amorn-RN

Hello everyone!! I just wanted to share my journey with you guys. I graduated on the 12th of December 2013 and scheduled my test for Jan 31st. I devised a study plan 5 days a week, 6-8 hr/day, weekends off, with a million different resources (books, study guides, CDs....you get the point). As soon as I opened those books I realized that there were so many topics that we didn't cover in school. Right away I felt overwhelmed and began studying content. I knew that I was wasting hours and hours of my time because how many questions was I actually going to have about Kawasaki's disease on the NCLEX? I then decided to read through the Kaplan Strategies book. It was such a great book that I felt that I didn't need the Kaplan course to pass because I am an independent studier and this book has it all. I was running out of time and I looked to online discussion forums as my savior. Well that didn't help! I read all the horror stories and all the tips on how you should and shouldn't study. My anxiety began to grow. I listened to everyone else when they told me I was ready and that I had nothing to worry about. I was so stressed out and had no confidence what so ever but convinced myself that I was ready. Test day number 1: On test day when I got to question 76 I started to panic. So I took a break and told myself "I will pass"! After getting to around question 150 I started to get discouraged. I knew that the more questions I was getting didn't mean I was failing it meant that I was hanging in there. As I continued and the number of questions increased, I started to give up. I stopped critical thinking and just started answering questions to get it over with. When I looked at the clock I had 20 min left and I was only on question 200. I hated everything about myself at that point and ended up running out of time at 245. Who runs out of time?!!! I was so heartbroken like as if someone close to me had passed away. The pain was unbearable but I knew that I needed to continue. I fell into a depression (naturally). I made the mistake of going to the state website and looking up all my friends names to find out that they have all gotten heir licenses. I went through all the stages of grief (like we learned about in school lol), I even started going back to church after a 10 year hiatus. Then I kicked myself in the butt and forced myself to get up, dust myself off, and start again! I then began to do some research on what new study material I needed. I took my own advice and didn't follow anyone else's study plan or advice this time. I didn't want to do Kaplan because I couldn't afford it and their practice questions were so lengthy and exhausting, nothing like NCLEX questions! However I did refer to the Kaplan stragety book a few times. Then a simple Google search brought me to the learning extension. I didn't read a lot of good reviews on allnurses but it was only 50 bucks so I tried it out. When I logged in I thought to myself: "Why didn't I find this review the first time?!" I stared by attempting the review sections, which seemed time consuming since I already knew content so I skipped straight to the review questions. I also used the LaCharity Prioritization, Delegation, and Assignment book since the NCLEX consisted of a lot of those type questions. I studied less than I did the first time, about 2-4 hours a day, 3-4 days a week but only practicing questions (75-120/day). I was relaxed and less anxious but of course not ready to do my retake. I rescheduled my test 3 times before I finally decided on a date. Test day number 2: I was comfortable answering the questions this time because I felt more prepared and less stressed. I answered the questions the same way I practiced with learningext. I reached question 76 once again. I took my break, ate a snack, said a prayer, and then pressed on. I told myself that I would take another break at question 120. I was a bit shaky when I restarted but closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and continued. After about 10 min the test shut off at question 86! I was so relieved, and happy, and grateful, and excited, I just knew I passed! I checked the state website today and there was my RN license number! Sorry this is so lengthy but I had to share!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you learningext! So even though I think that taking others advice is a total no-no I just want to recap what I did: 1. Pray! 2. Don't read negative discussion threads! 3. Only you can determine and devise your own study plan! 4. Learning ext and LaCharity were my best resources! 5. Stay positive! 6. Explore ways to relieve stress/anxiety! 7. Remember the reason why you wanted to be a nurse before the stress, anxiety, and debt! 8. Just because you failed once, twice, three times, it doesn't mean it's the end of the world! "In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure." ---Bill Cosby

I applied in June of 2010 and got in for Spring 2012. I actually should have gotten in Fall 2011 because I originally applied in February of 2010 but they screwed up my transcripts which delayed my application. On the positive side I was able to finish all of my coreq's as I waited. So my wait time was 3 semesters. It's not necessarily a waiting list because they give you a seat right away. It's more like waiting for your start date. They told me that my start date was Fall of 2013 but about 4 months later they gave me the option to start 5 semesters early.

Hello, I attended orientation on Sept. 9th. I was so nervous at first but once I got there I was okay. It was very informative and necessary. The reason for the 830-6pm time frame: They require us to be there at 8:15 to sign in giving everyone time to check in before 9. Don't forget to pay the testing fee for the HESI ahead of time! Make sure you have your finger print card & cpr card (with a copy, front and back of both), and a photo id ready to be handed in. Make sure you have the right cpr card, they informed us that 4 or so students were turned away and had to reapply because they didn't have the correct card Ouch! :smackingf Orientaion starts at 9 and lasts a couple of hours. We were there until about 11:15. Then we took a break until noon and met in the computer commons room to take the HESI. The HESI is what I stressed out about because I thought we had to take the full test. However it only consisted of reading, math, A&P, a personality test, and a learning style test. Cake! But I suggest you brush up on the basics of those 3 subjects if needed. It takes about 2 hours to complete. After that you need to go to one of their suggested drug testing centers to get tested. So you will actually only be at the West campus until about 2-230 pm. That gives you the rest of the day to do your drug test. I believe the latest that one center stays open is 6pm, hence the 6pm end time. Make sure you pay attention to due dates and check your pima email daily! We need to get full physicals and make sure our shots are up to date. They will explain all of this during orientation. Ask lots of questions if you aren't sure about something! Remember no question is stupid! Congratulation to everyone who made it this far! Good luck! See you all January 17th!!!