How to Pass the NCLEX: Study Tips and Strategies to Help You Ace Your RN Exam
You’ve spent countless hours devoted to study and practice to become a registered nurse, and now it all comes down to the NCLEX-RN, the exam that stands between you and your nursing license. No one said it would be easy, but there are ways to set yourself up for success. Learning how to pass the NCLEX-RN exam can save you stress, time, and money. The following NCLEX tips can help you with your test prep.
10 Tips for Passing the NCLEX-RN Exam
We’ve gathered these 10 NCLEX tips to help you pass this license exam for RNs. Test prep is the key. The right preparation can help you earn your nursing license with a lot less stress.
1. Know What Is Covered
Learn about the NCLEX as the first step. Review the NCLEX test plan in advance. The most important of NCLEX study tips is to know what will be on the test and how the process works. Also check these frequently asked questions.
2. Understand the Testing Format
The second key for how to pass the NCLEX is to be familiar with the test format. Expect question types including multiple choice, select-all-that-apply, drag-and-drop, and hot spot.
3. Have a Stress Management Plan
Anxiety is natural with this important nursing license test, so plan ways to deal with it. Get plenty of sleep the night before and eat a protein-rich breakfast. Practice ways to control anxiety like breathing in a pattern and repeating a positive mantra.
4. Find Your Study Style
How you take in and remember lessons is your study style. Perhaps you learn best visually through images, diagrams, and graphs. Auditory learners find success listening to lectures and discussions. Kinesthetic learners are hands-on, learning by doing.
5. Create a Study Plan to Fit You
If you’re visual, take notes, watch videos, and practice with flash cards. If you learn by listening, recorded lectures and podcasts are helpful. If you learn by doing, try role-playing and set up practice scenarios.
6. Study at a Regular Cadence
Studying 10 minutes a day every day is better than cramming for hours. Schedule time, ideally at the same time every day, when your mind is fresh and devote it to study.
7. Invest in Test Prep
The NCLEX site offers test prep with downloadable sample questions and an exam preview. In addition, many websites offer free NCLEX test questions. When it comes to how to pass the NCLEX-RN, the more you practice, the better your results.
8. Review More Than Just the Basics
While you need to know the basics as part of how to pass the NCLEX-RN, you’ll need more than that. One of the most helpful NCLEX tips is to understand what computerized adaptive testing (CAT) is. The computer administering your test measures how you’re doing and increases the difficulty in response. Be ready to take on the tough questions.
9. Figure Out What You Don’t Know
Review your study guide and go through the topics. If you come across anything confusing or that you don’t remember, give that section an extra review. Quiz yourself as you go so you know what material needs your extra attention.
10. Take a Practice Test
The ultimate way to know you’re ready for the NCLEX-RN nursing license exam is to take a practice test to show exactly what you have mastered. You can then focus your further study on your weak points. If time permits, take more than one practice test so that when you take the real one, you’re completely familiar with it.
The Importance of Finding the Right Nursing Degree Program
These tips for how to pass the NCLEX-RN can make your exam experience much smoother, but there’s nothing that better prepares you for your nursing exam than attending a good nursing program. Excelsior University’s competency-driven Associate in Applied Science in Nursing program offers a flexible learning environment that mixes online classes and in-person practicums. You can better balance earning your degree with your job and be prepared with practical skills. You’ll be truly ready, not just to pass the NCLEX-RN and earn your registered nursing license, but to perform in the real world of patient care.
