You graduated and pinned, you spent weeks studying and answering question after question, and you now must take the test. The night before I was a mess, I was nervous. One piece of advice I was given was “don’t study the night before, relax and go out to dinner.” Well, the input now was easier said than done. I felt the longer I didn’t study the more information I forgot. The morning had a similar vibe.
#1 Wake up early.
This begins with getting a good night’s sleep. I would highly recommend going to sleep early. I recommend this but believe me, I was extremely nervous and could not get that early night’s sleep that everyone else said I should get the night before either. Set the alarm so that you can wake up with time to get ready. If you are not at all a morning person, schedule your NCLEX time in the afternoon. I planned my time first thing in the morning, so I could wake up early and get it out of the way. I did not want to wait around all day for the NCLEX. Wake up early to eat breakfast or lunch if you are an afternoon person. Take a shower, be up and ready to go. Make sure you give yourself the time to maintain any of your own your own routines. What you don’t want to do is set your alarm with barely enough time to get ready and must run out the door. This will throw you off for the day.
#2 No Life-changing Events the day of NCLEX.
No life-changing changing events the day of NCLEX, I heard this when I was in Nursing school and thought this was the funniest thing I have ever heard. But people move from house to house, or schedule vacations and purchase plan tickets the day of the test. Make sure nothing else is planned for the day of NCLEX. You, as the test taker can sit up to six hours. I think. Looking back at my own test I was there for either an hour and a half or two hours. Don’t make any plans as soon as you finish, the NCLEX is not a test I would want to have to pay for again if I have anything to do with it. If you are planning a vacation or moving, maybe schedule the trip the days after the test, and the move a week before. I moved cross country two months before my test date. I remember studying among the unpacked boxes. My priorities were with reviewing the material before unpacking the boxes.
#3 Arrive Early
Waking up early and arriving early gives the advantage of being ready. A great mindset to be in before beginning. I suggest either the day before or the week before to drive to the building and see what kind of parking is available. Is the parking free? Are there limited parking spaces? Next step is finding the office, suit, or room. Depending on the building it may be readily seen or a more massive office building that may need some navigating. After arriving at the place, you can also find the bathrooms, and check in. Each office will do things a little differently, but when I checked in, I was given a number. The number was the order that you were brought into the testing area and allowed to start. I was number 3.
#4 Cards if you must.
The days before my NCLEX I found specific difficult pieces of information that I jotted onto note cards, my favorite studying tool. The note cards allowed me to study when I was at work, or at home without pulling everything out. I carried these cards with me and reviewed one more time in my car before entering the building. But arriving early gave me the opportunity to look over these cards once more before starting the test. It may not have added any new information to the test, but it comforted me to be able to contribute something.
The morning of the NCLEX can be very terrifying and exciting. Be prepared, and early. Some test taking spots may not allow you to start the NCLEX at all and you may find yourself having to reschedule the test altogether if you are late. Listen to your own biology, if you are a morning person or more of an afternoon person, take this into account when scheduling your time. If you can’t wake up before 10 am to save your life, don’t plan your NCLEX at 8 am because your friend is taking it at that time. This is your test, and you deserve the maximum amount of time and energy. Happy studying!