Tips to Help You Pass the NCLEX Exam
If you are getting ready to take your NCLEX exam either in registered nursing or practical nursing, the first thing you need to do is take a deep breath, try and relax, and remember that the people who develop this examination would like nothing better than for everyone to pass it. There is a nursing shortage, and the National Council of State Boards of Nursing knows this. There is no percentage or number of candidates that have to pass or have to fail. Everyone who is going to pass passes because they are judged to be competent enough to work at an entry-level nursing job.
What can you do to increase your chances of passing? First of all, find out everything you can about the actual exam. That means going to the website and reading literally every word and every page you find. Start at https://www.ncsbn.org/nclex.htm. You have to do most of this to register anyway. But you also need to find out what about the test procedure itself sounds like it might make you nervous.
If you have never taken a computerized adaptive test, you need to familiarize yourself with what this means. You will be given a question, and your answer to that question determines what your next question will be. There are no set numbers of questions. You have six hours (RN) or five hours (PN) to finish the exam, although most people will be done before then. The RN exam is 75 to 265 questions. The PN exam is 85 to 205 questions. Your exam can be short if you are doing very well or doing very poorly. It takes the computer longer if you are in the middle. The computer has to be sure (with 95% certainty) that you are competent. If you read the materials on the website, you will learn some tips and strategies for dealing with a computerized adaptive test. You will also learn that some of your assumptions are probably wrong.
There is an online tutorial which you can take. It is the same for RNs and LPNs. You should definitely take this; it is free, and given by the people who make the exam.
You should also take advantage of everything your nursing school offers to prepare you for the examination. Some nursing colleges include specific test prep in the curriculum. Some schools do not charge extra for this. If you have to pay for it, you may want to compare places to take preparatory classes and prices. If you have friends who have been through the process, you can ask which prep class they recommend.
There will probably be preparation offered either at your school or someplace reasonably close to you where you can be taught in a classroom setting. You also have the choice of buying books with test questions and explanations, as well as online tutorials. What is the way you learn best? Do you have time to take another class? Do you want a quick cram over a weekend? Would you like to prepare at your own pace, at home, online?
There are free online questions at sites which are often linked to offers to buy study guides. You can pay to get prepared for the test using online sites which offer both question and detailed answers to study, or show you "live" video online or via DVD with someone giving instruction. These are usually four or five "days" of material. There are specific courses offered for someone who is retaking the test.
If you are really worried and have cash to spare, you can pay for something like Drexel's "First Timers Power Prep" for $499, which gives you an audio course, a video course, four weeks of online review, questions and answers online, and a textbook.
There are professional test review companies, like Kaplan, who will probably have a course going near you. These are in the $500 range.
The NCSBN even offers a review course. You can pick how many weeks you want to study and how many hours a week, as well as how much you want to spend. The less time until your test, the more hours you need to devote each week. The fee for eight weeks and a suggested 10 hours per week studying is $100. You are paying for access to the prep online site and everything it offers.
You need to think about how you study best, how much time you have, what free options are available, and then how much you can afford to spend for more preparation. You do not have to spend $500, nor does doing so guarantee you will pass. If you are motivated, you may do just as well with a review book, or even sharing one with a friend and quizzing each other.
Remember, you can always take the test again, usually in 91 days, but sometimes less, depending on where you live.
Published: 2009-10-14
