Semester 3 and I know nothing???!!!???

Angel@MyTable, RN · Sep 20, 2009

I have been reviewing off and on since I started nursing school last fall, and yes, I do feel like I have forgotten so much of what I learned in the beginning. All I can tell you is to keep reviewing, and I was also told that it is a good idea to take the NCLEX soon after graduating from school as it will be fresher in your mind than if you wait too long. I wouldn't worry too much right now, my advice, get through the program, graduate, then study your butt off before taking the NCLEX. We have waaay too many other things to worry about right now...LOL!

Ella26, BSN, RN · Sep 20, 2009

Just stay with it... its your dream! I graduated from LPN school in May :yeah: , took boards in June after one month of studying, I was glad to have gotten the minimun amount of ?s 85. I do have another full time non-nursing job and Im starting pre-reqs for RN. But I finally after so many applications-not even LTC called me, found a job at a County Detox facility in August. VERY INTERESTING TO SAY THE LEAST :eek: . And now... I still feel I dont know anything. I feel like they just teach you the backround and the basics (some which are outdated) it will all come together at your first job when your learing lots of things from on your unit. I feel there is so much for me to learn and I have only been working part time for about a month. Everyday I learn something new. Its incredible! Some of our instructors were no longer working in the REAL world so some stuff they were teaching was hard to apply. In nursing I think you will see that you will never know enough there is always something to learn or that you wont know, because its an ever changing field of work. Just a little insight for your future. Congrats on your journey. If your heart is in it you will make it! :up:

MissBrittanyRN · Sep 20, 2009

This is lonngggg and may steer away from your original questions a bit, but I think this is valuable....

I don't have anything to tell you other than what everyone else will tell you when they reply to this thread, but I just want you to know that you are not alone. I am a new grad (unemployed, tough market in my area), so I have not had the "click" yet. I do know that it will come together with your first job. I know students that tried hard in my class, did so-so on tests, but they truly wanted to succeed, but were not confident. They are in residency programs now, and although they are not confident yet, it's starting to fall into place for them. I highly recommend finding the best orientation possible. I dont know your personal situation but with my first job search I am not considering pay, drive time (unless it exceeds more than like 2.5 hrs one way), not benefits. I am considering "what new grad orienation will give me the best experience and learning to start my career?" In fact as long as I knew that I was in the best possible new grad training, I would be in it for free or minimum wage.

You could not have said it better for me. In nursing school I said the exact same thing to myself: OMG I don't know what I am doing here. I am a fraud. It's not for lack of trying. I want to be the best nurse I can be. I don't want to put the patient OR my license at risk! But I feel like it's too late to go to my instructors and tell them I am not getting it. Sure if I am having trouble with new info I can tell them. But how can I admit that I don't know basics from first semester, and now I am finishing? I probably did not give myself enough credit lol.

You probably know more than you give yourself credit for. But to get back on track with your concerns about it clicking...don't hold your breath, at least not for an entire year :-) That is when most people say that they start feeling like a nurse, not that I am putting a standard time on it, but that's what I usually hear. I think that I learned more studying for NCLEX after nursing school ended, and before my test date than I did in 4 semesters of nursing school.

As for NCLEX, I took the KAPLAN review course. The only other book that I studied was Saunders Comprehensive Review, and I thought the questions were easy. As long as I read the content of the chapters, I felt like you can easily answer the questions at the end of the chapters because they were at the content level, and did not involve critical thinking. So, I thought I was in good shape. Then along came KAPLAN questions, and I was only scoring in the 50-65%, and was devestated. That being said, I think that Kaplan almost over prepared me for NCLEX, because in my personal opinion the Kaplan questions were more difficult than actual NCLEX. And I would rather be over than under prepared. I hated the "decision tree" that the Kaplan course teaches you. It makes sense when you learn the decision tree (the system used to approach the question and decide the correct answer), but it did not seem to apply to the questions I would get, but I answered every single practice question you can get from Kaplan, and combined with saunders I did over 3000 questions in 2 months. I passed the first time with the minimum questions.

People always ask if I thought Kaplan helped. I never know how to answer that question, because I did not like it when I was in it, but here are the facts: I used Kaplan. I passed the first time. I had nothing to lose by taking Kaplan, because if you do not pass your first time you get a full refund (as long as you do everything they ask, and they do not ask for much).

Here are some tips that people are going to think I am crazy for saying about NCLEX: Take the test like it does not matter. Don't get me wrong - study your butt off..(It does matter!) No, I am not rich and I would have been upset if I failed and had to pay again, but all of the stress was not worth it, at least not for me. If I failed, I could have retaken it. No questions asked. The people at my testing center were nice, and I think that the unexpected, before I knew what the testing center was like, was a scary thing for me.

I waited 2 months after my review course ended to take NCLEX. Most people tell me that about 2-3 wks after your review ends is good, because it gives you time to review what you don't know, and keep everything you know fresh. And I do not know your learning needs. Kaplan will help you design a study plan based on when YOU want to take NCLEX. They came help you form a study plan for 2 wks after the review class ends up until 2 months, i think. My Kaplan instructor (and they may all be different) recommended waiting about 2 months,which I did, and although I don't think anyone feels confident going into that testing center, I drove myself there, took the test, drove myself home - without crying. I did not leave there happy, but I was still at ease - and I am usually a spaz! Some people are a mess, and can't drive themselves to or from NCLEX, and I would typically be one of them, but again I told myself, it's ok if I didnt pass, there is always next time. It is so easy for someone who is finished with that to say "It was not worth the stress, just relax", and hearing that may not sooth you, but seriously I wish I did not waste that portion of my summer stressing...It did not have to be that way.

Well, I hope you did not mind reading that long story on top of all of your school reading lol. But I do hope you feel a bit more confident. Good luck you, and I am sure you will be fine.

ranka · Sep 20, 2009

One day the light bulb will just click:idea:, I felt the same way most of my first semester. I am in my final semester and realize now that sometimes I don't know everything. What I can do is study and learn as much as I possibly can.

It will come to you and the NCLEX reviews will help prepare you and build on what you have learned in nursing school.

Good luck to you.