Failed NCLEX 5 Times! Am I The Only One Who . . .

Nurses General Nursing

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Am I the only one who is concerned about someone who has failed multiple times, finally passes and then wants to share their experience with everyone else? Am I the only one who is concerned about working with nurses who finally pass on their eighth try? Granted, I'm so experienced that I took my licensing exam on paper eons ago when it was offered only twice a year, everyone answered all the questions over a two day period and it took six weeks to get the results. In those days, you only got two tries. That was it. So I could be someone biased and/or out of touch. I just wonder, though, about the knowledge base and learning capacity of a nurse that took the exam eight times to pass. Although perserverence is a virtue, and those folks obviously have plenty of that. Is nursing so different now that it's OK to take eight tries to get your license? Or is this a development of the "everyone gets a trophy" mentality? Keep trying and everyone gets a license?

Almost like what my older auntie (21 years exp in nursing) went thru the same ordeal.....she said it's like having to re-take the DMV test to get on the road.

She feels while there are plenty of very good nurses with decades of experience and that can't be taken away from them, it does help weed out those that have gotten too comfortable for their own good and mostly for the patient's safety and well-being, a top priority concern in any hospital.

She felt it made her a better nurse having to take refresher courses to pass the test after 4 re-tries.

Specializes in Med/Surg, Academics.

I don't know about the current NCLEX and the 75 question passing point but is it an adaptive test? That might explain the reasoning for only 75 questions needed to pass?

Yes, it is an adaptive test.

While I think there is merit to adaptive testing, my daddy always told me to "follow the money," and he was never wrong about that. No more two days of testing in a large (expensive) testing center. It has been nationalized and privatized at Pearson Vue Centers in strip malls with low overhead. In Chicago, it was at McCormick Place way back when for the entire state of Illinois. Chicago still has only two testing centers, and all of Illinois has only five. A minimum of only one proctor necessary at each test center. Each test takes only an hour or two for most people (quick turnover at the centers), and you can take it as many times as needed for the bargain basement price of $200 a pop.

As for the original question, yes, I think there should be a limit to the number of times someone can take the test.

Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

I feel there ought to be limit on how many times it can be attempted. Frankly the ability to manage and control anxiety is also part of good nursing practice. We don't get that many attempts at the bedside. I can't comment whether the test is now harder but I do believe the patients we are dealing with as a population are harder.

Specializes in Chemo.

i do believe there should be a limit because after four or five attempts there is an obvious problem. it does sound a bit mean, but the test does not show the upper limit of one’s knowledge, but a minimum level of knowledge; would anybody feel safe with a nurse who has taken the test five times??? i understand some people have real problems ( stress) taking test and just maybe the person just does not have what it takes for whatever reason. there should be a refresher/ test taking course that a person has to take after multiple tries. in addition the person taking the test is just waiting his or her money. over the years i have seen too many of these post where someone ask for advice in taking the ncelx ether on how to take the test or after failing. all one has to do is read, there is even a section for students for help on this web site. it even has its own program to help students. there is a wealth of information out there to help people pass the ncelx. most school has programs to help students. i do not with anybody ill will on becoming a nurse, but it really does become repetitive saying the same thing.

if you are a person who has taken the test multiple times then you need to do some soul searching with yourself. ask yourself is this the right job for you because ether you are not able to show the minimum level knowledge or you are not willing to do what it takes. no one can make that decision for you but yourself. use the resources that are available to you. ask for help, not what one can get here, but someone who can work with you one on one.

I don't have any idea what the old tests were like, I would hope they went deeply into pathophys and also critical thinking in response to a scenario.

I have to say, I passed with 75. No I didn't think I had the right answers to the nutty questions posed in the current adaptive version, as most were nonsensical. I was glad to have passed, but also depressed at how the test did not test one iota of the knowledge I had gained and the work I did to be sure I could correctly apply this knowledge. I wanted to pass a "shake down" type of test. A real marathon. Proof that I knew my stuff inside and out, kind of test. So, I've always wondered if back in the day the tests were like I had wished mine was...

Specializes in FNP/FPMHNP-BC.

This is whats wrong with the nursing profession, nurses want to or looking for things to brag about. Who cares how much times one takes the NCLEX. Passing the NCLEX does not make you a good nurse. And does older nurses always think they know it all. Well, I have news for older nurses, simple things like computer charting pose a challenge. For the OP, there are better things you can do with your time. And yes,I did pass NCLEX on my first try.

Specializes in LTC.
This is whats wrong with the nursing profession, nurses want to or looking for things to brag about. Who cares how much times one takes the NCLEX. Passing the NCLEX does not make you a good nurse. And does older nurses always think they know it all. Well, I have news for older nurses, simple things like computer charting pose a challenge. For the OP, there are better things you can do with your time. And yes,I did pass NCLEX on my first try.

I agree. Some people may say here are some older nurses that will probably fail the nclex today, because they may not know how to work the computer. I wouldn't say something like this though because it would be sterotyping and we just don't do that on AN.

Specializes in Hospital Education Coordinator.

depends on the state in which they are getting licensed. My state requires remediation courses if you do not pass on the second attempt. The test is much harder than it used to be. I suspect that the person who tests over and over is more task oriented and may have problems with critical thinking.

Specializes in Med/Surg, Academics.

It's sort of funny to note that the debate of paper and pencil vs. CAT NCLEX will soon be gone. The CAT NCLEX was introduced in 1994, so some of the first to take it have been practicing for almost 20 years.

Specializes in Telemetry, OB, NICU.
This is whats wrong with the nursing profession, nurses want to or looking for things to brag about. Who cares how much times one takes the NCLEX. Passing the NCLEX does not make you a good nurse. And does older nurses always think they know it all. Well, I have news for older nurses, simple things like computer charting pose a challenge. For the OP, there are better things you can do with your time. And yes,I did pass NCLEX on my first try.

If you don't believe in "bragging" about passing it the first time, may I ask why you felt the need to say you passed it the first time?

Many people replied this topic with opposite opinions. Not everybody needed to say how many times they took the test to pass. However, people who say there should NOT be a limit to take NCLEX have tendency to emphasize they passed it the first time for some reason, on this topic at least. :)

Specializes in Burns, ICU, Plastic Surgery.

I think that after 3 times of failing, remediation should be necessary. However, I do know nurses who are great nurses who took more than one attempt to pass. The NCLEX is a standardized test and has no bearing on how caring, compassionate, organized, time efficient, or competent that a nurse will be. The test questions are extremely tricky, many of them are set up just to trick you. The nursing exams now-a-days are not soley based on facts; you have to know your stuff BUT you have to know how to answer these types of questions, especially the select all that apply ones. Honestly, I bet if some experienced nurses were asked to retake the NCLEX they couldn't. If you've worked in med/surg the best 20 years, good luck passing the nursing management, maternity, pediatric, and community questions!

No Ruby, you aren't the only one.

Back in the 'dark ages', in my state, if you failed twice you had to go back to school, fail it 4 times and you were done.

To be honest, on a test that only takes 75 questions to pass, I don't want someone who failed multiple times to be my coworker or my nurse. If you can't pass a test on the bare minimum knowledge to practice safely you're NOT a great nurse regardless of what your instructors or fellow students told you.

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