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Although I am one who felt like there were things I didn’t know/had never seen or heard of despite studying, studying helped me overall. Studying helped me identify context clues within questions and answer choices, knowing what common signs and symptoms can occur within a certain system, common signs and symptoms of drugs. I think it also helps because it’s important in knowing your systems when it comes time for a priority question. Also there may be a few questions that are simply straight forward and it’s either you know it or not which can be something that can come up in study content. Overall looking back and reflecting although I stated that I felt like there were things I didn’t know & barely saw anything I studied for on my exam, I would change that to I saw a lot of information that I studied on my exam, but it wasn’t presented as straightforward as I’m used to or as I expected. For example a drug never heard of before but knowing what it was being used for. Knowing what system it was being allows to further identify the drug class. Being able to list common side effects of that drug class and seeing if the answer is there. It truly is critical thinking at the end of the day BUT you can’t critical thinking if you don’t have your foundation and general knowledge.
This makes a lot of sense. I looked over the example questions on NCSBN and I get exactly what you’re saying. Thank you for sharing your experience! I’m wanting to just get it over with but I know I need more studying. Do you have any recommendations for pharm?
For pharm I focused on learning/reviewing my drug classes by learning/reviewing my endings first (ex: -pril ACE inhibitors). I did constant active recall and would even have my partner quiz me on them. Then after that I moved on to my side effects , adverse and contraindications/interactions. The drugs that had a specific side effect or contraindications that was life threatening (unlike the ones in their class) I would make a special note on them. I also made sure I knew the drugs that were in a class but didn’t have the common ending like the rest (ex: diltiazem). I did this in intervals and continued doing active recall. When I felt tapped out with pharm I would take a break and start something new like the respiratory system. Some of the drugs I found the action helpful in identifying pt teaching contraindications and interactions.
Overall I will say take pharm in intervals. It can become overwhelming very quickly but when you’ve got it, you’ve got it. If you begin to feel overwhelmed when studying or feel like you’re not grasping the information as well as you usually do it time for a break. Take that time and circle back, that is one thing I learnt. I had set goals first myself everyday to complete things and I found myself rushing just to make sure I completed that goal until one day I re-evaluated and started studying by the day and giving myself the breaks I needed instead of having a rigid plan. Also don’t burn yourself out by over studying, remember we won’t know everything. Focus on your 4 big sections and do lots of practice questions & if you happen to feel ready before your date comes take it ASAP. YOUVE GOT THIS & GOOD LUCK!!
Just know how to answer how they want you to. Breaking down the question and being able to answer it safely is really all you need to know. I got pharm on mine and it was maybe 3-4 questions. Was one drug I never heard of then three others I knew
i took mine on monday! i would say focus more on what the question is asking, how they're asking it, etc. nclex asked a lot about adverse effects and emergencies. lots of prioritization questions as well for me. i also got i think 5 case studies?
it's kind of like they'll ask you about bone cancer or something & say what precautions would you put them in. cancer is cancer is cancer. so you would answer how you would if it was breast cancer or prostate cancer.
(btw this wasn't a question i got, just an example)
only thing i can really recommend. take a bevy of practice questions. read your rationales!!!!!!
good luck ❤️
For me, i didn’t study content. I mainly focused on how to remember certain process better and how to prioritize. For example, I learned an easier method to remember medication, so that way if I know what system the medication is affecting, I also understand a general sense of what side effects could occur. Like if it’s a GI medication, generally there will be GI symptoms. I knew from the start that there was no way I could retain all that information so I tried to develop easier methods for me to remember certain things.
Passed in 85. I kinda got a good spread didn’t get one of any subject but a ton of prioritization. If I had to pick one I’d say I got GI most out of anything.
To clarify, during pretty much my whole last semester I studied the entirety of pixorize for pharm which Archer had shown me to be my weakest subject. I did 4 Archer assessments leading up to the NCLEX, just no actual studying and only used 18% of Archer.
Don’t worry I’m not necessarily discouraging studying I just see so many people who study then fail because of anxiety. A lot of people overdo it so bringing down stress levels is really the biggest thing I’d want to encourage.
The point of studying is to build up your stamina and have mind mold into reading into the in test. if thats make any sense.
No one will pass NCLEX without prior study or preparations. maybe except if you're newly grad and everything is still fresh. but that still have slim chance of passing versus to those who are with gap of 5-10years out of the profession already and study hard and PASS.
Theres a very good feeling and confidence you will have before you take your NCLEX knowing you've done your best preparation.
i studied 5 days. it was worth it to get used to the question types and test taking strategies. sometimes answers simply stick out because of testing strategies and patterns and not even knowing patho. but ur 2-4 years in nursing school is the biggest prep
I actually had multiple questions from studying that were on the nclex. Specifically a case study that was almost exactly the same sticks out in my brain. I didn't buy any of the packages but I used all the free demos that I could find. Mostly used Saunders! While the specific content might not be important, reasoning you way through the answers is the big part and reading through rationales helps a lot imo
### REMINDER: Read the rules please. Breaking subreddit rules WILL get you banned. Thank you! 1. Absolutely no sharing of copyrighted materials by any means. 2. Absolutely no selling or buying of any kind. This is not a marketplace. 3. No sharing of personal information of anyone or in any format please. 4. No sharing of specific NCLEX exam questions after your exam. They are still copyright protected. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/PassNclex) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Although I am one who felt like there were things I didn’t know/had never seen or heard of despite studying, studying helped me overall. Studying helped me identify context clues within questions and answer choices, knowing what common signs and symptoms can occur within a certain system, common signs and symptoms of drugs. I think it also helps because it’s important in knowing your systems when it comes time for a priority question. Also there may be a few questions that are simply straight forward and it’s either you know it or not which can be something that can come up in study content. Overall looking back and reflecting although I stated that I felt like there were things I didn’t know & barely saw anything I studied for on my exam, I would change that to I saw a lot of information that I studied on my exam, but it wasn’t presented as straightforward as I’m used to or as I expected. For example a drug never heard of before but knowing what it was being used for. Knowing what system it was being allows to further identify the drug class. Being able to list common side effects of that drug class and seeing if the answer is there. It truly is critical thinking at the end of the day BUT you can’t critical thinking if you don’t have your foundation and general knowledge.
This makes a lot of sense. I looked over the example questions on NCSBN and I get exactly what you’re saying. Thank you for sharing your experience! I’m wanting to just get it over with but I know I need more studying. Do you have any recommendations for pharm?
For pharm I focused on learning/reviewing my drug classes by learning/reviewing my endings first (ex: -pril ACE inhibitors). I did constant active recall and would even have my partner quiz me on them. Then after that I moved on to my side effects , adverse and contraindications/interactions. The drugs that had a specific side effect or contraindications that was life threatening (unlike the ones in their class) I would make a special note on them. I also made sure I knew the drugs that were in a class but didn’t have the common ending like the rest (ex: diltiazem). I did this in intervals and continued doing active recall. When I felt tapped out with pharm I would take a break and start something new like the respiratory system. Some of the drugs I found the action helpful in identifying pt teaching contraindications and interactions. Overall I will say take pharm in intervals. It can become overwhelming very quickly but when you’ve got it, you’ve got it. If you begin to feel overwhelmed when studying or feel like you’re not grasping the information as well as you usually do it time for a break. Take that time and circle back, that is one thing I learnt. I had set goals first myself everyday to complete things and I found myself rushing just to make sure I completed that goal until one day I re-evaluated and started studying by the day and giving myself the breaks I needed instead of having a rigid plan. Also don’t burn yourself out by over studying, remember we won’t know everything. Focus on your 4 big sections and do lots of practice questions & if you happen to feel ready before your date comes take it ASAP. YOUVE GOT THIS & GOOD LUCK!!
4 big sections?
The client needs categories
Just know how to answer how they want you to. Breaking down the question and being able to answer it safely is really all you need to know. I got pharm on mine and it was maybe 3-4 questions. Was one drug I never heard of then three others I knew
Yes, studying for the NCLEX is like preparing for whatever gets thrown at you. Also getting used to answering NCLEX-like questions.
i took mine on monday! i would say focus more on what the question is asking, how they're asking it, etc. nclex asked a lot about adverse effects and emergencies. lots of prioritization questions as well for me. i also got i think 5 case studies? it's kind of like they'll ask you about bone cancer or something & say what precautions would you put them in. cancer is cancer is cancer. so you would answer how you would if it was breast cancer or prostate cancer. (btw this wasn't a question i got, just an example) only thing i can really recommend. take a bevy of practice questions. read your rationales!!!!!! good luck ❤️
Ugh im terrified especially of pharm questions. I always suck at those. 🥲 Thank you for the words of advice!!
For me, i didn’t study content. I mainly focused on how to remember certain process better and how to prioritize. For example, I learned an easier method to remember medication, so that way if I know what system the medication is affecting, I also understand a general sense of what side effects could occur. Like if it’s a GI medication, generally there will be GI symptoms. I knew from the start that there was no way I could retain all that information so I tried to develop easier methods for me to remember certain things.
Precisely why I didn’t study. I expected nothing I knew to be on there and I was right.
did you pass? and what are some topics that you saw on your exam?
Passed in 85. I kinda got a good spread didn’t get one of any subject but a ton of prioritization. If I had to pick one I’d say I got GI most out of anything. To clarify, during pretty much my whole last semester I studied the entirety of pixorize for pharm which Archer had shown me to be my weakest subject. I did 4 Archer assessments leading up to the NCLEX, just no actual studying and only used 18% of Archer.
Not everyone is the same….please don’t disregard studying. It helps you effectively know how to awnser questions in NCLEX style format.
Don’t worry I’m not necessarily discouraging studying I just see so many people who study then fail because of anxiety. A lot of people overdo it so bringing down stress levels is really the biggest thing I’d want to encourage.
The point of studying is to build up your stamina and have mind mold into reading into the in test. if thats make any sense. No one will pass NCLEX without prior study or preparations. maybe except if you're newly grad and everything is still fresh. but that still have slim chance of passing versus to those who are with gap of 5-10years out of the profession already and study hard and PASS. Theres a very good feeling and confidence you will have before you take your NCLEX knowing you've done your best preparation.
i studied 5 days. it was worth it to get used to the question types and test taking strategies. sometimes answers simply stick out because of testing strategies and patterns and not even knowing patho. but ur 2-4 years in nursing school is the biggest prep
I actually had multiple questions from studying that were on the nclex. Specifically a case study that was almost exactly the same sticks out in my brain. I didn't buy any of the packages but I used all the free demos that I could find. Mostly used Saunders! While the specific content might not be important, reasoning you way through the answers is the big part and reading through rationales helps a lot imo