It absolutely saddens me when I see other future nurses take their exam over and over again which causes them to lose their confidence and ability to become a great nurse. I DO NOT want to see that happen to you. I am here to help bridge that gap. I will outline the mistakes you MUST AVOID so you can take and pass your NCLEX exam the first time or if this isn’t your first time, the next time. So take your time and read this WELL and if you need to, read it over and over again.

Best of luck!

Mistake #1 – WAITING TOO LONG TO TAKE THE EXAM

One of the biggest mistakes that significantly reduces your chances of passing the NCLEX is purposely waiting a long time to schedule their NCLEX test date. How long is too long? Anything greater than four months from the time you graduated your program is too long. Take it as soon as you comfortably feel you can take the exam. The sooner you take the test, the greater your chances are of passing.

Mistake #2- FAILING TO APPLY YOUR LEARNING TECHNIQUES

Do you know how you best learn? How you best retain information? Are you a kinesthetic learner? Audio learner? Because what works for me, may not work for you.

EXAMPLE:

Let’s say Susan may be able to take several practice tests over and over again and get a 100% on her exam while Joann may need to listen to audio tapes of the same test material over and over again to get a perfect score.

I recommend you figure out what your learning technique is and then apply it immediately to your study habits. This will help guarantee you success. Even if you did not pass the first time around, you can start applying this idea right now. How do you find out your learning technique? Well think about what has worked for you in the past. What techniques have you been successful with? You can always also Google it. There are hundreds of quick sources online to help you quickly determine your specific learning style.

Mistake #3- ONLY STUDYING PRACTICE QUESTIONS INSTEAD OF

TAKING AN ENTIRE PRACTICE TEST

There’s a huge difference between taking a bunch of practice questions on flash cards or in a book versus sitting down and taking an actual practice test in a test like scenario/environment. Practice questions are wonderful; they’re a great study guide. However, before you take your NCLEX exam, you should sit down and take a practice test, preferably on a computer. And if you can, do this more than once. You do this method so it will teach you how to take the NCELX. It will teach you how to answer questions in a test environment.

Mistake #4

RUSHING THE EXAM

Guess how long you have to take the NCLEX exam? FIVE HOURS!! That’s a very long time to take a test. More than enough time actually. Knowing this, you can rest easy so that you take your time to select the right answer.

You can double check your answers; you can exhaust your scratch paper and go over your math before you hit submit. However you can’t go back. So there’s absolutely no reason to rush through your exam. You can take your time and be sure.

Mistake #5

CHOOSING RANDOM ANSWERS

When it comes to your priority questions particularly, the ABC rule will be your best friend.

A for Airway

B for Breathing

C for Circulation

When you can’t decide between two answers, always go with the selection that addresses the higher rule first.

EXAMPLE: You get a question and you have it down between two answers

Scenario 1: Says treat the patient with minimal bleeding from the surgery site on post op day 1 or your CNA just told you your newly trach patient is behaving anxiously, go with the trach patient; that’s airway.

Scenario 2: The other answer is circulation. Sounds like a trick question because it’s using the word “anxiously” which some might interpret as a psychosocial issue, but the test wants to see if you’re competent enough to recognize this as a sign your patient is not doing well.

IMPORTANT TIP: Every time you get a priority question, you should first identify which ABC rule applies, then select the higher rule.