NCLEX need to know!

NCLEX: What You’ve all been Preparing for!

Eligibility: First things first! Late into your senior year you will receive a packet of information that will tell you how to register to take the NCLEX after you graduate.  You are able to register with the state board of nursing to create your account, after this is done you have to wait for your school to send the board of nursing your final transcripts- this takes a while!!!! You may want to fill your time waiting with a review sesh or review things that were previously not your strong suit.  After the State Board of Nursing gets your transcripts you will receive your ATT letter ( I received mine electronically and in the mail)- this tells you that you are now aloud to sign up to test! YAY!

Preparations: At this point you are most likely waiting (and waiting and waiting) for your ATT letter to grace your inbox- while you wait, I STRONGLY suggest taking a review course.  My school offered Hurst and Kaplan reviews at a discount.  Hurst was known for being a content review, whereas Kaplan is known to be a strategy review.  I chose Kaplan and I really recommend it! Both Hurst and Kaplan will have presentations at the campus- this is a great thing to go to if you plan on taking one of these courses.  They give out FREE stuff and everyone loves freebies!

Bottom line: you know how you need to study- so be sure to pick the review that best suits your style of studying!

 

Rules of NCLEX: There are very important rules when taking the NCLEX- here I am going to TOUCH on some of the ones that always stuck out to me the most.    

1.  The NCLEX questions take place in a “perfect world”- this means that you always have a script for a drug that you may need and you always have doctors’ permission to administer medications! In other words, you don’t need to question whether or not the doctor would approve what you are doing. 

2.  The NCLEX ranges from 75-265 questions.  The amount of questions you do does NOT predict whether you are going to pass or fail.  The NCLEX is a computer adaptive test (CAT) which means that if you get a question wrong, the next question will be a little bit easier (and vice versa)!  There is, however, a threshold that you must stay above in order to pass.   You will not be able to see the threshold, but you will be able to figure it out if you take the Kaplan course because they really lay it out for you!

The Threshold is the line running through the middle; Anything above is passing, below is not considered passing

Anything above Application is considered above the threshold!!!

3.  You get 6 hours for the NCLEX and yes, there are 10 minute breaks.  If you run out of time it does NOT mean that you have failed- your score will be calculated by the last 60 questions and that will determine whether you pass/fail. 

4.  The testing center you sign up to go to will provide you with dry erase boards for math problems or anything else you may need it for! While I was doing my Kaplan review I bough a dry erase board to practice with!!

The night before:  Get to bed at a reasonable hour! And DON’T study the whole day prior to the NCLEX- if you don’t know it by the day before- you don’t know it, and you’re not better off trying to cram!!!

The morning of:  Wake up earlier than you usually would- eat breakfast, after all, you could be there for 6 hours!!! Wear comfy clothes, no one wants to be testing for 6 hours and uncomfortable! On the way to the test, listen to whatever music gets you revved up!!! I remember blasting Kelly Clarkson’s “What Doesn’t Kill you Makes you Stronger” the whole way there! It got my blood pumping and I was ready to go!!!

What to expect:  There will not be any more than 50 people at your testing site- don’t worry about too many people! At my testing facility there were only 20 computers!  Once you get there you will present your ATT and reservation that you set online and they will give you a key to put all of your belongings into a locker.  Then you are off to the test!

I remember being SOOO nervous the days leading up to my NCLEX, but then it hit me- I can take this over and over if I fail.  As opposed to nursing school tests, if you fail, you fail! Although I had no desire to fail, this helped me to relax a bit and really, really read my questions carefully J Too much anxiety is not your friend, especially on this day. 

Once you have finished you can go home and check on the State Board of Nursing website to see if you have been issued a license number (this is a cheat way to figure out if you passed without having to wait the weeks to get your letter/license).  I remember RACING home to log on to their website and seeing my name next to my licensure number- I was GLOWING … yeah, there’s no better word for it, GLOWING!  I was so proud and couldn’t wait to get my license in the mail!!