Take my NCLEX on July 30...any advice?

kcalohagirl · Jul 24, 2007

Hey there! I took NCLEX a year ago. For what it's worth, here's my advice.

Do practice questions up until the night before the exam. The night before the exam, put the books away, turn off the computer, do something relaxing and make sure you get a good night's sleep. Your brain will function better rested.

As far as questions and such:

Take your time. Read the question carefully. The question may not always be about what it first appears. It may look to be a question about some strange pediatric situation, but in reality, it is about prioritization. If you slow down and analyze it a bit, it may make more sense than it did at first.

Ask yourself: what is the one intervention I could do and then walk out the door and leave for the day. Out of all the choices, if I could only do one, which would make the most difference to the patient?

Sometimes that will help choose on the questions where it seem like ALL the answers are right, but you can only pick one.

As far as the "choose all that apply" questions: those were the ones that freaked me out the most. I started by ruling out the ones that were obviously wrong, and going from there. Don't know how I did on them though. Those were the hardest for me in nursing school, too. I HATE those questions!

Best of luck. It is a stressful day, but you are almost there and done with it.

Good luck, let us know how you did!

Sabby_NC · Jul 24, 2007

All I can say is practice practice and practice. Do practice questions until you are oozing them.

I would do this up until the night before the NCLEX.

That night it is best to try and relax, have a bubble bath or what ever you find relaxing.

Don't stress too much. Go in to do the NCLEX with the attitude you are going to give this 110% and pass.

I wish you well on July 30th.:monkeydance:

jessi1106, BSN, RN · Jul 24, 2007

Hi, I just took NCLEX on 7/18. I did lots of practice questions and RARELY got the select all that apply right. The NCLEX gave me about 5 of theses types. There was only one I felt confident on, but I still passed with 75.

Just keep doing questions and read the rationales. I know other perople have said to relax the night before...I simply could not do that. I RE-read rationales for q bank questions I missed the night before...do get a good night sleep and eat breakfast.

Also, I even drove to the testing center and went in the day before, just to releive anxiety. The people who worked there were very kind and the atmosphere was a lot more pleasant than I had pictured in my mind....knowing that helped me sleep better the night before.

Sorry if this is more advice than you wanted, lol.

Best of luck to you...you can do it!

Most of all go in KNOWING you'll pass!:balloons:

phabuious · Jul 24, 2007

I am taking mine on Monday too (in NY)...from what I have been reading on all of the posts: at this point, you know the material, seems that the difference between passing and failing is the ability to relax and go into the test with a clear head. We can do this!

grnmtngirl · Jul 24, 2007

I'm taking mine on Monday too. My focus this week has been pharm, L&D and a few random Med/Surg topics that I just cant get a grip on (dietary/GI questions, eyes and ears, and endocrine). I'm working through it the best I can but with full-time work I had to do self-study on my own these past couple months while working through a difficult internship period in a critical care unit. It never seems to be enough studying. WE ALL SEEM TO BE FEELING THAT WAY. And it seems like all my classmates have taken it and passed (even those that barely passed our courses) so I feel some added pressure to get it right the first time since I was one of the honors students.

BEST OF LUCK TO EVERYONE ON MON... I'll be thinking of all of you and will report back here as well after the test. Feel free to come back and post if you need to throughout the week-- I'm checking nearly every day after I get home from work and before I study...

al7139, ASN, RN · Jul 26, 2007

Thank you all for your advice...I feel better about what I have been doing to get ready. I have been practicing when I can (hard with a ft job), and I have the weekend off, so I have time to really practice. I am still anxious (especially since I found out today that my friend that was in school with me failed her NCLEX), but everyone I work with says I will do fine.

Good luck to you all who are taking the boards on Monday (or any day) as well.

I'll let you know how it goes!

Amy

grnmtngirl · Jul 26, 2007

Hey Amy,

I devoted 1 night to pharmacy this week when I was off. I've been scoring 70-80% on my pharm practice tests (about 50 questions each) since then. Just wanted to share the encouragement. Reviewing it helps it come back again...

I'm still not doing well with ears and eyes, GI and alternate questions. I went out and bought the book recommended by one of the members here and it is AWESOME! 250 alternate questions-- they come with rationales. I've been rewriting the answers I get wrong and it's making me feel better about the alt questions already.

Good luck studying. You're lucky to have the weekend off... I'm working Thurs, Fri and Sat night... GRRR. Good luck studying this weekend. I hope it comes together for you.

phabuious · Jul 30, 2007

Good luck to everyone taking the test on 7/30 (including me!) - a few hours and it will all be over! We can do this, no worries!

grnmtngirl · Jul 30, 2007

I hope it's not as scary as everyone says... Good luck tomorrow you guys! As a night shift worker I can't sleep tonight... oh well. Hopefully all this ER rerun watching tonight counts as review... right?

scoobydoo32, RN · Jul 30, 2007

Good luck;)