What do you do for NCLEX eve?

Nursing Students NCLEX

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Hey everyone! I was just curious what you guys did/will do the day/days before the NCLEX? Did you continue to study? Refresh on labs values? Questions? Or just chilled (as best you can ;))?

Specializes in Acute Rehab, Neuro/Trauma, Dialysis.

I have always done well when it comes to passing HESIs but I feel so nervous and overwhelmed. It will be difficult for me to step away from my resources the day before the BIG day! May have to go out of town for the day or something! ;)

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Or both :)

Yes haha

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I am scheduling myself a massage and have been saving the end of my favorite TV show to watch and keep me distracted in the evening.

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Specializes in ICU/ Surgery/ Nursing Education.

Had to travel for the NCLEX. Went out for a very good meal with lots of red meat. Went to watch a movie in a huge big city theater. Went back to my hotel room and went to bed. Didn't even log onto my computer or look at lab values. Next morning I got up, had a good breakfast, and went to the testing site. Did read lab values real quick but that was it!

75 questions later I was a nurse!

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Specializes in Nasty sammiches and Dilaudid.

My pre-NCLEX routine consisted of not doing a thing school- or nursing-related during the day prior, then Scotch and a cigar (see my userid) the night before testing. It worked (finished in 75 and, truthfully, the test seemed like a snooze compared to exams during NS) so I repeated my pre-test routine that night with much rejoicing... ;)

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just compose yourself and free it with tension., it takes a lot of effort to actually do that but as much as possible relax,. have a quick scan JUST FOR LABS,., and think before you sleep and after the exam that you PASS!!! best of luck!!:)

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Specializes in Acute Rehab, Neuro/Trauma, Dialysis.

Thanks everyone, I have been trying to relax but it is so hard to step back. I guess I am a control freak when I get nervous! :p

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I did the same as everyone else, except gave up studying two days before. I felt that I knew what I knew and an extra day would not really make that big of a difference. The day before I watched my favorite tv shows and went to bed at 9pm for my 8am test. I did wake up early the day of my test out of nervous energy and tried really hard to relax. Right before I left I took one last practice quiz ONLY to get myself into test taking mode. But 75 questions later and got the good PVT popup! Still waiting for official results! Good luck :)

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Here's my usual advice:

Whatever resource you use to study, make sure it gives you the rationales for why the wrong choices are wrong as well as the right ones, right. This is where most people fall down-- they pick an answer that is factually true but is not the best answer for the situation as it would be assessed by a good RN. They try to memorize facts but forget critical thinking skills that are, well, critical in all nursing judgment. If you know the WHY of something, it makes it a great deal easier to reason your way through a problem, both in practice and in a test.

NCLEX items are developed in part from knowing what errors new grads make and how. They tend to be of two kinds: inadequate information, and lack of knowledge (these are not the same thing). The goal of NCLEX is to pass candidates who will be acceptably SAFE in practice as NURSES. So-- they want to know what the prudent NURSE will do.

1) When confronted c 4 answers, you can usually discard 2 out of hand. Of the remaining two,

-- always choose the answer that (in priority order) makes the patient safer or gets you more information. "Can you tell me more about that?" "What do you know about your medication?" "What was the patient's lab result?"

-- NEVER choose the answer that has you turf the situation to another discipline-- chaplain, dietary, MD, social work, etc. It's often tempting, but they want to know about what the NURSE would do. See "always..." above.

2) "Safer" might mean airway, breathing, circulation; it might mean pull the bed out of the room and away from the fire; it might mean pressure ulcer prevention; or improving nutrition; or teaching about loose scatter rugs ... Keep your mind open. It might also mean "Headed down a better pathway to health." For example, while telling a battered woman who has chosen not to leave her partner that "studies show that he will do it again" is factually true (and that's why this wrong answer is often chosen), the better answer is to acknowledge that you hear her choice to stay and say "now let's think of a plan to keep you safe." This doesn't turn her off from listening to you, so she will trust you, acknowledges her right to choose, and helps her along a path to better safety.

3) Read carefully. If they ask you for a nursing intervention answer, they aren't asking for an associated task or action which requires a physician plan of care. So in a scenario involving a medication, the answer would NOT be to hang the IV, regulate it, or chart it; it would not be to observe for complications. It WOULD be to assess pt knowledge of the med/tx plan and derive an appropriate patient teaching plan. Only that last one is nursing-independent and a nursing intervention.

Again, they want NURSING here.

4) The day before the test, do not study. Research shows that your brain does not retain crap you stuff into it at the last minute-- musicians learning a new piece play the first part on Monday, the second part on Tuesday, and the third part on Weds. Then they do something else entirely on Thursday; meanwhile, behind the scenes, the brain is organizing the new info into familiar cubbyholes already stuffed with music, putting it ready for easy access. On Friday, the whole piece works much better.

What this translates for in test-taking land is this: The day before the test, you go to a museum or a concert, go take a hike, read a trashy novel, make a ragout, do something else entirely. Take a small glass of wine, soak in a nice hot bath in a darkened tub with a few candles on the sink, get a nice night's sleep.

5) On your way out the door in the morning, open the refrigerator door and read the mayonnaise jar label. Do what it says: Keep cool, do not freeze. Then go to the testing center, you incipient RN, you!

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My test was today. I saved up to get a massage, and then spent the rest of yesterday with my boyfriend eating pizza and watching netflix. Throughout the day I did occasionally pull my ipod out to do some practice questions on the NCLEX Mastery app, couldn't help myself haha

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:whistling: I am trying really hard to relax today I swear......
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Specializes in Hospice + Palliative.

I had a completely crazy day the day before I tested, lol! Three sports tournaments with various sons, and a graduation party. I did a bit of review (mostly lbs and drugs) on the sidelines at the sports, but completely chilled at the party (did not have any *adult* beverages!!) and then went out to breakfast with my two oldest before the test. Passed in 75 q's, was in and out in less than a hour :)

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