time ran out

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I just wanted to post a note of faith for all the people who are waiting out those dreadful 48 hours after the NCLEX exam. I took the NCLEX on Sunday. I felt completely prepared, but I was so nervous I was shaking, and sweating. We all learned in school that a little bit of anxiety heightens your awareness, but once you reach panic level you can't think straight. I felt like I reached that level and I was so fearful I would blow it.

I had so many things riding on this exam. I had a job offer, a new car note (big no, no), etc. The pressure was unbelievable! Anyway once I hit question #75 and the computer did not turn off. I told myself I didn't have any time to panic, I just needed to focus. But the test just kept going and going and going. Everyone else in the testing center had completed their exams about 1.5 hrs into it and here I was still there. Before I knew it I was more that 200 questions into the exam and not confident in most of my answers. I made it to question 254 and the computer ran out of time and shut off. I had been there 6 hours and I didn't even complete the exam. I was convinced for the next 48 hours that I had failed. I cried the entire drive home. I read all sorts of threads for reassurrance which helped and even tried the NCLEX trick, which worked BTW. It was the only hope I was holding onto.

BUT...

I found out today that I passed, and there my name is, right up there on the state board of nursing webpage!!! I keep checking it over and over to make sure it is really true. Those 48 hours were the longest hours of my life and I have so much sympathy for anyone going through it. I just want to say that no matter what everyone else in the testing center is doing, whether the whole place is empty and you are still sitting there, as long at the questions keep coming, you are still in the game!!! Just focus on the questions and keeping cool and not how many hours into the test or how many questions you have done.

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:ancong!:

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:ancong!: Thank you for those words of encouragement.

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CONGRATS!!

what resources and books did you use to prepare?

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I attended the Hurst review and really focused on the core content taught in that course. They say in the Hurst review to know your content "without a doubt and without hesitation" and I would take their word for it. I felt that I understood the content fairly well, but I know I could have studied it more. If I had, I probably would have had a much shorter exam. I got the Kaplan book too, but I didn't really use it much because the questions seemed really easy compared to the Q-reviews in Hurst and I kind of wanted to prepare myself for the worst.

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Congrats! I am currently in those dreaded 48 hrs. I got the good pop up though!

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:ancong!:

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