Took me straight to CC on my 2nd attempt at the exam

nursegirl75 · Nov 30, 2011

I think you said it the best 'you didn't review any books'.... Kaplan alone is not enough-in fact their rationales are so short that their answers are a bit half-ass :) For every rationale I got wrong on Kaplan, I had to use other books to find more information on it which gave me so much more information.

I don't know if you still want to use Kaplan to review. But if you do, I really really recommend that you get 2 resource books- NO MORE THAN THAT because you also have the internet as another good resource...don't overwhelm yourself with too many resources because I guarantee you will get FRUSTRATED.

Literally sit there and start slow and work your way up until you can do 150-200 questions a day...took me about 2 weeks to reach that goal. BUT remember doing lots of questions is not as important as really really understanding the rationales! Believe me, I didn't care how many questions I did, all I cared about was understanding why I got the question wrong, and where did I read it incorrectly. It trained me to understand "HOW TO READ" the question--many people don't read the questions correctly-- and not get tricked by bad answers.

If you don't want to use Kaplan, then I suggest getting Saunders and doing questions from the CD. I borrowed one from the library. Its not as good as Kaplan, but it still trains you to understand how to READ the question correctly. Remember use only 2 books as resources + internet.

P.S. I have read how people have stress the important of content and they forget about critical thinking...but believe me if you read every incorrect rationale and look them up in your resource books, it will stick to you like glue. Content will come to you but critical thinking is a lot tougher to gasp. And NCLEX is mostly base on critical thinking.

Everyone studies differently, so please don't feel like you should do exactly what I did. It is just a suggestion that I found worked for me and a lot of my classmates. The studying and the process is so painstakingly slow especially when I had to look up the information, but everyday I gain more and more confident in myself.

Everyday I went home proud of how I was improving on being able to decipher the question, not on how many questions I did that day. That is something to think about. Quality is so much better than quantity.

nneokill175 · Nov 30, 2011

i have the saunders 5th edition also. So i guess ill be using the 2 books hand in hand?

I guess it comes down to reading the question and understanding it; which i thought i felt like i had, but when i was taking it i forgot everything and tricks and basically just went by "feel".

the 2nd time took a big chunk out of my ego and that doesnt feel so good. BUT I'm definitely not letting this NCLEX beat me.

boisern84 · Nov 30, 2011

That is the best attitude to have, sometimes it's not a matter of not having the information but how you critically think! See if you can get someone who has taken and passed a recent NCLEX to quiz you to make sure you are retaining the information appropriately.

nursegirl75 · Nov 30, 2011

I knew that I was ready when I was able to look at a question, break it down and get an idea of the answer without even looking at the answer bank. The important thing is to NOT get too overwhelmed at a question. It Starts with the question, and until you are able to tackle how to decipher the question, everything else will fall into place.

Read the question normally the first time..like reading a sentence. Then go back and read the question again but slower this time. This is where it is IMPORTANT to break the question down.

Look at what is GIVEN and then look at what is it ASKING for. Don't think beyond that. Some people think too much into the question because when they see the answer bank they try to twist the question to fit the answer they 'THINK' is correct. NCLEX wants to be able to see if you are able to follow directions. SO don't twist anything.

NOw I know that there are questions like which patient would you see first. You as a nurse need to understand which patient will likely die first if you don't see them first (i.e. bleeding out or lack of oxygen). With the knowledge you gain in nursing school and LOTS of practice, it will eventually come naturally to you. DO NOT rush this part of the question. It is tough so if you need 5 minutes to look at all the option, then do so.

Saunders 5th edition is a good book. Have a med-surg book too because it really encompasses so much information. That was the only resource book I had use beside the Kaplan's review book (which doesn't have enough information).

You will beat NCLEX! WIth your positive attitude and understanding where you need to improve, it is a recipe of achievement. Gluck and remember quality is 10x better than quantity.

NSGstudent12 · Dec 1, 2011

Hurst Review- It's expensive, but It has a 98% pass rate and if you fail you get your money back. It's 300 dollars. Check it out at hurstreview.com