The NCLEX Stress Free Study Guide
Studying shouldn’t be so stressful!
Read smart’n’s guide to de-stressing for NCLEX.
Have trouble staying focused while studying? It’s more common than you think! You’ve come such a long way from the first day of nursing school until now, studying for your NCLEX-RN exam. Celebrate your achievement and remember to include lots of time for healthy eating, exercise, rest, and socialization while you study. Try setting 15 minute timers while you study a particular concept, take a 5 minute break to grab a snack or stretch, then come back to studying and set the 15 minute timer again. Students tend to be more productive in smaller increments rather than cramming too much information into their brains over a longer period of time.
Take care of yourself from a holistic perspective. In nursing school you are taught to care for your clients holistically. Studying for the NCLEX requires you to do the same for yourself. In order to be successful on the NCLEX, you need to prepare emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually. Include periods of rest, physical activity, gathering with friends and family, working, and everything else you enjoy doing in between studying! This will make you feel less anxious about your upcoming exam. Nourishing your body with foods that fuel your brain will increase your ability to focus while studying. If you need help planning a balanced diet, visit Canada’s Food Guide at https://food-guide.canada.ca/en/ for recommendations and recipes!
Control Test Anxiety Before the Exam. While studying for the NCLEX, you can incorporate strategies to help reduce test taking anxiety. Many students do not feel 100% ready to write the NCLEX, and that’s ok! This feeling is not due to a lack of adequate preparation, but caused by test anxiety and not knowing how to control it. We have some strategies to practice in order to take full control of this very normal feeling.
First, you need to remind yourself that you will not know everything that will be asked of you on the NCLEX, don’t panic! Focus on what you do know, use common sense, and lastly, guess if needed. Remind yourself that you have made it through your intense nursing program, and you are now in the final stretch of finally becoming a Registered Nurse, you can do this. Second, avoid connecting with peers regarding the exam a few days before the test. Often, this increases confusion and doubt in yourself about your preparation methods, which contributes to test taking anxiety when you get to the exam. Instead, take some time to yourself the days leading up to your NCLEX and reduce social media use.
Feeling Anxious While Studying or Doing a Practice Exam? Close your eyes, get comfortable in your chair, breathe in through your nose for 10 seconds, and breathe out through your mouth for 10 seconds. Do this as many times as needed to reduce that anxious feeling. Providing your body with proper oxygenation throughout studying will train you to take control of your thoughts and calm yourself.
Don’t Know Where to Start? Complete the Next Generation NCLEX self-assessment on SmartN to know where your strengths and weaknesses are. This will help you create a structured study plan to focus on the areas that you may require more assistance in. We suggest starting with the concepts SmartN recognizes as your areas for improvement. That way, you give yourself plenty of time to promote understanding on challenging topics and can review them again closer to your scheduled exam.
Next Generation Platform for the Next Generation of Nurses. It is recommended that students complete around 2,000 high-quality NCLEX based practice questions before writing the exam. Getting yourself used to analyzing the Next Generation NCLEX (NGN) questions is one of the most important things you can do to set yourself up to succeed. We suggest following your learning style and your personalized study calendar to go through the topics and categories on the NCLEX. After studying the adult health cardiovascular system for example, go through the Smart Quiz on SmartN on this specific topic to solidify your understanding and increase your ability to answer high-quality NGN questions.
