The spring semester is in full swing at nursing schools across the country. Students are working hard, trying to stay stress-free, and thinking about their futures. After a quick trip across that big graduation stage (yes, that day is coming soon), the NCLEX-RN® will be there waiting. How will you prepare? Questions, questions, and more questions? Try something different. Take the stress out of the exam with Stressed Out About the NCLEX-RN®. Here’s a peek inside:

You’re getting read to start studying for the NCLEX and you’re wondering what you need to focus on. Well, guess what? Getting ready for the NCLEX is the time to look for warts.

Now is the time to find all those undesirable shortcomings in your knowledge. You hated pediatrics and you are never going to work with children, right? Sorry, but questions about kids are on the NCLEX. And the computer has ways of honing in on your weakness and slamming you with question after question about–you got it–pediatrics.

That’s why it is necessary to find the warts.

The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) says the average student spends approximately 80 hours studying for the NCLEX. If you are going to spend that much time studying for something, the logical approach is to focus on the areas that need the most work. This requires you to be brutally honest with yourself, put your pride in your pocket until after you pass, and make a list of topics in which you are weakest.

What should I do about my weak knowledge areas?

How will you know what you need to study? Use practice exam questions and think back to your nursing school experience. Did fluid and electrolytes always seem foreign? Are you glad you got through the burn unit without crashing and burning yourself? These are your areas of probable weakness.

Tip: Be brutally honest with yourself–your career is on the line.

Practice questions also help you identify your weak areas. Maybe you do well on all questions except for the ones pertaining to pharmacology. This means you should focus on drug therapy, how it works, what to expect, and so on.

Think about the tests you took throughout school. Which ones gave you the most trouble? Those are the ones to start with.

The exam before the exam

One of the best ways to identify your warts is by examining how you did in a similar test. Chances are you have already taken a big exam that will give you a pretty good understanding of your level of preparation. Many schools of nursing now require students to pass an end-of-program exam before they are eligible to apply for the NCLEX.

Though these end-of-program tests may seem like one more hurdle to overcome before you are finally finished with school, they are actually designed to prepare you for the NCLEX computer format and for the types of questions that are on the NCLEX.

Tip: The wise graduate will look carefully and seriously at the information from the end-of-program test because the NCLEX is structured to identify your weak areas and give you lots of questions covering that material.

Editor’s note: For more information on this book or to order a copy, click here.