If you’re struggling with how to pass the NCLEX® on your first try, consider these seven tips from Slone NCLEX Professor Tanya Killian. Most important is the volume of practice questions that you review each day. Programs like Slone NCLEX can help you not only review 200 to 400 questions per day but give...
There’s a lot to consider when choosing an NCLEX® prep course. The best programs will take a comprehensive approach, using adaptive learning technology and focusing on effective test-taking strategies. Perhaps most important is to ensure that the prep course includes the most recent changes to the exam from the National Council of State Boards of...
The more NCLEX® exam practice you have, the better equipped you’ll be on exam day.
Don’t discount the Health Education Systems Incorporated (HESI) exam, as it’s a good indicator of NCLEX® success.
Be sure to include new question item types in your personal study materials.
It sounds obvious, but how you prepare affects whether or not you’ll succeed. And that’s never been more evident than when it comes to the NCLEX® exam practice.
The more you practice, the more confident you’ll be. The more confident you are heading into exam day, the more likely you are to stand firm in your responses (regardless of the question item type) and not second guess yourself.
Focusing on your senior-year studies and taking seriously the Health Education Systems Incorporated (HESI) exam are just a couple ways to put NCLEX® exam practice into motion.
Why Should I Care About the HESI Exam?
For more than two decades, the HESI exam has been a blueprint, ... Read more
If you’re struggling with how to pass the NCLEX® on your first try, consider these seven tips from Slone NCLEX Professor Tanya Killian.
Most important is the volume of practice questions that you review each day.
Programs like Slone NCLEX can help you not only review 200 to 400 questions per day but give you detailed rationales for why an answer is both right or wrong.
Passing the NCLEX® on the first go-round means you can jumpstart your nursing career. It helps you avoid the stress of retaking the exam, which can be a hassle. Plus, it saves you money since you won’t have to pay additional testing fees. If you plan for how to pass the NCLEX® on your first try (and succeed!), this will give you a boost of confidence as you start your nursing career.To do that, it is essential to develop a solid study plan. Focus on the following strategies:
Use quality practice questions that come with detailed rationales: To effectively prepare for the NCLEX®, this is essential. We have discussed this previously, but your primary focus for NCLEX® study prep should be on answering NCLEX questions. Set a goal to complete between 200 and 400 questions each day. These questions should encompass all item types and cover all client need categories and clinical judgment categories.
Identify your weak areas and target them specifically during your study sessions: Recognizing your strengths and weaknesses is essential when planning how to pass the NCLEX® on your first try. By reviewing your practice exams, you can uncover both your triumphs and challenges. Enrolling in a dedicated NCLEX® prep course, like Slone NCLEX, can be a game-changer. It empowers you to focus on specific content areas that need your attention and helps you craft a personalized study plan that paves the way to success.
Take practice tests to monitor your progress: You should take at least two practice exams to determine your exam readiness. Take one at the beginning of your journey to identify your strengths and weaknesses and again after you have completed 1,500-3,000 questions to see where you stand. This helps you evaluate your current knowledge level and identify areas that require more study. Additionally, these exams familiarize you with the exam format, allow you to practice time management, and build your confidence by simulating the actual testing environment. Ultimately, this preparation increases your chances of passing the NCLEX® on your first attempt.
Consider joining study groups or having a study partner for additional support and motivation: Through collaborative learning with a study partner or group you’re able discuss and understand concepts with others, clarify doubts, and test your understanding of topics by explaining them to someone else. Study groups and partners also help you identify your weak areas and stay motivated with peer accountability. How to pass the NCLEX® on your first try could hinge on this approach.
Understand the computer adaptive testing (CAT) format to familiarize yourself with the exam structure: The NCLEX® uses the CAT exam model, which means the difficulty of each question adjusts based on your previous answers, tailoring the exam to your individual knowledge level. If you answer a question correctly, the next question will be slightly harder. If you answer incorrectly, the following question will be easier. The computer continues this process until it is confident enough to determine whether you have passed or failed the exam, based on the passing standard set by the NCSBN.
Manage test anxiety by staying calm and focused on exam day: Concentrate on thorough preparation by developing effective study habits. Practice relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing. Maintain a positive mindset, ensure you get enough sleep, eat healthy foods, and avoid cramming at the last minute. On test day, arrive early, read the instructions carefully, and focus on one question at a time. Remember, it’s okay not to know every answer.
Prioritize taking care of yourself: Sleep, a balanced diet, and proper hydration can elevate your test scores by unlocking the full potential of your mind. These essential elements enhance memory and concentration, which are vital for learning and recalling information during exams. Adequate sleep allows your brain to weave together memories, while the right nutrition and hydration fuel your focus and determination during testing. Embrace these habits to empower your journey to success.
The Bottom Line
The NCLEX® may be the hardest exam of your nursing career. It will definitely be one the most important. We want you to be successful — and learn how to pass the NCLEX® on your first try. Make sure you use these tips to do so. Remember, believe in yourself, study hard, and focus and you will be an amazing RN before you know it!
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There’s a lot to consider when choosing an NCLEX® prep course.
The best programs will take a comprehensive approach, using adaptive learning technology and focusing on effective test-taking strategies.
Perhaps most important is to ensure that the prep course includes the most recent changes to the exam from the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. (NCSBN).
I often get asked about the best NCLEX® prep course. While I may personally favor Slone NCLEX, I truly believe it stands out as one of the best options available. However, regardless of my opinion, I will share what I know about top NCLEX® prep courses and what you should look for when selecting the right one for you.A quality NCLEX® prep course will offer a comprehensive approach by utilizing adaptive learning technology and emphasizing effective test-taking strategies. It will feature an extensive question bank with detailed explanations and focus on core content review through lectures and online resources. The NCLEX® prep course you select should prioritize comprehensive rationales and provide varied practice scenarios, as this will greatly enhance your ability to succeed on the NCLEX-RN® Next-Gen exam.
10 Key Features of A Good NCLEX® Prep Course
Comprehensive Question Bank: A large collection of practice questions covering all content areas, complete with detailed explanations for both correct and incorrect answers.
Flexible Learning: Offers a variety of content with different levels of difficulty in practice questions, helping you focus on the areas that need the most improvement.
Readiness Exams: Full-length practice exams that simulate the actual NCLEX® format, featuring varying difficulty levels and a variety of question types.
Content Review Materials: Video lectures, study guides, and supplementary resources designed to reinforce essential nursing concepts.
Test-Taking Strategy Instruction: Guidance on how to approach various question types, such as “select all that apply” (SATA), along with strategies for time management.
Personalized Study Plan: The ability to create a study schedule tailored to your individual needs and learning pace.
Expert Faculty: Instruction and support provided by experienced nurses and educators.
Structured Learning: The course offers a well-organized curriculum that covers all essential content for the NCLEX®, ensuring that you don't overlook any categories.
Personalized Feedback: Some courses provide personalized feedback based on your performance in practice exams, enabling you to focus on areas that need improvement.
Exam Simulation: Practice exams closely replicate the format and difficulty level of the actual NCLEX®, helping you become familiar with the test environment.
Reminders For Choosing an NCLEX® Prep Course
When choosing an NCLEX® prep course, make sure it covers all types of question formats. In 2023, the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) introduced new question types, including bowtie and drop-down questions, in addition to traditional formats like multiple-choice and SATA. Remember that approximately 10% of your exam will consist of these new question types. Each NCLEX® exam also now includes three unfolding case studies, each with six different questions and item types. A quality NCLEX® prep course, such as Slone NCLEX, will feature these unfolding case studies to mirror the actual exam.In addition to quality and varied practice questions, prep courses need to offer detailed rationales for each answer choice. Understanding the rationale behind each correct answer reinforces your knowledge and helps solidify your understanding of key nursing concepts. Moreover, the rationales should thoroughly explain why the other options are incorrect, enabling you to identify common pitfalls and misconceptions.Understanding the “why” is crucial for retaining information, as it fosters deeper cognitive processing and connects new knowledge with what you already know. This not only aids in recall but also enhances your ability to apply concepts in different situations. By seeking the “why,” you engage more deeply with the material and develop critical thinking skills. When you can explain the rationale behind a topic, it reflects a solid understanding.
Focus On Comprehensive Review Materials
Find a course that offers a comprehensive review of important nursing topics, ensuring you have a strong grasp of the material before the exam. This is where having a quality and current NCLEX® prep course is HUGE! Make sure that whatever course you choose addresses all eight client needs categories and all six clinical judgment categories that are tested over on the NCLEX®.
The 8 client need categories:
Management of Care, which tests your ability to prioritize, delegate, and coordinate care for yourself, your patients, and other healthcare professionals.
Safety and Infection Control, which tests your ability to follow proper isolation precautions, sterile techniques, and general infection control protocols, such as proper hand hygiene.
Health Promotion and Maintenance, which tests your ability to properly educate patients on their preventative care and healthy lifestyle choices.
Psychosocial Integrity, which assesses your ability to assess and address a client’s emotional and psychological needs.
Basic Care & Comfort, which tests your ability to provide care to your patients in a safe way that promotes their care and ensures their basic needs are met and their activities of daily living (ADLs) are safely performed to the best of their ability.
Pharmacological and Parenteral Therapies, which test your understanding of medications, their administration, dosages, and side effects.
Reduction of Risk Potential, which tests your ability to identify and manage potential risks for patients such as medication errors, fall prevention techniques, and safe sex practices; and
Physiological Adaptation, which tests your ability to understand how the body responds to alterations in their health and the interventions needed to prevent further harm from occurring.
The 6 Clinical Judgment Categories:
Recognize Cues
Analyze Cues
Prioritize Hypotheses
Generate Solutions
Take Actions, and
Evaluate Outcomes.
NCLEX® Prep Course Test-Taking Strategies
In addition to mastering the content, the best prep courses teach valuable test-taking strategies that boost students' confidence as they head into the exam. Find NCLEX® prep courses that offer full-length practice tests that mimic the real exam setting, helping familiarize yourself with the testing format you will see on your exam day. Choose an NCLEX® prep course that provides support from experienced nursing instructors who can provide guidance, clarification, and encouragement throughout your entire preparation journey.
The Bottom Line
Enrolling in an NCLEX® prep course opens the door to countless advantages that can elevate your preparation journey. These courses empower you to focus on the most vital and relevant material, ensuring that each study session is productive and efficient. With a wealth of targeted practice questions and detailed explanations, you gain a deeper understanding of not just the correct answers but the reasoning behind them.Finally, an NCLEX® prep course helps pinpoint specific areas for further review, allowing you to channel your efforts where they will have the greatest impact. You will learn essential test-taking strategies that enhance your performance under exam conditions. By simulating the real exam environment, the course builds your confidence, making you feel well-prepared and reducing anxiety. This comprehensive approach aids in critical thinking and prepares you to tackle questions with confidence during the exam.
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The more NCLEX® exam practice you have, the better equipped you’ll be on exam day.
Don’t discount the Health Education Systems Incorporated (HESI) exam, as it’s a good indicator of NCLEX® success.
Be sure to include new question item types in your personal study materials.
It sounds obvious, but how you prepare affects whether or not you’ll succeed. And that’s never been more evident than when it comes to the NCLEX® exam practice.The more you practice, the more confident you’ll be. The more confident you are heading into exam day, the more likely you are to stand firm in your responses (regardless of the question item type) and not second guess yourself.Focusing on your senior-year studies and taking seriously the Health Education Systems Incorporated (HESI) exam are just a couple ways to put NCLEX® exam practice into motion.
Why Should I Care About the HESI Exam?
For more than two decades, the HESI exam has been a blueprint, providing insight into how you’ll fare on NCLEX®. And study upon study — even as recently as 2022 — shows that the better you do on the HESI, the more likely you are to pass the NCLEX®.Much like the NCLEX®, the HESI is a computer-based test. That alone is good NCLEX® exam practice, since the NCLEX® uses a computer-assisted quizzing (CAQ) model. Don't look at the HESI as one more thing to check off your to-do list. Rather, look at it as the beginning of your NCLEX® exam practice. Your score on the HESI can help you find your current knowledge weaknesses and build a study plan around them.
NCLEX® Exam Practice Builds Confidence
The changes that came with the 2023 iteration of the NCLEX® (known as Next-Generation NCLEX® or NGN) haven’t been around long, so it might not be a shock that student confidence regarding the new question item types isn’t very high.A 2024 study in the Journal of Nursing Education found that less than one third of students in their comparative study felt confident answering NGN question.“Students' lack of confidence with certain item types suggests faculty should incorporate these item types into classroom activities or course assignments,” the authors stated. “NGN test-taking strategies also should be incorporated and frequently reinforced throughout the curriculum.”In comparing NGN item types to multiple choice questions, the results revealed lower scores on NGN-style items of bowtie and select-all-that-apply questions but higher scores for highlight table or matrix multiple-choice questions.Keeping this in mind, you’ll want to include all item types (both old and new) on your cram sheet and in your practice tests. The more you review them, the more likely understanding how to approach them will become second nature.
Don’t Forget the Basics
It's easy to get caught up in the excitement (or is it stress?) of learning how to approach new question item types. Take a breath and remember what your nursing professors have likely told you a thousand times over:
Test yourself with 200 to 400 questions per day.
Create a study plan.
Devise a cram sheet.
Lean on your fellow soon-to-be graduates for support.
Support your studying with a prep program like Slone NCLEX.
The Bottom Line
You’re not alone in preparing for arguably one of the biggest days of your future career. Everyone needs NCLEX® exam practice. Join up with some friends or classmates for a weekly study group, challenge each other by incorporating the new item types, and have lively discussions about the rationales for the right (and wrong!) answers.
If you’re struggling with how to pass the NCLEX® on your first try, consider these seven tips from Slone NCLEX Professor Tanya Killian.
Most important is the volume of practice questions that you review each day.
Programs like Slone NCLEX can help you not only review 200 to 400 questions per day but give you detailed rationales for why an answer is both right or wrong.
Passing the NCLEX® on the first go-round means you can jumpstart your nursing career. It helps you avoid the stress of retaking the exam, which can be a hassle. Plus, it saves you money since you won’t have to pay additional testing fees. If you plan for how to pass the NCLEX® on your first try (and succeed!), this will give you a boost of confidence as you start your nursing career.To do that, it is essential to develop a solid study plan. Focus on the following strategies:
Use quality practice questions that come with detailed rationales: To effectively prepare for the NCLEX®, this is essential. We have discussed this previously, but your primary focus for NCLEX® study prep should be on answering NCLEX questions. Set a goal to complete between 200 and 400 questions each day. These questions should encompass all item types and cover all client need categories and clinical judgment categories.
Identify your weak areas and target them specifically during your study sessions: Recognizing your strengths and weaknesses is essential when planning how to pass the NCLEX® on your first try. By reviewing your practice exams, you can uncover both your triumphs and challenges. Enrolling in a dedicated NCLEX® prep course, like Slone NCLEX, can be a game-changer. It empowers you to focus on specific content areas that need your attention and helps you craft a personalized study plan that paves the way to success.
Take practice tests to monitor your progress: You should take at least two practice exams to determine your exam readiness. Take one at the beginning of your journey to identify your strengths and weaknesses and again after you have completed 1,500-3,000 questions to see where you stand. This helps you evaluate your current knowledge level and identify areas that require more study. Additionally, these exams familiarize you with the exam format, allow you to practice time management, and build your confidence by simulating the actual testing environment. Ultimately, this preparation increases your chances of passing the NCLEX® on your first attempt.
Consider joining study groups or having a study partner for additional support and motivation: Through collaborative learning with a study partner or group you’re able discuss and understand concepts with others, clarify doubts, and test your understanding of topics by explaining them to someone else. Study groups and partners also help you identify your weak areas and stay motivated with peer accountability. How to pass the NCLEX® on your first try could hinge on this approach.
Understand the computer adaptive testing (CAT) format to familiarize yourself with the exam structure: The NCLEX® uses the CAT exam model, which means the difficulty of each question adjusts based on your previous answers, tailoring the exam to your individual knowledge level. If you answer a question correctly, the next question will be slightly harder. If you answer incorrectly, the following question will be easier. The computer continues this process until it is confident enough to determine whether you have passed or failed the exam, based on the passing standard set by the NCSBN.
Manage test anxiety by staying calm and focused on exam day: Concentrate on thorough preparation by developing effective study habits. Practice relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing. Maintain a positive mindset, ensure you get enough sleep, eat healthy foods, and avoid cramming at the last minute. On test day, arrive early, read the instructions carefully, and focus on one question at a time. Remember, it’s okay not to know every answer.
Prioritize taking care of yourself: Sleep, a balanced diet, and proper hydration can elevate your test scores by unlocking the full potential of your mind. These essential elements enhance memory and concentration, which are vital for learning and recalling information during exams. Adequate sleep allows your brain to weave together memories, while the right nutrition and hydration fuel your focus and determination during testing. Embrace these habits to empower your journey to success.
The Bottom Line
The NCLEX® may be the hardest exam of your nursing career. It will definitely be one the most important. We want you to be successful — and learn how to pass the NCLEX® on your first try. Make sure you use these tips to do so. Remember, believe in yourself, study hard, and focus and you will be an amazing RN before you know it!
