Taking NCLEX without studying-Wanting honest opinions

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I'll make this short and sweet. I'm in a BSN program, graduating in May 2010, just finished my summer externship in ICU and have the chance to take my LPN and work to support myself until I graduate. I have already sent in the equivalency application, was cleared to apply for licensure, and am waiting for my ATT email. I want to take the test as soon as possible, or I will end up taking it DURING school (which I really do NOT want). But, my question is, without having studied (officially), I do review questions every other day and review rationales, and try to keep the common lab values, ABG's, etc in the front of my mind. But, is there even a chance this is enough? I worked very hard in all my classes, scored well on exams, did good in pharm (that is the part of the test that intimidates me the most), and think I got a good grasp of most of the common disease processes, but I have continually been reading about folks who "did well in school" and can't seem to pass this darn test.

Am I setting myself up for disaster or should I try this? I feel reasonably confident but after reading all these threads about having 10 review books and studying for 6 months...I'm starting to really doubt myself. Thank you for reading this, and don't hold back if you have something to say. Ty!

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I do not know if LPN/LVN's have the same kind of questions then the RN's have on Nclex. Also, sometimes to make good scores in school means little, because it ultimately depends on how hard your teachers are on you, if your school has a high passing rate and so on and on. We have two schools were I live. Some of the people there scored high in grades during their schooling, but failed, because the school did not really correlate their testing with Nclex and gave good grades out at times when they should not have. I think there are many factors to consider. Do you want to pay the money and just go for it? I think it is for you too 200 Dollars. I guess if it would not really matter to you one way or another its okay. However, if you have to bank on passing to get this specific job then I might want to put some studying into this.

I always study though...regardless if I make good grades or not.

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Oh I study regardless of my grades as well, and I don't want this to sound like I'm so confident that I don't think I need to study. Our teachers were very hard on us and I basically ignored everyone that mattered to me in order to do what I had to for my exams. I don't just have $200 to throw away but I do want to take this to get practice for the testing environment for the nclex RN as well. I would be very upset if I didn't pass, but in light of not studying I guess I couldn't kill myself over it. Thank you for your input :)

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Good luck to you regardless of your choice. That is difficult to answer for others, because how do you compare your knoweldge with others? Maybe another way to gauge how you are doing is what kind of scores you achieve on those questions you make and compare them with some people online here, but even that is not always a given. Oh and I did not take it as if you feel overconfident at all. I think it is certainly something smart that you are doing and I figured that you under normal circumstances study and you said you are doing questions every other day.

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My honest opinion is I'm sure it's possible. A lot of people say that no matter how much they would have studied, it would have made NO difference. I haven't begun studying yet, but I found the Kaplan Q trainer 1 and managed a 70ish on it..I've done some NCLEX 3500 practice tests and did decently well on them. It's not really about how MUCH you know, it's how you take the basic info about a disease and use it. The one thing I would for sure look over are drugs. I mean I know what a lot of drugs are for...but pt teaching wise. I can't tell you much about whether or not to take with food, before or after food, bedtime, etc. I'd look over drugs and a few major diseases...Diabetes, CAD, maybe some thyroid stuff.

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i spent about 1/2 hour studing.....years ago.....passed......in your case YOU MUST remember that you are sitting for LPN not rn, and the delegation/scope will be different.....good luck

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The nclex is different in my opinion from nursing school exams. It is more critical thinking and decision making. Good luck to you!

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I feel taht the biggest part of taking tests is confidence and keeping your anxiety levels down. Obviously you have been studying if your grades are good you do practice question every other day so obviously, your knowledge of NCLEX style testing is great. I just took the NCLEX-RN and realized that it wasn't the monster that everyone makes it out to be actually if you take your tiime and read the questions and the answers you can come up with the correct one most of the time. Good Luck you will do fine just keep your anxiety to a minimum while you test. :twocents:

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Specializes in Utilization Management.

The NCLEX-PN is totally do-able without studying, especially if you are in a BSN program. If you have a solid knowledge of lab values and a somewhat decent grasp of pharmacology, you will pass.

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Specializes in NICU.

You should be fine. I didn't think the test was that bad, but like the poster above said, you need to have your mind wrapped around the idea that LPN has a different role than RNs.

I worked as an LPN while I finished RN school and it was a fantastic way to get experience, I'm glad I did it.

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Specializes in None.

I took the LPN after my 3rd time taking the RN and failing. I was so fed up and aggravated...I didn't study o do anything. I just scheduled the test and went in and took it!! But we all are different. And again the scope of practice for LPN is different than RN!! I say go with what you feel in your gut!! It never leads you wrong. Good luck to you!!

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Although I did study like a crazy person for the NCLEX, I feel that it wasn't really the content that I needed to review, but the type of questions. I did practice questions from the Saunders and I feel that made a difference in my test. I also signed up for the NCSBN course online and did those practice questions over and over. Remember your ABC's when you go into the NCLEX and you should be set!

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