soon to take the dreaded CA NCLEX-RN exam

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hi everyone this is one of my several posts here in allnurses, i am a filipina nurse living here in san francisco for almost a year now,came here thru fiance visa, ill be taking my exam on the 15th. The odds are really not in my favor because i finished nursing 16 years ago, and i only practiced nursing for a very short time from graduation and never practiced nursing since then. I went into a different field and its only now that im here in the US that i decided to get back to nursing and try to challenge the nclex. Although i took the cgfns last 2003 and passed it but as they say the nclex is a much harder test. Im using the Saunders comprehensive nclex-rn review with cd the latest edition using suzanne4's study guide, kaplan strategy book with cd and prioritization,delegation and assignment book by mosby. I couldnt afford those expensive online courses, so i just have to make use of what i have and i really hope and pray its enough for me to get by and pass that dreaded exam. Im a little nervous, its just natural because its the unknown, i havent taken nclex before and i really dont know what to expect, but as they say a little anxiety is healthy as long as it doesnt overpower you and hinder your ability to think clearly through the questions. Anyway just wanted to vent my feelings , i wish my next post would be one with those dancing monkey,balloons and smileys.

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Specializes in MedSurg.-Tele, Home health, LTC.
hi everyone this is one of my several posts here in allnurses, i am a filipina nurse living here in san francisco for almost a year now,came here thru fiance visa, ill be taking my exam on the 15th. the odds are really not in my favor because i finished nursing 16 years ago, and i only practiced nursing for a very short time from graduation and never practiced nursing since then. i went into a different field and its only now that im here in the us that i decided to get back to nursing and try to challenge the nclex. although i took the cgfns last 2003 and passed it but as they say the nclex is a much harder test. im using the saunders comprehensive nclex-rn review with cd the latest edition using suzanne4's study guide, kaplan strategy book with cd and prioritization,delegation and assignment book by mosby. i couldnt afford those expensive online courses, so i just have to make use of what i have and i really hope and pray its enough for me to get by and pass that dreaded exam. im a little nervous, its just natural because its the unknown, i havent taken nclex before and i really dont know what to expect, but as they say a little anxiety is healthy as long as it doesnt overpower you and hinder your ability to think clearly through the questions. anyway just wanted to vent my feelings , i wish my next post would be one with those dancing monkey,balloons and smileys.

dear nindot, from reading your post, i know exactly where you're coming from...it is normal to feel anxious before taking the nclex-rn exam. trust me, you are not the only one who felt the same way. it seems like you did all the necessary reviews as much as you can. you may feel that you don't know anything, but you will be surprise how much infos you knew all along when you take the test. not all nclexrn takers passed on the first take, i knew some people at work who said they failed the exam at the first take, but passed the next time. when i took the exam, i didn't expect that i'd passed on the first take. by the way, it took me 12 years before i graduated from nursing school. its really hard not to feel anxious. i suggest don't review anymore 3 days before the exam, relax with your friends, go see a movie or walk in the beach, you live in california right? sunset is there always beautiful:holly2: :holly1: :holly3:

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Specializes in ACNP-BC, Adult Critical Care, Cardiology.

I second that RN Hawaii. Your exam is next week, just relax and take it easy for now. If you already passed the CGFNS in 2003, I think you'll do fine with the NCLEX. Some people do say that the NCLEX is harder but that is not always the case. I actually found the CGFNS harder, only because we have to finish the whole test, whereas with the NCLEX, the exam stops at a certain number of questions (mine stopped at 75, so I was like, "I'm done?"). Trust that you have enough stored information in your head to answer the questions and pass the test. Pray and make sure others are praying for you too (I think my mom's prayers helped me a lot). I'll say a little prayer for you too and good luck!

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Specializes in Critical Care Nursing.

iam sure you can pass it... i took cg also and i find it harder than nclex... this is just my opinion... pinoyNP and RNHawaii are both right... RELAX

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Specializes in Medical-Surgical.

Same here, graduated in 1991 and took and passed the NLE the same year. Took and passed the CGFNS in 1992. Had volunteered for a year and went to pharmaceuticals for several years until I resigned this January 2006. Arrived here in California and worked on an Interim Permit RN for six months and took and passed both the NCLEX-PN and NCLEX-RN nearly two months ago.

I used Saunders 2nd Edition and it toook me four months to finish reading it while working at the same time. I also used its CD Q and A plus the cds of the 3rd edition of Saunders Comprehensive Review and the 3rd edition Sasunders Q and A but only used around 50%. The good thing was I covered all the areas/topics with this cds.

You can do it. Good Luck!

hi everyone this is one of my several posts here in allnurses, i am a filipina nurse living here in san francisco for almost a year now,came here thru fiance visa, ill be taking my exam on the 15th. The odds are really not in my favor because i finished nursing 16 years ago, and i only practiced nursing for a very short time from graduation and never practiced nursing since then. I went into a different field and its only now that im here in the US that i decided to get back to nursing and try to challenge the nclex. Although i took the cgfns last 2003 and passed it but as they say the nclex is a much harder test. Im using the Saunders comprehensive nclex-rn review with cd the latest edition using suzanne4's study guide, kaplan strategy book with cd and prioritization,delegation and assignment book by mosby. I couldnt afford those expensive online courses, so i just have to make use of what i have and i really hope and pray its enough for me to get by and pass that dreaded exam. Im a little nervous, its just natural because its the unknown, i havent taken nclex before and i really dont know what to expect, but as they say a little anxiety is healthy as long as it doesnt overpower you and hinder your ability to think clearly through the questions. Anyway just wanted to vent my feelings , i wish my next post would be one with those dancing monkey,balloons and smileys.
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thanks rnhawaii34 and pinoynp for your words of encouragement and support, i appreciate it a lot, i know i would do fine just as long as i trust and believe in myself that i have done my very best to be well prepared for this exam, if i do pass wow that would be such a big relief, if not then i just have to accept it, then try again the second time, but of couse who wouldnt want to make it the first try. Again thanks to both of you, ill keep you posted pass or not.

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hi Rep thanks for your reply, wow! u have both the PN and RN license, that's amazing. Is Nclex-rn really that hard as what everyone else is saying? Are the questions on the Saunders cds nothing or should i say so much easier compared to the actual exam. I have been doing the cd questions for 2 mos. now and i have been getting high 80's-mid 90's most of the time 90-95, its funny because in every exam that i do from the cd there are repeated questions and i think that's the reason why i get these high marks hehehe. I hope its because i have covered already almost all of the questions that's why i kept on getting the repeated questions. The other book that im using the Prioritization,delegation and assignment book under mosby is the one that has more complex questions, and i bought that because priority questions are big on the actual exam and they are considered high level questions so i guess it will be helpful. Im just worried that with the tons of information in my mind i might not be able to remember some of them, specially like me who's not that young anymore (im 37) as what they say your memory is not as good as when you are younger, so taking the exam is really a big challenge for me. Thanks once again for wishing me goodluck, wishing you more success in your rn life.

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Specializes in Medical-Surgical.
hi Rep thanks for your reply, wow! u have both the PN and RN license, that's amazing. Is Nclex-rn really that hard as what everyone else is saying? Are the questions on the Saunders cds nothing or should i say so much easier compared to the actual exam. I have been doing the cd questions for 2 mos. now and i have been getting high 80's-mid 90's most of the time 90-95, its funny because in every exam that i do from the cd there are repeated questions and i think that's the reason why i get these high marks hehehe. I hope its because i have covered already almost all of the questions that's why i kept on getting the repeated questions. The other book that im using the Prioritization,delegation and assignment book under mosby is the one that has more complex questions, and i bought that because priority questions are big on the actual exam and they are considered high level questions so i guess it will be helpful. Im just worried that with the tons of information in my mind i might not be able to remember some of them, specially like me who's not that young anymore (im 37) as what they say your memory is not as good as when you are younger, so taking the exam is really a big challenge for me. Thanks once again for wishing me goodluck, wishing you more success in your rn life.

For both the PN and RN, I encountered a lot of priority questions so be ready for that.

In my opinion, I only used Saunders, the questions from Saunders were just similar to the NCLEX questions I encountered. Since you also used other reference then it is also good. I think the more questions you covered and undestood, the more chances of passing you have. Remember, for a question you answered, you have one rationale that is correct and two or more rationale that explain why they were wrong. That two rationals can be used and explained for two other situations.

By the way, I am 37.

Good luck!

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way to go nindot...you did your homework and i believe you are prepared for the dreaded nclex. don't worry about cramming up so many information in your head you will be amazed at what you can recall when exam comes. by now you should be relaxing - goodluck!!!

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way to go nindot...you did your homework and i believe you are prepared for the dreaded nclex. don't worry about cramming up so many information in your head you will be amazed at what you can recall when exam comes. by now you should be relaxing - goodluck!!!

thanks misty888 for your words of encouragement i appreciate it, yeah right now im already cooling down from studying though im still gonna do some brief reviews here and then until 2 days before my exam just to make sure.

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thanks to all of you who replied to my post and im happy to let you know that I PASSED!!!:monkeydance: someone here wrote that you will be surprised how much info you knew all along while taking the exam, its really true, i felt exactly the same and i laughed at myself ive always thought that nclex is such a dreadful exam but when i was taking it, i find it very doable, of course for the very main reason that i have prepared well enough for it. Happy holidays everyone and may you all have a blessed New Year!!!

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
thanks to all of you who replied to my post and im happy to let you know that I PASSED!!!:monkeydance: someone here wrote that you will be surprised how much info you knew all along while taking the exam, its really true, i felt exactly the same and i laughed at myself ive always thought that nclex is such a dreadful exam but when i was taking it, i find it very doable, of course for the very main reason that i have prepared well enough for it. Happy holidays everyone and may you all have a blessed New Year!!!

congratulations :Melody: :balloons: :biere:

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