Have you ever wondered how to pass an exam confidently? Or maybe, you tried to make your own study plan to prepare for a test. We are learning the moment we were born. We started learning how to say simple words until we can’t be stopped talking, learned how to walk with guidance until we can walk on our own, or even started to learn hand gestures until we were able to speak through them. There are a lot of things we learned and still learning. We spent almost 18 years studying at school with exams and tests you cannot count with your two hands even if you add your toes. With all those knowledge and understanding assessments, can you say that you mastered the technique of preparing for a test?
What is NCLEX?
To become licensed, nurses must pass the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX). The NCLEX-RN is taken by registered nurses, whereas the NCLEX-PN is taken by licensed practical nurses (also known as licensed vocational nurses in some states). Both exams assess a candidate’s nursing knowledge and practice preparation in four areas: creating a safe and effective care environment, health promotion, and maintenance, psychosocial and physiological integrity, and psychosocial integrity.
The National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX), created by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN), is the final stage in obtaining a nursing license. The exam is used by state regulatory boards to determine whether candidates are qualified for a nursing license.
NCLEX is not just a test but a real and important preparation for nurses who dreamed of working in Australia. Depending on their professional goals, candidates take either the NCLEX for practical nurses (PNs) or the NCLEX for registered nurses (RNs). Every state needs aspiring nurses to first pass the exam. This is carefully made to make sure that everyone possesses the needed mastery and knowledge of the specific field. We know its importance, but do you know how to prepare for it? Study plans are well-known for you can make them suit your schedule in a way you think can help you understand it more. Although this may be true, it’s much better to take a look at research-based study tips to up the probability of it working.
Study Techniques: Study less, with greater intensity
A formula was made for us to visualize how this works “Work accomplished = intensity of focus X time spent”.
A student who is studying for AP Biology, while also checking his/her texts and scrolling through Instagram or other Social Networking Sites, has a low level of concentration, say a 3. Despite spending three hours “studying,” his/her work grade is barely a nine. On the contrary, A student who takes steps to focus completely on AP Biology has a high level of focus—a 10. Even though he/she just studies for an hour, he/she accomplishes more than the distracted classmate accomplished in three hours. Most successful pupils have learned to avoid multitasking. Instead of spending a lot of time performing low-level work with lots of distractions, these students work for shorter times at higher intensity, with no email, social media, or other distractions. Their studying is more efficient, resulting in higher success increases.
Before we dive into the effective ways to study, let’s talk about the ineffective learning techniques that we might be doing.
First, we should avoid studying for long hours. It may sound appropriate but technically our brain needs some rest time. If we push our brain to its limit, retention can be unstable, and might forget most of the details.
Second, prevent studying one subject for a long time and repeating phrases or words over and over again to memorize. This is known as the massed practice.
Third, it’s unprofitable to review one topic repeatedly before moving to another topic or also known as blocked practice.
Also, avoid reading and rereading a text and highlighting or underlining important concepts, and then reviewing.
Now, let’s delve into 5 high-intensity study habits that you can use for preparing yourself for the NCLEX examination.
- Pre-test: When students practice answering questions, even if wrong, before understanding the topic, their future learning is increased. According to research, pre-testing enhances post-test scores more than studying for the same amount of time. While preparing for NCLEX, even though you might think you know what to do, it is much better to do a pre-test to assess which you remember and which you need to study more. This will serve as a diagnostic test, to evaluate your weakness and strengths.
- Spaced practice: It has been proven that spacing out study sessions—focusing on a topic for a short length of time on different days—improves retention and recall more than massed practice. According to the book “How We Learn”, spaced practice can feel tough because of an initial loss of knowledge—regaining that knowledge requires effort. NCLEX comprises different topics that you must know. This spaced practice can help you focus on different topics. Even on different days, you can retain more information.
It is effective to create flashcards that may be used for spaced practice and self-quizzing. When reviewing the flashcards, you should separate them into various piles. The cards they can answer right away should be put in a pile to be examined three days later; those they can answer with difficulty should be revisited two days later; and those they answered erroneously should be reviewed the next day.
- Self-quizzing: In this day and age of standardized testing, testing has a negative connotation, yet it is a type of active retrieval exercise. Encourage students to create their own exam questions as they learn a new idea, thinking about the types of questions you could ask on a quiz or test. They should include these tests in their study sessions, answering every question, even if they think they know the answer. This allows you to make other ways to test yourself. Examination can be standardized yet self-quizzing helps you prepare for things that can be surprising, like the saying, “Leaving no stone unturned”.
- Interleaving practice: Students may rely on blocked practice, which involves studying a collection of tasks as a group, such as multiplication problems until they sense mastery. Working on a series of tasks that are related, but not all of the same kind—for example, a set of arithmetic word problems that require addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division—is a more productive way of studying. The problems cannot be solved using the same technique. This method is more efficient than performing one multiplication problem after another.
- Paraphrasing and reflecting: We’ve all read a few pages of a textbook only to realize that we didn’t remember a single concept or significant point offered in those paragraphs. In order to demonstrate how to fight this, use intentional learning practices. These include connecting what is being taught to prior knowledge, imagining how they would explain the topic to a 5-year-old, and reflecting on and questioning the content.
Researchers discovered that incorporating the following approaches into students’ everyday study habits increases long-term learning and retention. These strategies are difficult and time-consuming, and they delay learning. The learning benefits appear to be smaller at first than with certain ineffective techniques. These strategies, on the other hand, lead to long-term mastery. The NCLEX examination is not something you just need to pass. This is the start of something important that requires mastery. Being a nurse involves a lot of people who entrust their situations to you. You are expected to provide healthcare that requires proficiency. Now, let’s talk about how to study for the NCLEX. You already have an idea of the study techniques that you can incorporate into your study plan. But let’s look at how you are going to use it to prepare for the examination.
How to study for NCLEX?
Knowing what to expect from the exam is the first step in NCLEX preparation. We have compiled and summarized important information regarding how to prepare for the NCLEX. The following section describes the exam’s content, format, time constraints, and grading methodology.
To further prepare for the actual exam, applicants can take the RN and PN practice examinations. The practice examinations have similar material and formatting to the real exams. The questions on the practice examinations are taken from old tests that are no longer in use.
Examine the Distribution and Content
The NCLEX exam covers a wide range of topics, including basic nursing principles and practices. The exam assesses an applicant’s understanding of topics such as safe and effective care environments, health promotion and maintenance, psychosocial and physiological integrity, and so on.
In addition, the test covers a number of “client needs” categories and subcategories. Substance use disorders and behavioural therapies are examples of sample questions in the psychosocial integrity category.
According to the most recent test plan, management of care accounts for the majority of questions on the NCLEX-RN (approximately 15-21%).
The remaining questions are about pharmacological and parenteral therapies (13-19%), physiological adaptation (11-17%), risk reduction (9-15%), safety and infection control (10-16%), basic care and comfort (6-12%), psychosocial integrity (6-12%), and health promotion and maintenance (6-12%).
Because the exam adapts to an applicant’s performance, the actual percentages fluctuate.
NCLEX Exam Format
The NCLEX employs a computerized adaptive testing methodology that determines each subsequent question based on an applicant’s performance. If an applicant answers a question wrong, then the computer will replace it with a simpler question. On the other hand, the better a person does, the more difficult the subsequent questions get.
Many of the same question formats are used on the Next Generation NCLEX. The majority of the questions on the PN and RN tests are multiple-choice. Extensive multiple responses, extended drag-and-drop, matrix (grid), cloze (drop down), and upgraded hotspot questions are also answered by applicants.
The length of the NCLEX exam is determined by the applicant’s performance. The PN test lasts up to five hours and requires applicants to answer a minimum of 85 questions and a maximum of 205. The RN exam, which lasts up to six hours, requires applicants to answer a minimum of 75 questions and a maximum of 265.
While there is no time limit for candidates to answer each question, they should not spend more than two minutes on any one subject.
Passing the NCLEX
By tailoring questions, the NCLEX scoring system determines a candidate’s ability level. This is in contrast to a fixed test, which includes the same questions for every candidate, regardless of ability.
Questions explicitly target a candidate’s skill while taking the overall passing criteria into consideration. This format, according to the NCSBN, produces precise data that can be utilized to assess a candidate’s suitability for licensure.
The more in-depth multiple-response questions allow you to receive partial credit if you obtain a certain number but not all of the possible answers. The exam has a pass or fail percentage based on three scenarios.
When the computer is certain that a candidate has passed or failed the test, it stops. This is referred to as the 95% confidence interval rule. When the applicant performs near the passing criteria in the second scenario, the machine asks the most questions. Applicants in the third scenario continue until they run out of time.
Candidates are allowed to retake the NCLEX up to eight times per year. Each retake must be separated by at least 45 days.
Making a study plan is a great thing to do to prepare for the NCLEX, but by knowing your study techniques and your target goals, you will be able to make a perfect scheme that will work and help you. It may not be as smooth as you wanted it to be, but it will definitely lessen the pressure when it comes to studying. These tips can be done by yourself, although this can be difficult. With the help of review centers like AuRNPathway, we can help you reach certain points and areas where you can only learn from experienced educators. This will provide additional knowledge that you might not even know, strategies, and advice that you can only attain through someone with expertise. Let’s start and succeed together at AuRNPathway.
References:
Mastering the NCLEX the First Time: Strategy and Tips
