To be honest, studying for NCLEX was one of the worst things I’ve done. I was riddled with anxiety and hated waiting for my CGFNS application to finish before even getting the okay to even do NCLEX. And yes it takes forever. Yes, waiting for that long is horrible because you forget what you learned. And yes, this is all normal.
My own NCLEX experience sucked but it was also because I was in the middle of a large family drama and had to stop studying halfway to help out. But even with that, I managed to pass. And I’m hoping this post helps others too.
Keep in mind that this is just what I did to study. There are always other methods. It is largely dependent on the person. Just pick and choose what works for you.
1) Make a study schedule/plan
This is largely dependent on when your NCLEX date is. You could have 2 months. 4 months. 6 months or more to study. Divide up your time according to then. I had to wait for my CGFNS application to finish which takes forever and a half (-about a year really before I got the okay). But I still studied lightly. I didn’t want to forget all I learned in Nursing. I tried my best to follow the schedule through and revised when I couldn’t. After I got the okay from CGFNS, I scheduled my NCLEX 2 months after. Those 2 months were spent doing at least 100 NCLEX questions per day. Sometimes 200 when I had more time.
But really just plan it out. Plan out the sections you need to cover. The number of hours spent studying per day. Don’t forget to care for yourself. Plan according to your life.
2) DO YOUR NCLEX QUESTIONS. (At least 75 questions per day).
I truly think that your best way of passing NCLEX is being familiar with how NCLEX questions work. They have a particular wording. They have their own pattern. And your best way of understanding them is by familiarizing yourself with how NCLEX questions are given. You can know every Nursing fact there is and even then, you might still get a question wrong if you interpreted that NCLEX questions. Do 75 questions per day because 75 is the bare minimum questions to answer AND you learn quickly the pace you need to set in order to finish the whole 265 questions in under 6 hours.
For my foreign colleagues: Focus on tackling the NCLEX questions because they are indeed different. So I went to the Philippines and the way they do exams for the Nursing Board is more clinical than NCLEX questions. The questions they asked were almost more suited for med students as they were clinical in nature rather than Nursing based questions. That doesn’t mean they arent Nursing questions but they are worded differently. So focus guys, you need to get in the NCLEX mindset.
3) Do I enter an NCLEX Review Program? Which one is the best? Will it help me? ANSWER: Depends on the way you study, your time and your budget.
Self Study: My own College Notes and Sanders
NCLEX Review Program: Hurst (at home)
NCLEX Question Bank: UWorld - NCLEX RN
Youtube: Watched and added to my notes - RegisteredNurseRN and NurseMendoza were a favorite of mine.
Here’s my take. You could easily have done self-study without the review program, but if you need more structure and support then do the review program. I understand Kaplan and Hurst are a favorite. However, I really do recommend you do UWorld. It has a collection of NCLEX questions with rationale per question. I did 100 every day and wrote down questions and rationales I got wrong or thought were noteworthy to take down. I rather liked how their questions were broken down to each section tested by the NCLEX board and that they had a pre and post-test. I took their post-test 2 days before I took NCLEX and got a high probability of passing. That gave me enough motivation and hope that I would pass.
4) List of Things to know without any doubt in your mind
Because honestly, you should know and be sure of these things with just as much conviction and sureness as your own name and birthday.
Labs: especially CBC, Urinalysis, Serum and Electrolytes, ABGS, VS per age group including Maternal and Fetal VS, and Therapeutic Drug Levels, Conversions
Safety and Infection Control Procedures: NCLEX is all about Safety.
Pharmacology: Med Classification, Drug Schedules, Maternal/Fetal Drug Categories, and Popular Drugs always given
Prioritization: ABCs, Maslows, etc
Nursing Process and the Patient Rights
Common Diets, Positioning, and Cultural Considerations.
Burns: Rule of Nines, Fluid Calculations
And I’m really sure there’s more but forgive me but these are all I can think of for now.
You need to be in your best health when facing NCLEX. In order to have a good working mind, you need to care for your self. Sadly, I did not do this. Lol. I was a mess when I took NCLEX. I really was. Hell, I was anxiety-ridden, had a cold and low fever, and was freezing when I took my NCLEX. It wasn’t the best way of tackling the big exam that determines your future. LEARN FROM MY DAMN MISTAKE.
I’m not going to sit here and list out all the healthy things to do to care for yourself because if you’re reading this you know that this is one of the most common Health Education lectures you will keep giving as Nurse. You know it by heart, just as much as we all know that Nurses rarely practice what they teach. But here’s the thing, it is time to stop the talk and start the walk. Practice that SELF LOVE dammit! You deserve this!
Again. Learn from my mistakes, please. I had tried my best to follow my schedule but life happens and I actually had 2 more weeks worth of study material left when my NCLEX date came. I panicked. So bad. I crammed the week before just to finish. No, I didn’t learn crap. As I sat in the car with my dad who dropped me off because I was too damn anxiety-ridden to operate a car, I was cramming again. I was sick with a cold, had a low-grade fever, and was close to tears because I hated my life. Yep, Don’t be like me. I still took the exam because hey I was already there.
Okay, here’s the thing about NCLEX. You don’t have to know every Nursing fact out there. Basics are the deal. Basics mean keeping your patient alive and safe. Basics mean even if you don’t know, you can infer and judge. So don’t panic if suddenly you come across something you’ve never heard of. It happens. It will continue to happen. The point here is learning to use your judgment to determine the best course of action.
7) The Day Before the Exam
Prep the bag you will be bringing to the exam: ID for identification, Cellphone, Water bottle, Snack
Prep Clothes to wear: Wear something comfy!! I was freezing in my exam room because I was sick. It does tend to be a bit chilly in the exam room so a nice long sleeve shirt, leggings, sneakers are a good bet. However, I really wouldn’t know in other countries how the exam process would go.
Get a good night sleep: I slept for 2 hours, was jumpy and freaked out an hour before the exam. No, don’t do that. Get that rest you need.
Map Check your Exam Place: Check how long you need to travel, consider traffic, check landmarks to look out for if you are unfamiliar with the area, look at a real-time picture of the building you are looking for, consider parking or plan on who will drop you off and pick you up.
DON’T CRAM/ DON’t STUDY: You know, for some people they can easily cram and be fine. The thing is, cramming does nothing but increase anxiety. I didn’t learn crap.
Don’t over-caffeinate or overeat: It will hit you the day after and it isn’t a great feeling.
Convincing yourself you aren’t ready. You’ll get that feeling. With all the studying and hard work, you will never feel ready. It will mess you up once you get to that exam room, trust me. The mind is a powerful motivator after all.
Eat Breakfast: Something light, nothing to spike your blood sugar, something fulfilling. You have 6 hours maximum to do this exam. Eat something because a small snack really won’t cut it. And no, an espresso shot is not enough. Don’t over-caffeinate yourself! PS. Gum isn’t allowed in the exam room. Leave that in your bag (which is placed in a locker) and chew on it after you finished your exam.
Be early! Look, as a Nurse, being early has to be in your genes by now. It is frowned upon to be late. If you are 30 minutes early to work/clinicals/class, you are barely on time. Early means having enough time to calm yourself, survey the situation and come up with a game plan. Time has to be on your side. You have little time to waste when working as a Nurse. You need to learn how to utilize your time well and being early is your first step.
Go in there with confidence! This was my saving grace. I’m serious. Despite how absolutely crappy and unprepared I felt, I walked in there with such deluded self-confidence that I was sure I was going to pass. I beamed at the receptionist as I signed in. I did friendly small talk with my exam proctor as I did my biometrics. And I took a deep breath and literally said, “I GOT THIS!” before I entered that exam room. My exam proctor laughed and it shook away my nerves. I sat there, in my assigned computer and put my game face on. I thought to myself: Oh yeah, this exam is my bitch. I got this! I am so ready! Let’s gooooo!! And then I clicked Next. Look, I was acutely aware that my self-confidence was fake. But it gave me the self-confidence and motivation to do that exam without having frenetic anxiety muddle my mind. It helped me focus. Like I said, the Mind is a powerful thing.
Utilize your whiteboard: They will give you a whiteboard and marker during your exam. Use it! The moment I sat, even before I even started the exam, I wrote down stuff I was afraid I’d just forget. I wrote down labs in one corner. The other I actually did a tally. How many types of questions did I get: SATA, Multiple Choice, Ordered, Hot Spot, etc. You don’t need to do this but I liked to keep track of them because the harder the questions, the more I know I’m doing something correctly. Use it as scrap! Use it to remember or work out a question! Use it!
Don’t freak out: Redundant, I know. I’ve been saying this since the beginning. But look, when you’re sitting there doing that exam, focus on your questions one at a time. Don’t keep staring at the number of questions you did. Don’t you dare lose your cool if you answer more than 75 questions! I answered 89 questions. I know people who did all the questions, those who only answered 75, and those who were in between. The number of questions you answered doesn’t matter. What matters is that you passed. Don’t suddenly despair you didn’t get all 75 questions the first go. Don’t despair if this is your second, third, or more times doing this. Don’t despair, my dear, because you will pass this NCLEX.
Be a noisy tester: So, I know this is mostly due to nerves. However, please be aware that you are not the only one testing in that room. There are other professionals in there doing their exam and they aren’t all NCLEX exams. Please don’t be a noisy tester. There was a person next to me when I took my exam who would stop their feet, slap the desk, sigh and mumble as they tested. It was distracting. I flinched every time they slapped the desk. The headphones that were given to cancel the noise didn’t work. I could physically hear and feel the person squirm in their seats. Please don’t do that.
The next two days waiting for your Quick Results are torture. I know. I know. You have to wait 2 days. Ahem. Official business days – meaning if you took it Friday, likely your Quick Results will be given on Tuesday, 48 hours after you finished your exam. If Quick Results aren’t available in your region, likely you will get the official results 6 to 8 weeks after your exam.
You will be anxiety-ridden; so sure you didn’t pass. You will immediately go to Google and troll the forums, gauging others’ exam experience. So I had this much SATA, that much Multiple Choice, these kinds of questions…. And then, you will attempt to do the Pearson Vue Trick. No, I will not explain how that works. There are dedicate posts, videos, and such for your googling convenience.
My advice? Relax now, my dear. You did the hardest part. Why not just wait for your results? They will come with time. Indulge yourself. I cried myself to sleep, hibernated for 2 days in a haze of sickness, and ate pudding. Lol. Aim higher than I did. Eat that chocolate! Eat that cake! Go have fun! Don’t do anything crazy that will have you arrested or hospitalized
Congratulations! You are now an official Registered Nurse with that beautiful RN following your name. You earned it. You likely have cried, spit, hurt, bled, and sacrificed to get it. Congratulations! Celebrate! Here comes the rest of your life!
PS. Now I will be a buzzkill. Immediately Start Job Hunting. Don’t wait. I know it’s tempting to just relax after all that hardship. But Job Hunting means you will still have time in between looking for job, doing interviews, etc. Immediately start Job Hunting. Make use of that RN.
To those who did not pass:
Congratulations! No, I’m not being sarcastic or being mean about this. I mean it. I know you gave it your best shot. I know how devastating to get that news. I know you will feel tired, inept, and frustrated. And I know my words aren’t helping much. I’m not here to mourn with you, but here to give you some advice.
Look, you are now in the unique position to do some Real Self Assessment. This is the opportunity to look back and see what happened. Was it the way I studied? Was it because I didn’t do enough practice questions? Was I having an off day? How can I improve on this? How can I change my plans for the next time? How can I make myself better? This is an opportunity to do better and even more than that, you now have that story in your plethora of life stories that you can look back on and go, “Yeah, I conquered it. Yeah, I really did work hard for it. Yeah, I overcame.” It will make you appreciate yourself even more. So for that life lesson, congratulations. Don’t give up on yourself. You will get there.
Ahem, I hope this helps someone somehow? I don’t really know what else to say. Good luck and study hard my dears! You got this!
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