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Study, study, rest… then study some more June 7, 2010

Posted by futurenightnurse in Uncategorized.
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So after I got all excited about studying daily I actually did it! Well, for four days… After that I was burnt out. I’m talking: online Kaplan lectures, reading the book, answering questions, and going over rationales… then reading some more. Yeahhh… not to mention my internal clock is set to wake up at 6:00 (sometimes 5:30!!!) no matter what. I was studying till lunch, watching an hour of TV, reading a little more, then taking a nap till my kids got home from school. (Yes, I take naps.) After dinner, I had my Kaplan class. NOT FUN. Don’t get me wrong, studying was going well, Kaplan was great… it’s just that I couldn’t continue that pace by the fifth day! I need a new plan…

Oh, by the way!!! Here is a tip: Take Kaplan with a friend or two! Seriously! I was lucky because most of the people there were from my graduating class, so there was no initial shyness… no worries about looking stupid for giving the wrong answer. It was easier to ask questions in class. It was awesome! Contrast that to a class I had to make up with the majority students from a “rival” school. Awwwwkward. They’re nice I’m sure, but I felt like they weren’t critical thinkers… hard to explain. Unlike my peeps, they didn’t really talk through the questions… and puh-leeze, how can you NOT know that Tylenol is potentially hepatotoxic?

lmao maybe I’m a little biased…

Anyhoo…  I gotta go. It’s almost naptime. =)

The dreaded NCLEX June 1, 2010

Posted by futurenightnurse in Uncategorized.
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The thing that nursing students fear the most… even worse than the fear of all nursing school exams combined!!! The fear, the worry, is so bad that people (me) would plunk down hundreds of dollars for a review course. Yup. It’s the NCLEX-RN.

Ever wonder why we fear the darn thing? Well, it could be because it’s a computerized adaptive test  (CAT) and that practically every review book or course instructor tells us it’s “nothing like we’ve ever taken before”. OR it could be that all our years of hard work on care plans, med cards, flow charts, research papers, examinations, etc. are riding on those 75-265 questions. AND just the fact that it could last up to 265 questions or up to 6 hours is so intimidating!!! BUT in the end it really is just a test. Sure we pay a lot to take it, we paid a lot to even be qualified to take it, and maybe even paid a lot to review for it… but ahhhhhhh!!!!! It’s just a test.

Just a test. Hmmm. I’ll let you know after  take it… (but I’m not saying when!)

For now I am sticking to waking up at 6:00 am and studying… I’ve mapped out the chapters I want to read in Saunders and the (Kaplan) QBANK tests I want to take daily. Yes, daily. It actually works out perfectly for when I plan to take my test. I just have to stay disciplined and actually study.

I know… I know… you’re thinking, “How long will THAT last?” I’m skeptical, too, but I figured if I put it out there I’m binding myself to it. Ya know?

Anyway, happy Tuesday!