Sabrina,RN

This is just my two cents. It sounds like you have studied a lot. I believe you have a vast majority of nursing content in your head. I think I would just lay off the content and only do questions. My best friend who has been a nurse for eight years told me I needed to lay off the content and practice questions because I needed to be prepared for nclex types of questions. I did just that and passed the NCLEX on the first attempt. So my suggestion to you would be: *Lay off the content for a while and do lots of practice questions so you can get used to them. Kaplan's Q bank would be great because those question types are most like the NCLEX of all the review materials I used...(I used, Kaplan, ATI, Saunders, Lippincott, and a couple others I can't remember) *Make sure you get plenty of sleep the night before *Eat breakfast before going. Also, drink some coffee on the way or something with a little sugar and caffeine to help charge you up and get you going *Stick with your first mind!! Answer the question and move on quickly...you don't want to talk yourself out of why the answer you chose is now wrong *Once you make it to question number 76 on the NCLEX, take a break...cause that means your still in the game and this can be your time to stretch and allow your brain to relax and regroup for the remaining time you're testing. *Last but not least, pray before you go in to start the testing process, and pray while your taking the test. These are all the things I did in preparation for the NCLEX and during the NCLEX, I truly believed they helped me!

Also, although my scores were never what Kaplan wanted them to be or what I wanted them to be, I was still able to go into the NCLEX and pass on the first attempt with only 90 questions. Good Luck to you, Maryjoii!

It's really easy for people to say "don't sweat it" when they have already taken it and passed it. I'm sure everyone that has taken the NCLEX has had some sort of anxiety about it. I totally understand your anxiety, Maryjoii...I was where you are not even 2 months ago. This is a very important test! If it wasn't people wouldn't worry about it like they do. I just took the NCLEX on January 31st 2014. I literally couldn't sleep a wink the night before. I cried all the way until I got into the parking lot of the testing center (which is a big deal for me, because I'm not a crier!) I was so worried because I had did the Kaplan Review and my scores weren't what I thought they should be. My "Readiness Test" score was only a 60% (which apparently calculates to a 89% chance of passing the NCLEX), my highest Q trainer score was a 59%, my Q bank score was a 53% out of 40% of the questions used. I would come to allnurses.com for some encouragement and read old posts of what others had to say about their scores and would find that to be very helpful. But I have say, they were right about not worrying so much about your scores...If you know you've studied and done all you can do to prepare for the NCLEX, be proud of yourself regardless!

Saunders is great for nclex content if content is all you need. However, I did the Kaplan review and I thought it was wonderful. Kaplan isn't really content based. They figure if you have graduated nursing school, you have all the content you need. So they really focus more on learning how to answer the questions. I found it to be a valuable asset while taking the nclex. I just took the nclex on January 31, 2014 and the review two weeks prior to that. I passed with 90 questions on first attempt. The website is Kaptest.com. They give you over 1,500 nclex style questions. Also, I feel that Kaplan's questions are most like the nclex of all the material I used and I used Saunders, ATI, Lippincott, and a couple others that I can't remember. Good Luck!

I think as long as you're working as a nurse, you're going to get experience any place you go. It may be a different kind of experience (i.e. LTC vs Hospital), but it will be experience. So if you have to go else where for a piece of mind, then do so. However, I would never quit a job before having another one lined up. Also, just remember, the grass isn't always greener on the other side. You could leave bad and go to worse. So think about it for a while before you make a decision, because you could go elsewhere and that place will have it's own issues in and of itself. Another thing, make sure you're using your ancillary staff and charge nurse (If she doesn't take patients or even if she does). I've seen a lot of nurses are running but yet still behind because they're filling water pitchers, or getting bed linen, or doing something that ancillary staff can do. It's okay to be nice and get a pillow or help someone to the bed side commode when you're not busy, but, when you're busy don't hesitate to call on them. Also, night shift is wonderful, IMO. I've worked night shift for the last 6 years and it's so much more doable. Nights can get busy too, but a doable busy. Good luck on whatever endeavor you may seek!

When I took the NCLEX on January 31st, I felt like I was on Kaplan's Qbank. Everything looked the same to me. From the way they were worded to the way the screen looked. I had did a lot of different types of questions from Lippincott, Saunders, ATI, Kaplan, etc. I think Kaplan is most like the nclex. Passed with 90 question on first attempt. 'Toyosee' if you got the good pop-up, more than likely you passed. Congrats!