Under 60s Kaplan Scores & NCLEX RN

Published Aug 10, 2015

1 Post

MY NCLEX JOURNEY

Hi everyone. I have turned to this site for advice, learning and basically anything nursing related. This post might be a tad too long, but I felt that it was my turn to give back to this community. I especially felt the need to address those using Kaplan for NCLEX RN and have below desirable scores:no: :no: .

I graduated in May and I took a long coveted break from the books. I attended an accelerated program and the thought of another book made me want to throw up. Anyway I got my ATT sometime in July and I booked the exam for Aug 3^rd. I had exactly three weeks to get back into reading mode and the panic attacks and major loose bowel movements (TMI) began:***: :bag: . My stress level was through the roof. I had to find ways to use the stress to my advantage. So I visualized my name with the ending BSN, RN. I wrote it on a post it note every day, and for a second I calmed down.

MY STUDY ROUTINE

Enrolled in the Kaplan online class. I went to the library for 9-12 hours:bookworm:. Did every single question on Kaplan and reviewed them all. My scores are as follows.

Diagnostic: 62

Readiness: 54

QTrainer 1: 49

QTrainer 2: 61

QTrainer 3: 59

QTrainer 4: 61

QTrainer 5: 55

QTrainer 6: 52

QTrainer 7: 52

QBank: 68

Test bank 1-4: (56, 50, 73, 26)

Test Drive: 68

As you can see, I am all over the place. I was very insecure with my scores because Kaplan wants you to score over 60% :banghead: . I constantly turned to this site for guidance. A few people mentioned that Kaplan is much harder and scoring in the 50s is okay. Now I am not here to agree, disagree or argue. The fact that people scored like me and passed was good enough for me to keep slugging on. The key was to go through the rationales and google/youtube whatever content I did not understand. Kaplan's rationales are kind of meh, so you may need another to source to break it down for you.

I also used PDA by Lacharity and did the 18 chapters plus some scenario questions. I loved the PDA because it made me more comfortable at answering Priority questions and also understanding the roles we each hold especially in the NCLEX universe.â€ It's a tough and tiny book but the rationales are great.

I have Saunders but I thought it was too easy, so I only used it for cardiac and EENT questions. The thing with Saunders is that I thought it has better rationales. So I would advice if you feel weak in a particular area then this is the book to use.

NCLEX RN

It is advised that one should not study before the test. I went to the library for about 4 hours. Read through my values and flash cards. I think I had done a good job with the flash cards, something I've never done before but NCLEX necessitates it. It was hard to focus on this particular day but I didn't want to waste my hours. I eventually took a break, watched the show â€˜Mistresses' and went to bed. Read my notes again and divided them into two categories. Those that I would leave at home, and those that I would read in the car.

On the day of, I woke up at 4:30am and read the notes. Went over Qtrainer 6 &7 and then drove to the testing site. The weird thing was the calm I felt. I don't ever remember being this calm before a test, but I was. When I sat down to take the test, I wrote my name ending with BSN, RN. I told myself to take my time especially the first 20 questions. The first question was easy and after that, I think I had 15 SATA, no strips, no calculations, 4 drugs and the rest of the questions were sampled from all over. When I got to 74, I paused before embarking to question 75. I submitted my answer to Q. 75 and just like that it STOPPED. ALAS!!! Holy Browns!!!â€¦I was done:o. Now, the last 6 questions were easy(I know, you know those bad rumors that when questions seem too easy right before stopping then you have failed) and I didn't know how to feel afterwards because I was calmâ€¦that can't be a good thing can it?

After the test all I could think of was a nice martini and mani/pedi. I spent all day with DH and tried not to think about the testâ€¦ At least not until 2am when I woke up because I couldn't get the NCLEX questions out of my mind. Yes I was that girl googling at 2am for answers, I was sick to my stomach and I thought I would puke my heart out:scrying:. After 4am I woke DH up and he thought I was being ridiculous but got his cc out and we did PVT. I got the good pop up! I passed, I think. That calmed me down for the day, until the next day 48 hours later when it was time for the truth. Paid $7.95 for quick results and just like that I Passed:yes: :yeah: . What a rollercoaster. No more runs, no more palpitations, no more stress, no more nightmaresâ€¦ I just need a job.

Whatever method of study you choose to use, make it work for you. Do as many questions as you can. I never did more than 280 a day, kind of impossible with the review and all but as I said earlier I lived and breathed questions for three weeks. Questions, questions, questions, you already know the content. While the scores are there to gauge and guide us, I believe that when you review it will be difficult to forget it. I think I passed because I remained calm. Would I recommend Kaplan? I don't know, it stressed me out BUT then again, because of its difficulty level I was able to tackle the NCLEX with ease. Pay particular attention to questions that ask on safety/priority. Find some calm and peace within you and remind yourself everyday that you are worthy to become an RN :snurse: .