Published Jun 18, 2010
Luckylefty87
63 Posts
Alright everyone it's a done deal..I faced the beast! here are my thoughts:
I swear I only slept for like 2 hours last night, I woke up super early because the Pearsonvue test center is located a nice long distance from house. The anxiety of this exam was driving me nuts ( trust me to all those future nclex test takers--I know how you feel).
Alright so I get there, pray in my car, walk out, use the bathroom, and enter the center ( I was there about 1 hour earlier). My thoughts on the exam--based on previous posts on this website I was so terrified that the exam was going to be sooooo hard. Some questions were tricky ( and I'm sure I got plenty wrong), but others with the basic nursing knowledge we all should have acquired during school were not easy--but not hard to answer as well. I had 10 SATA, about 5-6 meds, about 4 infection control, and like 5 priority type questions. I had no delegation. I had 2 OB questions and about 5 psychiatric questions ( that threw me off a bit). I had one math question. The computer shut me off at 75 questions. As soon as I was leaving the test center the proctor kept looking at my eyes to see if I was crying or something; but I wasn't...why? because the exam was NOT TO BAD at least in my experience. Driving home I felt anxious--so I stopped to get a nice ice coffee and came home to check PVT ( I got the good pop-up :) but I won't be popping champagne bottles till I receive my results.
Either way I will let allnurses.com know of my results when I get them. This website has really helped me sooooo much when it comes to facing the NCLEX-RN and the support of all the members is amazing! :redbeathe
To all the future nclex test takers: there is a great I meant GREAT!!!! mnemonic that helped me memorize infection control and I found it on this website ( please find it, study it, and know it..It's funny too: My Stupid Chicken Hez TB--Spiderman--and Mrs Wee--If you have no idea what I'm talking about search for the infection control mnemonic on this website and you will find it..again STUDY IT!. and please do not let anyone every scare you into taking this exam--stay away from negativity, think positive, believe in your self because I PROMISE YOU 100% you will feel so much better after taking the exam :) DO NOT LET ANYONE TELL YOU THE EXAM WAS SO HARD AND GOOD LUCK ON PASSING BECAUSE IT'S IMPOSSIBLE! (STAY AWAY FROM NEGATIVITY--AGAIN YOU CAN DO IT!!!!) Prepare yourself for the exam--do not procrastinate if your exam date is near. This is how I prepared:
I graduated May 17th 2010: I started content review with a book we got on campus ( it is so impossible to memorize every little detail about every little thing we learned in nursing school--so do not overwhelm yourselves because that it was I did and after taking the exam today I said to myself "why did I kill myself and try to memorize every little bit of something" the NCLEX RN is not testing you on memory, it's testing you on knowledge. I would review material and then do about 100 - 150 practice questions a day with the NCLEX RN 2010 Davis book, this book has 2000 questions and I finished it. This book was also great for content review ( I even found it much more helpful then the review book we got on campus because the rationales for every question go above and beyond explanations--I would write down important tidbits that I may have forgotten and then quickly review them everyday (this really does help). After I finished the book I had about 1 week lag time before my exam and something inside me told me I needed more practice on questions..so I took my graduation money and purchased the KAPLAN QBANK ONLY ONLINE and let me tell you it was the best money I have ever spent ( now I am not saying you can only pass the nclex rn with kaplan; because so many people also pass there boards without it--but for me Kaplan was just what I needed. *In my honest opinion: I found Kaplan's questions to be much harder then the boards..after I completed my QBANK I knew I was ready and here I am today awaiting the results. One more thing: there are no trick questions on the nclex, read them carefully, take your time, do not rush, relax and breath, read the answers, eliminate the ones you think are wrong ( and if you don't know think about it..still don't know... what is your gut telling you? choose that one ) The exam is very straightforward.
Here's to hoping I passed! and to all the future nclex test takers whether it's your first time or your repeating..GOOD LUCK, STAY POSITIVE, SMILE, AND YOU CAN & WILL DO THIS :cheers:
cmmny
52 Posts
Wow..thanks for the inspiration and advice! I just scheduled my NCLEX today, so I have about a month to prepare and was just thinking to myself..Where do I start? Did you find the med questions you were tested on were familiar to you? Congrats to you!!
HI! yes I actually did find them to be familiar to me ( and Pharmacology is my weakest point), but for some reason they didn't seem too bad
NowPedsRN
225 Posts
Congrats! And thanks for the great advice, I am taking mine soon and I was a little nervous and reading your post kind of put me as ease. I agree the Kaplan qbank is wonderful, I am currently using that now. Good Luck
evilglowduckie
13 Posts
Thanks for sharing your experience. I am taking mine on the 23rd and I'm super nervous. I took the Kaplan course and I did find it helpful. I like having access to so many questions. It's nice to hear that the Kaplan ones are slightly harder than the actual N-CLEX questions. Congrats on getting it done and make sure you celebrate in a big way when you get the good news in the next couple days! :)
caliotter3
38,333 Posts
Good luck!
Renee4christ
201 Posts
:yeah::yeah::yeah::yeah:
I just want to congratulate you on having one of the best posts on this NCLEX forum. I know you haven't gotten your official results yet, but your attitude proves that you passed. Your words really motivated me today and I'm sure others will agree. You didn't make any excuses for the test and went in with a positive attitude and even held on to it throughout up to the time you walked out. That speaks volumes and that is exactly what I plan to do. Thanks again for your motivation and I wish you the best in your nursing career!
God bless
guest610
21 Posts
Good Luck!
:) I'm glad that all of you find my honesty a bit of a relief. I know how stressful it can preparing for this exam, trust me! To all of you sitting for your boards soon I have a suggestion that helped me with answering my SATA'S (look at each answer separately, determine if that answer is true or false, and then choose all the ones you marked true, it really does help organize your thoughts). You guys are great!
butching15
97 Posts
thanks u gave us peace of mind and positivity :dancgrp:
noski
82 Posts
Congratulations, you sound like you were well prepared. My test date is July 9th, i'm using Saunders & LaCharity book, i've heard so much about Kaplan, but can't afford it right now, I try to do 75-100 q's each day, i still don't know how to study for meds any suggestion will be appreciated
crazitree
39 Posts
Thanks for the much needed encouragment! I take mine on June 21st & was freaking out today!! After reviewing all my Hurst lectures & content I still only scored a 67% on the practice exam (although I caught a few that I did not take time to weed through). Anyhow, every one of my classmates who have taken theirs thus far has had a shut-off at 75! I'm so worried about it going over & going into panic mode!! I do think my school did a good job at prepping us but there is still that "what if" fear that will not let up!
Anyhow, I'll let you all know how it went!