whit9448

Hello, everyone. I graduated almost 2 years ago with my LVN. I immediately started working at a LTC facility and have been there ever since. I usually enjoy my job and love my residents, however, I have one thing that holds me back from so many things--I stutter. I have had a speech problem ever since I could speak. Having trouble communicating with people seriously feels like I am imprisoned in my own body. I feel like I have no voice, and that I am worthless and incompetent. I truly believe that only people who stutter know this dreadful feeling that I am talking about. I have my most trouble when speaking on the telephone or in a very stressful situation (ex: sending someone to the ER, calling EMS, having a patient fall and injure themselves). There is nothing more discouraging than to have a doctor laugh at you when attempting to call in some lab results, or to hear a receptionist at the doctors office lean over to her friend and say "oh god, it's her again." I have actually considered quitting my job due to so much stress and anxiety that my speech brings on, but I have been taking speech therapy for 6 months now and it has somewhat helped me to cope with it better. One of the most helpful things that my therapist has told me is that my stutter does NOT define me, it may be something that I have to deal with, but it is not who I am. I am also going to ask my doctor for an anti-anxiety medication, to hopefully help me to relax and be more fluent. So, my question is this--are there any fellow nurse stutterers out there? I feel so alone and like I am the only one who has this issue. I know that obviously isn't realistic, so please, anyone who has a stutter or knows someone who does, let me know what you think about this subject. How does it affect your JOB and life in general? How do you cope with it? Any advice?

Hello everyone! I took my nclex pn on Monday, Feb 13. I just received my results that I passed and am thinking the good lord with all that I have. I graduated in December and failed my exit Hesi by 4 points. After that happened, I had very little hope that I would pass on my first try. However, after much praying and thinking, I decided that instead of feeling defeated that I would use it as motivation instead. I studied for 2 months solid and did anywhere from 20-200 questions everyday. I used the allnurses study guide, Hurst book and Kaplan strategies book--that's it! I didn't attend any live reviews, I didn't pay $400 dollars for an online review. All I did was read over content and do A LOT of questions! I also found a link to the Kaplan trainers and used those for questions as well. I think that I am living proof that practice and prayer, not using 845739 books or spending tons of money on an online review, is successful. As far as my test--I got 165 questions. The majority was priority, pt. teaching, infection control and medications. I had about 5 SATA'S. I can honestly say that I thought I got about 3 correct and knew MAYBE one med. I just tried to go with the safest answer as possible. By the way, I walked outta there instantly feeling like I failed, I pretty much cried all afternoon (everyone will feel this way! don't worry!). I checked the PVT about 5 hours later and although I got the "good" pop-up, I still just couldn't believe it. So yes, the PVT was reliable in my case if anyone was wondering. The moral of my story is that if I can pass this thing, YOU can too. Believe in yourself and believe that God WILL carry you through! If He got you this far, He's not gonna let you down. http://www.slideshare.net/thinkrn/kaplan-nclex-sample-exam-5 My grades on the Kaplan trainers were anywhere from 55-76%, if anyone needs a comparison. Good luck to everyone taking this test!!

Has anyone found the Hurst review especially helpful for the NCLEX? Was anyone really prepared by using Hurst? I'm using the book and want to know if it's worth my time. Any input is great.

83sunshine, I'm using Hurst too. Did you do the online review or book? I'm just doing the book. What specific topics should I focus on with Hurst? Please let me know :) congrats on passing!!

Hello everyone! I am scheduled to take the NCLEX PN on February 13. I took my exit Hesi in December and failed with a 72%. I have been studying everyday since then but still feel really unprepared. I have being using the Hurst review book for about 6 weeks and am now going through the 1,000 questions for the second time. I have also been taking some Kaplan practice tests online and have been averaging 50% on them. I just printed off the Allnurses review and will be reading that intently until my test day. Does anyone have any advice regarding what topics to really focus on? A classmate told me that her NCLEX test was a wide variety of things, that nothing really stuck out to her. This is crunch time for me so I would appreciate any advice from people who have already taken it. Also, has anyone on here used the Hurst review book and really noticed that it helped? Please let me know. Thanks!