Yet Another "I PASSED!" Thread

[Exhaustipated, ADN, BSN]

Please allow me a brief moment to dance happily.

I graduated in May, took the exam June 17, got the good popup, and my license was posted to my state BON website the next day. Here's what I tell everybody who asks me about studying for NCLEX:

There are good quality review programs out there, and each appeals to different people for different reasons. Choose the one that works best for your learning style. Know your content, because regardless of how many test-taking tricks you know, you're not going to be able to answer the questions correctly if you don't know your content.

But my BIGGEST tip for NCLEX preparation is this -- DO PRACTICE QUESTIONS! It doesn't matter if they're Kaplan or Hurst or Saunders or LaCharity or UWorld or NCLEX Mastery because it's not the question itself that's most important.

Don't get me wrong. The questions are important. They're very important. But more important than the questions themselves are the rationales. It is my opinion that the most prepared graduate nurse is one who has done many practice questions and has not just read the rationales, but UNDERSTANDS the rationales. More than that, the prepared graduate nurse understands the relationship between the question and the rationale and the answer, and can think his or her way all the way through.

I use this analogy for the questions I got on NCLEX: I did not just have to spot the rabbit in the field. I had to spot the rabbit, chase it through the wildflowers, around the trees, over the hills, and down into the rabbit hole.

Looking for the nitty gritty details for how I studied? I got the Kaplan Review through my school. I also used the Hurst material that's floating around online. I did questions in Saunders, LaCharity, Hogan's Reviews & Rationales, NCLEX Mastery, and whatever people posted on various NCLEX question Facebook groups. Whenever there was a topic I felt shaky on, I reviewed that content. I physically took notes on the rationales using a pencil (I think I actually went through 3 pencils) and a spiral notebook, because I retain information better when I write it down. I also had lab values posted all over my house in various places on Post-It Notes to help me remember.

But let me reiterate the most important part: do questions. Understand the rationales. Understand the relationship between the question, the answer, and the rationale and be able to follow it all the way through.

Good luck!

[ASPIRING2BGREAT]

Congratulation!

And another one well apprecaited! We are all entiled to share our success!

Best of luck and thanks for sharing!

[strawberryluv, BSN, RN]

Thanks for your sound advice. I feel like doing practice questions especially helps with boosting levels of confidence as

well as help with thinking through a question. It's so important to be able to break down questions using any

existing content knowledge as well as test-taking strategies.

Congratulations and welcome to life post-NCLEX!