The time has come. The graduation parties and the excitement from the end of college have subsided, and I need to focus on the fact that in about a month, I will be faced with the test that defines my future as a nurse. Even saying the word, NCLEX, runs a shiver down my back. It’s not that I don’t think my college prepared me for this exam; it’s just that I don’t want to have to retake it. So I have started to organize my time and I’m trying to figure out the best way to prepare myself for this test.
There are a million different books and everyone claims to be the best, so it makes it difficult to trust the validity of what they are saying. I have decided to stick with one book and then go with a couple of other CD-ROMs for a variety of questions. I also bought flash cards that have NCLEX-style questions on them so I can bring my studying to the beach with me. (I am not about to be stuck inside on my computer when it’s beautiful outside! This way, I can study and get a tan!)
Whenever the time comes for you to prepare for the test, you will hear people telling you what books to buy and what worked for them, but it honestly has to come from yourself. For example, I truthfully don’t think I can study that much every day. I just know I will study a lot, and I will make it my number one priority right now.
More specifically, I plan on hitting the books for about 100 hours. At the last NCLEX review I had, they instructed us to study for four weeks, for about 25 hours each week. So, in other words, we should study approximately five hours a day and take the weekends off. In the beginning, I am supposed to study mostly content rather than taking the time to answer questions, but as the weeks progress, the questions will take up most of my time. It seems like a lot, but I guess when it comes down to it, you have to get it done sometime.
You should also focus on:
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How to study: I know that I study well with a partner, a single person. I can’t do group study sessions. I get too far off track and have a hard time making my way back. It is always good to know how you study best (I’m sure most of you have figured that out if you managed to pass nursing school!)
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When to study: I study the best in the morning or early afternoon. Knowing this will help me to schedule my exam for a time when I am most efficient.
Unfortunately, I’m having a real hard time focusing now: The weather is beautiful and my life has changed dramatically in the span of two weeks. I know I want to take the boards in June, probably toward the end of it. I’m not going to tell anyone when I am taking them (they tell us not to) just to keep myself sane. It’s going to be hard not to tell my mother and father, but I think it will be better that way.
If anybody has any words of wisdom for me, that would be great! Also, if any of you are like me and are just starting your studying, let me know how it’s going! What materials are you using? Do you have any tricks or tips?
Editor’s note: Chelsea, our “Last Semester” columnist, recently graduated from a small, liberal arts college 20 miles outside of Boston. Her column appears weekly, exclusively on StressedOutNurses.com. Write to her at editor@stressedoutnurses.com.
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