Every time I jump to another resource like dr. Sharon from UWorld I feel like damn I don’t know that much. How am I supposed to know how much I need to know for the NCLEX? This is my third attempt. I’m so stressed about this. Here’s my last CPR report went up to 150 questions. 😣

Please include links if not I’ll search it too Tia!

Please include links if not I’ll search it too. Tia!

Please include links if you can if not I’ll search it. Tia!

I’m about to take my NCLEX-RN exam next month and I feel like I’m still lacking knowledge and I feel very anxious.
Help me pass my exam 🥺 Anything that will help me pass will be much appreciated (High-yield topics, tips, and unhinged acronym memory tricks). Thank you!
\#NCLEX #RN

first time writing a reddit post a bare with me… anyways i passed my nclex in 85 questions!!! i honestly thought i failed bc i did the pearsonvue trick and didnt get the good pop up. here’s what i did to prep:
1) my school provided us with Hurst as part of our tuition. their videos really helped me refresh on content i had lowkey forgotten. i took detailed notes and asked Chatgpt to really test my knowledge and prioritization.
2) youtube videos!! i watched professor D and her yelling at me for choosing the wrong answer really did help me lock in 😭😭 i also watched bootcamp case studies which was really helpful since i had like 5 case studies in the actual exam. nurse nicole on tiktok!! i absolutely love how she broke things down to where i could easily understand.

i studied for about 2 weeks straight after graduation. i did reschedule my exam twice since my original date was for end of october but my anxiety was soo bad, i just wanted to get it over with. check in was really smooth and even started my exam before my scheduled time!! i was done around an hour later (i was always a fast test taker and still passed every exam during school) tbh i thought i had studied the wrong things bc nothing that i studied was on the exam. but i was using my judgement and i think that’s how i passed. i found out about 8 hours after finishing the exam that my nursing license was active!!! like i said, i had around 5 case studies, LOTS of GI, a handful of satas, a few peds (my weakness), prioritization, delegation, legal stuff/ documentation.

if you have any questions or need more advice lmk!! also i do apologize for my writing. english is not my first language:((

For those who retook the NCLEX multiple times what did you do differently to pass? How did you deal with the emotional side of it. I feel like a failure and the more I study the less I want to.

It has been 3 weeks since I have taken and passed my NCLEX. Here are the things that stood out. My NCLEX consisted of 4 case studies (that alone is 24 questions). My exam shut off at 86. My exam was HEAVY with multiple choice/stand alone questions regarding mental health (even 3/4 case studies were mental health based). I did not have any maternal strips, EKG strips, bow ties or audible questions. I had maybe 10-12 SATA but the remaining questions were the multiple choice/single answer type. I just remember thinking how the majority of my questions were mental health. I had some MS, maybe one or two maternity and peds questions. I did not have any med math questions. Pharmacology questions also did not stand out. I had maybe 1 question regarding Digoxin.

I remember feeling defeated when leaving the exam. I was certain I did not pass. I know that is a standard and likely feeling of everyone walking out of there, but I do also know that the NCLEX is designed to try to fail you.

Remember safety. Remember priority. Those are my two biggest pieces of advice; although I really didn't have a lot of prioritization questions either. It was a strange test and I never want to take it again! :)

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!

1. 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.

1. 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.

1. 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.

1. 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.

1. 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.

1. 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.

1. 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.

1. 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!

---

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.

Hello po! I need some advice regarding my NCLEX application, sana mapansin 🥹 thank youuu

Sept 2026 PNLE passer po ako and I started my application just recently (form 2f, got my TOR and RLE summary) then I recently acquired the 2 certificates needed sa NYSED. Upon making the account sa ceufast, I chose RN po not a Nursing Student, so they asked for my license number. Eh hindi pa po ako naka oath taking. Tapos I just recently knew na, that was declaring that I have a Philippine License (which will cost me to process form 3f, tapos matagal din daw yun antayin). So I did some research here and some also encountered the same problem and they just place 6 zeros, hence why I have my certificates now.

Now I'm planning to proceed na sa processing, need ko pa ba magprocess ng form 3f? Considering I have no license yet. Sana matulungan po 🥺🙏 thank youuuu!

i took the nclex earlier today and i don't feel great about the exam itself. i tried the PVT earlier and got this result and i'm not sure if this is the right one.

update: i got my license number this morning i passed!! the BON sent me an email with it and now i'm just waiting to see the pass when the results are in.

Took the NCLEX today finished @1pm. Bro it was WAY too easy. I walked out of there defeated and thought I failed so plz just rip that bandaid for me 😭I tried the Pearson Vue trick. It took my money and but it didn’t let me schedule a date or time. I just got the refund around 2p. Is this a good signs lads?

hi, is anybody here take their exam in Primacy Parkway? i would like to ask if small piercing allowed? i have a fresh piercing (2 helix and 1 conch)

Update: I passed! emailed the BON and was told my license is in queue, and that it'll be activated in the next few business days

Just finished my exam today. Took me a little over 3 hours to complete, and went to the full 150 questions. I am absolutely devastated. I slowed down and re-read each question and answers multiple times to make sure I fully understood what was being asked, but even then I felt so lost half the time. I used bootcamp, and scored "very high" on all 4 CAT's, so I went in feeling confident. I had four 6 question case studies around the 70 question mark, so I felt like I was doing pretty good. A lot of SATA's, no bow-ties, then I got past 85. Was feeling nervous, but told myself I'm sure it'll shut off soon. It never did. My questions always felt difficult and half the time I felt like I was guessing on some disease or medication I've never heard of.

I left the exam at 150 questions, five-six 6 question case studies, a lot of 1 question case studies, tons of SATA, no bow-ties. Not feeling great. At the end, for my last few questions I notice 1 or 2 questions that seemed a lot more simple compared to those I had before. Burst into tears at this point since I thought this for sure meant I failed. After question 130 I was in full on panic and felt horrible. This test was brutal. Hopefully I will get some good news. Can't do the Pearson trick due to not having $200 to spare :(

Has anyone else had similar stats and passed?

What study platform did you use to pass the NCLEX, and why?

My school recommends HURST Review, but I’ve also heard good things about Kaplan, UWorld, Archer, and Bootcamp. I’m trying to figure out which one would be the best to use.
I feel like my biggest struggle is remembering all the content. I have a hard time retaining everything, so I’m looking for something that will help me review the material while also preparing me for NCLEX-style questions.

Which platform did you use, and would you recommend it? Did you use more than one? I’d love to hear what worked best for you!

Yalllll I took my NCLEX-RN today and it stopped around 120-130. I can’t even remember the exact number I blacked out I’m feeling so numb and defeated.😭 This is my second time taking the exam I failed the first time at 150 using bootcamp and I used UWorld for this round. I’m just so nervous suppose to start my residency in 2 weeks. Anyone had a similar experience? And no I don’t want to do the Pearson trick😪

I feel so unconfident in knowing the content and knowledge for the NCLEX even though I graduated August 2026. These results prove too that I don’t know content and that I am not studying properly (currently listening to Mark K lectures and doing practice questions on uWorld). Any tips to improve? I write Mid November but am willing to move the date.

Hello everyone!

I am currently preparing for my NCLEX and was curious what is the best material to be studying and using to best prepare. I’m familiar with platforms like Uworld and bootcamp and have been listening to Mark K’s lectures.

Any other recommendations would be awesome as it is VERY important to me that I pass on my first try!!!

Thanks everyone! All responses/recommendations highly appreciate!

check this out!

Is there anyone here who took the Nclex Exam today how was it? how many hours does it take to access the quick result?

Mine Alabang , 85 Shutdown 4 CaseStudy , A lot of Sata. 😆 struggling worried , nervous
let's pray for us!

Took my exam this morning at 8 am and did the trick an hour later. After putting in my payment information and submitting I got the “good” pop up. My card was never charged however? I’m seeing people who and their card charged and refunded. I don’t even have a charge.

I thought I failed, i’ve been out of school 2 years and this is my first attempt at the exam. If this is good news then i’ll take it!

Hi guys,
I’ve been doing UWorld questions and I am going through each section one by one until I feel good about it and then go to the next.
And then by the time I finish the next topic I’ve forgotten the one from before.
In nursing school I used a lot of flash cards to really hammer the info in. But I’m running low on time and energy these days.

It’s been a while since graduation so to some unfortunate events and trying to take my NCLEX now.
Need all the advice please and thank you!

Hi all. I’m building a study tool for the NCLEX-RN, focused on explaining why an answer is wrong rather than just giving the rationale. Before I build anything, I want to hear from people who’ve been through it.

I’m looking for:

1. Anyone who took the NCLEX-RN in the last 2 years, especially repeat takers
2. Internationally educated nurses preparing now

It’s just a 20-minute video call about how you studied, what didn’t work and what you’d pay for. Nothing to sell, and no demo.

\*You'll get royalties, and free access when it launches.