How Many NCLEX Tutoring Sessions Should I Do?

“How many NCLEX tutoring sessions should I do?” has been a frequent question by students over the years. And for years I’ve been recommending that a student do between 5 to 10 private tutoring sessions. However, I get several students that only do 1 or 2 sessions.

There are 3 reasons for this:

1. not enough $$$ to do more sessions
2. not enough TIME to put the work in
3. one or two sessions actually helped and I’m no longer needed!

Wouldn’t that be great if all you needed is one private session with me? And voilà you know enough to pass the NCLEX or do well in nursing school! The reality is that it is extremely rare that only one session is enough.

Even though I don’t like to think that the following could be a possibility, but it is possible that the student didn’t like my teaching style or personality. No one has ever told me that, so I don’t think that is a common reason for only doing 1 or 2 private sessions. But hey, just trying to be realistic that not everyone will love online tutoring or me.

Let me be clear though – it is totally possible to point out what you are doing wrong when you answer NCLEX-style questions in that very first session. I also get you set up with a study plan and talk about the best way to study in that first session. However, one session is not enough time for you to implement the changes we discuss so that you can be a better test-taker and learn how to study better. Why? Students need some repetition and reminding on how to answer the questions better and how to study. That takes longer to make those changes within yourself. I’ve learned that it takes at least five tutoring sessions and a few weeks.

What about the webinars?

I started offering webinars to make tutoring more affordable. But what happened is that students would do one private session and then come to most of the webinars. What’s the result of that? The student failed NCLEX….again. That breaks my heart when one of my student fails! Unfortunately, the student still didn’t learn how to answer the questions very well.

The group setting doesn’t work well with students who are extremely high risk for not passing (if you failed NCLEX, you are extremely likely to fail again). The one-on-one private help is what helps the struggling student the most. The webinars are also extremely helpful because I go over a lot more content in a webinar to show you how that content is applied in questions. But the webinars are only helpful if you actually 1) know how to use test-taking strategies, 2) have excellent analyzing skills and 3) have a good grasp on how to study. And of course, those skills get developed through private tutoring and over several weeks of working together.

When asking yourself, “How many NCLEX tutoring sessions should I do?”, you have to remember that I also have to review some content with you and teach you how to study properly. I want to make sure you are applying the content and the strategies when we practice questions together. I’m not going to re-teach you nursing school or bore you to death by lecturing nursing content. But we have to review at least some super basic content together so I can point out the basics that you’ll need to review. That takes more than one tutoring session.

So, why do I recommend 5 to 10 tutoring sessions anyway? Is that some magic number?

Yes, it actually is.

I recommend five tutoring sessions at a minimum because I want to cover the most basic stuff:

• #1 session: teach you better analyzing skill and test-taking strategies; talk about the best way to study and get a personalized study plan together for you
• #2 session: review two huge NCLEX topics: Management of Care & Safety and Infection Control
• #3 session: review two more huge topics: Psych and Meds
• #4 session: review at least two adult health topics you struggle with
• #5 session: do a variety of questions with either immediate feedback by doing questions together or you can take one of my 100 question readiness tests
• ALL sessions include test-taking strategies, analyzing skills, how to study and plan for the next week

Those are the 5 basic sessions I typically do with a student. Remember, 5 sessions is the minimum!

So when you ask me, “How many NCLEX tutoring sessions should I do?”, I’d probably say closer to ten. Ten private sessions with me is even better because then we get to go over the adult heath topics, pediatrics and maternity. We still practice questions together, but now we are going over more content as we do the questions together. Having trouble with EKGs? All those pesky endocrine disorders? How about the dreaded maternity content? Those extra sessions really help show how to answer those questions better by using strategies and reviewing basic nursing content.

I’ve also noticed that students are more likely to NOT pass when they do less then 3 private tutoring sessions. This really bothers me because I don’t want to take a student’s $$$ if I know they will probably not continue with me. It’s about staying consistent and putting the work in. Most students that use a tutor need consistent feedback and guidance until the test is over.

What about too many tutoring sessions?

Yes, actually, there is a point when you don’t need me anymore. And I have no problem telling you that! I’m not here to keep taking your money! Before I became a nurse, I remember what it was like to struggle with not having enough money. I was sick of being broke all the time and that’s one of the main reasons I became a nurse! So, I’m here to give you the tools to pass the NCLEX and that’s it. I’m here to tutor you briefly so you can move on in life.