Wondering who uses a "Strategy" when studying for NCELX

[kajh20]

hi. i know everyone has different forms of learning and what not. and i am now a bit confused about studying for the nclex for the 4rd time!! (yikes i know, i feel it)

i took kaplan the first time, which they teach you a strategy to follow, questions to ask yourself and elimination tech., the second time i used saunders 4th edition and did almost a 1,000 practice quesions from the cd that came with the book and used the tech. of elimination (for ex. if two ques. mean the same thing, throw them out, but if two of the four ques. are complete opposite, then one of those is your choice. and of course if a answer is just not relevent, throw it out. i feel very strong about my content knowledge, norms, values, pre/post op, safety, the possibilities of adverse affects, etc.).

i have never been a good test taker, i can know all the information to something, then when i test i seem to get confused and forget. it's not so much about nerves (it was the first time for sure) as it is about confusing myself.

the first thing i do when i enter the testing center is sit down and write down all the norms, and things i tend to forget, so i can use as a reference and not doubt myself, but obviously this technique is not working.

the 3rd time i used the exam prep book which i believe is laid out to be very understanding and also got some information off www.caring4you.com website. i felt really good going into this exam as i was doing great on the practice ques. from saunders (about 4900 ques. on my cd) and the questions in both books. i took the test and felt great, even when i left. i was shocked to see that i didn't pass, i didn't believe them so i had to call the state to confirm. a really nice woman (1st one i have come across) compared my results and said i did my best on my 2 exam,....but i felt my best on the 3rd exam where i did (finally) get above passing in pham. and safety.

so now, i'm not sure how to approach my next and final try (i will pass). i was reccommended the ncsbn online review which i checked out. they don't offer any type of strategy to follow, i think it's mainly about content. but i know that i can know everything (i mean everything) on a topic but that will not ensure that i will pass.

this is getting way to long, so my ques. is to all of you: do you think their is a strategy that is helpful to follow and if so, many i ask what it is? or do you all think that studying the content is enough? i know this is more of an individual preference, but to those of you who also have trouble with test, what do you think?

i graduated from a second degree accelerated program where i did very well and it's awfully embarassing to know that i am the only one who has not passed (i don't focus on that), i've delt with it and am still dealing with my failures and i know, i really really know i can pass, i just have to find the best way to approach it.

any help, advice, suggestions and/or comments is very apprehiated!

thanks for reading.

i'm so desperate to figure this out (b/c obviously i'm not figuring it out on my own) and if anyone wants to give me a shout, please do.

cheers,

kelly

[michaRN, RN]

hi i pm with..hope everything wil be okay with the next time..Trust n yourself

[50caliber]

I just took my NCLEX recently and I took Kaplan but had mixed feelings about it. I like their strategies because it helps you to focus on the question so you don't waste time on a particular question. It gives you confidence knowing that you can eliminate answers and narrow down your choices. So there is a critcical thinking component invovled in systematically breaking the question down. If you don't know it, you don't know it. Starring at the question for 5 minutes will not magicall help you answer it.

But don't neglect content. You still need to know your content to answer the questions. I did pass NCLEX on the first try but i would if i could do things differently, i break it down like this: content 75%, strategy 25%,

[caliotter3]

Why don't you try Suzanne's plan this time? Many people are successful with it. You can read about it in the stickies at the top of this forum. Good luck.

[Suri08]

I used a few techniques I got from Kaplan, a few from Saunders and a few that teachers had taught me. I liked Kaplan but them once I started studying on my own I notice there were always exceptions to the rules. When I was in nursing school, our teachers would not allow us to write crib sheets (when you sit down for the test and start writing everything down), so I would take a piece of paper that had all the memorization such as the labs, therapeutic levels etc and look at it before I went to take the test. It helped calm me down and allow me to answer the questions without getting confused. Make sure you do review content because and do as many questions as you can. Don't cram but allow yourself to study effectively. Give youself time and don't try to do an 8 hour day if you can help it.

[cleeguy]

that kaplan stuff, was alright. i mean that info was pretty basic...maslows...abcs...etc. stuff you should be doin anyway. but still a decent read if you need a direction for strategies.

[1cowgirl]

Sorry don't give up. I also failed 3rd time this month. It is very upsetting, but we can't throw all of our long nursing day at college away. We can do this, I just need to try to get help locating Suzanne for her program.

[LadySnyper]

Consider suzanne's plan...ive never tried it but its free and it works...i used kaplan and followed everything in the manual...i just added another 100 questions that i should answer everyday...along with this i used saunders 3rd ed...im internationally educated nurse and passed with 75 questions.

Prayers and support helped me a lot too

[tlcqueen]

i believe one good strategy is not rushing and taking your time and the all-time guaranteed "the best" technique is trust in the Lord.",