Taking the NLE

stanpogi · Sep 14, 2014

Hi, what I did before taking the NLE was to read additional books aside from the materials that were given by the review center,as it enhanced my self confidence in answering questions and gained more knowledge.Just think that it is your advantage to review additional books so that you can learn more.

Taking an examination (most particularly board exam) takes tremendous amount of hard-work and perseverance. Review centers are very useful because they help you to improve your test taking strategies as well as they provide you essential information about the exam. However, relying on them may not be entirely effective. Study, read and believe in yourself. The only way to pass the test is to exert your best effort, aim to top not just to pass. Don't forget to pray and have time to relax. You can make it.:)

I reviewed Saunders NCLEX-RN book, it helped me not only in NLE,but also NCLEX.

jmariel · Sep 14, 2014

Im not sure whether I should read saunders because it's a nclex based book and not a NLE based book :/

ChikoyaRn · Sep 14, 2014

I find saunders very useful during my college and review days.

jmariel · Sep 14, 2014

I find saunders very useful during my college and review days.

I found the book useful during my college days but I am hesitant to use it during review as it is a Nclex based book. Did you find the actual content helpful or just the questions?

stanpogi · Sep 14, 2014

It is useful,because we follow US standard.

jmariel · Sep 14, 2014

It is useful,because we follow US standard.

Okay, I'll give it a go once if I have the time. Thank you for the help.

MarkoRN · Sep 17, 2014

Yes, Saunders was very useful. That's the only book that I've read cover to cover during my review.

MarkoRN · Sep 18, 2014

But you must also review questions that were used on the previous board exams. About 3 to 5 percent are repeated. But that only happens sometimes because we have a new set of BON board members.

Zynque · Sep 23, 2014

Saunders is very useful especially for NP1, NP3 & NP4. Since it's 1 month more to go, I guess it would be good to practice answering questions from the previous board exams and read their rationales. It will help a lot. And 1 week before the exam, just relax and give your self a break. Most importantly, pray always and keep your focus during the exam. Aim for the top not just getting 75%. :) God bless!

jmariel · Sep 24, 2014

thank you everyone for your help :)

mikeru22 · Sep 29, 2014

Hello jmariel! I didn't get to top the board exam when I took it but I got a very decent percentage. I graduated in April 2008 and took the November 28-29 NLE unwillingly (because I really wanted to take the June 2008 NLE but wasn't allowed by my university).

What worked really well for me was reading my own references according to schedule during my free time and when I was mentally, emotionally and physically ready. Put emphasis on you being "ready" to take it all in haha. If you feel lazy or not in the mood to read or study then do something else. In my case, I had plenty of PC Games I could indulge my self in but be very careful though to still re-direct your self to your schedule.

My study schedule consisted of the books, manuals, modules and practice exams I would read based on my perceived grey areas. Since I wasn't really well-versed with Maternal and Child Nursing, I arranged my schedule in such a way that I would be able to cover all 3 MCN books that I have (Olds, Pilliterri and Lippincott) but not sacrificing all the other subjects. I just had to deal with MCN first and then tackle all the other subjects later. My self-paced study helped me a lot in easing out my anxiety for my grey areas and for all the other things I felt not thoroughly discussed during our in-house review.

Reviewing for the NLE shouldn't be that painful and should be very individual and personal. You can have fun, take some time off or even days off from reviewing as long as you can go back and catch up with your plan. Have plenty of rest, exercise and above all pray a lot and always ask for His guidance, direction and wisdom and you would be surprised by the things you would achieve through Him.

Having said all these, reading some other materials other than the ones given by your review center may or may not help you depending on your perceived needs. Just remember to make a compact plan and schedule to avoid increasing your anxiety and ending up rattled.

God bless you!