at 1015, only to wake up 2.5 hours later and can't fall back asleep; i am making myself nuts, i know; CA test takers who used this trick, anyone get the popup only to get a different popup later? when's the earliest the name will be on CA BON website?

Congrats you guys that passed! What state are you guys in? RN or PN? Anyone in CA take NCLEX RN recently and the "tricked" worked for them? I am dying and this is the most torturous wait ever!!

MamaRn, thanks for the words of encouragement; i keep thinking of all the q's i got wrong. i don't think i can eat or do anything else until i know for sure. i will keep you posted.

Hi MamaRN- Thanks for replying. Status says delivery successful. The message I get says something like "Our records indicate you recently scheduled this exam. Please contact your member board for further assistance. Another registration cannot be made at this time." What state are you in? I am in CA; man, so nerve wrecking!!

How soon does this "trick" work. I took NCLEX RN this morning at 0800 and I am so nervous, jittery and anxious. I so feel like I did not pass; too many knowledge questions i felt... ughhhhh