I wanted to share my approach for anyone preparing for NCLEX, struggling with practice exams, or trying to pass after an unsuccessful attempt.
One thing I learned throughout this process is that NCLEX isn't just about what you know. It's about how you apply what you know, how you approach questions, and how you manage yourself under pressure.
Here's what worked for me!
- CHANGE YOUR MINDSET BEFORE WALKING INTO THAT TESTING CENTER. 🧠🥊
The night before my NCLEX, I watched the PFL Women's Flyweight World Championship fight featuring Jena Bishop. What stood out to me wasn't just her victory but how she handled the nerves, pressure, and uncertainty of facing a tough opponent.
She trusted her preparation, stayed focused, adjusted, and kept fighting until she won.
That's exactly the mentality I wanted to bring into my NCLEX.
I knew I wouldn't have every answer, and some questions would challenge my confidence. But just like in that fight, I couldn't let one difficult moment affect everything that came next.
Every question was a new round. I had to focus on what was in front of me instead of carrying doubt from the previous question.
Take your breaks! Get up, wash your hands with ice-cold water for 20 seconds, reset, and remind yourself, "I've prepared for this. I can do this."
Walk into that testing center believing in the work you've already put in.
- USE CHATGPT TO BUILD A STUDY PLAN BASED ON YOUR WEAKNESSES. 📚
This was probably one of the biggest changes I made during my preparation.
I took my ATI and bootcamp results, missed questions, weak categories, and topics I wasn't confident in and put them into ChatGPT.
But here's the difference: I didn't just ask ChatGPT for practice questions. I asked it to analyze HOW I was thinking.
I had it:
- Create NCLEX-style questions targeting my weak areas, including SATA, prioritization, and NGN case studies.
- Ask me to select my answer BEFORE revealing the correct one.
- Ask me to rate my confidence as high, medium, or low.
- Make me explain MY rationale and WHY I chose that answer.
- Explain why every answer choice was correct or incorrect.
- Track my correct and incorrect answers, first-choice selections, and second-guessing.
- Identify whether I had a knowledge gap or whether my reasoning led me away from the correct answer.
This was HUGE for me!
Sometimes I didn't know the content. Other times, I knew the content but talked myself out of the right answer.
Those are two completely different problems!
Use ChatGPT as a study partner, not as something that does the thinking for you. Double-check its clinical explanations with ATI, your textbooks, or other reliable nursing resources.
- STOP PASSIVELY WATCHING NCLEX REVIEW VIDEOS. 🎥
Keep watching those review videos, but change HOW you're watching them.
When the instructor asks a question, PAUSE THE VIDEO!
Read the question, choose your answer, and explain your rationale OUT LOUD before the instructor reveals the answer.
Then unpause and compare your reasoning.
Don't just memorize an answer because you've heard it five times.
Ask yourself:
"If NCLEX asked me this same concept in a completely different way, would I still understand it?"
If the answer is no, that's something you need to review.
The goal is to understand the concept well enough to apply it to a patient situation you've never seen before.
- MASTER PRIORITIZATION AND LEARN WHAT THE QUESTION IS ACTUALLY ASKING. 🚨
You do NOT need to know everything!
You need to recognize important cues, understand what they mean, and determine the safest nursing action.
One strategy I practiced repeatedly was:
SEE → KNOW → DO
- SEE: What am I noticing? What's abnormal? What has changed?
- KNOW: What does this mean? What's the biggest concern or potential complication?
- DO: What should the nurse do FIRST?
I also practiced identifying the PURPOSE of the question.
Is it asking me to ASSESS, INTERVENE, PREVENT, PRIORITIZE, or EVALUATE?
This matters because sometimes two answers sound correct, but only one actually addresses what the question is asking.
I trained myself to identify the question's purpose before getting distracted by the answer choices.
Don't just look for an answer that sounds right. Figure out what the question needs you to do.
- DON'T MAKE THE QUESTION MORE COMPLICATED THAN IT IS.
Seriously! This was another big one for me.
Stop adding information that isn't in the question.
Don't create imaginary complications or convince yourself there's some hidden trick behind every answer.
Focus on the information provided.
Ask yourself:
- Is this finding expected or unexpected?
- Is this patient stable or unstable?
- What's the immediate safety concern?
- What requires action FIRST?
- Which answer actually addresses the question?
Sometimes the answer is simpler than you're making it.
Use your nursing knowledge, but don't let overthinking turn a straightforward question into something it isn't.
- TRUST YOUR CLINICAL JUDGMENT AND BREAK THE SECOND-GUESSING CYCLE. ❤️
This was one of my BIGGEST struggles.
I would narrow a question down to two answers, choose one, and then start convincing myself the other one was better.
So I started tracking it.
I asked ChatGPT to record my first-choice answers, confidence levels, and whether I changed my answer during the discussion.
Then I looked at WHY.
Did I recognize something important that I initially missed? Did I misunderstand the question? Or was I changing my answer simply because I felt uncertain?
There is a difference between correcting your clinical reasoning and changing an answer because you're anxious.
If you have a clear clinical reason to change your answer, change it! But don't automatically assume your first choice is wrong just because another option sounds appealing.
Learning to recognize those patterns helped me trust my clinical judgment instead of constantly questioning myself.
- PHARMACOLOGY: KNOW YOUR DRUG CLASSES AND WHAT TO WATCH FOR! 💊
Pharmacology is one of those areas where you really DO have to know your medications!
For my preparation, I watched Dr. Sharon's 10 videos covering the most commonly tested pharmacology medications, listened to Mark K's lectures, and watched Nexus Nursing's pharmacology reviews.
These were incredibly helpful because they reinforced the medications, drug classes, and safety considerations I needed to recognize.
My biggest advice is to stop trying to memorize every single detail about every medication and focus on understanding:
- DRUG CLASS: What class does the medication belong to?
- PURPOSE: Why is the patient taking it?
- COMMON SIDE EFFECTS: What effects might be expected and manageable?
- ADVERSE EFFECTS: What findings are harmful, dangerous, or require immediate attention?
- NURSING ACTIONS: When should you monitor, hold the medication, notify the provider, or intervene immediately?
And PLEASE understand the difference between a common side effect and a serious adverse effect!
For example, a patient taking an ACE inhibitor may develop a dry cough, but swelling of the tongue or throat is a potentially life-threatening reaction requiring immediate intervention.
Those are the distinctions NCLEX wants you to recognize.
I also practiced identifying medication classes by their common name endings and understanding their major contraindications, interactions, and safety precautions.
You don't have to memorize every medication ever created, but you DO need to recognize the major drug classes, their important effects, and what findings require nursing action.
For pharmacology, repetition really does help. Listen to those lectures, quiz yourself, and keep reviewing until you can recognize the medication and explain what you're monitoring for without looking at your notes.
- KNOW YOUR GREEK AND LATIN ROOT WORDS! MEDICAL TERMINOLOGY 101. 📖🧠
I cannot stress this one enough!
If you took medical terminology before nursing school, GO BACK AND REVIEW IT!
I used my knowledge of Greek and Latin prefixes, roots, and suffixes throughout nursing school exams and during my NCLEX preparation.
Sometimes I would come across a medical term or condition that I couldn't immediately remember, but when I broke the word down, the meaning was literally right there in the name!
For example:
BRADYCARDIA
- Brady- = Slow
- -cardia = Heart rate
So even if you forgot the definition, you can recognize that bradycardia means a slow heart rate.
Another example:
HYPOGLYCEMIA
- Hypo- = Low
- Glyc- = Sugar
- -emia = Blood condition
Put it together: LOW BLOOD SUGAR!
And this applies to so many medical terms.
Once you understand the language of medicine, you can often break down unfamiliar words instead of immediately panicking because you don't recognize them.
Medical terminology is literally the foundation of nursing vocabulary!
Of course, knowing a word's roots doesn't tell you everything about a disease or treatment, but it can give you a starting point for understanding what the question is describing.
Don't underestimate those foundational classes. Sometimes the answer is hiding right in the terminology!
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MY FINAL ADVICE TO ANYONE PREPARING FOR NCLEX ❤️
Please stop measuring your readiness ONLY by the number of practice questions you've completed.
I kept hearing that you should complete at least 2,000 questions before taking NCLEX.
But here's how I looked at it.
I've been preparing throughout nursing school. Every ATI exam, pharmacology quiz, pathophysiology exam, clinical experience, and patient scenario contributed to my understanding.
It's not just about completing 2,000 questions. It's about what you've actually LEARNED from the questions you've completed.
Doing 100 questions and understanding WHY you missed 20 can be more valuable than doing hundreds without reviewing your reasoning.
And here's something else I want you to know.
My NCLEX shut off at 85 questions, and I genuinely thought I failed.
I walked out feeling defeated. The questions were difficult, and I felt like I was constantly choosing between two answers.
I was terrified that I hadn't done enough.
But two days later, I found out I PASSED! 🥹🎉
And looking back, I realized something important.
I wasn't just studying to pass a test. I was learning how to recognize patient problems, prioritize care, make safe decisions, and trust the clinical judgment I'd been developing throughout nursing school.
That's what I want others to take away from this.
You can be nervous and still be prepared.
You can feel uncertain and still make the right clinical decision.
You can walk out of NCLEX feeling like you failed and still find out that you passed.
You don't need to be a walking nursing textbook. You need to demonstrate that you can think critically and provide safe care as an entry-level nurse.
So identify your weaknesses, study with intention, understand your rationales, practice your clinical judgment, and work on the habits that cause you to lose confidence.
And when you sit down at that computer, remind yourself:
"I've done the work. I know how to think. I know how to prioritize. I can do hard things. One question at a time."
Keep going, future RN. 🩺❤️
Your journey doesn't have to look like anyone else's to be successful.
