nclexhelper

Hi! I too was scrambling in a sea of resources and no real "plan" two weeks before my exam so I can definitely empathize. My advice would be to DEFINITELY do the PDA questions and review rationales for those. The 5-6 days before your exam do at least 100 questions per day and dedicate yourself to reviewing rationales - that's where the learning takes place! Getting used to answering questions will make exam day much less worrisome as it will feel like you're just taking another practice test (well...almost haha). I too had the fear of failing weighing heavily on my mind. Tackling the NCLEX is done best with as little anxiety as possible. I know it's silly, but start doing some affirmations, and every time you catch yourself in doubt, turn it into a positive thought. You've made it through nursing school, and this is the last hurdle you have to get over. I think you'll do great!

I had a similar experience the week and half before I was supposed to sit for my exam! I started freaking myself out due to the low scores I was getting on Kaplan so I understand what you're going through. My advice would be to just do questions and review rationales from here on out and spend some time focusing on stuff like EKGs and popular hot spot/image type questions. If you can review as many SATAs as possible, do so because unfortunately you'll get thrown a fair amount of those. I had so many SATA questions that when my exam shut off at 76 questions I was slightly sure that I'd failed until I got home and got the good pop up haha. Taking the NCLEX-RN felt like working on Kaplan's QBank so my advice would be to stick to Kaplan. I know it's probably not the greatest advice but seriously, don't spend too much time covering pharm. The meds I was thrown weren't even in recognizable drug classes so I was guessing blindly and I still passed. I have every confidence that you will pass as well!

I used Kaplan and I was pleasantly surprised by how similar the format of both the questions and the actual user interface was. Taking the NCLEX-RN felt like taking a QTrainer. Having that similarity lessened so much anxiety and that's really what you want to strive to have for yourself when taking this exam. Anyway, I passed in 76 questions on 1/31/14. I would definitely recommend Kaplan to anyone preparing for the NCLEX. Someone also mentioned that Saunders was too easy - take that advice, it really is. With Kaplan you get concentrated content (+ lecture videos) and 1300 QBank questions that will test you at the highest level of bloom's taxonomy. So much more than Saunders will offer you. Also, prepare for a lot of SATA questions. I think over half of my exam was SATA and then I had a fair amount of prioritization as well. Lacharity's PDA book helped me immensely in that area. I recommend a brief prep with EKGs and knowing what meds would treat what dysrhythmia. The EKG strips weren't just simple recall - they more so involved analysis and intervention. When looking at SATA questions, try to apply the "true or false" principle to the topic of the question being asked.

Unfortunately I don't. :/ I recommend making flashcards from the information or just reading it from your PC/Tablet.

No problem! Good luck to you as you prepare! :)

Take your exam! With those scores I think you're definitely ready! I had similar QTrainer scores and my QBank average was %54 with only about %25 done. Make sure you take the alternate item format quiz and sample test 3 for priority and review the rationales.

You will definitely pass! My QBank averages were lower than yours and I passed in 76 questions yesterday. Be prepared for A LOT of SATA questions. I'd recommend that you also take and review Sample Test 3 since it's all priority focused!

I think mid 60's sounds great for Hurst! I personally didn't use it but I have a few friends who passed with Hurst the first time. It seems like you know your content so just keep plugging away at doing questions. Practice your alternate format items - I think I had over 30 SATA on my exam so I thought I'd failed for sure until I got home and saw the 'good pop up'. Good luck to you!

Oh no! I didn't even know that it was password protected since I didn't try printing it.

I didn't average out my scores but it was laughable how poorly I did on some chapters. Just remember that as long as you're reviewing rationales, you're learning how to answer those questions correctly the next time around. Also, you're more likely to remember something if you got the question wrong anyway!

Congratulations!

According to everyone I know, the PVT works. I took the exam this morning, drove home and tried it out, and I got the good pop up so I'm feeling pretty comfortable. I think you definitely passed. Congratulations!