How I Studied for (and Passed!) the NCLEX-RN

There are a lot of posts online about people's NCLEX experience... well here's mine.

I graduated with a BSN at Edgewood College on May 21st and I took the exam on June 28th. This gave me a little more than a month to study for the exam of a lifetime. Not to mention, during this month I moved back home, my sister left for Navy boot camp, and we were packing up to move on July 1st... It was hectic to say the least.

Materials I Used
  • Saunder 2016-2017 Strategies for Test Success (4th edition). Because I had this book from a previous nursing class, I had access to the Evolve Elsevier book online. On the website, there were over 1200 questions and while it was good to start with, the rationales weren't the best (definitely look at the other tips as well, not just the rationales). I usually used "study" mode so I could see the rationales and the correct answer right away. Like many, I learn best when I get a question wrong. I went through most of the questions. I bookmarked the ones I got wrong so I could easily go back to them. 
  • Test Success (6th edition) by Patricia Nugent and Barbara Vitale. This book had good rationales, but I also think it had the best test strategies. I got through the whole book. 
  • NCLEX-RN Proficiency App. I bought the $97-lifetime package as I thought it would be the best value. This app had great rationales... However, some of the questions had grammatical errors, my progress bars wouldn't be consistent, and the answers would sometimes be out of order. If these glitches got fixed, I think it would be a wonderful app. On another note, their customer service was timely and efficient. 
  • Exam Cram NCLEX-RN (5th edition) by Wilda Reinhart, Diann Sloan, and Clara Hurd. I got this book 10 days before my exam and I wish I would have bought it sooner. It came with a CD with more practice questions as well. The rationales were good, but what I really liked was their "caution," "exam alert," and "note" features. It also came with a "cram sheet" that could be torn out with some basics (labs, drug classes, etc). Similar to this Cram Sheet online. I found the book at Barnes and Noble for $40.
  • Kaplan NCLEX-RN Drug Guide, 300 medications you need to know for the exam... 
  • Websites/ PDFs 
    • Osmosis Videos on YouTube. Honestly, these videos are great! Some can get pretty in depth and you'll realize what is too much for the NCLEX exam. But overall, these videos are great reviews/ lessons on a variety of nursing topics. They don't speak too fast and the visuals and clean and aesthetic. 
    • Reddit Thread. Oh Reddit, how could I miss you? A simple NCLEX/ Exam Cram search yielded this monster of a PDF and although it is long it's definitely worth looking over.  
    • Another online study guide. Granted, I didn't use this one as much as the Reddit Thread, but it still had good information.
How I Studied... 
(Almost) Every day, I either read my Exam Cram book or did practice questions for 3-4 hours. I started with Saunders & Test Success. Then I moved onto the Proficiency App and Exam Cram Book. Every time I missed a question or came across information I didn't know I wrote it down in a notebook (I have a specific one just for the NCLEX). I feel like the act of writing information down helps me retain it better as well. Towards the end, I started doing comprehensive exams to see how much I knew. 

How I didn't Study...
At some points, you just know your brain needs a break. So take those breaks! Personally, I like to bake. So when I get really stressed out I'll try out cookie recipes (yep making them from scratch!) or get a box of brownie mix. 
I also did not use a review class like Kaplan or Hurst. (Originally I signed up for Hurst, but decided against it because of money).

How long did it take me to pass the NCLEX? I passed the NCLEX-RN in 75 questions (13 select all that apply/ put the following in the correct order, etc) and in just over an hour. 

Keep an eye out for my next post where I list my favorite pneumonics 👌
And let me know what you used to prepare for the NCLEX. Did you use anything from my list? 

Good Luck! 

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