NotesUnderground

Please notice that my post said "unscientifically proven" and "biased" in regards to the PVT and my experience. It was my hope that those words would have raised red flags to the reader. I played the "game" because I wanted first hand to see what the hoopla was about. Do I suggest practicing the PVT? At one's own risk. $200 is a lot of money that could be spent on a new stethoscope with the initials of RN:up: I knew the risk involved from the experiences of others. Luck had nothing to do with it. Coincidence, yes.

Hello there! I took NCLEX on Thursday August 27, 2015 and found out this morning that I passed. Since this forum helped me to vanquish the beast, I would also like to return the goodwill. The following are the tools I used to be successful: National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) NCLEX Review Course HURST Review Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN® Examination, 6th Edition Prioritization, Delegation, and Assignment: Practice Exercises for the NCLEX Examination, 3rd edition NCSBN: Online based. Excellent content review and questions! I completed all 1300 NCLEX questions from their Practice Bank. The rationales clearly explains the correct answer and why the others are wrong. I learned a lot from the rationales. Do not be discouraged if your exam grades fall between 50-100. My average (sadly I'm obsessed with numbers) was 68%. Read all the rationales to each question. Hurst Review: Free. This resource was given to us by our school. I used the book and watched the videos only on the content I was weak on. Hurst focuses on the content one needs to know to do well on NCLEX. However, I found their content to be lacking and supplemented with NCSBN and Saunders. Hurst has 6 exams (125 questions each). Hurst found that students who pass the first time have a median score of 84/125. They suggest that if one is not close to that range, to study more. Due to time constraints, I completed 4 out of the 6 exams a week prior to my NCLEX. My Q review grades: Q Review 1: 65/125 Q Review 2: 71/125 Q Review 3: 88/125 Q Review 4: 83/125 Saunders Comprehensive Review: I used Saunders as a supplement to NCSBN. Saunders has everything under the sun. It can be intimidating but the format is easy to read and the photos/illustrations helps with learning process. Plethora of questions but they are mostly content related; therefore, I ignored them. Prioritization, Delegation and Assignment: I really love this book. The questions were difficult at first but once I started reading the rationales and doing more questions, I started picking up how to think NCLEX-y. I completed 30% of the book. I graduated in May 2015. I started out with the goal of preparing for NCLEX in 2 months but actually sat down and focused at the end of July all the way to the day before exam due to family obligations, school, and work. I studied 4 hours per day, 50% on content and 50% on doing NCLEX questions. I applaud those who can study for 8-12 hours; I probably would need a foley catheter and a TPN line. During the NCLEX exam I felt confident, at times nervous. When the exam did not shut off at 75 (the minimum), I braced myself to go all the way to 265 questions. I was relieved that I still had a fighting chance. I followed the prompt when it asked me if I would like to take the optional break. I suddenly noticed that my bladder was full and I was dizzy. I raised my hand and the proctor came by to escort me outside of the room. They give you locker to store your food and drinks. I ate a protein bar, sipped some water and performed some stretches. I told myself that today I will not fail and headed back into the test room with the proctor. The computer shut off around 120. Mixed emotions after walking out of the Pearson testing center. Although the PVT is not scientifically proven, I did the PVT trick anyway when I went into my car. The good pop up” appeared. I tried again 5 hours later. Then at the 10th and 24th hour . Same message each time. Finally, 48 hours later I paid the $7.95 for the quick results and found out that I unofficially” passed. I would like to conclude that the PVT does work! But I may be biased because it worked for me and I went against the ancient sage of waiting for at least 24 hours to do the PVT. Take courage in passing the NCLEX. You passed nursing school! If it is some consolation, according to the NCSBN who develop the NCLEX: From January to June 2015, 86.77% first time US educated candidates have passed From January to June 2015, 30.91% first time Internationally educated candidates have passed I am a Christian, so let me close with 1 Corinthians 10:23-33: So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” Stay humble, keep asking why, and know that you are pursuing nursing because you answered a calling. God bless you and if you have any questions or would like some prayers, just holler. Nota Bene: I highly suggest to go over the FAQ from the NCSBN website to learn how NCLEX is formatted, questions, the CAT system, and the percentage of categories that a candidate is tested on: https://www.ncsbn.org/nclex-faqs.htm. It is a stress reliever to go over the FAQ instead of sifting through some of the threads on All Nurses Forum, although well intentioned, are breeding grounds of anxiety.

The more you practice writing papers in APA, the better you will become. Anyway, if you plan on getting your master's, start now because APA will never leave. (I personally despise APA.) When I took Mental Health, therapeutic communication and medications was a big deal. From the first exam to the final, those were 2 huge topics. Familiarize yourself talking to patients with mental illness (the textbook usually has a guide) and make charts for the medications. One piece of advice for mental health clinical: never enter a patient's room by yourself.

First semester of nursing school was tough. Our lecture was 8 weeks. Imagine being a new nursing student trying to get everything together only to have the semester end. On a positive note, the material is fresh in your head when taking the exams because they're scheduled so close together. Out of a 4.0 grading scale, I earned a 3.5 for my first semester. I found clinical to be the easiest because I finally got to practice what I learned from the classroom to the clinical setting. It helped that I'm naturally drawn to people. Having a clinical instructor from hell was the most challenging. My instructor didn't give timely feedback, played favoritism, a cynic, and behaved in a passive aggressive manner. I treated it as a learning experience: how not to be a future nursing instructor :-) I am in my last semester. I wish I had more time for various clinical rotations but am relieved this journey is almost over for another. Good luck!

Hello sir or madam, I am sorry your son failed out of his BSN program. The time, money, and effort toward a goal are taxing. I will reply to your question 1. In my city, transferring courses from one nursing program to another is very difficult but doable. Some nursing programs accept courses if the student is in good standing from his previous program and the courses must be an A or B. Perhaps it is different in your location so please verify with all the nursing schools of interest. Your son may have to start all over again. Some 2 yr RN programs are easier to gain acceptance than BSN. In my area, science pre-requisites have an expiration date of 5 years. Depending on where you live, your son may or may not have to repeat some classes. Again, please look at potential nursing school requirements. Now is the time for your son to have a self-evaluation on where he went wrong in the class that he failed twice. Did he seek help during the semester with his professors, advisor, class mates? Basically, did he exhaust all his resources to succeed? Usually when one fails a course or a nursing program, there is an exit interview with a faculty member or the dean. It's a great way to determine what went wrong and to seek a solution. Has your son have his exit interview to receive feedback? Unfortunately people fail. I've met nurses that have failed a class/program but have achieved an RN behind their name. I do not know the mental state your son is in but if he is to be in a nursing program, he must not let his failure determine his future. He must have courage, determination, and resiliency. Some students in my program have failed themselves because they let their past failures dictate their future success. I truly wish you and your son the best of luck. If he truly desires to be a registered nurse, he will find a way. A corny quote but worth putting on here: "Success is the best revenge."