The NCLEX-RN is the last test standing in between you and your nursing license. If you are like most Nursing Students you want to pass your boards, you want to pass it on your first try, and you want to pass your NCLEX in 75 Questions. Well you have come to the right place. I am here to tell you exactly what I did to pass my state boards on the first try, in 75 Questions.
I graduated on December 17th and I did not start studying until January 1st. In the spirit of the New Year I bought a planner and got up that morning and planned my study schedule for the whole month of January because I wanted to take my exam by the 31st. Being that I also work a full time job Monday-Friday my exam schedule was ambitious to say the least. I planned to study a new topic daily and complete 250 questions each day, but that plan went out of the window very quickly due to the passing of my grandmother. After her passing, I was still trying to stick to the schedule I made for myself because I wanted to take the NCLEX and I only wanted to take it one time but, I decided to cut myself some slack and instead of trying to stick to the intense schedule I created I just did what I could, and took everyday as it came. Once I let go of the idea that I had to do a certain amount of questions or watch a certain amount of videos each day my stress level decreased drastically. Now, I didn’t say my stress went away completely lol, but I didn’t feel so much pressure. So, treat yourself like you would treat a friend and give yourself room to be human,
Let’s get into it…
Hurst Review
I used Hurst review for content. You receive a spiral notebook and your job is to fill in the blanks. My College included the Hurst review in our tuition. We had a three day seminar where someone came in and went over the the blanks with us for core content. We went through this seminar in the beginning of December. After you complete the review in person Hurst gives you 14 days from the time you open the core content section online to review the information again. I broke up all the sections and made a plan to review all the core content areas before my 14 days were up and then I went and tackled the speciality topics.
- Tip- If you go through a topic and you still don’t feel like you have mastered the information make time to watch the videos again.
- Tip- Hurst comes with 4 practice exams. Complete at least two practice tests at least 2 weeks before your exam date so you can see what areas you need to work on and read all the retails P.S- I didn’t pass any of the practice exams on Hurst
UWorld
I am sure by now you have heard about UWorld. All the cohorts before me have nothing but great things to say about UWorld, and I am now officially on the bandwagon. UWorld has different packages to choose from depending on how many days you want access to the product and how much you are willing to spend. I decided to go for the 60 day package that comes with one assessment. UWorld gives you 2000+ practice questions regardless of the package you chose and the rationals are top notch.
- Tip- Complete every single UWorld question and read all the rationals whether or not you get the question right, if you have time.
- Tip- Uworld has a feature that enables you to mark questions. Mark the questions that you have no idea about even if you get them right so that way you can go back over the rationals if you have time
- Tip- Do some questions EVERYDAY even it’s just 10 questions
- Tip- UWorld has a search feature. If there is a topic that you are struggling with, you are able to review questions on that topic but you are only able to see questions you have already completed.
Now, one thing that freaked me out while answering Uworld questions is that they rank you based on your scores in each assessment you take. After completing my 2000+ questions I was ranked as being on 22nd percentile scale. I kept googline to see if anyone passed with such a low mark and I wanted to see if I needed to push back my test date. One thing that boosted my confidence was the fact that I bought the package with the assessment. When I finished all my questions and took the assessment UWorld indicated that I had a “Very High” chance of passing
- Tip- If you only bought the package with 1 assessment wait until you have completed all your questions before you take the assessment so you can have a true gage on how you will do on the exam.
- Fun Fact- UWorld looks JUST like the NCLEX exam in terms of the layout which puts you at ease.
Mark Klimek
The last resource I used to study and CERTAINLY not the least is Mark Klimek’s review. All I can say about his review is WOW. If I had to choose between Mark and Hurst I would chose Mark for sure. Mark breaks down all the content, and he even tells you how to prioritize. He makes everything so simple its crazy. If you are still in nursing school now I would begin listening to him because his lectures will help on your class exams, HESI, and ATI tests. I did not make it to the live version of his review, but I was able to get my hands on some recordings and I listened to Mark anytime I was driving and not running my mouth on the phone, and I also blocked off some time to listen to him whenever I was in the library. If you can make it to his live review I think that it will be beneficial.
- Tip- Write down bullets on what you dont know while listening to his lectures
- Tip- Mark said something that stuck with me. There are good test takers and bad test takers. Bad test takers read a question and just guess when they don’t know the answer. Good test takers look at the question and figure out what they do know and pick an answer based on what they know instead of what they don’t know. WOW, try it. When I started looking at the questions after I narrowed my choices down to 2 and stopped flat gout guessing without thinking I started answering my questions better.
- Tip- Try to listen to his lectures on each topic at least two times,
Thank you so much for reading my blog. I know you will do great on your exam. Try to be as calm as possible on your testing day. For me, there was never a time I felt like I knew everything and I was going to blow this test out of the water. So, do as much as you can and do not psych yourself out. One thing that really gave me confidence is the fact the the NCLEX posts the stats online. In Florida over 80% of people that take the NCLEX pass on their first try, so the odds are in your favor. Good luck on your future endeavors. If you have any additional questions feel free to contact me on Instagram @NurseSharaTheRealtor I try to respond to every single person that reaches out to me. Have a great day!