TIPS/Info for passing NCLEX

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Hi,

To everyone who passed recent nclex-rn, can you please share what helped you best (cd's, printed materials, etc..) ? Where to focus? and how did you study/prepare?

thanks... this will help a lot of us who are scheduled to take the exams soon

questions! questions! questions! I agree do as many as possible!!!!

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Specializes in ER.

I studied using Suzannes method and Saunders book. I did thousands of questions. It did help me to absorb the content as well, especially meds, lab values and my alltime favourite... endorinology....hhhhmmmph;)

My 'tip' would be to try not to let the exam 'take over you'. After some 10-15 questions I felt it became really difficult and the answer options were vague. I picked up my speed and raced through the exam just to see if the next and the next question was going to be something familiar. Afterwards I could not believe I had done that.

I passed with 75 questions but the feeling I had afterwards... shame. I could not believe I was caught 'speeding' after all the advice given to me.

Good luck & pace yourselves!

Geena RN

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mikey. could you tell me how you prepared for the hesi?

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I just passed last week and I agree with a lot of people here. Read and understand lots and lots of questions. I finished both the Saunders' and Mosby's CD and Saunders' Q&A reviewer too. Reading and understanding the concepts and principles is what helped me a lot. Memorizing is not the way to go in NCLEX exams, memorizing laboratory values, yes, but not the answers to particular questions.

I encountered lots of prioritization questions (esp. triage and discharging) that may look all correct at first glance but once I analyze them, I realize that one or two really stands out. So it's just a matter of taking the time to study the questions and recall what you have been reading for the past few months.

Good luck to everybody who will take the exam.

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I just passed last week and I agree with a lot of people here. Read and understand lots and lots of questions. I finished both the Saunders' and Mosby's CD and Saunders' Q&A reviewer too. Reading and understanding the concepts and principles is what helped me a lot. Memorizing is not the way to go in NCLEX exams, memorizing laboratory values, yes, but not the answers to particular questions.

I encountered lots of prioritization questions (esp. triage and discharging) that may look all correct at first glance but once I analyze them, I realize that one or two really stands out. So it's just a matter of taking the time to study the questions and recall what you have been reading for the past few months.

Good luck to everybody who will take the exam.

Hi, I just want to ask where did you took your NCLEX? I am still waiting for my evaluation before i can apply to BON.

Thanks

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Hi, I just want to ask where did you took your NCLEX? I am still waiting for my evaluation before i can apply to BON.

Thanks

I applied for the Vermont exam but I took the exam in Pasadena, CA, last June 24.

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I applied for the Vermont exam but I took the exam in Pasadena, CA, last June 24.

THANKS JENGRES! I'M FROM THE PHIL.TOO.I WILL BE APPLYING IN FL.BON.

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Read your books.Find a quiet place to do it. Forget about dinners on time and wash. Forget about baking for the kids and cleaning the house.Learn all the meds and side effects you can. Submitt to some nursing journals to start thinking like a nurse. Get used to a few hours of sleep and be ready for everyone you know to get pissed off because they have not heard from you. Sleep now, you will not do much in school. You will see meds marching across your eyes, you will swear a care plan was invented by the devil himself. Get ready to gain weight, snacking on the run and while studying is a biggie!But, in the end you will make it. Buy some good nclex books they will help you with your studies and at the same time, prepare for the nclex. Zar

wow! i'm new here and urs is a nice tip. i'm taking the nclex late this year also. hope i'll pass.

grace

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study very well and use the kaplan strategies... they work! While answering questions, feeling ko wala na kong alam... I lost my confidence when the computer didnt stopped at 75, so i just used the kaplan startegies instead...blanko na utak ko non... dont worry if you consumed the whole 6 hours because it happened to me and I passed... alot of pharma questions lumabas, triage and delegation... goodluck!

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Hi! I took my NCLEX-RN last week and found out i passed with 75 questions. I mostly had priority and education questions, mainly having to do with med/surg but i did get some management, peds, OB and psych. I wanted to share some tips that i used and hopefully it will help many of you.

-I used Lippincott, mainly practiced questions on disk. My school provided us with a HESI book and disk but i noticed the HESI book especially "Hesi Hints" were extremely helpful. The questions on the disk were pretty hard and i was scoring 40-50%.

-Did Kaplan's online Q-Bank, atleast 50-100 questions a day. It trains you to think like the NCLEX. The more questions you practice the better; however i was scoring around 50%, lowest score was 37% and i still passed NCLEX. Don't get discouraged.

-Studied a little bit each day after i graduated but the week before my NCLEX i hit it hard, studied for atleast 8 hours taking frequent breaks. I had to pretend i was in school again.

-If you like Classical music, you may find it useful to listen to Mozart at low volume while studying. I've read how Classical stimulates certain brain waves. I also listened to "Awakened Mind System 3.0" and "Brainwave" from Dr. Jeffrey Thompson while studying. Sometimes i can't study with complete silence, thats when these came in handy.

-Try to eat healthy and don't drink any alcoholic drinks. Skip the junk food, it doesn't nourish your body. I drank alot of water and herbal teas, ate alot of lean protein and healthy carbs for that week. Examples..fish, chicken, spinach, baked potato, beans, etc supposed to be good brain food.

-Exercise or do something aerobic to stimulate some blood flow to brain, can even dangle head over edge of bed a couple minutes a day.

-Do deep breathing exercises frequently to oxygenate your brain.

-If you're into Aromatherapy, put a few drops of Grapefruit essential oil on a tissue and occasionally sniff while studying or you can use this in an candle tea light oil diffuser for the whole room. Grapefruit awakens your senses and helps you focus. Rosemary also helps with memory. Right before the test take a few whiffs of Grapefruit essential oil and it will help you remember what you studied.

-Get plenty of sleep. Go to bed early. I made sure to get 7 and half or 8 hours a night.

-Read the question slowly and carefully! Read it 4 or 5 times if you have to, i did. First, ELIMINATE answers you know are WRONG for sure, then usually you're stuck between 2 answers. You will have some questions in which all the answers are right and you have to pick the MOST important one, so do your best to remember, focus, & concentrate.

-Don't rush through the test because you want to hurry up and get out of there. Take your time with EACH question, you have a time limit of 6 hours and you're allowed breaks.

-There will be questions that you will absolutely have no clue what they are talking about, something you never heard of or learned in school. Do your best to answer, don't be hard on yourself.

-Don't forget ABC's. Heard it a million times from nurses, doctors and instructors.

-Review important normal values if you have forgotten them, especially labs and ABGs. They always told us this in nursing school.

-If you have test anxiety try "Rescue Remedy" from "Bach Flower Essences" Its a natural stress reliever without any side effects. I get sweaty palms, knots in my stomach and i hold my breath when i take tests, this helps me.

-During the test don't forget to take some deep breaths but don't do it so loud that you will disrupt others around you.

-Suck on a piece of hard candy just right before the test...it'll give you some extra glucose for your brain.

-If you believe in prayer...then PRAY and ask others to pray for you.

-Stay positive and confident. I know its easier said than done, but if you go in with a negative attitude you probably won't perform well on your test.

Good luck!! Hope this helps!

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Hi! I took my NCLEX-RN last week and found out i passed with 75 questions. I mostly had priority and education questions, mainly having to do with med/surg but i did get some management, peds, OB and psych. I wanted to share some tips that i used and hopefully it will help many of you.

-I used Lippincott, mainly practiced questions on disk. My school provided us with a HESI book and disk but i noticed the HESI book especially "Hesi Hints" were extremely helpful. The questions on the disk were pretty hard and i was scoring 40-50%.

-Did Kaplan's online Q-Bank, atleast 50-100 questions a day. It trains you to think like the NCLEX. The more questions you practice the better; however i was scoring around 50%, lowest score was 37% and i still passed NCLEX. Don't get discouraged.

-Studied a little bit each day after i graduated but the week before my NCLEX i hit it hard, studied for atleast 8 hours taking frequent breaks. I had to pretend i was in school again.

-If you like Classical music, you may find it useful to listen to Mozart at low volume while studying. I've read how Classical stimulates certain brain waves. I also listened to "Awakened Mind System 3.0" and "Brainwave" from Dr. Jeffrey Thompson while studying. Sometimes i can't study with complete silence, thats when these came in handy.

-Try to eat healthy and don't drink any alcoholic drinks. Skip the junk food, it doesn't nourish your body. I drank alot of water and herbal teas, ate alot of lean protein and healthy carbs for that week. Examples..fish, chicken, spinach, baked potato, beans, etc supposed to be good brain food.

-Exercise or do something aerobic to stimulate some blood flow to brain, can even dangle head over edge of bed a couple minutes a day.

-Do deep breathing exercises frequently to oxygenate your brain.

-If you're into Aromatherapy, put a few drops of Grapefruit essential oil on a tissue and occasionally sniff while studying or you can use this in an candle tea light oil diffuser for the whole room. Grapefruit awakens your senses and helps you focus. Rosemary also helps with memory. Right before the test take a few whiffs of Grapefruit essential oil and it will help you remember what you studied.

-Get plenty of sleep. Go to bed early. I made sure to get 7 and half or 8 hours a night.

-Read the question slowly and carefully! Read it 4 or 5 times if you have to, i did. First, ELIMINATE answers you know are WRONG for sure, then usually you're stuck between 2 answers. You will have some questions in which all the answers are right and you have to pick the MOST important one, so do your best to remember, focus, & concentrate.

-Don't rush through the test because you want to hurry up and get out of there. Take your time with EACH question, you have a time limit of 6 hours and you're allowed breaks.

-There will be questions that you will absolutely have no clue what they are talking about, something you never heard of or learned in school. Do your best to answer, don't be hard on yourself.

-Don't forget ABC's. Heard it a million times from nurses, doctors and instructors.

-Review important normal values if you have forgotten them, especially labs and ABGs. They always told us this in nursing school.

-If you have test anxiety try "Rescue Remedy" from "Bach Flower Essences" Its a natural stress reliever without any side effects. I get sweaty palms, knots in my stomach and i hold my breath when i take tests, this helps me.

-During the test don't forget to take some deep breaths but don't do it so loud that you will disrupt others around you.

-Suck on a piece of hard candy just right before the test...it'll give you some extra glucose for your brain.

-If you believe in prayer...then PRAY and ask others to pray for you.

-Stay positive and confident. I know its easier said than done, but if you go in with a negative attitude you probably won't perform well on your test.

Good luck!! Hope this helps!

Thanks for your tips...detailed and interesting. I am doing some of it already and some are new to me. Thanks again.

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thanks for encouragement

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