RN-joy

I just passed the NCLEX this past August and will be starting my first real job as an RN on a post-surgical stepdown floor in October As excited as I am, I am also definitely nervous! Just looking for any tips, words of wisdom, or advice from all the experienced nurses out there or others who are starting their nursing careers as well

i used this site to practice SATA, hope it helps someone! Review Content Select - NCLEX-RN 3500 - Institutional Version

i felt the same way when i was reviewing that i wouldn't remember anything but you'll be surprised how much you do retain. make sure you're consistently going over your notes/review book and doing questions/reading rationales to reinforce what you're reviewing if you're a visual learner like me youtube videos, mnemonics, and pictures really help also!

i think its really important when you're reviewing to make sure you're understanding the content and not just memorizing (although certain information, like lab values, you do just have to memorize) for example hyperthyroidism can cause you to loose weight and have an increased sensitivity to heat. instead of just memorizing that information understand why...the thyroid gland is responsible for metabolism. if its hyper--that means metabolism is increased and when that happens you lose weight. the person is sensitive to heat because again, your metabolism is increased meaning your body is working overtime once you know and understand basic information such as this it helps answering questions....for example if you had a question what should you do for this patient 1) give them extra blankets 2) give them extra finger foods 3) take their temperature 4) provide oral liquids go through each answer choice. 1- you wouldn't give them extra blankets because they're sensitive to heat. 2) makes sense to give them extra finger foods because their metabolism is in overdrive and they're losing weight 3) important assessment but not as important as making sure the patient is maintaining weight and 4) again patient needs calories not liquids so answer choice 2 would be correct once you understand one disease you can usually understand the other. what i mean by this is that hypothyroidism then is just the opposite (increased sensitivity to cold, decreased metabolism---gaining weight) hope that helps!

i only got a 52 on my diagnostic and a 50 on my readiness test. i was getting 48-52 highest on my qtrainers 1-4 before i started doing any content review i was discouraged too but don't focus on your score! what matters now is that you realize what areas you need to review. i did content review for each section and then qbank questions and by the end i was getting above 60's on the last 3 qtrainers, which is where kaplan wants you to be at don't worry about your scores now but how they improve as you do content review and questions

did you submit the application already? and go through the criminal background check and all that. i took the nclex in nj also on the 15th. it took about 3 weeks for me to get the att. i wasn't in a rush to get it so i just waited until i got the email, but some of my friends needed to take the nclex sooner and called pearsonvue/nj board of nursing multiple times everyday asking about it. some of them did get their att after 2 weeks, so i think pestering them does help! good luck!! also i had trouble finding this so just passing it on----to find your license number online in nj: https://newjersey.mylicense.com/verification/Search.aspx nj is really slow with everything though! i passed but am still waiting for my license to show up

i only used kaplan to study but i've heard good things about those other reviews. what helped me to study was to focus on each section at a time. i would listen to videos for health promotion and maintenance for example, take notes, and then do qbank questions for that section only to see how much i was actually retaining/understanding. i also looked at questions to see if i was getting them wrong because i didn't know the content or i didn't understand the question/how to answer it i know that's probably irrelevant with the other study reviews but i'd focus on your weak areas first and whether you need to review content more or strategies good luck to you!!!

i think it really depends on what kind of learner you are. i only used kaplan to study and i purchased their video/qtrainer/qbank/ebook review. i tried reading through the ebook but i get distracted easily and really wasn't retaining anything from it. i learn better when i listen/take my own notes. the videos are VERY long and boring and most are 2-4 hours each section so keep that in mind. i forced myself to sit and listen to them all of them and take notes. i really learned a lot that way from what i can tell, the ebook has a lot more important information to know but the videos are informative and go through the main ideas without all the details the ebook has. i was alittle worried about this but my opinion was that you can't know everything for this test and there was no way i was going to memorize everything anyway so i made sure to just know what was gone over in the videos i took the nclex on the 15th and passed. videos were a really good review for me but again, i think it really depends on you and what works better for review and if you have the time/attention to listen to all the videos. hope that helps, good luck!

i was only getting 48-52 on my question trainers before i started reviewing content. after reviewing i got 65, 67, and 61 on the last three qtrainers. i finished all of qbank with 60%, i got mid 50s-low 60s on the tests for the most part. i also passed nclex kaplan recommends you get 60s on everything, which you seem to be at or around. i'd also look at your scores and see if you've been consistent or getting better. i still didn't feel ready for the exam the day before but i decided to go through with it seeing how i went from 52 on my readiness to where kaplan recommends for the last qtrainers good luck!!

i took the nclex on the 15th and it shut off at 85 questions. i was worried too because pretty much everyone said that they had majority SATA and i had only 5-6, no math, 2 drag and drops so i agree, not getting a lot of SATA doesn't mean anything! hoping you passed!

you mentioned that all of the content was familiar, but that you answered all of the questions to the best of your ability. it sounds like you knew what the topic was or what the question was asking for the most part but maybe didn't know how to choose the best answer if content isn't what you really need then i would focus more on strategy and answering as many practice questions as you can. i used kaplan and did all of their questions and it really helped me on the actual nclex good luck!!

Don't mean to confuse you, but I took kaplan and with late decelerations you want to stop the oxytocin first. LATE DECELERATIONS: occur after the contraction peak---can be caused by things like placenta previa/abruptio/ pregnancy induced htn---means that there is uteroplacental deficiency. want to stop oxytocin and then position on left side VARIABLE DECELERATIONS: occur anytime during the contraction---indicates chord compression---this is relieved by a change in the maternal position - so variable deceleration is the one you want to change maternal position first. if the variable contractions are prolonged then you want to give oxygen and discont oxytocin EARLY DECELERATIONS: occur before the peak of a contraction---indicates fetal head compression --can occur during labor when the baby is being pushed out late decelerations are the worst sign of fetal distress and require immediate intervention i took and passed the nclex but i didn't have questions on this so i don't know if nclex thinks differently, but i memorized what kaplan said

i agree with what's been said. i would review in the morning and then do practice questions to see how much you're actually retaining and able to apply the information. i was overwhelmed as well looking at everything but i also broke the topics down. for the first few days i would review one topic and only do questions for that section, then move to the next topic good luck!!

CONGRATS RN!!

also when you're reviewing make sure you're understanding the content and not just memorizing. for example hyperthyroidism can cause you to loose weight and have an increased sensitivity to heat. instead of just memorizing that information understand why...the thyroid gland is responsible for metabolism. if its hyper--that means metabolism is increased and when that happens you lose weight. the person is sensitive to heat because again, your metabolism is increased meaning your body is working overtime once you know and understand basic information such as this it helps answering questions....for example if you had a question what should you do for this patient 1) give them extra blankets 2) give them extra finger foods 3) take their temperature 4) provide oral liquids go through each answer choice. 1- you wouldn't give them extra blankets because they're sensitive to heat. 2) makes sense to give them extra finger foods because their metabolism is in overdrive and they're losing weight 3) important assessment but not as important as making sure the patient is maintaining weight and 4) again patient needs calories not liquids so answer choice 2 would be correct once you understand one disease you can usually understand the other. what i mean by this is that hypothyroidism then is just the opposite (increased sensitivity to cold, decreased metabolism---gaining weight) hope that helps!

it depends if you're getting the questions wrong because you don't understand/know how to answer the question or because you don't know the content have you studied content before doing the questions? i did qtrainers 1-4 without doing any studying and was only getting 47-53 on them. my problem was that i didn't know content. i watched the kaplan videos and took notes as review but i've heard that saunders and hurst are good as well. after you study content i would then do the questions. definitely read the rationale for ALL answers right or wrong- you want to understand if you're getting the question wrong because you didn't understand how to answer the question or because you didn't know the content. look up topics in the question you don't know or understand before you answer any question figure out the topic of the question, for example if its asking you about normal growth and development of a 5 month old - then look at the answer choices and see how they relate to a 5 month old. usually you can eliminate 2 answers right away because they are wrong or don't relate to the topic of the question. when you're left with two think it through...which is the right answer for priority type of questions always think airway/breathing/circulation...if you have 1) patient with a flail chest 2) patient in hypovolemic shock 3) patient w a fever 4) patient with a fracture of the right arm look at the choices...3 and 4 are more stable patients who can wait to see the doctor...but 1 and 2 are unstable. answer choice 2 is circulation and answer choice 1 is breathing...so that would be the priority patient keep strategy tips such as these in mind when you're answering questions. I would do a review of content first though, before you keep answering questions

good luck!! you sound like you were prepared and ready!! i didn't apply for california but i've read other posts on here of people from there who tried the pvt and it worked, not sure but it's worth a try

i've read a few of your posts as well and you are ready, you can and you will pass this test! sending you good luck and prayers tomorrow!!

just some sites that might help with review this is a tumblr site which is a little disorganized but is worth a scroll through: http://vdoming931.tumblr.com/ *****recommended looking at this one. also another tumblr site of someone who passed nclex. look at the right hand side there's a column of topics which i thought summarized important points really well: http://nursebethan.tumblr.com/ example heres a good overview of important pharm: http://nursebethan.tumblr.com/tagged/pharmacology strategy tips: http://rightatrium.tumblr.com/post/23612424264 http://vdoming931.tumblr.com/post/94684995663/multiple-choice-questions-deciphered http://vdoming931.tumblr.com/post/94685162238/breaking-down-nclex-questions practice alternate SATA/ordered response questions: http://nursing.slcc.edu/nclexrn3500/contentSelect.do?testType=review 35 page study guide that floating around here: file:///C:/Users/Shanna/Downloads/25855834-Nclex-Study-Guide%20(3).pdf try this link if the first one doesn't work: https://allnurses.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=8687&d=1310076980

one last thing lol- i did use apps on my phone when i was away from home. the only one i did in its entirety was the kaplan nclex qbank- has 180s practice questions and is free. I also used ati RN mentor (lite version didn't pay for it- good for basic level questions). others ones i downloaded but underutilized were silvestri lite, NCLEX RN mastery (good app- has some free questions), and one just called NCLEX. only used free versions didn't pay for anything link to 35 page study guide can be found on this person's post: https://allnurses.com/nclex-discussion-forum/passed-my-nclex-750555.html

this is going to be a LONG post but i want to write out as much advice as i can took the exam last friday (8/15) and found out with quick results (49 hours later) on sunday (8/17) that i passed in 85 questions in 2 hours! pvt worked for me. i had a little of every topic. i got lucky with only about 8 SATA, 2 drag and drops, 1 ekg, and about 5 drug questions. i was thankful to only get a few SATA but at the same time worried because most testers get a lot of those. majority questions were growth and development, priority patient, delegation, infection control, and therapeutic communication i only used kaplan to study for about a month. i took the first 4 qtrainers without reviewing and was only getting 47-52 highest. i realized content was my weak area so for the first few weeks i watched all of the kaplan review videos and took my own notes. if you choose to do this, the kaplan videos are EXTREMELY long and boring but i made myself use them. i devoted 2 days to each topic and went in order of my weakest to strength areas. so for example first two days i watched all of the videos for physiologic integrity, read over my notes, and then took qbank questions for that section only to see how much i was retaining and understanding. i didn't have a specific number of hours i studied i just made sure to do all of the videos and questions for that section in 2 days (took 2 only because i divided out my time based on the month i had). i reviewed rationales for all right and wrong answers and googled anything in the question i didn't understand. i also made sure to recognize whether i was getting the question wrong because i didn't know what the question was asking me or because i didn't know the content still. i didn't look at the ebook guide at all but from glancing over it the videos have the same information just without a lot of important details. personally though i was not retaining anything just reading. i learn better when i watch/write my own notes/then review them. i also realized that even though there was a lot more information in the book there was no way i was going to remember everything so i focused on knowing the big picture - which the videos went over. i also only focused on one section at a time because i was getting confused just trying to go over a little of every topic each day. but know what works best for you to study--if its watching videos or reading books cover to cover, etc about a week before the exam i finished with the videos and did the qtrainers 5,6, and 7 (i did them each a day apart so for the day in between i would spend going over all of the answers) which i scored 65, 67, and 61 on. i also did the 4 sample nclex tests (56, 63, 83, 32- the last test is the alternate question test which i freaked out about on my low score but reading the posts on here most people get around the same score so don't worry). finished q bank with overall 60%. 3 days before the test i did the 2 nclex practice 150 question tests on ati which was provided by my school and got 76-80 on them. they were a good review of basic questions. by the end of it i had a lot of written notes and ran out of time/energy to read over all of them so i just looked at my weak areas. for me i scored lowest in physiologic integrity and health promotion and maintenance so i looked over those notes. i also looked over infection control because that is an important topic -kaplan strategies were a little confusing for me but i did try to use them for every question - mostly just the first and last step being can i figure out what this question is asking me and then looking at each of the answer choices how does this relate to the question/topic. whenever i was stuck on a question i would try to rephrase it in my own words. knowing when you needed to assess or do something (implement first) based on the question and remembering airway/breathing/circulation/neuro/safety helped also. remember that acute cases are more important than chronic. if you get a question such as this patient has ESRD which of these is the nurse worried about: high BP, high BUN, decreased LOC, etc....think it through. which of these choices would you expect with ESRD and which would you not. for delegation questions it really helped to remember the strategy that RNs do assess/teach/unstable pts, LPNs ONLY get stable patients with expected outcomes, and UAPs can only get standard, unchanging procedures like vitals/enemas/etc. RNs always do initial teaching about anything (esp preop and before discharge) but LPNs can reinforce teaching. RNs only do the admission vitals. the therapeutic techniques helped also (no WHY questions, no yes/no, if you have two answer choices that are both right but one is therapeutic ie: speaks with a feeling tone choose that one) Generally you won't call the doctor first unless it is an emergency situation or you can't assess/implement first. I also got confused about the order of doing things such as do you give oxygen first or position first but doing questions i noticed that it is situation specific. For example if a pregnant woman in labor is having late decelerations you want to stop the oxytocin first and then position her on her left side. for autonomic dysreflexia you would position the patient in fowlers before anything. when you're reviewing pay attention to topics that come up a lot and especially positioning (how you would position a patient in certain situations) -2 days before the exam i had planned to spend reviewing but i had terrible anxiety and almost rescheduled my date. i spent the day crying really but in a way i knew it was good for me. a lot of people fail because their anxiety gets to them so i think letting it out and thinking all the possible bad thoughts then and only then helped me be calm, though still anxious, on test day. the only review i did the day before was to read through the 35 page study guide floating around on here. i am the person who spent the last night before all of my nursing exams cramming and not sleeping and it was hard not to do this but i think you really shouldn't do that for the nclex. even the day of i did no review. i think the last day or two should be spent focusing on alleviating your anxiety and getting yourself in the mindset that you CAN pass this test...i think nclex is part knowing content/strategy/controlling you're anxiety. but that's just what worked for me -no one feels confident going into it and there really is no way to know everything. even with all of my review i still got asked topics and questions that i'd never heard of. that is ok! i decided to go through with my exam because of how my scores had progressed to where they needed to be. even after doing all that review and then the last 3 qtrainers there were topics that i thought i didn't know or remember but you'll be surprised how much you actually retain and able to pick answers. also when i went over the qtrainers if there were big things i forgot (like what happens with hyperkalemia for example) i went over that from my notes -take breaks during your review- even if it is only an hour or two. the first few days i was really into studying but after the first week i already felt myself getting burned out. don't force yourself if you get to this point - relax for a little and then get back to it -i deleted my fb during this whole time. i realized i was getting more anxious seeing how many of my friends had already passed and had jobs and hating myself for waiting so long to take it. focus on yourself only! i told myself it doesn't matter how long it takes you to get there as long as you get there -i went into the exam pretending that it was just another kaplan practice test. also i know how important it is and what if you fail and all of those negative thoughts...but it is JUST A TEST. you've taken a lot of those. forget about the pressure. IT IS JUST A TEST. i told myself this multiple times. whenever i started feeling really anxious, i stopped and said to myself 10 times i will pass the nclex i will pass the nclex...and took a deep breath after. it worked to refocus myself. don't panic pick answers! -make sure you review to understand not just memorize! for example addisons/cushings can cause hypo/hyperglycemia but do you know why. i realized a big reason i was so poor on content was because i studied for tests in nursing school memorizing facts instead of understanding the process -SATA was my biggest fear. even though i only had a few of these i got asked questions on topics I had no idea what it was and others I knew the topic but the way the answer choices were worded confused me. make sure you know what the question or topic is and then go through the answer choices- is this true or false. rephrase it in other words if you don't understand, and once you decide something is false don't second guess yourself -i did listen to all of the pharm videos and took notes from kaplan but this is the only section i ended up not reviewing my notes. i only got generic names on nclex so definitely know these. there were a few drugs i noticed came up on practice questions a lot so those are the only ones i remembered (ie: nph/regular insulin, digoxin, lithium, dilantin, lasix...know what they do, side effects, and therapeutic levels) otherwise i tried to remember drug classes (ie: MAOIs- don't take tyramine) and basic rules that applied to most drugs (most drugs cause photosensitivity...take most with food or in the morning..never use alcohol...) -for health and promotion focus on knowing what is normal (ie: at 2/6/15 etc months) and pregnancy such as stages of pregnancies/complications of pregnancy like placenta previa/abruptio, normal infant VS -know normal lab values and what happens in hyper/hypcalcemia/kalemia, etc... having only used kaplan i don't know if any other reviews are good but it really worked for me. doing all of the qtrainers and questions got me ready to take questions on the nclex, and going over the content videos ended up being enough review for me i was worried because some people who used kaplan took the nclex and said it was nothing like kaplan, while others didn't find it useful. this is just my own personal opinion, but kaplan was EXACTLY like nclex in the way the questions were worded. i ended up really feeling like i was taking a kaplan qtrainer. again though this was just my own experience hope this helps someone! and good luck!!! i was in your shoes just 2 days ago. YOU CAN DO IT!! also the only thing kaplan was lacking i think was practice in alternate type questions. i found this website and ran out of time to use it but it helps to practice. honestly, having taken the exam and although i ended up not getting a lot of those i think the best way to prepare for SATA is just going over content. you don't know what kind of question topics you'll be asked on nclex. the best thing is to know your basic content, and if that fails think it through and strategize...if that fails then take a guess and move on! i did that and sometimes you'll have to. pick an answer and don't look back. just keep focusing on the question in front of you. for drag and drop definitely know the ones that come up in kaplan. i watched youtube videos to reinforce anything i was still unsure of alternate questions : http://nursing.slcc.edu/nclexrn3500/contentSelect.do?testType=review

wow i didnt realize how much i wrote, lol sorry again!

thank you!! i know how it feels and like you'll never get there but as soon as you know it you'll be taking the exam and passing too! i took about a month to review using only kaplan. again some people have failed using kaplan and others didn't like it so this is just what worked for me but i think its def good you have more than one resource. i took the first 4 question trainers, readiness, and diagnostic exams without doing any studying and was scoring 47-52 highest. kaplan wants you to aim for a 60 so i knew that i was doing badly. i realized that i needed to do a lot of content review. kaplan comes with that ebook content guide which i think is a really good review but personally i couldn't take the time to sit there, read it, and actually remember anything. i remember things better when i write down my own notes so i listened to all of the kaplan review videos. i took two days for each section to review. so for example for the first two days i listened to all the videos and took notes on psychosocial integrity. I didn't spend a certain amount of time studying a day, just made sure that i finished all the videos and did qbank questions for that section only each day. on days i was tired i'd do at least 50 questions but in general i aimed for 150. i reviewed all the rationales for right and wrong answers and looked up anything in the question that i didn't know or understand. then i went to the next section and so on. the last week i was exhausted and felt like i had forgotten all the information. i decided to do q trainers 5, 6, and 7 without reviewing my notes to see how much i retained and i was getting 60s. going into the exam date i didn't feel ready but seeing how my scores improved made me feel more confident. i finished 100% of the qbank questions with 60% average and the 4 nclex practice exams kaplan has also. sample test 4 is all alternate type questions and i panicked when i got a 32 on it but reading the posts here most people got the same grade if not lower so i wouldn't worry about that if you score low. also like 3 days before my exam i did two of the nclex practice exams on ati. they're 150 questions each and i only scored like 76-80 on them but they were a good review just of topics and to practice basic level questions. 2 days before the exam i honestly was a nervous wreck and couldn't focus on studying so i stopped. i worked on getting my anxiety out and crying my heart out lol but i really think it helped because although i was nervous going into the exam i don't think i was as bad as i would've been. the only review i did the day before was read through the 35 page study guide thats floating around on here. i can email it to you if you haven't seen it as for drugs, i don't remember which ones i had specifically but i'd go over heart drugs (ACE/beta blockers, etc), diabetic, antianxiety/antipsychotic meds, and antiulcer meds for sure. pretty much all of the drugs i had i had never heard of so i guessed answers. this was honestly a weak area of mine as well but going over practice questions i realized there were some basic things that applied to all drugs. for example most drugs you need to take on an empty stomach, never use alcohol, majority of drugs cause photosensitivity...etc. so whenever i got a drug question i looked at the answers that way, if that makes sense. definitely focus on name endings and important information (ie: beta blockers all end in olol...cause bradycardia..etc)the pharm review videos on kaplan were torture getting through and i didn't end up memorizing those notes. i just did the qbank questions for that section and ended up doing well but it depends how you want to review them. there were some drugs that i noticed came up a lot like regular/nph insulin, digoxin, lithium, etc so i made sure to memorize those but otherwise i just tried to have a basic understanding of drug side effects and interactions one other tip i have is just to make sure you're reviewing to understand and not just memorizing, because that was something i had to work on. for example i would memorize that cushings and addisons can cause hypo/hyperglycemia but i wouldn't understand why sorry this ended up so long! i know how much studying sucks but you can do it. let me know if you have more questions!!

thanks! just found out i passed!! i had 85 questions. I thought the SATA were pretty straightforward and common sense. I either had trouble with them because I didn't know the topic itself or the wording of one of the answer choices confused me. I just took my time though and tried to think each answer choice through and if it was t/f i had a little bit of everything. i had 1 ekg, no math, a bunch of meds i didn't know (i only got generic names so i'd study that), a lot of priority and delegation, and infection control. i had a few questions on OB and therapeutic communication. I'd focus on your weak areas but def priority/delegation/infection control. i also only used kaplan to study and i thought the way the questions were worded on the nclex was exactly like kaplan so that helped. i know some people thought kaplan was completely different though

i just checked and i passed!!! quick results took 49 hours