Preparing for Your License Exam So, you made it through nursing school, and you are ready to take the final step before starting your career. You will take a License Exam in the state you plan to work in, and this will entitle you to practice nursing. Tips on Preparing for the Exam Keep in mind, this is not a short or simple exam, it's more like summary of everything you have learned. There are review centers that can help refresh you on everything you've learned, and help you prepare. The good thing is, they really do help, the bad thing is, they are costly. So, you have the option to self prepare, which can certainly be done, just plan on lots of study time. Plan a schedule to study for the exam, and treat it as if you were going to a class. That means, no interruptions or distractions. The general time span most people need to prepare is around 3 months, however it varies per person. Plan to study a couple sections, each week, and stick to it. Take 1 day per week off to relax, but keep at it the other days, this is for all of the hard work you have put into school. One benefit to studying on your own and not in a review center, is you can control how much time is spent on each subject. Say you already understand human anatomy, you can breeze past that portion, but in a review class you would sit through the entire talk on it. Seriously, get rid of every distraction. The more times you are interrupted, the less you retain on what you just learned. Put an automated message on your phone that says you are unavailable during study times. Related: 5 Reasons why Nursing is a work of Heart Take advantage of free or inexpensive eBooks to help you prepare. There are also some podcasts that can help you study, just be sure it is a legitimate site prior to signing up. You may find it beneficial to study at the college library. You can refer to a professor if there is something you don't understand. Study and read, but do not plan to carefully read every word of every book, if you do, you will take that exam at about age, say 100. Spend extra time on what you feel your weakness is, and skip over what you excelled at. Are you familiar with selective reading? It will really help you along in this process. For the first day, you could study about Fundamentals of Nursing. All you have to do is to answer at least 100 nursing questions about Fundamentals of Nursing. No pre-studying, just answer. After answering 100 nursing questions. Obtain your score. If your score is 65 over 100. It means you have 35 wrong answers. All you have to do is to focus on your wrong
answers. It is just an optional to read the rationale for your correct answers, but focus more on your wrong answers. This strategy helps to filter through what you don't need extra time to learn, and helps strengthen your weak points. Network Share information you have learned, and pick the brains of those around you. Study groups can be beneficial, provided they study and don't involve socializing too much. Use friends and family to practice, let them quiz you, it will help to come up with answers on the spot. You can prepare to an extent for the exam, but it's hard to say exactly what it is like until you experience it yourself. Being prepared with the knowledge you have from school, and the extensive study process, you should be well prepared for the actual exam. Be sure to get a good night's sleep the night prior, and eat a good breakfast prior to going, so that your thinking ability is at its best. Wear professional, but comfortable clothing and shoes, you don't want to focus on anything but the exam. Related: Dealing with suicidal patients If you did well in school, and studied extensively prior to the exam, then you have done what you can to prepare yourself for the exam. Once you have taken the exam, some states will post results online right away, and others may still mail results. Either way, waiting is difficult. Once you finally get your license it will all have been worth it. You will respectfully gain the title of Nurse. Related: Highly Skilled Nurse Siobhan K. Suckling, LPN, will be Featured in the Worldwide Leaders in Healthcare Please follow us on Facebook, Linkedin, Pinterest and Twitter