NCLEX-RN Guide

Every challenge you face, whether it's a nuclear physics exam or the one hundred meter final at the Olympic Games, is a test of what's in your head. An exam will test both the knowledge and skill that you hold, and your ability to get that knowledge out of your brain and into action. If your mind isn't in tip-top condition when you step into the exam room, you're not going to get the results you deserve.

You create the future in advance by what you think about all day. You must convince yourself even if you don't believe it at first you'll pass. If you don't believe you'll pass chances are you won't. This is where an NCLEX test coach can help keep you motivated and focused on success.

Here's three ways to make sure your mind is programmed for success when you need it most on the NCLEX:

1. Know The Material... Backwards

   Obviously, if you know your stuff, the NCLEX exam is always going to be easier than if you guess all the way through it.

   But to be really at your best, it's not enough to know a bunch of facts. You want to be able to step inside the head of the NCLEX test creators to understand their methods and testing theories. Then, you'll "out think" their NCLEX test questions.

   As you look at old NCLEX tests, ask yourself why the examiners choose those particular questions, why they asked them in that way and what they're trying to test. Things that have been on the NCLEX in previous exams will be on your exam in a different form because it is a standardized test. That's how, with research and examinee interviews; the NCLEX Comprehensive Success System was developed and has been so successful.

   Every exam has a goal. The goal of a driving test is to make sure that you can drive safely. The goal of a math test is to make sure that you've absorbed the calculation methods.

   The goal of an English test is to make sure that you understand grammar and punctuation.

   Understand the goal of your NCLEX exam and you're halfway to cracking the code of the NCLEX.

2. Have an NCLEX Exam Plan

   When you understand the goal of your NCLEX test, you can study with that goal in mind. When you've finished revising, you can put together a plan to see you through the exam.

   That plan should be simple -- but it should be something you stick to! It could be something like:

   a) Read through your entire NCLEX test
   b) Decide which NCLEX essay questions to answer first
   c) Do the easier NCLEX multiple choice questions first
   d) Do the tough NCLEX questions next
   e) Make sure there's at least ten minutes at the end to review your answers.

   Having a plan in hand to crack the NCLEX exam will help you to succeed on the test and make the NCLEX less scary.

3. Keep Your Eyes On The Prize

   The NCLEX examiners have a reason for creating the exam the way they do, but you have a reason for taking it. You want to advance your career as soon as possible. The NCLEX exam is simply an obstacle that stands between you and your destination.

   Understand that the NCLEX test is not "the" thing -- and that there are many things a great deal bigger -- and you'll put it into perspective. The NCLEX exam will start to look small enough for your mind to tackle with one good whack.

4. Top Methods To Rapidly Learn Any NCLEX Test Taking Material

   If you've been working properly then your knowledge will have been building up nicely over time and you'll be in complete command of the material you'll need for the NCLEX.

   Doesn't sound like you? Don't worry, it doesn't sound like anyone who's about to take the NCLEX!

   At some point, just about everyone finds themselves having to cram for an exam. It might not be the best way to learn, but it's often the only way to pass the test. That's especially true of the NCLEX.

Here's how you do it:

1. Get Organized

   You're going to have to be brutally honest. Check how much prep time you have before the exam and separate your NCLEX review course into subjects. Don't worry if there's a huge, frightening difference between the amount of work you have to do and the amount of time you have to do it. The next step will be to chop down the work.

2. Get Picky

   Read through the material once as part of your NCLEX review course, highlighting the most important points.

   (Highlighters are very useful here: they're bright enough not only to make points stand out, but also to make those points stick in your head.) That's the stuff you're going to have to memorize.

   Now, there are all sorts of memory techniques you can use to make that memorization happen:

   • Acrostics help you remember a list in the right order. For example "My Dear Aunt Sally" is the famous way to remember the precedence of the four basic mathematical operations -- Multiply and Divide before you Add and Subtract).
   • Sing... really! If you can put the words you're trying to memorize to a tune you like, you'll find them much easier to remember. After all, you can remember the words to lots of songs without even trying. If you play guitar or keyboard use simple chord progressions and melodies to write songs to help you memorize information.
   • Break up what you need to learn into bite-sized chunks. There's a limit to how much you can stuff into your short-term memory in one go. Take each piece a little at a time

3. Get It Rammed Right In There!

   Cramming for the NCLEX only puts the information you want in your head for a short time (understanding what you're memorizing keeps it there for the long term). In order to keep what you've memorized from falling out before your NCLEX exam, you'll need to keep seeing it and going over it right up until you pour it all out onto the page.

What To Do In The 72 Hours Before Your NCLEX Exam--Step By Step Instructions

1. NCLEX E-Day Minutes 72 Hours

   Whether this is the first time you've opened a book or whether you've been studying some NCLEX review course non-stop for the last six months, these last three days are the time to cement knowledge into your brain. You're going to spend this entire day going over the material, the next day taking NCLEX practice tests and the last day filling in the gaps.

   a) First, make a list of all the topics and their sub- topics that you've had to cover as part of your NCLEX preparation. Toss in everything here. You want to be able to get a complete overview of your entire NCLEX test. Writing everything out will remind you of what you learned, expose your weak points, and reveal what your preparation is all about.

   b) Next, read through the material in order and highlight the most important points; ideally, you'll want to know absolutely everything that that will be on the NCLEX. But that's impossible and you don't really need to know everything. Pick out the areas that you know are most important, and highlight them so that you can still see them on the page when you close your eyes.

   c) Copy that information onto flash cards, still carefully organized, to make them easier to memorize. Flash cards are a very neat way to study. You can organize them so that one point leads naturally to the next and as you write them out, you'll start to remember them. Keep them in your pocket so that you can review them at any time: during lunch break, waiting for a movie to start, even while you're waiting for the bus.

   d) Start memorizing the material. There needs to be a blitz process of constantly hammering the facts into your head. Now is the time to start if you haven't already.

2. NCLEX E-Day Minutes 48 hours

   Yesterday, you started your final memorization of the material for your NCLEX exam. Today, you're going to test your memory to see what you're still missing.

   a) Take a complete, timed NCLEX practice test first thing in the morning. Make sure nothing disturbs you. You want to get the timing right as well as the knowledge.

   b) Review the answers. Checking the answers to the NCLEX practice test is as important as taking the exam. Don't worry about the questions you got right. But if you don't take action, the NCLEX practice questions you get wrong today will be the ones you get wrong on the big day.

   c) Pay special attention to your mistakes and any weak areas. For the rest of the day, you're going to focus on those NCLEX questions you got wrong. Go over your notes, take more NCLEX practice tests on the same subject and make sure you know how to get them right next time.

3. NCLEX E-Day Minutes 24 Hours

   Much of this day is going to be spent taking more practice tests so that you'll be as familiar with the NCLEX as possible when you meet it in the flesh. In the last part of the day, you'll do a little bit of cramming to make sure that nothing is forgotten.

   a) Spend the morning answering practice test questions. Don't worry about timing now. You want to make sure that you understand what the NCLEX questions are trying to do and how they work. This is the time you'll use to fill in as many knowledge gaps as possible. Start with the hard ones and end with the easier ones so that you end the day with confidence.

   b) Put the NCLEX practice exam questions aside and read over your study guide and go over your flash cards. You want to try to relax in the last part of the day so that you can sleep well and keep your adrenaline for the next day.

   Finally, put away your NCLEX study guide, your notes and your pen. Clear your head and let yourself feel confident that you're going to blitz the exam.

Best of luck!
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