StephanieRN14

Hey there! I'm so sorry to hear that! Definitely don't lose hope, several of my close friends passed on their 2nd attempt! In all honesty, I have no idea what the best review would be for you. I think it just varies from person to person. For me, I reviewed Hurst for content and Kaplan for practice questions. Hurst helped me remember tidbits of information I may have forgotten from med-surg by breaking it down simply and in ways I could remember. I just did a little bit each day and that seemed to work for me. I have to agree XNavyCorpsman. Learning how to break the questions down really helped. I looked at the Kaplan Decision Tree a little bit and it helped for a few questions, but I think what helped most was taking my time (1-2 minutes a question, like he said) and eliminating the options one at a time. I would use the dry erase board they gave me by writing A B C D (or more if they were SATA) and crossing them off. I'm a very visual person, always learned by pictures and charts, so if you are the same way maybe that will help you! Don't let this test get the best of you. You know the material. Now you just have to show the "NCLEX people" that you know it!

I actually found the Q bank to be a little harder than the NCLEX questions. I can't remember specifically why, but I think I would get only like 60 or 70% of the questions on the Kaplan tests right.

I think for the 5th day materials I just briefly read through everything. If it was really long I skipped it... I'm probably not the best role model, haha. As for the meds, I think I just looked them over when I was reviewing the specific section. So if I was on the endocrine section I would review the endocrine meds, and just the basics about each one too. (indication, classification, any big or common s/e) Just warning you now, you will get at least one med on the NCLEX and think, "I've never heard of that in my life!" There are SO many possible meds they can throw at you so just do the best you can. Remember the groupings: (ex: lol- beta blockers) I was one of the lucky ones that only got 5 or 6 med questions so honestly I can't remember a whole lot about them. Most of my questions were SATA about health management and prioritization. Hope I'm being somewhat helpful in answering your questions! I'm being completely honest when I say that I didn't think the NCLEX was that bad. They are just testing for minimum competency before they unleash us baby nurses on the floors!

I took the NCLEX last June and exactly 1 month after I graduated. When I was in nursing school they made us do the Hurst review. Really good program, but what I didn't like about it initially was that it was more content review than applying content to actual test questions. When studying I used Hurst for content review and Kaplan Q bank (and the Hurst Q tests) for applying the content. I will admit though that about 10 of my questions on the NCLEX (out of the 75 I had) I would have not had known if it wasn't for Hurst. I don't think it is really necessary to watch the specialty videos (although if you want a good laugh you should watch the OB video), but if you haven't filled in the blanks in the specialty sections, I strongly suggest you do so because you never know if the content might show up on some of your questions! The only videos I re-watched after I initially took the Hurst course before graduation were the endocrine and electrolyte sections. Some of the best advice I can give you- do NOT study the day before your exam! Take that time to go get a massage, get your nails done, go shopping, read a book that's NOT nursing related, whatever it is to get you the in the most relaxed state as possible. I remember I took my exam on a Wednesday. On Monday I kid you not, I spent 15 hours (with a few breaks of course) studying. Drove myself into multiple panic/crying attacks. Looking back on it I know now that it was silly of me to do that. I e-mailed my instructor from the HURST review in the midst of my panicking and she said "Don't look at another question from when you wake up Tuesday until after your exam" So I didn't. And I still passed! Best of luck to you. Remember to breathe, eat a good breakfast, take your time on each question, and during those times of doubt and feelings of defeat remember what you are doing this for and why being a nurse is so important to you!

I started as an RN in the NICU (new grad) this past August, so hopefully I can give you some insight on what helped me and some other recent grads on my unit get a job! For me, I had experience as a student nurse (PCT/SNE) for about a year on the same NICU I currently work on, so that was basically what got my foot in the door. I was extremely blessed and lucky to get that position, as I know there are not many opportunities like that every day. A lot of my co-workers did other experiences (capstone, march of dimes, etc) that they were able to put on their resume. I would suggest reaching out to management and seeing what opportunities they have for current nursing students. See if they have any PCT positions available. If not, see if they accept volunteers on the unit to do things like fold laundry, be "cuddlers", stock things, and so on. Not every NICU will hire new grads, so just keep that in mind. It just depends on their preference and the unit's current needs. NICU is definitely different from any other type of nursing out there. When I was in nursing school we did one 4 hour observation in the NICU, not a whole lot of time at all! So I would definitely encourage you to seek out those opportunities that will allow you to gain experience and build your resume. Good luck and please let me know if I can answer any more of your questions!

I haven't heard of anyone getting the "good pop-up" and then failing. I found out the next day after I took it at about 1PM on my state's licensing page that I passed. Then I got the official e-mail 2 hours later. Best of luck!

I only studied Hurst review and passed in 75 questions yesterday. Got my license number today! I liked the Hurst review, it definitely helped me re-learn some of the content from nursing school, but a lot of my questions on the NCLEX had nothing to do with the content learned in Hurst review. However, the strategies they give you (like tachycardia and restlessness.. think hypoxia) were awesome and I feel like that helped me critically think through the questions on my test. Good luck! Relax, breathe, and take your time!