lpn2rnMay2005

Isn't it a great feeling? I haven't stopped smiling since I found out I passed yesterday !! For those of you who are still waiting to find out, I'm keeping you in my prayers. Those who are waiting to test, prepare but don't freak out. I've found that the main thing that helped me when I was studying was to learn HOW to answer the questions they might ask. I found the Kaplan NCLEX review was helpful, the first section of the book explained how the test worked and how to answer questions. One thing it helped me grasp was how to answer delegation questions and how to step outside of my real world experience and answer the question the way they were wanting me to.

I know people who have taken every question and passed, and I've known people who have taken the minimum amount of questions and passed. Just a story about when I took PN boards.....three of us went together. I had the minimum (85 for PNs), one friend had 89, and the other friend came out two hours later bawling. The electricity had gone out in the middle of her test and they weren't sure if it had saved her answers or not. She was totally freaking out. The lights came back on and she went back in. She had to start over where she left off and ended up taking every question on the test.....and all three of us passed. Hang in there, almost everyone I know comes out of the test thinking they failed. I cried the whole way home from PN boards and just knew I failed. Guess what? I PASSED! After RN boards, my friend and I stopped off for dacquiris and cigarettes (neither of us smoke at all or drink that much, we were just that stressed) and guess what? I PASSED!! So now I am an RN, as of today!! WOO HOO! You will be too!

1. I had 75 questions (NCLEX-RN) 2. I used the Kaplan NCLEX-RN review book, NCLEX-RN 3000 computer disk, and the ERI Pre-RN test book. I opted not to take Hurst review because I did well on the HESI test. 3. Our SON did ERI testing for all five semesters. They are now starting to use HESI and gave us the opportunity to take the HESI exit exam before we graduated. 4. My state (La.) doesn't offer quick results, but you can go online to the SBON website and check licensure status. I got mine in less than 48 hours. 5. I was really uncertain about the test. 6. This was my first attempt at NCLEX-RN, and I PASSED!! (found out today!) . I took NCLEX-PN and passed with minimum questions on the first try. :balloons:

For those of us who have already taken boards, please answer a few questions that might help ease the minds of those who are still waiting to test or for results. I know reading as much as possible about other people's experience helped me feel a little bit better while I waited. 1. How many questions did you take on NCLEX? 2. What study materials did you use? Did you take a test review course? 3. Did your SON offer any testing (ERI, ATI, HESI)? 4. How long did you wait for results of the test, or are you still waiting? 5. What were your thoughts coming out of the test (total disbelief, certainty you had failed, confident you had passed)? 6. Was this your first attempt at NCLEX? Good luck to those who are waiting and ++++ thoughts for those who are waiting on results!!

Mine cut off at 75 and I had several 'check all that apply' questions, lots of prioritization questions, quite a few 'disaster drill' questions, no math. Both of my friends who went yesterday had gtts/min fill-in-the-blank, but I didn't. I passed my NCLEX-PN on the first try with the minimum questions (85), and after that test I felt like I had surely failed, which I didn't. So I'm trying to keep that in perspective, remembering how I felt after LPN boards and knowing that I passed. I just hate waiting....... I'm ready to go to work!

Three of us all went and we all shut off at 75 questions.....hoping that's a good sign since we all did well in school and all did well on HESI. I keep obsessing over stupid mistakes I think I made. Our state does not have the 'quick results' either, but most people get their results within a week or two. So I am just waiting and like others, frantically reading anything I can get a hold of about NCLEX in hopes it will make me feel better!! Good luck to all of you!

NCLEX works by giving you simpler questions when you miss one, so in essence, the more you miss, the more questions you will probably have. I shut off at 85 (7 years ago when I took it) and passed it. I've always been told that that meant that I did really well on it. And I bawled all the way home too, I thought I had failed.

I've been an LPN for almost 8 years now. Trust me, the comments like, "Why don't you go back to school to be a real nurse" and "Why didn't you just become an RN?" were NOT the motivation I needed to actually start my BSN program. The idiot RN DON I worked under who didn't know her @#$ from a hole in the ground was the PERFECT motivation to go back to school! When someone asks that stupid question, say to them, "Well, I wanted to be the best nurse I could be. Being an LPN first allows me to understand the whole spectrum of nursing, not just the fluff they teach you in RN school." I promise that will shut those nay-sayers up. BTW, the best nurses I've worked with or for were LPN's first. :)

I really like this idea. I'm sure we could really play with it to come up with something individualized, like somehow play our school mascot or our school of nursing into it......hmmmm....thanks for getting my creative wheels turning. So much theory and care plans and nursing diagnoses makes for one slow working creative side!!

Keep in mind that this has to be approved by our School of Nursing, so it can't really reflect what you sometimes might have thought about nursing school . We always come up with a t-shirt every semester but our creative student that always comes up with the ideas quit nursing school, so I volunteered to organize the t-shirt this semester. We are in our 4th semester and graduate in May. Our focus this semester is advanced med-surg and psych. Any ideas would be appreciated! :)

That's all I can say..........ewwwwwww! Not only do you have to think about your foot germs spreading around, and who knows what landing on your feet (YUCK), but what sick person do you know that wants to look at someone's nappy feet?!? Gross!!!!

to let me know just exactly where it is that BSNs make 100K!?! I need to know so I can run out and put in an application NOW! There is always a "know it all" in the nursing class. Just snicker to yourself knowing that she will soon get her come-uppance, and it won't be pretty. Even the "know-it all" feels like they know nothing when they graduate (they are just the ones who won't admit it out loud!) :chuckle