Tips On How To Maximize Your Study Time And Beat The NCLEX

(Estimated reading time: 4 minutes)

Preparation is everything in terms of NCLEX we all know that by now. To maximize your study time is a good step so as to prepare for the examination. The NCLEX exam tests your knowledge in the nursing profession so it’s important to know as much information as possible. There is nothing wrong with that but sometimes we aren’t doing it efficiently.

What do we mean by efficiency?

It means being able to accomplish something with the least waste of time and effort.

There is no problem in preparing really hard for NCLEX, the problem comes when we start to waste precious time. We are not doing our preparation efficiently. The goal for us is to get the most amount of knowledge without wasting time and effort.

Here are some tips based on personal experience:

1. Accept That You Cannot Study Everything

We need to understand and accept that our time preparation for NCLEX is very limited. Thus, we can’t study all of its concepts. Even our 4 years in nursing school is not enough to know all kinds of diseases and nursing skills related. Plus, if we try to take more than what we can chew and digest we’ll end up with information overload. Which is not and will never be good. Take only as much as you can and learn it very well.

2. Be A Clean Slate

What do I mean by this? As practicing nurses, we may have already handled different cases and sometimes our management may not be exactly as ideal. Remember that NCLEX is the perfect world of nursing, everything on the exam is based on the ideal practices. Do not contradict or question what is written on the book. So the next time you see something different during your review do not compare it with what you’re used to. In NCLEX the ideal practices are always correct, keep that in mind.

3. Mix And Match

During your preparation phase, it is normal to get overwhelmed at first because obviously there is so much to learn. But there is actually a way for you to learn multiple topics at once. The best example for this is when studying the anatomy and physiology of a certain body system. Once you know how it functions you can easily identify what the problem/disease is if a certain function ceases. This way you can hit multiple topics at once as opposed to studying 1 separate topic per day.

4. Learn Your Prefixes And Suffixes

Yes it helps a lot when you know what those are. With just one look you will already have an idea what you are supposed to look for. For example, when you see the prefix Hyper- you will immediately think of signs that are increased, over, more than what is normal, etc. When you see Hypo- you will look for the opposite signs like less than, lacking, under, decreased. Another good example are for pharmacology purposes. When you see a certain suffix, you can determine what drug group it belongs to. Like -prazole (Proton Pump Inhibitors), -dipine (Calcium Channel Blockers) and many more. Knowing prefixes and suffixes will already help you a lot in terms of dealing with the questions.

5. Do Not Be Afraid To Ask For Help

There is nothing wrong with seeking help from experts and other people if you have a hard time understanding concepts. Sometimes the burden of having to learn different topics can be too much to handle. We have many means of learning, one of the best ways is to enroll to an online NCLEX review course. Luckily, here in IPASS, we offer a 1-year unlimited online NCLEX review program that is suitable for your exam needs. We have scheduled lectures and the best experts that can help you out. This is one of the best ways to maximize your time in studying if you cannot bring yourself to do it alone. Our review center is very much willing to help you out.

Bonus Tips on managing your study time

• Take adequate rest and get at least 8 hours sleep per day
• Eat a balanced meal and don’t ever skip
• Daily intake of Vitamin B Complex and Calcium Carbonate
• Do not forget to take a break and have fun once in a while
• Arrange a study time that suits you
• Always remember what your motivation and reasons are for taking up NCLEX
• PRAY PRAY PRAY!

Success in the NCLEX boils down to the quality of your preparation, so prepare well to ace your long-desired international goal. If you need assistance with a comprehensive online NCLEX review program, contact us to join our proven and effective online review course.