Page 87 - Saunders Comprehensive Review For NCLEX-RN

CHAPTER 3

The NCLEX-RN® Examination: From a

Graduate’s Perspective

Katherine M. Silvestri, BSN, RN

http://evolve.elsevier.com/Silvestri/comprehensiveRN/
Congrats new grad! You made it through nursing school…that place where you
can get a question on an exam wrong even if your answer is correct, BUT just not the
most correct. You have more than likely endured several trying challenges during
the program with moments of intense self-doubt due to the difficult content and
pace of the program. In the end, though, the memories and the friends that are made
in school make it all worth it, and despite all those negative feelings, you made it this
far!
Nursing school is a journey that not just anyone is able to complete. You may feel
extremely relieved to be closing this chapter in your life, and you are now one step
closer to becoming a registered nurse. Now the only thing standing between you and
adding RN to the end of your name is the NCLEX. Spending late nights studying
and stressing over tests and sterile technique has become the new norm during your
nursing program; however, the NCLEX is an exam in its own league. It is important
to remember that nursing school has been preparing you to take this test throughout
its entirety. Taking the NCLEX can be a less stressful experience by preparing
yourself throughout nursing school and not just once you schedule a testing date.
While in my nursing program, I strongly disliked studying for exams by going
back through chapters I had already read for lecture. My mind would always
wander, and I would get distracted because that study method does not engage my
mind to think about material in a different way. I would prepare for my lecture
exams, and also for my standardized exams, by doing practice questions from the
Saunders RN-Q&A Review for the NCLEX-RN®, paying close attention to the
rationales while taking down succinct notes. By looking at the content area codes I
was also able to organize my notes into different sections, which was extremely
helpful when I had an exam coming up on a certain subject. I also paid close
attention to the test-taking strategy. I came to find if I happened upon a question that
I was not sure on, I was able to use the strategies I learned to narrow down the
options and arrive at the correct answer. Half the battle is figuring out what exactly a
question is trying to ask you, and reading the test-taking strategy was helpful in
allowing me to focus in on the subject of the question. I feel studying in this manner
during my program made taking the NCLEX a much less stressful experience.
Applying to take the NCLEX is quite the process. I applied through the Nevada
State Board of Nursing. I had to make an appointment to get my fingerprints taken
at the state board office, which I was able to do while I was still in my nursing

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