How I Passed the NCLEX in 75 Q's
- scrubs.and.heels
- Nov 27, 2018
- 4 min read
Anyone who has written the NCLEX, and any nursing students out there know how stressful and difficult preparing for the NCLEX is. These 4 letters have been looming over us since the first day we heard them. The NCLEX (National Council Licensure Exam) is a standardized exam that assesses your competency to see if you are ready for entry-level nursing practice. The number of questions can range from 75-265 based on how you answer each question in real time. After the computer can assess whether you are well above (or below) the competency line, it shuts off ... DUN DUN DUN.
Preparing for the NCLEX means that you have to know everything about everything, so you will be reviewing a lot of what you learned in school, plus more! (I know, how unfair).
So without dragging this on longer than needed, here is how I prepared for this monster.
First and foremost, you need to organize your time. Time management is ESPECIALLY important when preparing for this exam. It's even harder when you're working, or have a family or other responsibilities. After graduating in June, I gave myself some time to relax after my last year of nursing school before I started studying again. July 7th I sat myself down and bought UWorld. My exam was booked for August 27th.
UWorld. Oh UWorld, thank you. If you don't know, UWorld is one of the best resources to study from for the exam BY FAR. It is so worth the money ($99/month) because they give you a question bank of around 2,000 questions, from different specialties and the ability to work on specialties you are struggling with, make notes and flashcards for studying, and the ability to go back and redo marked questions or questions you got wrong. Plus rationales for each question to get you thinking the way NCLEX wants you to think - in order to pass.
Mark Klimek Audio Tapes. I'm sure many of you have heard of Mark Klimek by now. He does an NCLEX review course, where he goes over each system and important topic covered on the NCLEX, and teaches you everything you need to know. He gives LOTS of hints and ways to remember important things. Someone recorded one of his lectures and the audio tapes have been circulating between students ever since. I kid you not, thanks to his audio tapes I was able to get a lot of questions right on the NCLEX because I remember him talking about it. I highly highly recommend.
If you don't know anyone that has the Mark Klimek audio tapes - send me an email, I'd be happy to share them.
Kaplan: Comprehensive Review for NCLEX-RN Textbook. I bought the textbook thinking it was a requirement for school when it was on my textbook list, and tbh, I HATE reading, and it's a lot of reading. I mostly stuck with UWorld and the audio tapes and those served me very well. This textbook has lots of review questions and rationales and some of my friends found the book very useful and helpful, it's just not my learning style.
Making a schedule. Yes I made a schedule, and I highly suggest you make one too - and stick with it. I was doing an average of 75-100 questions per day with days off. 75-100 per day IS A LOT. You should be reading rationales, making notes, and marking questions to go back to later on. I took 2 months to study and do all the UWorld questions (and go over the questions I marked and got wrong) and it still felt like a lot of work in those 2 months. But some people can do it in 4 weeks, with very intense studying. Another thing you need to accept and think about, is the fact that you might get all 265 questions! Make sure you are mentally prepared to do this many questions in one go! Work your way up to doing more and more questions so you have the stamina to keep going.
Here's basically what my August looked like:
In total, I did more than half of the UWorld questions in August (because I took it slower in July). I focused on subjects I wasn't very good at, which for me was Cardiology and Pharmacology, and left my favourite subjects until the end so it wasn't as stressful (Maternity and Mental Health). The last week, I chose test banks to include a mix of all systems, which is what the NCLEX would be like. Last 2 days I reviewed notes and lab values.
I will make another blog post about lab values - easy ways/tricks to help you remember them!
Study Tips:
Study in 30-45 minute sessions. Take a break, go for a walk and come back.
Studying is best done when most mentally alert - if you study best in the morning, study in the morning. If best at night, then study at night.
Spend the most time on subjects that are difficult or that you don't like.
Keep a balance. Don't over work yourself or you will quickly burn out, over stress, and not retain as much information. Take breaks, do something fun, include time to socialize, exercise, etc.
The day before the exam:
Don't study!
Do something to help you de-stress, like meditation, or do something fun
Pack a good lunch for tomorrow (you may be there for up to 6 hours if you get the max # of questions!)
Get a good night's sleep
The day of the exam:
Eat a good breakfast
Get to the exam centre early
Stay hydrated
Take your breaks
Walk in with confidence - You've got this!!!!
So you've written your exam, now what? Don't stress if you think it was extremely hard or extremely easy, or if you had 75 questions or all 265! You won't know if you passed or not until you get your official results. There's a Pearson Vue Trick theory circling around that if you try to book your exam online again and it doesn't let you, then you've passed. If it lets you book it then you've failed. I tried this trick, did it wrong and was stressing for 2 days thinking I failed. Lo and behold, 2 days later I get this baby in the mail ....
I passed! I'm a nurse! This calls for celebration! Lots of Oysters and Champagne please!
I was drinking champagne for a week straight celebrating with all my friends and family.
If you have any questions, feel free to email me, or DM me on my ig: @scrubs.and.heels
Cheers!
Kasia, RN
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