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

hi zona!dont worry just keep ur head up and keep praying...your not alone im having the same problem. embarrasing as it seems ive manage to fail the rn exam 3times now and its been a month already and i think to myself everyday where im going wrong with this. the truth is, with my first exam i did not have the proper materials, and so i thought i would survive with the stock knowledge i gained from school. but unfortunately i failed. i underestimated and took the exam for granted.

and so my second exam i flooded myself with review materials.saunders, kaplan, ncsbn. all which is great material. during my second exam i felt i was doing superb no doubt. but during that time i made the biggest mistake, towards the end of my exam i kind of went thru the questions without carefully reading the questions. i was so scared of not being able to finish the exam i lossed focused. sumtimes u just kind of panic when u know everyone's counting on you.

on my third exam i was just so depressed on not passing the 2nd exam i wasnt focused enough on my third try. i didnt really study again for the third try. i guessed all that i studied for the 2nd exam kind just blurred away.

now im preparing for my fourth and final try (hopefully).=) i havnt given up. just taking it one day at a time. thru out the year ive come to realize that i have focused on so much review material that in time it got overwhelming. now, i plan to retrack my review. from 9am-12pm i will do comprehensive lectures and from 1pm-5pm ill be doing as 265 questions from monday thru saturday. =)

i hope this helps.=) if ever you want to talk or would like to review together i would be more than happy to help. this is just something i used to do with one of my friends during college.=) we would discuss things over yahoo messenger.=)

contact me via pm and we can sort something out

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Specializes in MICU/SICU.
Well that is absolutely certain. Our school, even those who passed first time agree was not good. The clinical instructors for the most part were pretty solid but the classroom instruction was poor. Still, as a student it is my responsiblity to learn the material presented regardless of the instructor. I feel I can improve in some areas but the questions they ask on the NCLEX often times it feels as though it as nothing to do with content. I excel at the math part of it. I hope to god I get math questions because that is like second nature to me. I do have some trouble with which client to see first.........because sometimes the ABC's simply dont work. I also have issues with the "what would you say to a patient or family member...." because I would never say any of the choices at all. I know you never ask "Why" and you dont use close ended questions like yes or no, but sometimes it seems like 2 of the answers are fine.

Also, I graduated from an ASN program, and we never had a Pharmacology class. I need work on my meds for sure. But with meds and stuff how is it possible to recall all side effects and what they are. I know the simple stuff like if it ends in olol its a Beta blocker and what not, but there are so many meds, so many side effects, so many uses, just seems overwhelming. I just need more studying, more questions to answer.

I have Saunders comprehensive review for the Nclex-RN examination third edition, Saunders Q&A Review for the NClex-Rn Examination, both with accompanying CD's. Also hae Kaplans book as I took the Kaplan classes for test #2 and did well in it but failed the exam. Also have a couple hand-held books, one a review of NClex and one is a Pharmacolgy book. And last but not least a HEsi book which is similar to Kaplan.

I prefer using Saunders because it provides more explanaiton about things compared to kaplan and hesi which basically are just lists of things to recall with no explanation. I just failed so I basically ahve nutil the beginning of December before I can take it again so thats a minimum of 6 weeks. Not sure how much to study per night or how many questions. I wanna be able to learn but not get so burnt out i cant see straight. I will do anything to pass though. I dont care if i have to spend 4-5 hours per night studying.

Hi again, Zona,

I, too, am in a final semester of an ASN program, and, like you, I did not have a "formal" pharmacology class, though we are taught plenty throughout the curriculum, and it's specific to what we're studying at that time. Our school has a pass rate in the low-90s. However, I got a great book to fill in a little, and it comes with tons of NCLEX questions (including more on a CD), and a great review in a compact, concise format. I simply love this book! It's part of a series called "Reviews and Rationales", and this is the "Pharmacology" book. Large, green and white, paperback. Do get it!!!

Plus, I got the latest Saunders NCLEX book, and a new one with all those dreaded, "New Format" questions, and this is a small, fairly-affordable book called, 'NCLEX-RN, 250 new-format questions"....this is, supposedly, really important since the exam has apparently changed to include tougher kinds of questions like these. (lucky you and I :uhoh3: )...Obviously I haven't taken the NCLEX, yet, but friends who have passed the exam recently told me about these books. Let me know how you're doing! You can PM me, too, if you want, or just continue with this thread.

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Hi Everyone,

I'm pretty new to this site. i was studying today and feeling very discouraged so i thought i'd vent a bit here.

I have failed the exam twice. I am currently working on Suzanne's plan. I feel so stupid. I feel like i cannot remember anything that i have read from the Saunder's. this is my 2nd week of doing the questions and I am not doing so well.

Anyone else who has done Suzanne's plan have any tips? Financially, I cannot prolong work any longer than the end of the month after i write the exam. I'm quite stressed out and feel like i am getting more and more depressed and anxious regarding my nursing career. HELP ANYONE! will i ever pass??????

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I just passed my NCLEX after two previous attempts :idea:- the only thing that helped was an online review class given by Ready To Pass (www.readytopass.com). I also contacted them and got individual tutoring over the phone which put me on the right path. But keep in mind, the only thing that will get you to pass is you....STUDY, STUDY some more and STUDY even more!! Good luck!!

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Specializes in New RN in Med-surge.
Hi Everyone,

I'm pretty new to this site. i was studying today and feeling very discouraged so i thought i'd vent a bit here.

I have failed the exam twice. I am currently working on Suzanne's plan. I feel so stupid. I feel like i cannot remember anything that i have read from the Saunder's. this is my 2nd week of doing the questions and I am not doing so well.

Anyone else who has done Suzanne's plan have any tips? Financially, I cannot prolong work any longer than the end of the month after i write the exam. I'm quite stressed out and feel like i am getting more and more depressed and anxious regarding my nursing career. HELP ANYONE! will i ever pass??????

Just keep doing questions I used study mode, make sure you read and understand every rationale whether its right or wrong trust me I felt the same way but eventually you will get and start looking ques and know what it is looking for and that's how I felt when I was testing. I and lilihana just found out we passed using her plan only this 3x around. I would suggest doing pharm, deleg, fund, legal last 2 to 3 wks before you test since its freq tested. Good Luck and Don't give up, stay determined, believe and have faith and GOD will make a way were living witnesses.

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You guys are making me so nervous, im in my second year of RPN. I know i have a long way to wait for my exam(NCLEX) ''got to get ready'' lol . I like all of your ideas and I wish everyone GOODLUCK in there exam.

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congratulations!

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Hi Matilda5O,

just wanted to say thank you for the encouragement and for the tips for studying. So happy for you that you passed the exam!

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Hi All About to take the NCLEX!

I can't say for sure if this is going to work for me - the test is next week! That said, I listen to the Kaplan mp3s on my ipod. For the technical stuff and numbers, I will sit quietly and take notes. But a lot of it you can listen to while driving, cooking or whatever you need to do that keeps you away from studying. In a way, it's like taking an NCLEX prep course in your spare time, with the added advantage that you can stop and go back over stuff. I will report back after the test, but it's really good for the judgement and priority stuff. I sure wish there were a "master list" of stuff you need to know - most study books are over-kill with the info. Failing that, it's obvious (correct me if I'm wrong) that we should focus on the most common diseases, the most common side effects (well maybe the rare side effect like Stevens-Johnson is important) Though I believe everybody who says that nothing really prepared them for the test, I'm wondering if the best thing to do (which I'm doing) is practice taking the test. I'm confused about the advice that it's not "knowlege based," because to make priorities, etc. you need a lot of info.

Any suggestions, anyone?

Diahni

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Diahni -

Like I said in my previous thread, I took an online review with Ready To Pass (www.readytopass.com) - they really went over exactly what was on the test without the over kill. I felt that I could focus my studies on what I needed to rather than generalization - they also did a lot of repetition which I think helped me get it :idea:!! The tutoring helped me ask specific questions so that I could move pass the things that I already had a grasp on and focus on what my "problem" areas were. My best advice to anyone taking the test is to believe you can do it & study!!

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Diahni -

Like I said in my previous thread, I took an online review with Ready To Pass (www.readytopass.com) - they really went over exactly what was on the test without the over kill. I felt that I could focus my studies on what I needed to rather than generalization - they also did a lot of repetition which I think helped me get it :idea:!! The tutoring helped me ask specific questions so that I could move pass the things that I already had a grasp on and focus on what my "problem" areas were. My best advice to anyone taking the test is to believe you can do it & study!!

Thanks!

Diahni

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Specializes in medical-surgical.

i'm into taking practice tests everyday... reviewing both correct and incorrect answers with rationale... practice makes me a better test taker... :)

*hope i'll make it next week!!! :)

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