The time has come! You’ve put in the work and you are about to graduate with your BSN degree. Take a moment and celebrate, you’ve earned it!

With this milestone comes the preparation for another: the NCLEX - National Council Licensure Examination. The NCLEX is the next step towards reaching your nursing #goals and can be quite nerve wracking (trust us, we get it!)

The NCLEX determines whether or not you are ready to safely enter the field as an entry level nurse. According to Kaplan, “while nursing school exams are knowledge-based, the NCLEX-RN® tests application and analysis using the nursing knowledge you learned in school. You will be tested on how you can use critical thinking skills to make nursing judgments.”

Deep breaths future nurses, you’ve got this! To help our community feel as prepared as possible, we’ve compiled some study tips to help you pass the NCLEX!

Prep, Prep, Prep!

Before you actually take the exam, there are a few things you need to do first. One of which is to submit an application to your NRB (Nursing Regulatory Body) and acquire an ATT (Authorization to Test). Once those steps are done, you can register to take the NCLEX at your local testing site.

Practice Makes Perfect.

If you’re up for it, the NCSBN (National Council of State Boards of Nursing) has a practice exam available for you to take. It consists of two separate exams at 125 practice questions each, five hours of time allotted for each exam and a score with the percentage of correct answers included. While the actual exam questions may differ, a practice exam is a good option for you to get comfortable with the exam’s structure if you can pay for it!

Manage your Stress Levels.

It is Stress Awareness Month after all! While the NCLEX is definitely important and monumentous, you wouldn’t want to psych yourself out and experience extreme nerves or anxiety. Remember that nerves and anxiety are a normal part of this experience, especially if you are an anxious test taker.

Care for yourself and rest. Have your favorite breakfast, put on your go-to playlist that gets your pumped and do your thing! You’ve made it through nursing school, you can make it through this exam. We believe in you!

Understand the NCLEX Format.

We mentioned that this test is unlike any you have taken in nursing school. What’s the big difference you ask? The NCLEX uses computerized adaptive testing technology, which means your test and your peers’ tests will all look different. The technology also allows the algorithm to generate questions and make adjustments based on your answers.

Hear from Nurses Firsthand.

Do you have a nurse in your life you can go to for assistance? A mentor, family member or friend? If you do, you can ask them about their experience with the NCLEX and what they did to pass.

While everyone’s process is unique, hearing from real nurses might ease any discomfort you feel around taking the exam. You might find out that the exam isn’t as bad as you think!

Learn from Mistakes.

If you are investing in the practice exams, be sure to take a critical look at any test questions you might get wrong. Can you re-read it and see where you may have missed the mark? Backtracking and analyzing your responses can help you form new conclusions or think of new ways to answer the questions. Incorrect responses can also help you understand which areas you may need to improve on or what you can target as you continue to study.

Lean on Your Peers.

At NurseDeck, we are all about community. We believe that nurses thrive when they get to hear advice or read about a fellow nurse #InTheField. In the spirit of community, we would encourage you to form groups with your nursing school peers.

Studying as a group will give you folks to practice with and bounce ideas off of. Group work also reminds you that you’re not alone. You might know someone in your class that has a different approach or a different skill set than you do. What can you gain from their experience? What can they gain from yours?

We hope that these tips are helpful! Ultimately, you all have what it takes to be a nurse and we can’t wait to see you on the other side.