Hello future RN’s! My name is Jacqueline Ksajikian and I’m proud to call myself a registered nurse. The journey to get to this point was tough, but through dedication and perseverance you will all reach your end goal.
I received my Bachelor of Science in Nursing from West Coast University’s accelerated BSN program. I heard about UWorld through my fellow classmates in nursing school. Whomever I asked, whether they are a nursing student or a registered nurse, they recommended using UWorld as a study tool for passing NCLEX®.
What convinced me of the efficacy of UWorld was the experience of a fellow nurse that I met during clinical rotations.
She explained that UWorld has a similar layout and format to the NCLEX. She recommended purchasing the NCLEX-RN® 90-day Access QBank with 2,100+ questions and 2 self-assessments.
My study plan was the product of trial and error, but then I found a routine that worked for me. I initially organized my days based on each individual subject and would go through UWorld Qbanks on each respective subject. For instance, for each subject I would answer 150 to 200 questions a day, but that method did not allow me to fully grasp any information as I was just passively answering questions without immersing myself in the content. I was scoring below average and that is where I knew I had to change my plan.
For my second approach, I reduced the number of questions that I did every day. In addition to this, I did not organize my days by subject anymore, but I mixed all questions from all subjects and systems offered on UWorld.
I believe this was an improvement to my initial study plan because the NCLEX itself is a mix of everything.
Also, I printed out a calendar and at the start of a week I mapped out a plausible plan (including days off). This allowed me to stay on track. The days on my calendar consisted of doing one or two 75-question exams and typing my notes after each question.
Doing fewer questions, but reviewing and reading the rationales afterwards, helped me notice keywords or phrases hidden in question stems. Noticing this made me a better test taker, allowing me to score average to above average. However, while there were significant improvements from my initial routine, my second study plan still had some flaws. Finishing one exam would take a long time and because of that I would be exhausted at the end of the day.
Finally, after curating my study routines, I found one that worked best for me. Each day I would take a 75-question exam with a mix of all subjects and systems. After completing the exam, I would take a break. Then, I would go through all the questions and take handwritten notes if needed. Personally, handwriting my notes made me grasp the information better. Every two hours I would take a 10-minute break, then go back to studying.
On the weekends I would spend one day retaking at least 150 mistake questions and reviewing my notes. Within one week of doing this study method, I noticed I would always score above average. Two weeks before the NCLEX I took my first assessment to see where I was at as far as studying — I scored 60% which indicated on UWorld’s scale a high chance of passing.
Later, I continued with the same study plan. Six days before my exam I took my second assessment. I scored 59% which indicated on UWorld’s scale a high chance of passing. A week leading to my exam, I felt confident. Prior to my NCLEX day, I decided to have a day off to relax. Which I do recommend as it eases your nerves.
I studied for a total of 230 hours in the span of about one month. However, I believe the number of hours spent studying is completely subjective to each person.
The day of the exam came, and, surprisingly, I was not nervous. Even if I came across a difficult question I wouldn’t get stuck on it because of the NCLEX test taking skills I refined while studying with UWorld.
After completing the exam, I felt relieved, and now came the waiting process for my results. Before opening my results, I recorded myself to get the reaction on camera. Once I logged in and saw the word “PASS” I burst into tears and had a sense of relief. It was for sure one of the most memorable days of my life, and I’m happy it was caught on camera!
