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

Thank you so much, this is great for people who don't have money to buy books at this time. thanks again.

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Ditto what ksas said. Thanks.

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hehehe sorry for that..i thought i typed wendy...nyways thank u much

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Specializes in Cardiac/Telemetry.

My tips for the NCLEX would be to do the book (s) that you feel most comfortable with. I would definitely advise people to stick with the maximum of two books. Any more than that might confuse you and make you feel inept. I did Kaplan and Saunders and I found that the combination helped a great deal. I would use Saunders for content and Kaplan for the questions. I passed first time. However, there's really nothing I could say that is fool-proof on what type of content to focus on when studying for the exam because my test was so random, I didn't even know where to start. :chuckle I had a fair amount of GI, neuro, peds, cancer, priority, one delegation, 2 med calcs, a few med questions, and "who would you assess first", "who would you see first", "which phone call would you answer first", "what would be your immediate action" type of questions. There was no way I could have studied for all of it. In fact, I felt that I barely studied, but I did use the Kaplan strategies in some of my questions and I felt comfortable using them. :) Good luck everyone!

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Did anyone have luck with ATI? I think it sucks!! I am going to use only nclex books! has anyone had success with the 3 day reviews like Kaplan and Hearst? thanks

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I agree with 1blessedrn, trust that you know the information for the most part. Then use the Saunders and Kaplan books for review. I went through and tried each test in the book without review. If I scored 70% or above I went to the next chapter. If I scored below I went through and reviewed the rationales for the missed questions and took notes to study later. I tried to do at least 50 questions per day over a period of 3 weeks and did the practice tests on the CD's in the book. One thing about the NCLEX, you have to have your critical thinking skills down because the answer is not always obvious but when you feel stumped you can pick it out fairly successfully by process of elimination. I had lots of SATA's (about 15) 5 math (one that I know was wrong but couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong). I felt pretty discouraged when I left because of all the SATA's but I passed and so will you. Have faith, take your time and read the questions carefully and don't be thrown when you think you don't know anything about the subject. Often the question doesn't require specific knowledge but rather the ability to choose the best answer. Good luck all!

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Specializes in NICU, Pediatric Urgent Care.

Hey everyone I have a question..

I have boards scheduled for a week from this Wednesday (7/2/2008). I am working on wrapping up my studying but I'm not impressed with my practice test scores... Here's a little info on me..

I graduated an RN-ADN program on May 9th, 2008. This is my first attempt at boards. I took the HURST review at the end of May. On my ADN final in nursing school I made a 911 on it (it was a HESI test) - supposedly if you make over 900 you'll have a good shot at passing boards on the first attempt.

I have taken two HURST practice NCLEX tests and a Saunders practice test (off of the 4th ed. blue book's cd), and I took a pre-test at the NCLEX-RN 3500 site...

I'm consistently scoring between 65-70% on the practice tests... HURST said that if I get more right than wrong I'll be ok...

So.. with making between 65-70% consistently should I be worried? I'm not trying to knock it out in 75 questions - I just want to pass.

Your thoughts? Suggestions?

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Hey everyone I have a question..

I have boards scheduled for a week from this Wednesday (7/2/2008). I am working on wrapping up my studying but I'm not impressed with my practice test scores... Here's a little info on me..

I graduated an RN-ADN program on May 9th, 2008. This is my first attempt at boards. I took the HURST review at the end of May. On my ADN final in nursing school I made a 911 on it (it was a HESI test) - supposedly if you make over 900 you'll have a good shot at passing boards on the first attempt.

I have taken two HURST practice NCLEX tests and a Saunders practice test (off of the 4th ed. blue book's cd), and I took a pre-test at the NCLEX-RN 3500 site...

I'm consistently scoring between 65-70% on the practice tests... HURST said that if I get more right than wrong I'll be ok...

So.. with making between 65-70% consistently should I be worried? I'm not trying to knock it out in 75 questions - I just want to pass.

Your thoughts? Suggestions?

I say from here on out do questions and review the rationales. And if you feel like going over your books just read HESI hints (very helpful!!). The day before, just relax or if you feel that you must study set up a time when to stop studying (like 3pm or whatever is more convenient for you, just as long as you are well rested before the exam).

i took the HESI as well and i only scored an 895 and i passed nclex on the first attempt (with 75 Qs). i had a 3-week study plan for nclex and all i did was 100 questions everyday from saunders.

Relaxation is key! try not to stress out about the scores you receive on practice tests (because my scores were similar to yours). i'm sure you'll do fine. good luck!!!

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I agree- I also averaged 60-70% on my practice tests, did well on the HESI and passed the NCLEX with 75 questions. Keep up the daily practice, review the rationales on the questions you miss and relax the day before. You'll do fine. Remember you only need 52% to pass!! Good luck.

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Specializes in NICU, Pediatric Urgent Care.

Thanks for the support Raerae and amarobin... I feel a lot better knowing that ya'll were at the same place I am and still made it through.

How many SATA's did you wind up getting? I've heard a lot means that you're doing well and they're trying to trip you up?

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I had about 10 SATA and had also heard that those are the "higher level" questions. It still made me nervous because I never get those right! I also had about 5 calculation questions and had heard that those are the "lower level" questions. So that made me nervous as well- after reading lots of posts here and talking to people I think the truth of the matter is that the formats are random and you get what you get.

One more thing- if you are like 99% of the people who take the NCLEX you will feel like you failed and each minute that goes by while you are waiting for your results you will be convincing yourself more and more that you failed. Just hang in there, keep busy while you wait and I predict you will have great news!!! Good luck!

Oh just saw that you are in the NICU- that's great. I start tomorrow on the acute Peds floor.

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I love your tips. I think it will work. I will try to follow all of those.

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