I have a VERY SIMPLE way to help boost confidence for Nursing both in school and for the NCLEX!
I was the only person to get an “A” in Med-Surg and even though I told my peers what I did when they would ask for my help, they did not believe me until the last weeks of the last semester.
The Method
Purchase a few NCLEX books (used is fine to save in cost).
Whatever topic you are studying, look at this area in the book:
Read the introductory summary.
Have someone look at the key and highlight the correct answers under each question in that section of the book before you attempt to answer the questions (or do this yourself without reading the answers).
Cover the answers, read the question. Think about what you think the answer might be.
Only then, look at the highlighted answer.
If you got the answer correct:
Move on and don’t give the question another thought (you know whatever the material is well enough to predictably answer on a test).
***DO NOT read any other answers.
As you continue, this method will help you gain certainty as you test and it will make you have more confidence when narrowing your answer down to 2… but then not knowing which answer is “the best.”
If you missed the answer:
Only look at the correct, highlighted answer and then think of what the rationale might be for that answer being correct.
Look at the rationale given under the answer key.
Mark this question in some manner to see if you can come back later and get the answer right.
Do this with several of the books and as you come back to this area before the NCLEX, you will see that you are more confident and easily able to find the answers.
It may be that the material may be something you understand, perhaps it is just a problem of lacking the ability to rationalize in the particular way that the writers of the NCLEX questions WANT you to answer.
Patient care is complex and often there are two priorities or more that need attention at the same time. Nurses delegate or rapidly intervene by performing multiple interventions at once, but there has to be a way to narrow it down to measure competence.
Hang in there and use this method, I promise it will help!
NCLEX STUDYING TIPS.
