How Prepared Is ‘Prepared Enough’?

I have always taken a positive note when it came to answering the exams for nursing — be it the local board exams or any of the foreign ones. I have learned from my past review lecturers that aside from studying, you must have a positive state of mind when answering them. But recently that thinking has started to waver.

A close friend of mine, from way back in high school, took the local board exams last June 2007. She passed and applied right away to the New Mexico Board of Nursing for NCLEX and at the same time she also worked as a clinical instructor in the college that she studied in. That also meant that she enrolled for her master’s too since you can’t be a clinical instructor without a master’s degree.

It usually takes 4-8 months to file for NCLEX so when she got her eligibility, she scheduled for the exam right away. She was working, studying for her master’s and for the NCLEX all at the same time. Talk about having her hands full!

The date for her exam came nearer and nearer so she filed for a leave to take the time and really focus for it. She studied by herself during her free time and also enrolled in review classes all the while keeping a positive attitude.

The day of the exams came and went. A few days later, the results were released. Unfortunately, she didn’t make it.

That made me start to think about my future. I’ll probably be following the path my friend has taken. Soon, I will be processing for the NCLEX myself just as soon as I gather all the requirements. But what I want to know is when do you know that you are prepared to take the exam?

From my friend’s experience, having positive state of mind isn’t enough. She also studied her heart out too but why didn’t it reap positive results? There must be something that was missing in the formula.

What I want to know before taking the first step to that great highway is: how prepared is “prepared enough”?

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