sara42975

Congratulations!!

Congratulations!!!

Right on. Don't let anxiety get you tripped up. Answer each option individually. Trust your instincts. I also found that the questions on the actual NCLEX are not as difficult. No one's trying to trick you-- just testing what you know. Good luck on your test!

Relax. I searched high and low for someone who got the good pop-up but found out they failed. Doesn't happen. Congrats! You passed!

Oh dear. There are countless differences between the role of an RN and an LPN and if you had taken those RN classes you mentioned, you would know. The actual nursing courses are different -- has nothing to do with college core courses. LPN's don't teach, assess, or delegate to other nurses. It is not legally within there scope of practice. Many nursing programs offer abbreviated courses as part of the "LPN to RN option." Perhaps you should look into something like this if you're interested in becoming an RN.

I understand your pain. I took the NCLEX-RN on Friday and less than two hours later was trying the pvt trick. I got the good pop-up. I paid for quick results today and found out it was true. I did pass. But the past couple of days have been hard. I have reviewed many threads (as mentioned in the above post) on allnurses and other web sites but still could not trust the info completely. I was looking for even one poster who got the good pop-up and then found out they failed. Although there have been a couple of posts about getting to the CC page then finding out they passed, no one out there reports getting the good pop-up but failing. Know why? It doesn't happen! Try to relax. And rejoice in the fact that it's over! Congratulations! You passed!

Practice! You said you have Saunders so start with that. When you find a weak area or something you've completely forgotten, stop what your doing and go back to do a full review. Once you've git a good start, start adding some other types of study questions. I found the Kaplan testing readiness exams free online. They were much harder than Saunders and ended up being much harder than nclex as well. Don't rely on strategy alone; you've got to know the content. There are no tricks to passing. Study and practice as much as you can until your test date. There are also some good study guides on this web site which are very useful. Good luck!

You can't study too much (although my mother tried to convince me of this, telling me I was going to get confused and forget everything). There is no trick to pass to test and replace knowledge and being able to use it. I graduated in December and took a review course. Then I studied pretty much day in and day out for one month straight. Practice questions help you learn to use whats already in your head, so practice, practice, practice!! Eat, breathe, and sleep NCLEX!

I suggest using a variety of different study tools. The review programs tend to be a little redundant and relying on "strategy" to pass will not help. You've got to know the content. Using a variety helps you to stop thinking only "strategy" and start thinking "what do I KNOW about this?" I took the Hurst review at my school and didn't really get much from it. I had the Saunders question bank, Lippencott's NCLEX 4000, and a Prentice Hall review book/CD. Then I came across the Kaplan tests online for free and that really was my favorite. The questions were much harder than the others, and harder than I saw on the NCLEX. Good luck studying and do lots of it!!!:)

I also took mine today. I got maybe 10 SATA's and a dozen or so priority questions. Seemed like more meds than I would have liked. Also seemed like alot of teaching and diet questions. Got the blue screen at 75 questions. My last question seemed easy to me and I know I got it right. Confuses me, either way. I did get the good pop-up though and can't seem to quit checking it, as if could change. But you with all those SATA's and priority questions should feel confident! I am sure you did great! Waiting for an update...

At this point, the best thing you can do for yourself is PRAY! The exam content is a crap-shoot. As I am sure your experience has shown you, you cannot predict what you will be tested on. And there is a gazillion topics for those tricky testers to pick from. With so little time left before you test, get a short review from one of the posts on this website (as others have metioned) and try to focus on some basic content. I think one of the biggest downfalls of the study programs out there is that they focus too much on strategy. You cannot pass based on strategy alone. Therefore, you must know content! You know you can do this... and you KNOW IT, otherwise you would not be still be at it. Try to think positively, figure out a way to relax, completely read the questions and understand what it's asking you. AND TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS! Don't talk yourself into a wrong answer when you KNOW the right one. The test is not designed for you to get 100%; so when you start to think you're not doing well because you get a topic you're unfamiliar with, remind yourself that you only have to get more right than wrong. **Another thing: after reading the question, before you read the answer choices, stop and write down on your little white board everything you know about the topic. Even if it's only one thing, that one thing may be the very thing you needed to know in order to answer. Don't read the answer choices before you've got your brain fixed on the topic; the answers can distract you from what you already know about the subject. Hope this helps some. Get a good night's sleep and eat a good BF -- will help you focus. I applaud you for not giving up! VERY COMMENDABLE! Some of these posts here need to consider some basic nursing principles before they reply with such answers as "maybe nursing wasn't meant for you." That's a bunch of bull. Keep trying, no matter what! You worked very hard to get through school and you can do this!

Oh what a day! And it's only just passed noon! I don't know if I had more anxiety before taking the test or if I have more now. 75 questions, maybe 10 or so SATA's, a dozen priority, seemed like alot of meds (which are the ones I dread the most), also seemed like lots of diet questions. I used the ear plugs and tried to use the "noise-canceling" device, but had to take them off because the pounding of my heart was distracting me. The worst thing is, it was not as difficult as I expected it to be. From what I gathered from other posts, people who leave thinking they did well usually don't. Scares me! And the last question was a simple question on the nitro-patch. :/ But... I got the good pop-up! I am trying to trust the thousands of posts on this site about the accuracy of this, but it is difficult. I studied using a wide variety of qbanks and review books. They all seemed to have their own theme. After taking so many Saunders or Lippencott questions, you get the rhythm of it and can figure out what they are looking for in the answer, sort of. I found this to be a little bit of a disadvantage because I couldn't tell if I was really gaining anything from it. Then I came across the Kaplan testing readiness tests online and was amazed at how much more difficult they seemed! They were much more analytical and really took thought and concentration. I wish I had gone to Kaplan earlier (our school promoted the Hurst Review - which I got very little out of), and would recommend Kaplan to anyone studying for the test. I thought the Kaplan questions were much more difficult than the NCLEX ones. The only disadvantage: no SATA's (at least not on the readiness exams). So now the wait begins to see if the PVT really does work. BTW: Does anyone know if the quick results in 48H counts the weekends? Will I be able to know on Sunday or Tuesday? Tips for future test-takers: #1 Control your anxiety! I am not normally a nervous test taker and did not anticipate the feelings I had leading up to today! I had told myself that the day before I was not going to study furiously, but I could not help myself. And then I did so poorly on my test reviews yesterday because I had such a hard time concentrating that I began to doubt myself. Don't fall into this trap! Plan for ways to relax and stick to it no matter what! I seriously was worried that internal cranial bleeding d/t aneurysm would get the best of me! #2 Use a variety of sources to study. Some people say to pick a good review and stick with it, but I disagree. Sticking with only strategies to answer questions will not necessarily get you a passing grade! I think the NCLEX people know what products are out there and aren't going to give a bunch of questions that you can use this with. At least my NCLEX questions were not like this. I think using several products helps you learn to analyze your choices a little better. Plus, repeated questions during those exams inaccurately inflate your overall test scores which can be misleading. #3 When you find an area that you are weak in, don't procrastinate! Stop what you're doing and go back to the books and review it until you completely understand the topic. There are so many aspects of care that you can be tested on that you can't rely on little notes written on specific aspects of patient care to help you really learn it. So, not sure if this makes much since, but it's helps reduce my anxiety to share it. I think I'll go have a glass of wine, now. I am not on MAO-I's or taking aspirin and I have no known liver problems that I know of...

@ RnfromUK My point exactly. If in real life my patient had developed a renal problem and i just flushed him with 1000 ml of fluid, i would be MOST CONCERNED! obviously I would EXPECT to see fluid overload, but a patient with a functioning kidney should be able compensate for the fluid imbalance. However if you add oliguria to the mix, then you have a real problem and would be MOST CONCERNED. In real life. But this is the not -- its NCLEX. I've got to remind myself -- Don't read into the question or think in terms of real life. If the answer choice has nothing to do with the information in the question, don't try to make it fit. :/

so the key here is... only pick answers that rate directly to information in the question and don't look for other problems. and don't think in terms of real life scenarios. Thanks for you input. wish me luck... 18 hours and counting...

So... studying for NCLEX... which is FRIDAY! I've been reviewing Kaplan questions and came across one I thought I'd share. "After abdominal surgery, a client is admitted from the recovery room with intravenous fluid infusing at 100 cc/h. One hour later, the nurse finds the clamp wide open and notes that the client has received 850 cc. The nurse would be MOST concerned by which ot the following? A CVP reading or 12 and bradycardia. Tachycardia and hypotension. Dyspnea and oliguria. Rales and tachycardia." Here's my logic. Automatically I think fluid overload. CVP (normal) and bradycardia wouldn't be expected, so scratch #1. Tachycardia in #2 fits but hypotension does not (scratch that). That leaves "dyspnea and oliguria" and "rales and tachycardia." Oliguria would not be a sign, necessary, of "fluid overload," but the question doesn't ask "what would you expect to find?" It asks "what would be the most concerning?" As I see it, rales and tachy would be expected with the patient, but if I realized the patient I just gave 850 ml of fluid to in an hour also had renal insufficiency or failure of some kind, I would be much more "CONCERNED." Well the correct answer, according to Kaplan, was #4. The rational on number #3 said "does not contain information relevant to fluid overload." I didn't interpret the question that way though. Am I overanalyzing? How can I avoid making these same mistakes on NCLEX? Any thoughts?