MultiTasker33

Congrats on passing your exam. I believe I am looking at the Bronze Package that you referred to, however, it is $125/month & not $65. Is this the correct item? Thank you.

Hello all! I took the NCLEX in February of 2016. The monitor shut off after exactly 75 questions and my stomach fell to the floor. However, even though I felt completely defeated, I found out two days later that I passed the exam. Now that I have had some time to enjoy passing and reflect upon my process, I wanted to share my experience with this community in effort to help future test takers in any way that I can. The number one thing that I recommend to anyone taking on the NCLEX adventure is effective anxiety/stress management. This helped me and many of my fellow students tremendously. The NCLEX is more often than not a stressful and anxiety ridden experience. That being said, not keeping a clear and positive mind set can work against you tremendously. I was working as a graduate nurse intern almost immediately upon graduating nursing school. So I was trying to balance a full time job along with studying. It became evident very quickly that I was going to need to get a grip on the mental aspect of things or the result was going to be a negative spiral. I began utilizing positive self-talk, deep breathing, and guided imagery about twice per day. I really do believe that too many people shrug off how effective these tactics can be. Wake up and tell yourself that you know your stuff and are going to pass this exam, despite what doubts or fears you may have going on in your mind. After a study session when you're feeling drained, take a few deep breaths and imagine yourself hiking up a mountain or spending a day on the beach. Do whatever works for YOU, but find something that you can rely on while preparing for the exam, and something that you can use during the exam if need be. Alrighty, now for the actual exam/prep. I used the Hurst review. I felt that the thing that helped the most was the 6 practice exams of 125 questions that are provided. I don't want to go in to a big advertisement for Hurst so I'll keep it short. I liked their review because the information was very organized and compact, which made studying easier. They also set up their practice exams to look identical to the actual NCLEX, so when you go in and test you feel slightly more comfortable. Hurst is a content review and might not work for everyone. You know yourself and how you most effectively learn, so pick something that suites you. Several of my friends used Kaplan, and several of my friends used random NCLEX books and websites and just did the question/rationale style practice. Whatever you end up choosing, make a schedule and stick to it. You have graduated nursing school, or are close to doing so, which makes it that much harder to continue focusing on studying. That being said, don't overdo the studying either. Do a little at a time. My max per day studying ended up being about 4-5 hours. Any more time than that and the information was going in one ear and out the other. The questions on the exam are not going to be cookie cutter. For example, you are probably not going to have a question that says: "The patient is hypokalemic. Which food should the patient eat? A)Bananas B) Cheeseburgers C) Corn D) Spaghetti. You are going to think that every answer option on there is right/wrong. That's ok! Just slow down, re-read, and think. Everyone feels the same way that you do. Prepare with practice questions and read the rationales! You will be ok. You know more than you think. After the exam is over, prepare for the wave of people telling you that you passed. Their intentions are good, but nothing anyone says is going to make you feel better. No one comes out of the exam thinking that they did well. But please, despite what you feel/think, just try to do something fun for the next couple of days until you get your results. I made myself sick trying to recall questions and looking up the answers. I do not suggest this. I also do not suggest the "Pearson trick" that you hear about constantly. TWO of my close friends did the trick and got a false response. They spent the next day being down in the dumps for no reason. Recap for anyone who didn't want to read this big long rant: 1) Anxiety/stress management- don't blow it off. Start thinking positively and finding ways to management your mind now. 2) Find a review style that works for you. There are tons of programs and different ways to do things, but you know yourself better than anyone. Don't feel pressured by others. Do you! 3) You are going to feel like your intestines fell out of your body when the exam shuts off. This is normal and there is very little that you can do to fix it. Try not to go back and look up answers to questions that you remember. Just enjoy the next two days as much as possible until you are able to get your results. Don't use the pearson trick unless you are completely ok with the possibility of getting a false answer. 4) You got this! Feel free to message me with any questions! Good luck!

Congrats! I graduated a couple weeks ago and am scheduled to take my exam on Feb. 23rd. I just finished up the seated Hurst Review and have access to all of the online content as well. I have been going over the Hurst information and doing practice questions from a Lippincott book with thousands of practice questions. I know that you mentioned Kaplan and other practice banks, so I was just curious on your thoughts about my study set up. I use Hurst and do 50-150 practice question per day, usually about 4-6 days per week. Does this seem like a recipe for success? Any thoughts/info is appreciated.

Think of it as professional growth. No matter where you go or what you do, you're always going to have those people who complain complain complain. Don't let it bring down your vibe. Do you! Either distance yourself as needed, or find a way to interject a positive response to their negativity. It can be frustrating, but learning to deal with it now will only help you in the future. Also, don't be afraid to speak up! You don't want to be aggressive or catty, but maybe just say something casual like, "Why so much negativity guys? Let's bring some positivity into this mix." Hang in there and do your own thing. People will notice that you're not on the negativity train and be more drawn to you.

I had the exact same question before I started nursing school. I ended up taking patho last. From my personal experience, finishing physiology (AP1&2) prior to patho was helpful, but microbiology was not a major key to my success in patho. My patho class focused on diseases, their risk factors, which anatomical abnormalities cause what issue, etc. Knowing about eukaryote vs. prokaryote, permeable membranes, etc. did not impact my ability to perform in my patho class. That is just my personal experience. Keep up the hard work!

I use a giant office calendar that has plenty of room to write on. I then choose a different color highlighter to represent each class. I highlight all major things on the calendar (ex: tests, clinical paperwork, papers), and then put the "smaller" things in my handheld planner. The bottom line is to find a way of staying organized that works for you. Nursing school work constantly escalates, if you stay ahead and you will do great. I also use the 50/10 rule for study sessions to avoid burning out. Study 50 minutes, take a 10 minute break, repeat. One last thought, really try not to look at the big picture too much. At first I found myself with a list of 500 things to do per day, which made me feel overwhelmed constantly. Over time I learned to make a list of the 5 most important things for the day, then add more as I complete them. By doing this, you will get more done and you're not staring at a scroll all day. Find a way to stay organized, try not to procrastinate, remember to take a few breaks, and enjoy what you're learning! You got this!

How many classes can you fail during your program? And what semester are you in?

I had chemistry with an instructor who was a total genius. He was so smart that he ended up teaching the material at a level WAY over our heads. On top of that, it was a summer course so it was jammed into a shorter time period. I wish there was a simple study method to suggest, but for me it came down to actual study time. Chemistry required extra time and dedication to achieve results. First off, since the material from lecture was not helpful I went to the schools tutoring center. He would teach something, and like you said, it might as well have been Chinese. Getting a different prospective from another teacher/student tutor made a big difference. Second, I utilized YouTube A LOT. I ended up spending 4-5 solid hours per day working and re-working the material over and over. I know this is kind of a generic 'study more!' response, but this is what worked for me. Extra study time, tutoring, and YouTube videos. Good luck!

I vote no as well. Focus all of your energy into getting really good grades in A&P, Chemistry (especially if it's organic. You'll need all the time you can get for that), and Micro. You will get a lot of medical terminology in your prerequisites, pathophysiology, and nursing courses. I didn't take it and I am glad that I chose to focus my efforts elsewhere. Everyone's program is different, but not taking it hasn't put me at a disadvantage at all. Good luck!

I bought a giant office calendar. It's very plain and you can get them at walmart or any office supplies store. I hang it on my wall with every single test date for the semester highlighted in a specific color for each class. For example, pharmacology is always pink, health assessment is always orange, med surg is always yellow, etc. Then I use a hand held planner for assignments, meetings, papers, etc. I also write the tests in the planner again. The more I see the test dates the easier it is for me to gauge how much time I need for studying. Personally, I use my phone for everything and I need something that is separate and specifically for organizing school work. Hope this helps!

I am currently in nursing school and I asked this exact question before I began as well. Every school is different so it is kind of hard to pinpoint a good answer. From my experience so far, I would recommend reviewing the basic concepts of heart, the major parts of the brain such as cranial nerves/what certain lobes contribute too, and a general idea of what the organs/systems do (ie: the kidneys filter, the liver detoxifies and metabolizes, etc). I wouldn't get too detailed, but rather have a general understanding of the basics. Speaking from my experience with my school, it has all been tied together. For example, in pharmacology when we learned about loop diuretics, the instructor did not start referring to medulla, renal papilla, interlobular artery, etc. As long as you understand that the kidneys filter, remove wastes and fluids, help control blood pressure, etc. the rest will all be tied in later. If you have some extra time to do a quick review of the body systems for an hour a day or something, then I think that would be beneficial. But overall I would not focus on relearning a ton of stuff. I have found that I actually know a lot more than I thought I did. I would try to relax and enjoy your life before you dive into the nursing journey.

Unfortunately, the school isn't going to say, 'what did the instructor do wrong to cause those 6 students to fail?'...the school is going to say, 'what did the 14 students who passed the course do differently than those you didn't pass?' I hate that it has to be that way and I hope it works out. You've already gotten this far, hang in there!

I dealt with a similar situation a year and a half ago. I had no idea what I wanted to do and the only thing that mattered to me was working full time and living on my own. At one point my GPA got REALLY low and seemed hopeless. Eventually I snapped out of it, job shadowed, and fell in love with nursing. As a start, I went back to school and started retaking "universal" classes that are needed for most nursing programs (Chemistry, math, english, etc). I looked into any and all nursing schools that I was interested in and found out exactly what their prerequisite list was. Some were attainable and some were not. Some nursing schools take your GPA from the school you are transferring from and don't look at anything else, while other schools take your GPA based off of ONLY their specific prerequisite list. For example, my GPA at the school I was transferring from was a 1.9, but based off of my future nursing school's prerequisite list, my GPA was a 3.75. Honestly, all programs have their own requirements and the key is going to be finding out exactly what each school needs from you. I was not eligible for an accelerated program, but I was eligible for the BSN entry level program. I am now in the midst of nursing school and obtaining my BSN. My advice would be to not get discouraged, look into an entry level BSN program rather than an accelerated program, and find a school that doesn't strictly look at your transfer GPA. It all seems so overwhelming, but take it one step at a time and it will work out faster than you think.

My original route was pre-med with a BA in microbiology. I started the appropriate classes and was presented with an opportunity to job shadow a nurse anesthetist in the process. After getting to physically be in the operating room and ER was very eye opening. The doctors perform the actual surgeries, but the nurses are what makes everything work/flow efficiently. The nurses were involved in anything and everything you could think of. Pre-op, intra-op, post-op, scrubbing in with the doctor, administering meds, interacting with the patient and the family, etc. I loved what I saw so I did some more research and decided that nursing was a much more appropriate fit. Besides loving the nursing role, another major consideration to take in is that doctors must obtain a bachelors degree, take the MCAT, and get accepted into medical school. Then, they must successfully complete four years of medical school. After completion they much choose a specialty, which is an additional four years of training in that area. Also, once a doctor chooses their specialty, in order to switch to a different specialty, they have to go back and complete additional YEARS of re-training in that area. With nursing, you can make lateral moves all over the place. You could start out in the ER, switch to orthopedics, switch to labor and delivery, to surgical, to critical care, to flight nurse, to trauma, to school nurse, to CDC, to pediatrics, to administration....the list goes on and on. Not to mention you can also continue your education into advanced practice nursing such as practitioner or nurse anesthetist. When I first made the switch to nursing some people would jokingly say some comments like, "I couldn't do that. I don't want to spend my life changing bed pans." That old school view of nursing is no longer accurate. Medical advancements demand that nurses perform at a higher level. You will be dressing wounds, inserting catheters, running central lines, running crash carts, performing triage, administering meds, saving lives. Whatever you end up choosing, just make sure that you have a full understanding of what lies ahead. Both have their pros and cons and you find one that fits you. I'm glad that you are going to job shadow both because that helped me a lot in my decision. If possible, try to shadow a nurse that isn't strictly "doctors office" style. Getting to see a nurse anesthetist, surgical nurses, and ER nurses was very beneficial. This was just my personal experience, but I hope it is helpful. Best of luck!

Tinker, I know that prerequisites are required for a reason. I just wanted to know how much and to what extent I will be expected to know previous information once I start.