RNMedicFL

Rachel, Relax. Take a deep breath. I've been watching your posts and from what I can tell, you are going to do well. You're doing the right things and asking the right questions. Everyone's experience with the NCLEX is different. I felt that the questions were closest to Kaplan-style. Others will disagree. Who's right? Probably all of us. You will drive yourself crazy if you take everyone's advice. Do what feels comfortable and right for you. I have a good feeling that you're going to do very well. Hang in there!

I completely agree with BamaGirl. Take it ASAP. I took mine within 3 weeks of graduating (more like 2). I had been doing practice questions off and on for about 1 month. When I got my ATT, I scheduled the test for 7 days later. Over those seven days I reviewed things that I thought I was weak on. Nothing, let me repeat...NOTHING I reviewed was on it. And when I left the test, I was glad I hadn't spent weeks studying because I knew it wouldn't have made a bit of a difference. My advice is to take it within 1 month. The sooner you schedule it, the more motivated you'll be.

You can send it to Pearson now. That's what I did and everything went super smoothly. I received everything very quickly.

I got my results this morning and I passed. Just wanted to say thanks to all who wished me well. If I can do it, you can do it! Woo-hoo! :rotfl:

Hardest part for me? Balancing school with work and a social life/family. Content-wise I hated pharm and endocrine. What kept me in it? I will make a positive difference in peoples' lives at critical times. I also like a challenge. I believe in the philosophy behind nursing...and being a patient advocate. Good luck to you!

If you think you're going nuts now, just wait and see how you feel when you've taken the boards and are waiting on the results! Does anybody know the caloric value of fingernails?????

Let's just say I wish I had studied more pharm than I did. My toughest questions were something to the effect of: "Of the following patients, which would you question the order for first?" And then there were 4 choices and each choice named 2 meds that a patient with 2 diseases processes had. You had to be able to determine if the meds were appropriate for the disease processes, determine if the meds could be taken together, determine if the dosage was correct, etc. But I also had some more basic questions like: Of the following, which would be the best determinant that 1mcg/kg of Dopamine is effective in treating a patient? Choices included: mental status, respiratory effort, urine output, etc. I believe the answer would be urine output. Ugh. I'm torturing myself again. Anyway, study your pharm, but don't go crazy. My friend took it the day before me and didn't have any pharm. Oh, and I only had one alternative-style question. Multi-select. Something about choosing possible IM injection sites for an adult. Listed 6 choices (deltoid, vastus lateralis, abdomen, etc.) I don't remember what I chose, but I didn't choose abdomen. Hope this helps!

I took the NCLEX on Saturday. I knew all my lab values and didn't have a single question about them. I knew the cranial nerves too...nothing. One calculation appeared, but it was very simple. One newborn question. Lots of pharm...LOTS OF PHARM. But, again, everyone's test is so different. Kaplan's test-taking skills helped a lot...I hope. Won't know my results for at least 2 more days.

Thanks for asking...My computer shut off at 75 questions. It's my understanding that that's either a really good thing or a really, really bad thing. Some of the questions I felt pretty good about. Others were guesses. I tried to make educated guesses though. A friend of mine took it the day before me and his shut off around 120-ish. He had a lot of prioritization and psych. I had a lot of prioritazation and pharm. I felt alright when I first came out of there. But as the day went on, I started second guessing myself. I've realized that I can't do that. I can only remember 4 questions, of which I believe I got 3 right. It's a crazy test, I'll tell you that much. I really believe that if I would have studied another 2 weeks, it wouldn't have made any difference. My friend felt the same way. Now I just have to make it through 48 hours of torture until I find out. But I'll let you know for sure once I know.

I did over 1000 Mosby Questions, plus a bunch of Saunders CD-ROM questions. I also read the Kaplan Book and did the practice test on CD. I'm making sure I know all my normal lab values (electrolytes, Hematology, etc.) and then brushing up on weak areas (renal, l&d). I still don't feel like I know enough, but will I ever feel ready? I haven't taken any review courses either. Saturday's the big day, so I'll let you know how it goes.

I received my ATT via email this past Thursday. I called Pearson on Friday and scheduled my test for this Saturday. I imagine I could have scheduled even sooner, but I wasn't ready for that! Anyway, I'll cross my fingers for you if you'll cross yours for me! I can't believe I scheduled it that soon...but they say the sooner you take it after school, the better. Hope this helps!

My last day of school was May 3rd. Our director promised to send our stuff to the state (Florida) on May 4th. I had all of my applications and payments made at least a month in advance and I received my ATT via email on May 13th. A classmate of mine has a last name beginning with Z and he has not gotten anything yet (they've told him it would be this week though). I'm a letter O. Hope this helps! Good luck!

I've been visiting this site regularly for the past few months. I finally decided to register and post a thread. It's probably because I'm feeling a little (ok, a LOT) anxious because I'm taking the NCLEX in less than a week. I certainly don't feel like I know everything...am I supposed to feel like I do? I've been doing lots of practice questions from various sources (Mosby, Kaplan, Saunder's) and I usually score pretty well (low 80s). This week I'm planning on making sure I know my normal lab values, cranial nerves, and I'm going to brush up on topics that seem to have floated out of my memory (ie, renal). Any other suggestions? Oh, and I'm getting a pedicure on Friday to help me relax.