Hey guys!! This is probably the most exciting post I will ever write 😍
I am officially a Registered Nurse! It's such a relief after all of the countless hours spent on studying, clinical, and school work for the past 6 semesters! I also got my first nursing job- my dream job- as a Labor and Delivery nurse! I couldn't be more excited and happy!! I feel so lucky- women's health is my passion!
I wanted to tell you HOW I studied for the NCLEX & a little bit about the NCLEX. I passed the NCLEX in 75 questions, which is the minimum amount of questions you can get. If you pass in 75 questions, that means that the algorithm has calculated that they are 95% certain that you have the knowledge and safety to be a Registered Nurse. If you pass in 75 questions you must have more right answers than wrong answers, and you must get the higher level questions right. If you are on the "line" meaning you are getting about the same amount wrong & right then the exam would continue (anywhere from 75-265 questions). You can fail in 75 questions, if you did poorly enough that you got way more wrong in the first 75 than right OR you were unable to correctly answer the higher level questions.
HOW DID I STUDY?
I graduated nursing school and "took off" about 1 month of doing anything nursing related... now nursing is embedded in my blood so I found myself researching and doing questions here and there anyways. BUT I didn't actually make a point to study until September 1st, and I took my exam September 30th. So, I studied for 1 month. I did an average of 75 questions per day. There were some days that I did A LOT more, and some days that I didn't do any at all. I used several resources and have opinions on each (which will be listed below). I also reviewed large concepts that I was iffy on and definitely made sure I knew labs. I didn't study pharmacology (unless it was in a question).The resources I used:
- Kaplan- In person and online resources. Okay... so I liked the in person class for Kaplan and found myself using the tools that they provide you with when I was answering questions that I wasn't sure what the answer could be. The online resources I didn't like- the questions were SO hard and the explanations were rather vague. The questions were SO in-depth... I would get anywhere from 50-80% on their quizzes/tests and it honestly made me feel like shit when I got a low score. They don't compute your score into a "likelihood of passing" percentage. So, Kaplan was hurting my ego and making me frustrated. I went into the NCLEX doubting myself because of this. After taking the NCLEX, I realized that Kaplan's online question screen format looks a lot like the NCLEX. I felt it was rather "cheap and generic" looking and for the money I was paying that made me mad (I paid $400). Also, I didn't like that you couldn't do adaptive quizzes that would shut off at 75 if you made the right scores. I wouldn't recommend Kaplan- because of the cost and because I found another source that I loved! Also, a few of my friends didn't take Kaplan and passed, so it's not 100% necessary.
- Lippincot 12E textbook- I like this book a lot! I did over 300 questions from this book alone, mostly from the comprehensive tests in the back of the book! The questions in this book will help you determine your weak spots AND have AMAZING explanations! It comes with a 10 day free trail of the PassPoint which I LOVED (read below).
- NCLEX RN PassPoint- If you're going to buy anything buy this (it's $150)! The questions were great, and way more realistic than Kaplan. I only used the 10 day free trial but I wish I had bought this instead of Kaplan! They also offer adaptive quizzing- so your quizzes shut off anywhere from 75-265 depending on how well you do, which is how the NCLEX works!
- LaCharity 3E textbook- This is my favorite text book! You have to know your stuff to answer the questions AND every question in here is prioritization, delegation, or assignment questions! BE PREPARED FOR HIGHER LEVEL QUESTIONS. Definitely purchase this book if your school doesn't require you to have it.
- Khan Academy- FREE FREE FREE!!! I stumbled upon the online Khan Academy NCLEX questions. I will say they were so-so, and covered "big picture" stuff. The questions were very basic knowledge questions and large concept, which is okay but you also want to be doing higher level questions. BUT if you're struggling finding areas where you need to study large concepts this is great! Plus it's free & there are thousands of questions!
- ATI- I used ATI online resources called "Learning System RN" and really liked the questions! This is also good for big concepts to find out areas where you're lacking knowledge. Definitely use these if you already paid for ATI! Also, I used some questions from the end of the chapters in our ATI books.
Comparing scores lets you know where you stand to other student who have passed the NCLEX. It can let you know where you stand- for instance, if we have comparable scores you would probably do similar on the NCLEX. So, I am posting my RN Predictor and HESI scores. I personally really liked the RN Predictor (ATI) and the HESI. These are great in determining your readiness to test. I felt like they were GREAT practice to the NCLEX. I didn't study for either exam and just rolled in and took it.
On the RN Predictor I scored 74.7% which translated to a 96% likelihood to passing the NCLEX on the first try. The national average score was a 67.9%.
On the HESI I scored 1,013, I was in the 91.08 percentile of a group of 90,765 nursing students. At my school, anything above a 900 was considered "most likely to pass the NCLEX & no need to remediation AKA Kaplan".
Don't get too caught up on the scores- I know people who scored below 700 on the HESI & still passed the NCLEX.
Don't get too caught up on the scores- I know people who scored below 700 on the HESI & still passed the NCLEX.
Now here are some things that I want you to remember:
- This is a big test, take it seriously. I know studying is a pain in the ass, especially after finishing school, but you definitely want to pass this test the first time! If you're still in school, it starts NOW. Make sure you're getting the concepts in class. Aim for A's and B's in nursing school and the NCLEX should be cake for you. Understanding things in school will help so much.
- Since this is a big test, you're going to feel sick when you do to take it. Which is normal! If you took psych you know when you're anxious your perceptual field narrows & you're more likely to misread questions... so try to calm down, take some deep breaths, and read each question so you truly understand what they're asking.
- If you feel like you failed, everyone does. I did, I 100% thought I failed... I thought there was NO WAY I passed! I just couldn't believe it. I was already prepared to have to wait 45 days to take it again and I even started to consider CNA jobs (lol). Don't get ahead of yourself, if you can help it. Take a deep breath, positive thoughts!!
- YOU DON'T HAVE TO PASS IN 75 QUESTIONS! If you don't pass in 75 questions it doesn't make you any less of a nurse. The ONLY goal is to pass, period, it doesn't matter how many questions it takes. Nobody will ever know the amount of questions you got unless you tell them.
- You CAN do it! Don't ever forget it! Making it through nursing school is the biggest battle, if you did that, you CAN do this! Go in there with confidence- you know the information!
Thanks for reading!
-K