My NCLEX-RN Study System

Alrighty, now that I'm a mere week away from my NCLEX date (YIKES!!!) I'm here to post about my NCLEX study system.

This is definitely not the only way to study, heck its probably not even the best, but it's what I did. And we'll see if it works when I take boards!

So here's the broad timeline of my studying. Unfortuantely I had no way of knowing a concrete date for me to take the NCLEX due to some stupid school issues with releasing my certificate of completion to my state (in order to get my authorization to test).
But I knew ahead of time that there was going to be about a 6 week time period from graduation to when I could test. (Turns out it was more like 2 months and a day).

I graduated the middle of December and did absolutely no studying for the next week and half. I went on vacation, I relaxed, I watched TV that I'd missed in the past 16 months. Granted this is not for everyone. Some people don't want to, or can't take a break because they have to (get to) take the NCLEX soon after graduation. I'm actually pretty glad I had a bit of time because I was braindead after finally finishing school.

December 27th I started doing Kaplan Q bank questions.
I did my first Kaplan Question Trainer test Jan 1. The question trainers 1-6 were required by my school prior to releasing our certificate of completion. But I did QT 1-3 the first week of January.

I also started going through my Saunders comprehensive review book.

This is the book that I'd seen people recommend for content review. It breaks down each body system into chapters, with meds in the next chapter for the body system. There are chapters on fundamentals, maternity, peds and mental health in addition to adult. I felt like I needed this review. Because there is just a ton of info I couldn't remember when going through Kaplan Q bank questions.

In the beginning I did a couple of chapters a day, and then slacked off a bit but recently I'm back to doing 1-2 big chapters or a couple of smaller chapters everyday. I read, highlight and do the questions at the end of the chapter.
**A disclaimer about Saunders: I feel that the questions in this book are way too easy! There are good to review concepts you just learned.. but I don't think that they're on par with NCLEX or Kaplan questions. So keep that in mind if you just choose one study system.

I went to the 4 day Kaplan review session which was included in my school tuition, but anyone is free to take if you pay for it. This session basically included info about the test, how to test, what's required and then the Kaplan Decision Tree. After you learn the decision tree it is basically just going through question after question with the teacher. She explains how to go through the question, how to think about it and what the correct answer is and why. It was long.. and kind of hard to sit through but I think it did help me.

After the review I finished QT 4-6. Then I continued to do q bank questions each day as well. I aimed to do about 50-100 questions per day.. and I did okay some days and others not that great.

Towards the end I was doing Saunders content review chapters each day, and making qbank quizzes of 25-50 questions.

I eventually dropped down to just Q Bank questions. Then I did nothing to study the 24 hours before the test. I reviewed an RN exam cram sheet. Looked over lab values the morning off and off I went.

The exam shut off at 75 questions and I was sooo relieved. Even it meant I had failed at least I was DONE.

I found out the next day that I had passed!

WOOHOO. Officially an RN.

How did you study for the NCLEX?

My first interview and.. job offer???

So I guess I got a nursing job?

You’ll notice the question mark because I’m still gobsmacked that this happened.

I’ve obviously been submitting quite a few applications, starting after I graduated in December. I got no emails, no phone calls until the middle of January. I got an interview for a job I’d applied for a few weeks before. I emailed them back with on Tuesday with a couple of possible dates. They emailed me back and wanted to see my that Friday. I never figured it would go that fast. I figured hey this will be great experience, you have to have your first interview sometime. I did a good bit of prep. Reading sample interview questions and writing out answers to them. I’m much better on paper than I ever am in real life, so I thought it might be better this way.

I drove to this city (not where I’m currently living) and stayed overnight. Interviewed the next day. I was sort of ambivalent on how it went. I feel like I’m always an idiot in interviews. But I had a pretty good answer for most of the questions that they asked. They also talked a lot (which I just read apparently is a good thing???) which I thought was kinda weird. I talked with a nurse recruiter at the hospital and I thought hey, at least I’ve got a good contact here so when I don’t get this job I can apply for some more.

I drove home that day and thought some about the interview. But I basically had the feeling that if it was meant to be it would happen. I had done all that I could. I prepared and did the best I could, so now it was out of my hands. The phrase “que sera, sera” was stuck in my head on a constant loop.

I put it out of my mind (well I tried). I got called to work Monday morning at 1 am and made it home and into bed at 7 am. I checked my phone around 11 to see what time it is and LO AND BEHOLD I had an email from HR. They were offering me the job I had interviewed for… on Friday.

Shocked. Flabbergasted. Who gets the first RN job they interview for?! I haven’t even taken boards yet. They don’t know that I’m not an idiot and won’t fail! I cried immediately. Not necessarily from happiness. More from shock and the feeling that this was going to change everything. I was going to have to move 7 hours away. Move away from my friends and family. But I had wanted this right?! I chose this city and this hospital because my best friend lives there. I just hadn’t (even after going there to interview) thought that I would actually have to move there!

I slowly came to grips with it, emailed back and forth with HR to get more information and tried to make a decision. But from the beginning I knew that I was basically going to take it. The job is in a trauma step down unit at a level 1 trauma center. Its what I think I want to do (how can anyone know for sure when they’ve never been a nurse before). It will be great experience, I will learn so much, its step down which is awesome. With a couple of years experience here I will be able to go anywhere I want. ICU, ER, L&D, anywhere. I know that this is the right job for me. If by no other way than that I interviewed for it and they offered it to me 3 days later! If that isn’t a sure sign, I don’t know what is. Still, it was a terrible decision to make. It felt like I was ripping myself apart at the seams. Leaving my job that I LOVE, but that I cannot make a sustainable full time job out of. Leaving my family including my young niece and nephews, leaving the friends that I’ve made. Its comfortable being here. My parents are here to help me out constantly. Its easy.

Leap and the net will appear.

I’ve tried to tell myself that no one ever gets anywhere by being complacent in life. You have to jump to see if you can fly. All that stuff. Its sort of working. Usually I’m excited about this new chapter in my life. When I’m not busy being petrified that I will actually have to BE A NURSE.

Because in all of this, the rush to study for the NCLEX, take the NCLEX, find a job, I seem to have forgotten that I will actually have to be a nurse. That I will be responsible for my own patients, that I have to have some idea what I’m doing so that I won’t kill them. That patients and families will ask me questions and that I’m supposed to know the answers to give them. Terrifying, astounding, shocking. How did 16 measly months of nursing school prepare me for this??

Luckily I will have at least 8-10 weeks of orientation on the unit where I won't take patients by myself. Perhaps longer if I need it. This is slightly reassuring.. but STILL.

How do I go from being someone who is still making stupid mistakes on IV med administration (albeit because I wasn’t taught) and requiring someone to sign off on my charting.. to actually being a responsible nurse!

Honestly, I'm still waiting for the other shoe to drop. I'm waiting for them to email me back, to tell me that it's taking too long, that they've changed their mind, hired someone else. Someone who's not a new grad. Someone that HAS A CLUE how to be a nurse.

But it hasn't happened yet.

This will be a good place for me. I’m so happy to be moving to the same city as my BFF after 3 years apart. I really like this city, on top of it. It’s going to be a great unit for me to start out on. It’s a great hospital to work for. All in all, I’ve heard the first year to two of nursing is incredibly challenging regardless of where you are, so I’ve got to start somewhere.

To get yourself a new life
You have to give the other one away
-       Sara Bareilles