I wrote the Canadian and American NCLEX. I was told to start studying one month prior. For the American NCLEX, I took a review course over a weekend to help me with the conversions from Canadian to American but the class helped immensely regarding pertinent information and how to break down the questions and find the correct answer because all the answers appear correct but one is more correct than the others. Confidence plays a very important role. I was nervous when I wrote the Canadian exam, I passed but should have gotten a much higher score. When I wrote the American exam, the review course gave me confidence, (take one month prior to exam) and I received a high score. The information needed to pass the exam is already in your head from school. Accessing it is the difficult part. If your nervous, you will block the information you need, plus it helps with the review course. Most of all the information they reviewed with us was on the exam. The night prior to the exam, instead of studying, you have to relax and sleep well. Skip dinner, have a glass of wine, sleep, then eat a big breakfast and you will have excellent clarity. That's it. Good luck.
depending on your grades. the lower your grades the more you have to study. I started 3months prior for my Canadian exam and the same for the American. I wrote many years ago and there was a marked difference between the 2. By now these exams are rather similar - so I heard. However: since you cover EVERY area of nursing- from peds to OBGYN to geriatrics you ought to start early and and re-read often to remember and understand. The exam is just the beginning. Nursing starts once you work on the floor and the more you remember the easier you understand nursing. It is much much more than just understanding how to interpret/ace the questions on the exam.
