Passed Rex-PN first try after having failed 2020 CPNRE 3 times! Here’s what I did that helped me:

I promised myself that I would make a post about my failures and what I have learned from it through the long process.

During 2020, I attempted CPNRE 3 times without succession. So I studied for the new Rex-PN in 2022, thinking that writing notes, watching YouTube nursing videos (Armando H, SimpleNursing, LevelUpRN, Nexus Nursing) and reading everything in Mosby’s Comprehensive Review table of contents was the way to go.

Overtime, I struggled to understand what path to take after just studying without actually retaining any of the information that I’ve immersed myself into.

I decided to ask Reddit for advice on resources, which I wholly appreciated receiving from fellow nurses online. It proved useful in the end.

This whole time, what I didn’t realize was there is so much nursing information that is not all that useful to know. Paraphrasing Mark Klimek’s words, we tend to focus on what is NOT to know instead of what we DO need to know. Little did I know, I was just checking out Mark Klimek’s lecture 3 and randomly clicked and hit the right time stamp out of the 3 hours when he said those words. It was during the same moment when I was praying as I struggled to get answers. It was incredibly reassuring as I received it at the time I needed it the most. I teared up knowing that I was being guided by God all along. When it doubt, pray when you’re troubled as well as when you’re joyful. It helps for me. Same with meditation, exercise, and having a walk outside.

So I ended up watching all 12 lectures of Mark Klimek on YouTube, which I HIGHLY recommend you watching (but beware that lab values are not in the metric system). Nursing High Yield with Dr Zeeshan’s ASKGRAPH and The Method was also beneficial.

Uworld, which I did 30 days and extended for another 30 days was absolutely worth the money spent. It replicated NCLEX-PN/Rex-PN in preparation for the real exam. I answered over 2000 Qbanks and one self-assessment. I assure you that having around 50% is already above average in Uworld since it’s more difficult and challenging.

These three helped me at the end (Mark Klimek’s 12 lectures, Nursing High Yield, Uworld) before I took my test on February 18. I initially attempted 40 questions in Mosby’s Rex-PN Prep Guide: Practice Questions a day before my exam but turned up to be a bad idea. This is since the low marks can become discouraging and testing yourself further causes additional stress on the night before the exam. 7-8 hours of sleep, hearty meals, and physical activity is definitely essential!

The day of the exam, I schemed through Mark Klimek’s lecture notes (found in Google Docs). I ate a protein-filled lunch, drank lots of water, and brought my eye drops before the exam. I started the exam at 1:45 and ended at 4:40PM.

I didn’t know what to expect after finishing at 91 questions with 1 hour left and was glad I didn’t need to rush the rest anymore. There were two questions that got difficult with terms I never heard of but disappeared later on. I got a couple of SATAs and no calculations. Note that all questions would be different for everyone of course.

I apologize if this post became too long but I wanted to just give some background about my journey and give my honest and heartfelt advice for those struggling too. It doesn’t matter how much you’ve failed, it’s about how much you’ve tried to not give up is what counts. As long as you have faith in yourself and in God, anything is possible.

Plus, the Pearson Vue trick (PVT) works!