Grixsy1

I type much faster than I write and it's legible and you can take notes in an outline/bulleted format which I found helpful for reviewing. You can also make notes on the PowerPoints in the "notes" section, if you prefer that format. I also recommend a recorder if your instructor allows you to record. Olympus makes one that you can download the lectures to your computer which I like. The new iPhone coming out in a couple days also allows you to email the lecture recording to yourself.

I just graduated from CSN's nursing program. I guarantee that every semester you will be forewarned to NOT get certain instructors and you will not always be able to avoid them. I also guarantee that one persons nightmare will NOT be yours. The clinicals never have the instructor name so you won't know for certain who you have or even what location until orientation. Based on when your eary registration is each semester you will likely get stuck with someone who is your last choice a couple times during the program. Take it as a learning experience on how to work with different people because you will need those skills working on the floor later. It's a tough program but very rewarding to complete and remember the ultimate goal is to pass the state board exam and CSN has a high pass rate. Also remember from the beginning that you can only be reinstated ONCE and then you must go back to the very beginning and start over. That means if you have a personal reason to withdraw or if you don't pass your class you can be reinstated and take it over. If it happens a second time for any reason, you must reapply to the program and start at Nurs101 again. It doesn't matter if you were in an accident, if you had a baby or had some other family emergency come up; there are NO exceptions, this happen to two of my friends in the last semester. Good Luck to you!

I took the NCLEX this week and it was the worst experience of my life. I studied like crazy and was a nervous wreck the entire time but kept rationalizing in my head how logically I should pass.... I graduated from a school with one of the highest pass rates in Vegas, took the Drexel review which has a 98% pass rate, studied the entire Kaplan book and even studied parts of Mosby's, Saunders and Llippincott. I was about as calm as a psycho woman could be when I arrived at the testing center. The first question came up and I wanted to leave, tell them I'd like to forfeit my money and reschedule because I didn't have any idea what the first question was even asking. Obviously, I couldn't though so after reading and analyzing the question I chose what I felt might be the answer and clicked "next". The next question was the same way, I didn't feel like I knew what precisely they were asking in order to answer the question, again chose the best answer as I interpreted the question and clicked "next". It seemed like it went like that throughout the entire exam. I was nearing the 2 hour mark when I would be offered my first break without penalty of my 6 hour time limit. I wasn't paying attention to which question I was on and when I clicked "next" with the same amount of uncertainty I'd had with every question up to that point the screen went blank. I thought #&%$, just my luck.... a computer malfunction. Nope, it said I was done and to continue answering the survey questions before leaving the testing room. Leaving Pearson everyone was very nice, encouraging.... giving me a little pamphlet telling me what to expect now, when I could get my results, when I could retest, etc as they told me good bye and sent me on my way. I was still in shock that it was over and I find my way to my car, start it up, pull out of the parking structure and then it hit me..... I just failed the NCLEX. I was a wreck, called my momon the way home to tell her I failed and then I had to get off the phone because I needed to focus on not becoming hysterical so I could get home without an accident. Once home I let myself fall apart, hysterically crying, getting physically ill, laying on the couch the rest of the afternoon and then eating a small bite before going to bed. I had to wait 48 hours to get the "quick results" that would confirm my failing. The next day I stayed in my pajamas and in my room most of the day. Luckily the next day I was taking an IV class, which I went to thinking, what is the point of this because I know I failed. At lunch I checked and it said my test results were ready, my stomach sank, because I knew I'd have to face the FACT that I failed when I got home and paid my $7.95 for the results. I drove home becoming more depressed than I can remember being in a long time. I hit a few red lights which made the agony even worse. When I got home I changed into my pajamas to make it easier to lock myself in my room and let myself mourn my failure. I got my computer, put it on the table and logged on to get my results. The first time I entered my credit card information I forgot to put the expiration date so when I clicked "next" (what is it with the "next" everywhere with these people) I got an error message. For the love of God, can they at least make this part easy? I put it in again and it said I'd confirm my order on the next page so I sat there as I clicked "next".... confirmed my order by clicking the final "next" and ran away before the result could come up. I yelled for my mom to come read it but luck would have it she was busy upstairs and didn't hear me. I couldn't wait and didn't have the energy to yell or go upstairs to get her so I sat down with my eyes closed at the computer and then took a deep breath and looked. I read each line my name, the date of the test, the name of the test I took and finally the result.... pass. After reading that I was crying, screaming and running around the house ........ I'm still in shock, but I passed! When it's your time to take the NCLEX, remember my experience and know your reactions are "normal" for someone who has worked their a$$ of for so long to be put through one last ultimate "final exam" in order to reach their goal.