I_Am_Blessed

Agree Pls don't try to be someone else just to "fit in". Just always be yourself! And those people who are like you will just be automatically be magnetized to come to you. For example, if you are a warm and kind woman, the nursing students who are warm, kind and nice will just be magnetically come to you. Next thing you know, you are in a good group of intelligent, smart, kind, nice, and caring individuals! You will be in a good group without even trying, and you will be happy too because you are just naturally "yourself"

Congratulations!! :) I applaud you for not giving up! Great job!

Congratulations! I too just used Kaplan and passed NCLEX first time. I study extremely hard though... 3 weeks, 10-12 hours a day. 150 questions/day, read all rationales and wrote down important notes. Prayed hard too. It's all worth it. Congratulations again!! :)

Oh I see. That is a one challenging lunch break dilemma. Must be really frustrating for you and a lot of school nurses out there. Hope you are doing better now

I know it's sad. I have talked to one mother whose kid is allergic to peanuts, and cannot buy epi-pen. Not because she is not concerned, but because she does not have $1,300 to buy epi-pen

"This not eating definitely makes me grumpy in the afternoons lol" Awwww.... I feel you! In our hospital, we let someone to cover us when we take our lunch break. For example, when my lunch is at 12noon-1pm, one RN will cover my patients during that time. When I come back, she will report whatever happens to my patients while I am at lunch. And when that RN who covers my patient will take lunch at 2pm-3pm, same thing...I will cover her patients, and report when she comes back :)

Agree!!! After surviving 4 years of traditional BSN, I completely go with this post ? It's all about critical thinking baby!

Agree. Most hospitals now hire only incoming RNs with a Bachelors Degree. Going straight to a BSN route may be a better option at this time nowadays.

You're welcome. Study hard and you will do well :)

How can you study if it doesn't give you the right answer? How can it develop your critical thinking skills if it doesn't give you rationales? Hope you can come up with the right answer with the rationale I used ATI throughout nursing school and my ATI book and ATI online always give us the answer.

Hello Arianiy. It is really frustrating to not pass NCLEX. Give yourself some time to grieve, then get back on the game ready again! Can you ask your workplace if you can work part-time temporarily while you are reviewing for NCLEX? I agree with one of the posts... to treat NCLEX review like its a full time job. I only used Kaplan, did QBanks and all question trainers. I study very intently. I read all rationales and wrote down important notes. I study for 3 weeks, devoted 10-12 hours a day, just used Kaplan. I prayed very hard. I passed NCLEX first time. So yeah... the best way to pass NCLEX is to study HARD! (if you believe in higher power, prayer helps a lot too *wink*). But then, you have to devote a lot of time studying. Hope your workplace will understand you, and give you some time off temporarily for your review. More power to you!

I agree with this post. I passed NCLEX first time with 265 questions! Took me almost 6 hours... but I passed

I studied by myself like 3-4 days before the exam. A day before the exam, I usually joined study groups. Group study helped me in a sense that all the participants in that group shared all the things we learned when we were just studying just by ourselves. I get better grades too when I joined group study a day before the exam. But most of my studying was done alone, 3-4 days before the test.

I just sent out a prayer! May God strengthen everybody who are deeply affected by this loss.

Hello. I am writing this to give encouragement to anyone who took NCLEX or about to take the NCLEX exam. As a start, I just want everybody to know that I just passed my NCLEX exam first time on February 13, 2016 with 265 questions! I graduated Dec. 19, 2015, started reviewing using Kaplan on Jan 11, 2016, and took the NCLEX Feb. 11, 2016. I register for Kaplan In-Class, and went to class for 1 week. After that I chose my own "Plan of Study". At first, I chose the 5-week plan of study. But many people advised me that the sooner you take the test after Kaplan review, the better. So I switched from the 5-week plan of study to the 3-week plan of study. I will say that squeezing your time to a three-week review is no joke! I study extremely hard everyday, averaging 10-12 hours a day. I am both reviewing "content" and "strategies". My Kaplan scores were only 50%-60%. I had a score of 73% on one QBank and 83% on Sample Question 3. I answered almost all QBanks (around 90% of QBanks) and ALL Question Trainers 1-7. My average I will say is only about 55%. One day before the exam is a Lent season, and I went to an Ash Wednesday mass. During that mass, I prayed soooo hard for God to help me on my board exam which is the following day. I prayed very hard that I noticed myself already crying and tears everywhere on my face. Most people suggest, and even Kaplan suggest not to review or study 24 hours before the NCLEX. But after going to church, I felt that the Holy Spirit was guiding me to review for a few more questions on my weak areas. So I review a night before the exam. On my exam day, driving to the testing center from my house, I stop by to a Catholic Church that I've never visited before. There I gave my heartfelt, solemn prayer for God's help and guidance during my exam. I arrived at the testing center 30 minutes before my scheduled exam. I was prepared to stay there for 6 hours and to answer all 265 questions just in case that is my destiny (lol). I judged my own ability by my Kaplan scores and I said that my scores were not high so there is a big chance that I can take up to 265 questions. I brought 2 sandwiches, light snack, and 2 bottles of coffee! I was like... "I'm ready for 6 hours!" I took 5-10 minutes break every hour, sometimes I went to bathroom, sometimes I stretch, sometimes I ate, sometimes I drink coffee. All throughout exam when I started to feel anxious, I will take a deep breath five times and will tell to myself "I study hard, I pray hard, God is helping me, I can do this!" So yes... not to my surprise... I answered all 265 questions, and I had only 13 minutes left before the 6-hour mark expires. I was the second to the last student to leave the room. I was not surprised... because I was prepared for it! Also, I study/review Kaplan 10-12 hours a day so taking the NCLEX for 6 hours is nothing to me. Haha! I was praying while I was driving home. I was not very sure if I passed it because I thought the exam was very tricky! They threw many questions there that you thought were easy, or the answer was obvious... but it was not! I just keep on praying and staying positive. The 48-hour wait was one of the most anticipating wait of my life! I tried to distract myself by volunteering to babysit my super cute 18-month old niece. I went to movies with my mom, I hang out with my sisters, I called my dad. By the way, nobody knows that I took the NCLEX, not even my family. So when I was babysitting my niece and hanging out with my family, they thought I was just loving them and cherishing their presence lol. Then here it comes. The Pearson Vue website notified that I can already view my result. I paid the quick results with my credit card... and I felt my heartbeat is like 150 beats/min. Then I saw the "PASS" result! Whew!!! The best feeling ever!!! I jumped, and then cried, and cried, and cried. It was the night of Feb. 13, 2016 Valentines Day of 2016, I planned to surprise my family with this lovely news. We all went to church that day. After that, I told them that I made a reservation in a Chinese restaurant and I want all of us to eat all together as a family on Valentines Day and it was my treat. They were all delighted. We all ate together, laugh together, and after eating, there I announced the great news! They were all surprise and ecstatic! My sisters cried and hugged me. My mom was crying, and I saw my dad looking at me and that proud look was such a great feeling! So I just want to share this to let all of you who will take the NCLEX to not be afraid if it takes you all the way to 265 questions. Answering up to 265 questions does not mean you are failing. It means that the computer is being very nice to you, giving you the chance to pass, instead of shutting down on you and say "you failed". Answering up to 265 questions means... "Keep on going girl, you are doing just fine, just keep it up." So yeah, don't give up, just keep on praying and just keep on rocking! Again, I study extremely hard for this board exam. I prayed very hard too. And the combination of these is what leads me to where I am now. A registered nurse! I am very proud of myself and I give credit to God whenever I will write a BSN, RN at the end of my name! My own formula of success in life is: PRAYER + ACTION = SUCCESS! If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to message me or leave comment to ask. I will be very glad to be of help. God bless everyone! xoxo