The NCLEX test is difficult to ensure that nurses who get their license to practice are competent to do their job. For this reason, the questions in the NCLEX exam are usually difficult and complex. There are times you will not totally understand the question. Other times you will feel that almost all the choices are correct. You become confuse with the complexity of the NCLEX test questions.
Such is the downside of the NCLEX exam. However, as I have mentioned in the preceding paragraph, the NCLEX exam is difficult for a purpose. This is to make sure that those who pass the test are qualified to practice as nurses in the United States. This is the only systematic method to assess whether one is competent as a licensed nurse. It is important that every licensed nurse is highly competent. This is to ensure the patients that they are in good hands. Nobody wants to be tended to by an incompetent and unqualified medical professional.
It is a fact that a lot of people aspiring to be nurses in America came from other countries. Often, English is not their mother tongue. This makes it more difficult for them to pass the NCLEX test. Are you one of them? If you are, there is no need to fret. I am here to walk you through a secret in helping you pass the NCSBN NCLEX exam.
A key element in passing the NCLEX exam is knowing how to read well. This is to help you comprehend the complex questions you might encounter. Furthermore, you must at least be competent enough to handle a wide range of medical situations. If you are a nurse, you might be assigned to a lot of departments. Some of these are the ER, Surgery, Cardio, Oncology, and Paediatrics departments. There is no way for you to know what department you will be a part of. For this reason, you need to be competent enough in all of these.
How to Out-Smart The NCSBN
The National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. or the NCSBN is the one responsible for designing the NCLEX exam. Their main goal is to assess your competency in the broad field of nursing. The NCSBN wants to ensure that you are ready to handle any situation. You might want to work in a field of nursing. However, this does not mean you will work there. For example, you might want to work in the ER, but you might be assigned in the Paediatrics. The medical staffing is unpredictable. You might end up being a floater in a hospital. This means you will fill in for lack of personnel in various departments as needed.
The NCSBN does not want to know if you read the book. Instead, they want to know is if you understand the requirements of your job. They also want to learn if you can make professional judgment that fits your job as a nurse.
The NCLEX is strategically designing to be a filter system. You might wonder what filter system I am pertaining to. Well, this is rather very simple. The high level of difficulty of the NCLEX exam s what makes it a great filter system. It weeds out test takers who might have just cheated through nursing school. It also gets rid of those who lack the competency to do their job as a nurse.
As a nurse, you are expected to do a medical job. This means you need to be competent in order not to jeopardize the lives of your patients. This is where the NCLEX test comes in.
However, there is a big issue related to the US nurse licensing process that is being overlooked. This big issue is language. There are a lot of nurses that come from other countries. Are you one of them? English might not be your first language. Sometimes, it is not even your second language. However, you may be more than competent enough to be a nurse. Unfortunately, this does not matter if you fail the NCLEX test.
The NCLEX Is Difficult and That Is A Fact!
The biggest problem that any test taker has with the NCLEX test aside from test anxiety is a lack of English language skills. If you are not fluent in the English language, you will have a hard time understanding the questions in the NCLEX test. If this is the case, you will have an even harder time answering them.
Some questions in the NCLEX exam will be asked several times in different ways. This can create confusion on your part. Often, this happens twice. One pertains to a high level of difficulty. Then it is rephrased to a question with lower complexity. It could also be the other way around. In any case, you can experience this if you take the NCLEX test.
All of us have hit the wall right at the start. The moment we start taking the test, we begin to wonder if we are taking the right exam. The first question just seems to take us by surprise with its high level of difficulty. You might have prepared well for the NCLEX exam, but this can still be not enough.
Are you wondering what the problem is? I am sure you are.
I can tell you that most of the time, you find a question is difficult because you really did not understand it. There is a hidden intent behind each NCLEX question. You must take this to heart.
This is a great way of getting to answer the question correctly. The NCLEX test maker created each question with a purpose. He wants to know something that is very specific. You must figure out what the test maker wants to find out.
There is only one effective way to accomplish this. It is to fully understand the question. There are some secret steps which I can share with you to help you understand what you read. I am sure that at this point, you are excited to find out what these secret steps are. One of them is to read the questions out loud. You need to read the questions loud in order to have a better grasp of what it means. Reading something aloud helps you understand something better.
You Will Only Become A Licensed Nurse If You Pass the NCLEX Test... There Is No Other Way...
If you have already practiced as a nurse in other countries, you might be especially frustrated if you fail the NCLEX. In fact, you will more likely fail if you take any exam with high level English as its language. Even with years of experience and broad knowledge of nursing, you will find it extremely difficult to pass the NCLEX if you are not fluent in English. You might learn a new language by constantly speaking it. On the other hand, you can also learn through writing. The latter is especially true in Asian countries. If you come from an Asian country, you might have learned English as a written language. You could have spent little time trying to learn to be fluent in verbal English.
If you failed the NCLEX test before, it could be because of test anxiety. However, if you took care of your test anxiety, then the problem is something deeper. It could be your lack of fluency in English.
Understand the Question to Answer It Correctly
How
When we were young, we were not good in English as we are now. Perhaps you might have read sentences out loud when you were young. It might not be until you were in 5th grade that you learned to read in your head, right? I can assure you that reading aloud the NCLEX questions can help you pass the NCLEX. This is especially true if you are having a difficult time understanding a question. Your career depends on passing the NCLEX. So, don't be shy about reading the questions aloud. After all, what matters is the passing score you will get.
When you say something and hear it, you can easily understand it in a clearer way. So, go and read aloud the questions to help you answer them correctly.
Take Note of Words You Are Not Sure Of
If English is not your first language, there will be a time you will encounter an English word that you do not really understand. In this case, it is best to take note of this word. So how can you learn its meaning? I suggest you buy a thesaurus. But not a cheap one you can purchase at Walmart. Make a sound investment with a great thesaurus. A lot of them are being sold at less than $10. You can also go to Dictionary.com to consult its online thesaurus.
Once you have a reliable thesaurus, you can check out the meanings of each English word that you do not understand.
Skip the Question and Read the Answers First
Another way to help you answer the NCLEX questions correctly is to do the opposite. Instead of reading the question first, go directly to the answers. Read them aloud to better understand them if you must. As you read the answers, this can give you some clues as to what the question is looking for. By the time you read the question, you already have an idea about what the question wants to find out. You can also get clues in the question. You can combine the clues you get to make a sound judgment on your choice of answer.
Tips When Studying for the NCLEX
1. Choose a comprehensive study guide or one test question bank.
2. Read the answers aloud. This helps if you are down to two choices that are likely to be the correct answer.
3. Read each question out loud. This can help you better grasp the meaning of the question.
4. Ask the help of someone who speaks fluent English to read the questions TO you. Having someone read the questions to you can help you in understanding them. You can even go along as they read the question.
5. NEVER skip words you do not understand. Instead, read the question again if you did not understand it the first time.
6. Punctuations can make a big difference when you read. A comma indicates a pause. It can change the whole context of a statement depending on where it is placed. A sentence is not just a series of words. It is an idea. And that idea can easily change if you ignore punctuations.
Look at the following examples to understand the importance of punctuations.
• Jade eats shoots and leaves. (Jade is a vegetarian who eats leaves and shoots.)
• Jade eats, shoots, and leaves. (You did pause at the commas, didn't you? This conveys a different message from the first sentence.)
Tips When Taking the NCLEX Test
1. Focus on the question at hand. Do not get overly excited to analyse the next question while you are answering the current one. Similarly, do not divide your attention between answering the question at hand and counting how many questions you have already answered.
2. Read the answers. You can pick up clues regarding what the question is all about.
3. Read the question. Say it out loud but quietly if you must. This can help you better understand the question. Just make sure you pay attention to punctuations.
4. As soon as you spot an answer that is very unlikely to be correct, eliminate it right away.
5. If you are down to a few choices, analyse their correctness against the question. Do not rush in doing this. Similarly, do not overanalyse.
Once you are done with the 5 steps, move on. You have already given your best in answering the question.
Is Your Goal to Become A Licensed Professional Nurse or A Nurses' Aide?
The Two What Ifs...
What if you learn to better understand the questions?
I can assure you that you will have an easier time answering the questions if you better understand them. You will know this in the first few questions when you take the NCLEX test. If you were able to answer the questions easily, then you are on the right track. Just imagine looking at the time and seeing that only 10 minutes have passed... and you are already done answering the first 5 questions!
Imagine covering your mouth to read the questions while moving your lips. Imagine ignoring the other test takers as you do this to help you better understand the question. Then imagine how easy it is for you to answer the questions because you understood them well.
But what happens if you don't?
I am certain that there is a big chance is you will fail the NCLEX test. But on the bright side, you can eventually pass this exam. It is a fact that you will improve on your scores when you take a test repeatedly. The only downside of passing this way is that it takes a lot of time and is also expensive.
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