I just wanted to share my nclex experience! I always came here to read positive stories about people passing their nclex and what they used to study for it. I was a little anxious about taking it but was more anxious about getting my ATT since it took them 10 weeks to send it(i live in CA, my record is squeaky clean) Anyway, i will list my study materials below. But first..my number one advice is to KEEP CALM, BE POSITIVE and BE CONFIDENT! Do not go in the testing center nervous. Weeks before taking it keep writing your name with an RN at the end. Tell yourself everyday that you already passed it. Last but not least PRAY!!!
STUDY MATERIALS:
1. Kaplan (took the class but didn't like it. Did not use the decision tree. Did not watch the videos at all)but i used 80% of the Qbanks and all the Qtrainers 1-7. My Qtrainer and Qbanks scores ranged from 38-80%. Saved 6&7 for last and got 57% on both. I read and wrote ALL rationales even if i got the question right. Kaplan helped me sooo much on the test.. i say this because I didnt study pharm at all but from practicing kaplan, it helped me answer pharm questions on the actual nclex. I dont know how but it worked. Lol.
2. NCSBN Learning extention 5 week course. I used this mainly for content review. It contained 8 lessons with quizzes at the end of each section and additional qbanks as well. Did lesson 1-7, wrote some notes that i thought were important. I didn't get to finish lesson 8. I also did 80% of the qbanks. I also studied and wrote the rationales but their rationales are not as good as kaplans.
3. Prioritization, delegation and assignments by LaCharity. This book is a MUST rent! I rented mine on chegg. It helped me answer PDA questions on the actual test!
4. The 35 page study guide! Good to study when you're out and about.
I only reviewed ALL of my rationales and notes ONCE! I was the student who had to read the slides over and over again so I was scared because i thought i didn't study enough. Answering questions helped me so much! In the actual nclex i had about 118-120 questions (i just remember 113 and a few questions later it shut off). For me, the questions were not the same as kaplans or ncsbn..its a different ball game! It was the hardest test i have ever taken! If i have to recommend a study guide to someone i will suggest...kaplan to practice, practice and practice questions! and the PDA by LaCharity! The day before my test, i went to the county fair and i purposely made myself tired so i could sleep like a baby! Also took sleeping pills(maybe not a good idea for some) slept for a total of 13hrs. Test was at 2 and i was energized and ready to take it! Came out of the testing center still feeling calm but unsure if i passed or not. An hr after i took it, i tried the trick and got the good pop up then again after 24hrs still good pop up. 40hrs later i searched my name on our brn site and my name popped up!!! Finally an RN!
Don't forget to just stay CALM!
Good luck future RNs! You got this!!!
