The final weeks before NCLEX can feel overwhelming. You've studied for months, but suddenly everything seems important. Here's how to focus your remaining time for maximum impact.
The 2-Week Strategy
Weeks 2-1 before exam: Content review and practice questions
- Focus on YOUR weak areas (not everything)
- Do 75-150 practice questions daily
- Review rationales thoroughly - even for correct answers
Final 3 days: Light review only
- Review quick reference sheets
- Do 50-75 questions max per day
- Get good sleep - fatigue hurts more than extra studying helps
High-Yield Topics to Review
- Safety & Infection Control - Hand hygiene, isolation precautions, fall prevention
- Prioritization - ABCs, Maslow's, acute vs chronic
- Delegation - RN vs LPN vs UAP scope
- Medications - Especially cardiac, diabetes, psych
- Lab Values - Critical values and nursing interventions
Test-Taking Tip: When in doubt, assess before acting. Unless there's a clear emergency, NCLEX usually wants you to gather more data first.
Question Strategy
- Read the LAST sentence first - what's actually being asked?
- Identify key words: FIRST, BEST, PRIORITY, INITIAL
- Eliminate obvious wrong answers
- Don't change answers unless you have a clear reason
Don't: Cram new content the night before, stay up late studying, try to cover everything, or second-guess yourself during the exam.
Day of the Exam
- Eat a good breakfast (protein + complex carbs)
- Arrive early to settle in
- Use all your breaks
- Focus only on the current question
- Trust your preparation
Last-Minute Reference Sheets
Quick-review sheets for lab values, medications, and prioritization frameworks.
NCLEX Prep Sheets →