Reducing Test Anxiety for the NCLEX-RN

 Part One: Preparation

All Canadian nursing graduates will now need to pass the NCLEX-RN to practice nursing in Canada. The National Council of State Boards of Nursing administers this test.

Proper preparation for this exam is the number one way nursing students can reduce their anxiety on test day. PRIMED Educational Associates offers a full classroom review session for nursing graduates. This 2-day course helps NCLEX-RN applicants improve their overall knowledge, skills and abilities, while creating confidence in their ability to achieve exam success.

Besides our course, there are a number of other ways graduates can reduce their test anxiety. Here are a few suggestions:

Beyond Studying

Exercise

Your body and mind are connected. Remember this. If you ignore your body, your mental potential will dip. Make time to get out of the house and exercise. Break up your day with short walks or runs. This will also give your mind a chance to rest. Activities like yoga are perfect for decompressing.

Eat Properly

Three set meals is optimal. Avoid the need for sugar or caffeine. If it's 11:00 and your mind is beginning to lag, do not reach for the coffee pot; Reach for your pillow. If you must stay up, fuel yourself with fruits and vegetables.

Sleep is Your Friend

Don't ignore your mattress. Your mind works best when you are rested. Create a sleep sanctuary and keep all your study materials out of your bedroom. Try to blackout your windows and keep the temperature cool for optimal rest.

Learn From Your Mistakes

Quiz Review

Pull out your old tests and quizzes from your nursing program and review your mistakes. What questions did you get wrong? Were you missing details or did you misunderstand a core concept? Establish the areas where you are successful. This will help you prioritize your study time so you can focus the majority of your review on your weakest areas.

Time Management

Create a Study Schedule

Plan out your study time and your anxiety will take an immediate dip. It will also make a seemingly difficult task manageable.

Plan for Self-Assessment

Include time to quiz yourself on the material you cover. Once you build your confidence in your knowledge, you can move on to the next subject.

Organize Your Source Materials

Make sure you have all of your prep material ready before you begin each study session. This will help you maximize your time. It will also keep you on task.

Build a Support Team

Schedule Meet-Ups

Plan to meet with a group of your classmates at least once a week in the month or so before your exam. You can discuss areas that you are struggling with and share resources. Meeting with other NCLEX takers will also help you reduce your overall stress.

Stay in Contact With Your Professors

Your professors want to see you succeed. They are an invaluable resource. They started you on this path towards becoming a nurse and they want to see you finish it.

Use the PRIMED Team

All PRIMED graduates are able to contact their instructors through phone or email once they have finished their two-day NCLEX prep course. PRIMED is dedicated to supporting our students right up to the exam date. We are here to guide and motivate you to exam success.

Celebrating Men in Nursing

While historically women have typically dominated the nursing field in Canada, those numbers are slowly starting to change as more and more men enroll in nursing programs across the country. This change is the result of growing incentives, active recruiting and the deconstruction of social obstacles that have traditionally kept men away from the nursing profession.

Nursing with its challenging roles and vast number of different opportunities is more than ever, recognized by both men and women as an exciting career choice. In a time when jobs are scarce and over-educated individuals are accepting any entry level position available, the field of nursing lets new grads, that have completed the NCLEX-RN, start work almost immediately in a variety of fields that offer a completive salaries.

Schools are showing a definite increase in the numbers of male students registered in nursing programs and different areas are looking at creative ways to support and engage with our male nursing colleagues.

In Calgary, male students are taking a proactive approach by creating their own groups to encourage and support their gender in the nursing profession. And masculinity studies are an interesting area of gender research occurring in nursing and social sciences.  Calgary's Nursing Guy's Club pledges to promote positive messages regarding male nurses by developing a community where men can speak freely about their experiences in nursing.

Another exciting example of male leadership in nursing can be found in a British Columbia nurse Jae-Yung Kwon, whose book: “A lonely Bee in the Land of Flowers” detailing his experiences as a male nursing student is available on Amazon. Groups like the Calgary student group and nurses like Jae-Yung are one of the many ways the nursing community is working to break down the gender stereotypes of the profession.

At PRIMED one of our most experienced nursing educators is Ken McDonald. Ken is a graduate of Kwantlen University College. He also received his Masters in nursing from the University of British Columbia and currently works in nursing leadership and administration, with a keen focus on mental health nursing.

At PRIMED we are thankful for Ken's ongoing contributions to our program, as well as to the many other men that are actively engaged in the Canadian HealthCare System as registered nurses.

What is it like in the PRIMED Classroom?

The Primed Classroom

We are often asked by prospective students to describe the PRIMED classroom experience. In answering this question, we first assure the individual that our classrooms are not like a regular lecture. We like to refer to the educational setting as a 'Cooperative Learning Environment' where student-based learning operates on a constructivist model. In layman’s terms, we move forward as a group towards a successful understanding of the material and concepts assessed on the NCLEX.

Both our online environment and our classroom setting build comprehension through open discussion. During the two days of instruction, educators work with students to increase their proficiency of the core topics that will be covered in the NCLEX-RN. During this instruction, students are encouraged to ask questions and share their own experiences so the group as a whole can benefit from the cooperative environment created by the PRIMED education format and the NCLEX prep.

Students are also taught various memory techniques during the PRIMED classroom experience. These strategies help nurses retain many of the details outlined in the NCLEX courses. At the completion of the course, instructors help individual students identify which areas they need to brush up on.

The total hours of instruction are approximately 16. But the help doesn’t stop there. Along with the classroom instruction, students receive a 200-page study guide. This guide is a takeaway document that helps students organize their time and their knowledge of the necessary material. This guide is accompanied by ongoing support from the PRIMED team.

Our ultimate goal is for students to leave our courses feeling confident about taking the exam. The NCLEX can be a daunting test. Aligning with the PRIMED team is the best way to prepare. We firmly believe that our instruction will lead nursing graduates to success on the NCLEX-RN.

For a current list of testimonials, visit: www.primededucation.ca/about-us/testimonials-2/

About the NCLEX-RN

The National Council of State Boards of Nursing began accepting Canadian registration for the National Council Licensure Examination-Registered Nurse on November 3, 2014. The first examination in Canada will take place on January 5, 2015. This will be the first time the NCLEX-RN is used for licensing in a country outside of the United States. The NCLEX-RN replaces the Canadian Registered Nursing Exam, which was last offered on October 1, 2014.

The new licensing program is the result of Canadian RN regulators selecting the NCLEX-RN for proper assessment of registered nurses in Canada. The new test offers increased security, accessibility and provides timely results for prospective RNs.

The test will include both metric and imperial measurement options and will be reviewed by a team of Canadian experts that will ensure the appropriateness of terms used in the exam. Nurses from across Canada will also be included in the writing and review panels for the current NCLEX-RN.

The entry-level assessment can be a daunting examination for nurses who have completed their required nursing program. Finding appropriate study material is often one of the challenges in preparation for national assessment.

PRIMED Educational Associates is ahead of the curve when it comes to offering courses and study material for exam training. The info and review sessions prepare Canadian applicants for the NCLEX-RN with online and personal instruction. Test taking strategies, safe and effective care environment, health promotion & maintenance, psychosocial integrity, pharmacology, risk-education, pediatric nursing, cardiac, respiratory, genitourinary, oncology obstetrics, neurology, endocrinology, gastrointestinal and MSK & integumentary areas are all covered by the PRIMED educational package.

PRIMED is committed to building confidence for exam success.

For more information on the PRIMED NCLEX-RN education package visit: www.primededucation.ca.

NCLEX Prep: The PRIMED Classroom Experience

We are often asked by prospective students to describe the PRIMED classroom experience. In answering this question, we first assure the individual that our classrooms are not like a regular lecture. We like to refer to the educational setting as a 'Cooperative Learning Environment' where student-based learning operates on a constructivist model. In layman’s terms, we move forward as a group towards a successful understanding of the material and concepts assessed on the NCLEX.

Both our online environment and our classroom setting build comprehension through open discussion. During the two days of instruction, educators work with students to increase their proficiency of the core topics that will be covered in the NCLEX-RN. During this instruction, students are encouraged to ask questions and share their own experiences so the group as a whole can benefit from the cooperative environment created by the PRIMED education format and the NCLEX prep.

Students are also taught various memory techniques during the PRIMED classroom experience. These strategies help nurses retain many of the details outlined in the NCLEX courses. At the completion of the course, instructors help individual students identify which areas they need to brush up on.

The total hours of instruction are approximately 16. But the help doesn’t stop there. Along with the classroom instruction, students receive a 200-page study guide. This guide is a takeaway document that helps students organize their time and their knowledge of the necessary material. This guide is accompanied by ongoing support from the PRIMED team.

Our ultimate goal is for students to leave our courses feeling confident about taking the exam. The NCLEX can be a daunting test. Aligning with the PRIMED team is the best way to prepare. We firmly believe that our instruction will lead nursing graduates to success on the NCLEX-RN.

For a current list of testimonials, visit: www.primededucation.ca/about-us/testimonials-2/