Wednesday, April 3, 2013

The best motivation to help you study for NCLEX

 is to set the date. How true it is! Nothing puts the fear of GOD into you like knowing you could possibly waste $200 if you are not prepared enough.

Our school required we buy this online tutoring program. It is supposed to run you through the 7 areas: fundamentals, pharmacology, pediatrics, mental health, medical-surgical, maternity, and nursing management. This company places you with a tutor, and you do an initial assessment. You go through the books and after each one, you take a test. If you don't score 60% or better, you must do homework to help you improve your score. Then you take it again. It gives you a read out of areas you missed and what you need to work on. I got through fundamentals just fine but pharmacology....I fell short. Again and again, so close but not 60%. The tutor wouldn't let me advance. Really? I paid you $400 to teach me, but you can't advance me until I reach the exact benchmark? I just gave up trying to use them. Besides the aforementioned scenario, their questions were not formatted to helping me with NCLEX. When I started nursing school in the fall of '11, we were required to buy Saunders Comprehensive Review for NCLEX-PN. I had listened to my dean at my school when she said, "if you really want to pass NCLEX-PN, then after lecture every day, use the Saunders book and reinforce it." So, I went through the entire book, and accompanying disc with chapter questions on it. However, I still did not feel adequately prepared. I began to search online for alternatives. Kaplan was good, I had heard, but very expensive. I had less than 4 weeks before I tested and their program was more involved than I had time or money for. NCSBN.org  is the organization which I took my jurisprudence test for state licensure and I was told they were the people who came up with the NCLEX questions. So I signed up for the 3 week PN review.
It did the same as the other companies, but was affordable ($50) and I went through the test questions as many times as I needed to, which really helped. I would highly recommend them if you need lots of repetition to grasp a concept.
I planned on taking NCLEX-PN Saturday, March 23, 2013. Every spare minute I had, I was going through questions. I added up over 4,000 questions and rationales that I had done. Finally, the day came. I showed up early and they decided to go ahead and take me early! Holy cow! My nerves took over and I headed for the bathroom!  So, I still started at the time I was supposed to. ;)
There were many checks of identity, and finally I was sitting down. "Don't stress: you studied, God is with you...." I kept saying in my head over and over again. Then came the first question. I looked at the screen and thought, " I am so in trouble! I wonder how long it will take me to save up to take this again?" I literally prayed through each question. When I got to question 84, I got nervous again. You see, you can fabulously fail with 85 questions or spectacularly pass with the same amount of questions. The minimum questions for NCLEX-PN is 85. The computer will keep asking questions until you get at least 50% correct. 15 of the questions are "experimental" and if you miss those, it's no big deal. But you don't get credit if they are right, either. You have up to 205 questions unless the computer deems that you are not going to pass based on the amount of high level questions you got right.
After question 85, the screen went blue."Oh, no..." My breathing went shallow. I raised my hand and the attendant escorted me to the office. I called Hunnybunny who was very surprised to hear from me. "It's over?" Yes, it's over, I told him. I felt the way I was supposed to after NCLEX: exactly like I failed. No tears or boo-hooing for me, though. It was what it was. I had spent over 300 hours studying. If I wasn't ready by then, I didn't think anything would help.
I had heard about the Pearson Vue trick a year or so ago. After the results are transmitted, you can try to register again for the exam. If it takes your credit card, it means you failed. If you get this pop-up, ( see below) it means you have passed.
            
That is exactly what happened to me! I found out that I passed NCLEX-PN by using this PVT (Pearson Vue trick). On Monday, March 25, it posted to my Board of Nursing website, with my name plus LPN! Thank you, God!

21 comments:

  1. Good for you!!! I know you are so excited to be done! Do you already have a job?

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    1. Thank you! I have been to one interview at a mental health facility. They drug tested, background checked, and asked for my transcripts, so it looks promising. :)

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  2. Congrats!! So exciting and so true! Nothing like having 200 bucks sitting out there taunting you to motivate anyone to study hard! :-)

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    1. You ain't kiddin'....and as much money as I have thrown at this, I didn't want to throw more. Thanks so much!

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  3. Congratulations on passing! I am an LPN, waiting to take my RN boards. I don't have my test scheduled yet, and at the moment I have a hard time forcing myself to study, maybe I need the pressure of paying the money and booking the date!

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    1. Thank you! It DOES motivate you! Good luck to you! I'm certain you will do it!

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  4. Ah! Congratulations!!! I'm so excited for you :) Thanks for recommending this review course. I'll be taking the NCLEX next January and I'm already panicked because I don't have enough time and I feel like I don't know anything!
    Congratulations again and x1000. :)

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    1. @Alyssa: so sorry I am just now seeing this. Been covered up with my new job. Did you find it....the ncsbn.org info?
      Thanks for your very nice comment, and I know you will totally pass in January!

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  5. Would you be able to give me the link for the NCLEX prep on ncsbn.org? I'm looking at the site and having trouble finding info on it! Thanks :)

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  7. Congrats!!! Can you PLEASE put up a link for the prep on ncsbn.org? I'm having trouble it too =/ Or how you found it?

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  8. @Alyssa Queen I found it!!!!! Here's the link!! Hope it works!
    http://learningext.com/students/p/nclex-pn.aspx
    GOOD LUCK!!!

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  9. congrats!! will be taking Nclex pn very soon.

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  10. OMG...i read your story as if I was reading the greatest book of my life and i was on the last page. first off..CONGRATULATIONS. second off..i havent even started my lpn program and you've given me so much hope and motivation. I know now that hard work does pay off...and it did for you. way to go girl.... ;)

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  11. Do you know that word for word this is what I am going through now? Like you I started in the fall of '11. Graduated 12/2012. same advice from dean as well. (unlike you, I have waited this long to take my test.) I have EXACTLY 3wks to study and I also went thru what you went thru with the after course that did nothing for me (with a virtual coach), so a friend who recently passed referred me to the NCSBN.org. I thought the same as you, like, if I don't know the material after 4000 questions then I probably have no business practicing nursing. LOL. I have 3 wks til my test. I found this blog while searching for HOW TO STUDY FOR NCLEX. I will take this from a sign from God that everything will be okay. Thank you so much for this post. I hope to have the same outcome as well.

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    1. Thanks for the kind words. Let me know when you pass. Hey, if I can do it, you can do it!

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  12. I have took the lvn four times and still cant pass, I don't understand what is wrong with me, I feel stupid and I need to really pass and get this over with the loan over my head and just still be in poverty due to me not be able to pass the NCLEX please anybody out there need help.

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    1. Hi, Anonymous,
      I totally understand that feeling stupid part. I felt that way most of the time in nursing school. But we made it through, didn't we? If we can do that, then we can do this. Sometimes I would psych myself out on tests, get so nervous that I would fail.
      If there is anything I can do to help, please let me know. I would love to see you become a new nurse
      Beth

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  13. Wow, loved hearing your testimony and story, i myself will be taking the test again here because i did fail, but this time i won't be giving up and i'm putting it in God's hands I CAN DO THIS, like you said if i made it through school i can make it through this

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