mystic33

I passed the ANCC boards today. The clinical questions were straightforward, and not hard at all. The nonclinical questions were a lot but manageable. I was expecting the exam to be very hard based on feedback, and I was stressing out and panicking for days leading up the exam. The night before my exam, I couldn't sleep; tossed and turned all night while watching the clock. I thought I was going to fail because of the lack of sleep but while doing the exam, I began to relax because the questions seemed so straightforward. It was easy to nature it down to two and pick the right answers. While taking the exam I knew I was going to pass. The hardest part was sitting for 4 hours. I started my review in October - so it took 2 months. I listened to all the Fitzgerald lectures and took notes but didn't really memorize the material because I felt overwhelmed - like it was impossible to remember so much stuff. In the end I got bored with the book. I would glance at a couple chapters like Endocrine, Hematology but I never read through the whole book. I also listened to Barley cd every time I was in my car. I used American Family Physician a lot to look stuff up. I was scared I was going to fail because everyone who passed said that they read the review books cover to cover and I never did that so I felt I didn't know enough content and wasn't ready to pass the Boards. I was going to cancel my test but I also wanted so badly to not have to study another day so I went ahead. Voila, I passed. I did 90% of the questions in Boards Vitals. Those questions are HARD! And the rationals were amazing! In addition, the nonclinical section had around 500+ questions and I did 400+. My scores were all over the place - 60s+ and improved in the 70s/80s. I also did ExamEdge about 10 (100) questions and was frustrated with those as I got 391 once and remained in the 345 range - failing the 350 for passing. The questions to me were weird, and very specific which was annoying because it was hard to pick the right answers to get a 350 passing score. I continued to do them anyway, and it paid off. In addition, I did as many questions as I could from text books including the new Barkley's blue book - which is awesome with great explanations. I only got through about 5 chapters though as I was limited on time. One week before my exam I did 5 practice sets - 60 questions each from Apea.com and those questions were very helpful especially the rationals. I wasn't able to do the diagnostic 150 exam because I ran out of time. I did the Barkley's diagnostic test the night before the exam and failed with a 69%..., 2 days prior I have done the Fitzgerald 150 comprehensive test and got 80% but it wasn't timed like the Barkley which I was rushing in the end to finish on time. I consistently did a lot of questions daily for at least 2 weeks from different sources, and I believe that is why the exam felt very manageable. Overall, if anyone out there is scared, feel like you do not know the content very well, a poor test taker who struggled in school and feel overwhelmed, you can pass the exam. Do LOTS of hard questions daily, and understand the rationals. The 3 websites I mentioned above are great - with lots of pictures, and rationals. Look up stuff in the clinical practice guidelines that need further clarification. In the end, the ANCC exam won't seem that hard because the practice questions will help you narrow down the correct answer choices, and familiarize you with content areas you were not able to review on your own.

Interesting read. Thanks to everyone who posted. I am learning a lot.

She motivates me to become a better person; She was truly an amazing human being as is evident by this thread 1-year later. I hope her family is coping well.

Great tips!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I guess you would need to spend extensive time researching the field before taking the plunge. Psychology might be where your heart is but it is going to take a lot of sacrifices and time to dedicate to that career. First off, with a BS degree the salary is very low, and the only time it seems you can make a decent income is if you have a PHD. Are you in a position to make that long term sacrifice? I have also seen people who become miserable at the job in the long run because it can become intense. Maybe hooking up with a psychologist and examining the in and outs of what the job entails would be valuable experience to have.

Orientation for me has its ups and downs. Med-Surg, in my opinion, is one of the scariest places to work as a new grad initially. At least it is for me. You feel like you are being torn in so many different directions:eek:. This is my 7th week of orientation and I definitely see improvement from day one to now, but I don't know when the scary feeling will go away. Day is SOO busy, and you truly have to pray to God to give you the strength to keep going back to work. The only consolation is that everyday is a learning experience and a year from now, I won't be the same new nurse. Repetition is a great thing! Also, everyday I have to work on improving time management skills:crying2:. We use a pixis system for med admin.

You might be right; she MIGHT be a good resource but so far, she hasn't been one to me hence the reason I said what I said.

Reading your post gave me a knot in my stomach:mad:. What an unscrupulous company!!

So sorry the job did not work out for you. I also apologize for some of the responses that seem to be scolding you for your decision to quit. No one knows your reason for quitting except you. In the end, you never know if quitting was the best thing to do versus losing your license. We will never know. It's not a death sentence that you quit med surg after 3 months, I am sure it was a tough decision for you. I wish you all the best in your job search. I am sure something will materialize that will give you what you are looking for. Good luck.

We have one on our floor but I have no idea what she does. She seems useless.

First week off orientation with 5 pts already, wow! You must be a super nurse already for sounding so calm with 5 acute pts, kudos to you.

I hated almost everyone of my clinicals except L&D. I was worried that I probably should change my career since I hated clinicals so much but being a nurse extern was the deciding factor for me to stay in the game. Now that I am a nurse on a med surg floor, I am glad I stayed in the game and finished nursing school. It's so different.

You should consider writing articles or books in your spare time because you write so well and keep the story interesting. Well done.....

Graduated: May 2010 Passed Nclex: Aug 2010 Started working as RN in the hospital: 9/2010.

I have read so many stories on here that word for word describes your current situation. Maybe if you do a search in the new licensure new nurses section you will find a lot of information that will provide some help to you. I am also a new nurse and even though it gets so bad at times, and I feel the same way you do, I am clinging to the hope that it will get better. When the days are truly tough, I try to focus now on the good things I did and minimise the negatives as focusing on what went wrong constantly will only further demoralize you even worst. My advice to you would be to hang in there, do the best that you can and when you get to your 1 yr anniver., then you can apply somewhere else to your liking. 7 pts to handle though is absolutely absurd.