For nursing students there is one final hurdle after graduation to becoming a nurse – passing the NCLEX. The National Council Licensure Examination is the standard state exam that all graduating nurses must pass in order to start their career as an entry-level nurse.
It can be a stress-inducing time for a young nurse. But there are some things you can do while you’re still in nursing school to lessen the stress on exam day.
Follow these tips to prepare for test day.
1. Study All Through School
First and foremost, don’t wait to begin studying. Use your time throughout nursing school to prepare. “NCLEX tests safety competency and is not a test you can cram knowledge in a short period of time,” says Dr. Joanna Rowe, interim dean of nursing at Linfield College in McMinnville, OR.
Dr. Rowe says there are several study programs available including Kaplan, HESI, and ATI.
Another resource Dr. Rowe recommends is a PassPoint, which can be purchased for $100 for use on your phone or computer. “Students can design their own tests and they can select areas for the program to generate a test. Also, the National State Board of Nursing has an NCLEX study plan they can download that is very inexpensive.”
2. Practice
Dr. Rowe advises students to take practice tests in an environment similar to the one you’ll take the real NCLEX. That means no music, headphones, noise, or anything to drink or eat. Take your practice tests in a quiet, uncluttered space and take the whole practice test in one sitting.
3. Take Time to Review
“Review each question on the practice test even if you got it correct. Look at why you got it correct,” says Dr. Rowe. “Did you know the answer or guess at the answer and does your rationale match the rationale offered? If you got it wrong, why did you get it wrong? Did you not know the answer, read too fast, misread the question, knew parts of the answer but not in depth?”
Taking the time to review after your practice tests will offer key insights that will help you ultimately pass the NCLEX.
4. Take the NCLEX Right After Graduation
Finally, Dr. Rowe advises students to take the NCLEX within six weeks of graduating from nursing school. “The statistics are clear that students who take NCLEX within the first six weeks of graduation have a significantly higher pass rate,” says Dr. Rowe.
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