265Q's FAIL, 265Q's PASS

[teenyturtle]

I graduated in March 2016 (from the Philippines). I decided to go back to the Philippines for college since I didn't want to be in debt/pay so much for education. And I will never regret that decision since nursing in the Philippines is very hands-on. I moved back right after graduation and have been nowhere near the medical field whatsoever. The downside of going to school in a different country is the CGFNS. Of course I had to prove I spoke english (which the people in the English testing center thought was hilarious because I'm fluent in english). It took at least 6-8 months for my school to send over my transcripts, and during those months, i was just so tired of waiting that I just did whatever. FAST FORWARD:

1st NCLEX: (Nov 2nd, 2017)

Studying materials:

-UWORLD (78% overall) & Saunders

Q's : 265 - FAIL

-this time i tried the PVT, my card got DECLINED. But i was still very skeptical about the PVT and I paid the $8 for the unofficial results and i truly failed

One thing that i learned from this exam was that you NEED to be calm and confident when you go in. This is not a test that u can lightly study and pass (of course maybe some people may have done it). I've learned that you need to TRAIN yourself to keep taking questions.

2nd NCLEX: (Jan. 18, 2018)

Studying materials:

-Hurst live review (69/125, 32/125*forgot to pause*, 74/125 and 76/125)

-NCSBN 5 weeks (my % ranged from 40-100% in those 10 questions section, and 68-80% overall) , & youtube videos

Q's: 265 - PASS

-at first i was heart broken because I thought I had failed again cuz the pop up said "The candidate currently has an open registration blah blah blah", i checked it 5min after the exam

-At 4, 6, 12 hours, it said "Our records indicate that you have registered this exam" blah blah blah

Of course i was still skeptical, i did not wanna celebrate and come to find out i failed. But it still gave me the "good pop up". I've heard some people saying they got the good pop up and then failed, so I was definitely not celebrating just yet. I then got curious and looked at Maryland's BON after 24 hours and there it was!! My license # and the word ACTIVE!

Tips and advices this time around. Again, KEEP CALM. KNOW your ABC's, delegation and have a strategy for SATA's, i've had at least 50-70 SATA's, like seriously, it would be one after another. It was BRUTAL. But from what Hurst taught me, take it as a true/false question. REMEMBER delegations! I had TONS of these as well. I had no math, hot spots, 2-3 order questions, and a couple of drugs. The day before the exam, the only thing i looked over was lab values & vaccinations, that was it. I was so tempted to study but I really had to stop myself because my anxiety was kicking in. Before i went to bed, i did some meditation and prayed. In the morning i did some yoga and meditation to calm my nerves. Take deep breaths throughout the exam. Do NOT let the number of the question get to you. When I hit 200, i said to myself "i got 65 more questions to prove to them that I am a safe nurse." Seriously, TRAIN yourself to take A LOT of questions. Because not everyone's gonna get 75 right off the batt, have the stamina to keep going.

"Doubt kills more dreams than failure ever will."

Good luck to everyone!

[SilentscrubRN, BSN, MSN, RN]

Hi congratulations! Cheers for passing!!! Yippee.. happy for you.. may i ask of you dont mind in the first try how long did you study and hours per day? Did you study full time? Tia

[teenyturtle]

Thank you! The first time, i studied for 3 months at least. I only studied for about 3-5 hours per day and i would give myself 1 day break during the week. I did ALL of the Uworld Qbank, read all of the rationale's and I'd read off the Saunder's book to understand it more. I feel like the key to passing is definitely UNDERSTANDING the concepts and why/how things work in the body etc. i hope all is well for you! Good luck! :)