ECBui

My first time I took my boards I went straight to the credit card page and failed. My second time I got the "good pop up" and passed. I'm a believer! I checked the minute I got my things from my locker and went right into the bathroom in the building and broke down in tears! Congratulations!

I gained nearly 20 lbs in nursing school. It's almost been a year since I've graduated and I just am now getting back to my weight I started before nursing school. It's hard to keep good eating habits and exercise regimens in school. Too many exams, clinical hours and studying to fit in a full time student schedule. So something quick was always the answer for me. Probably didn't help my school and where I did clinics were close to food courts.

Wow... House keeping and food services............................

The job market as an LVN or RN is tough anywhere. I'm from the Bay Area and received my license recently. I was lucky enough to find a job two months after passing my boards. But I was obsessively looking for jobs and putting out resume and cover letters like crazy.

I found a job after applying to 37 places and two months of agonizing interviews and call backs. Depends on location and luck I feel like. Cover letter is key!

I live in San Francisco Bay Area (California) as a CNA that was my wage. Now as an LVN I am earning more as a new grad and am able to work with a team of nurses and love the experience and lessons its showing me along the way! (:

YIKES. That salary is INSANE. When I worked as a CNA for two years I was getting $15-17/hr. But I do agree the LVN/LPN route is a great choice. You work with RNs and the rest of the medical field as an LVN and get to see and experience different aspects of nursing. YOU ARE HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION!

If you're looking for a higher paying job to hold you off till you're able to get into an RN program then becoming an LVN is a suitable route. I too was a CNA but chose to get my LVN along the way because I could not be a CNA till I became an RN. The pay is decent enough to hold you off till you're able to make your way to your goals. $9.50/hr is a ridiculous salary for being a CNA and the hard labor you go through, what state do you live in?

I used an older version of the Pearson book that did come with the CD, I think the online one is the same! Best of luck to you and thank you! (:

My name is up today. I looked this morning and its active :) now to just wait for the card in the mail!

How soon did you guys get your card in the mail after passing NCLEX? I took mine 12/10, passed and sent out the money order for the official card license the following week. Ugh, I'm so anxious to go back to work. I am NOT used to having this much free time on my hands!

Yes just the CD and book, I read the nurses notes pamphlet that came with the book and read the section I was doing questions from before taking the 100 question quizzes. Then my last day of studying I combined all categories and scored high 60-mid 70s on the quizzes Good luck this weekend!

Great tips!

ALSO TIPS FOR STUDYING: 1.DO NOT over do it. If you're cramming 10 hours study days 5 to 6 days a week, SLOW DOWN. My first time studying for the NCLEX I was over loaded and didn't know what to do with myself. Essentially my second time studying I probably studied 5 to 6 hours a day for a week before my actual exam and really focusing on the questions that the Pearson CD offered. 2.DO NOT TOUCH A SINGLE BOOK OR STUDY MATERIAL THE DAY BEFORE YOUR EXAM. Even though the day before it was all I could think about having a day off and doing what made me happy most really helped get me amped for the day to come. YOU NEED YOUR ENERGY SO SAVE IT 3.What ever you do do not panic. My classmate and I set up a study schedule for the week before, each day we took one subject and studied just that the days we studied. So it didn't feel like we over crammed our minds and being all over the spectrum with nursing. 4.READ THE QUESTION. My entire time in the LVN program so many nurses and my instructors would always tell us to REALLY READ the question and I never understood until the first time I failed. The board asks you questions that fall into the main categories. Yeah the questions are on specific subcategories but the answer you choose can fall into infection control, risk reduction etc. UNDERSTAND these main block categories and how it should be answered. Pearson book did a great job if outlining this. TIPS FOR THE EXAM *USE THE EAR BUDS THEY PROVIDE YOU! It blocks out the annoying buzz silence makes when the room is so still or other people near you tapping away on their keyboards. My first time taking it I didn't use them and I could barely focus. I used the ear buds the second time and I could literally just hear my own voice in my mind reading the questions, then options then going through the nursing process to answer them. Seriously, huge difference. *Passed questions 85? And still going? Take a freakin break! The first time I didn't take a single break even when the computer offered. And I believe it just discouraged me even more and made me not focus on the questions because the number of questions were getting higher. The second time around when I reached 86 I told myself if I reach 120 I'd take a break. And I did just that, grabbed a cup of water walked to the bathroom and took a deep breath. When they brought me back to the computer I was ready to take on the rest of 85 questions if that what it took to prove I was worthy of being a nurse! *breakfast? All I had was coffee. My body is naturally not into breakfast since I could remember so not eating was norm to me. DO WHAT IS NATURAL FOR YOU IN THE MORNINGS. If you're a 8 course breakfast meal woman or man do so before the exam, if not then don't. The whole point is to do your normal routine before the exam as possible to make you more calm when you sit in front of that computer. TIPS FOR AFTER THE EXAM All hell breaks loose after that, do what you want haha. I grabbed my things as soon as they checked me out and went to the bathroom right down the hall to do the PVT. Then crying when I got the good pop up as a woman in a stall awkwardly waited for me to leave to finish her business. Hope this helps!

Thank you so much &an early congrats when you graduate and all the best of luck for your NCLEX!

Hey guys, I just received my letter in the mail today and it's official that I am an LVN! Let me start off by saying thank you to those who's given me encouraging words on this forum, even in times of doubt I found a lot of comfort from this site to connect and relate to all of you! I passed NCLEX with my SECOND TRY. My school was complete GARBAGE, and told us the exam would be everything BUT WHAT IT REALLY WAS. So my first time I failed I received the letter a week later, I took the page where it shows where you were almost to passing standard and where you were below and I took that to study THOSE SECTIONS over again. I sent in the check and re-application that very day so when I had received my ATT for the second time I would be ready to schedule the following week. My ATT was approved to be scheduled any date after 12/08. I took the exam that following monday (12/10) Both times it took me to 205 questions only the second time around I cracked the code on how to analyze and answer the questions on what they were REALLY asking. I was lucky enough to have an amazing study buddy throughout this entire time in which we pushed each other to finish what we both had started. She too passed on her second time. DO NOT GIVE UP HOPE. I've read on here many people take it 6 to 9 times and still refuse to give up, keep that spirit alive. I was raised by a single hard working mother who I've only known to work the minimum of AT LEAST 2 jobs since she came to this country, growing up was never luxurious and my mother sold what she had left of her jewelry to get me through nursing school. I was a trouble child growing up and high school and afterwards didnt make it any easier for her. I had an epiphany to finally get my life straight and wanted a career helping those mentally, physically and all around spiritually. I am a high school drop out and I chose this field to touch lives as my mother has for me. My mother is the best nurse I will ever know and meet because she did what she could to make me well despite the rough patches we've had and as nurses we pave that road for patients even if they don't think we're helping them. In the long run, we heal and I pray the next generation of nurses has heart and passion to make this field excel beyond limits of human health and prosperity. Materials I used for NCLEX: PEARSON MARY HOGAN-PN BOOK &CD-ROM(The nurse's note pamphlet helped A TON, I would read the section I was doing questions from before doing the quizzes)

It seems like you've seen too much material and over loaded your brain to feed your anxiety. I know that a great tip that helped me was I chose to stick to ONE book and one book only. If you over see too many references it'll feel overwhelming causing the day of your exam to feel like a shock wave of too much knowledge and not enough confidence. You can only review so much

Don't get discouraged! Believe in yourself and imagine yourself passing that exam, best of luck to you! Thank you and happy holidays to you as well!

With questions like that it's hard to feel confident, but that's where you use your nursing strategy to take down the exam! Don't get discourage, review each client needs subject till you feel comfortable to achieve higher scores! I graduated in May and my family too grew impatient on when I'd come out with the golden ticket. But it's better to tell them you need more time than to go through another exam feeling not as ready as you should! &most importantly which ever day you choose to test DO NOT STUDY THE DAY BEFORE. RELAX, we are nurses, we've been through clinics and the book work. I read somewhere on here the exam is 5% knowledge and 95% faith, believe in yourself and trust in the hard work and sweat you put into this WILL pay off

My last two quizzes I took before I took the NCLEX I received a 68 and 72. Since I failed the first time I learned its not over all the percentage that gets you the good pop up its the individual categories the exam scores you on. My best advice is to analyze the question, what is it EXACTLY asking you. ABCs and Maslows were a KEY for me to figure and differentiate who needed to be seen first or what intervention was appropriate. Hope that helps a little bit! Also when you do questions from what ever program you're reviewing from READ THE RATIONALES they can give you insight as to WHY that was the answer!

Those tips are awesome for the exam! I hope everyone who's up coming tests are just around the corner will take this advice from a true vet!