NCLEX Coming Up? Don't Throw Out Those Class Notes Just Yet

During nursing school I remember wanting to get rid of every trace of my notes after finishing a class (specifically the classes I didn’t enjoy). Fortunately, I fought off this urge in most cases and kept many lecture notes, note cards, PowerPoint slides and books from my completed classes. This proved invaluable as I sat down to study for the NCLEX (the National Council Licensure Examination).

I don’t believe it is particularly necessary to RE-study all of your notes from all of your classes, but I do think it’s useful to go through them again as a refresher. I also found it helpful for those particularly difficult subjects such as pharmacology and acute care nursing to have some basis from which to start. For lab values, terms, and definitions I found that some of my old note cards worked best to quickly run through in the midst of studying more difficult subjects. Most textbooks also have NCLEX questions at the end of the chapter to review, so it might be worth holding onto some of those old books instead of trying to sell them right away.

Of course there are many other great ways to study and prepare for the NCLEX (most of which I have covered in previous blogs). Today I just wanted to remind those of you who are either just starting out in nursing school or are in the midst of the program – don’t be too quick to clean out your desk. Keeping this material as you go through the program (and even studying as you go) is one of the best ways to prepare successfully for the exam. It helps if you are familiar with the material and the methods of studying (such as your note cards in your own handwriting from previous exams) and can easily decipher the information rather than wading through a lot of new information.

Have you successfully passed the NCLEX? What advice would you give students in preparing for NCLEX during nursing school? What notes and information from previous classes helped you? Please share your thoughts!