National Petition to Change N-CLEX Exam Process

[caravacaa1]

hello all!

this discussion thread is to seek out those who have graduated from nursing schools/programs who share the same feelings in regard to the n-clex examination. has anyone noticed how unbelievabley unfair and restrictive this exam is? i have taken and failed my n-clex for the third time on may 28th, 2009. through viewing many of the posts from other prospective nurses, i can see that i am not the only one. i truly believe that the n-clex examniation is nothing but a money-making exam scheme that is literally designed to help people fail and keep people from becoming the great nurses they can be. it is a non-sensical method of exploiting graduates for money, time, and of course, more money.

i have taken every single n-clex rn practice exam that i could get my hands on. i have spent more money than i can count on review books, which are no where near consistent as far as providing the correct information about the exam itself. i have taken the kaplan n-clex rn course, and i still failed. this seems to be the case for a lot of people, and it is absolutely unacceptable! let me throw this question out there: what is the point in spending money, blood, sweat, and tears to get through an already almost impossible nursing program, whether it is a two year program or a bachelor's program, only to continuously pay and fail for a license that should already be earned through our education? to add insult to injury, there is a fee to actually get the results of the exam. is it not enough that the exam itself is incredibly expensive? i guess not if the ncsbn (national council of state boards of nursing) has the audacity to ask for even more money from us only to display a single word of "pass" or "fail" after waiting an agonizing two or more days.

i am ready and willing to begin a national petition to change the entire set up of the n-clex. it does not test the knowledge of prospective nurses, but rather uses "strategies" and "tricks" in questions. i have had friends who have told me they knew absolutely nothing when they tried practice tests, yet they passed because of "tricks" learned to eliminate specific options. is that the way our health care system (as bad as it is already) screens important health care workers? having a license that is not based on true medical knowledge should be absolutely prohibited! i would furthermore like to know who it is, exactly, that is picked to formulate these n-clex questions. though it is told that these select group of nurses have "great quality nursing experience", then it is fair to say that they should be smart enough to know that this type of testing is beyond asinine and brutally unfair.

please, any of you who agree with me, let me know so that i can begin the process of bringing this to national attention. we have worked hard enough to get to where we are. we know that we love and care for our patients. it is time to take a stand against getting taken advantage of financially, emotionally, and mentally!

[Cherybaby]

I have to respectfully disagree. I do not think the NCLEX consists of tricks. What I have found is that if you are unable to think critically and prioritize, you will have trouble on this exam. Yes, many people fail...but more than that pass. I graduated nursing school back in 1999. I didn't take my boards until 2007 because of financial issues I was going through at the time. When I was finally ready to take my NCLEX, I reviewed all the practice tests I could for six weeks straight. Ate, slept and breathed nursing notes. I passed. I am also a very good test taker though and do not have an excessive amount of anxiety when I test.

I don't find the questions to be "brutally unfair" so long as you remember that you are to remember that you are dealing with "ideal circumstances". That is, you have enough doctors, enough staff, enough meds on the floor, all your equipment at your disposal, etc. In the real world, we all know it doesn't work that way...on the test however, it does.

It's not enough to be able to love and care for your patients, unfortunately. You could be the most compassionate person on the earth and still not be cut out to be a nurse. And yes, it is unfortunate that a test is what decides your fate no matter how good you are clinically...

but to say the test is unfair? No. I just don't see it that way. Just my opinion.

[caravacaa1]

Hi cherybaby

I wanted to respond to what you said. I respect your opinion and I do realize that the exam is about critical thinking. I am aware that the exam is not based on "real world" experience, but rather "textbook" experience. But that is exactly one of the aspects that is unjustafiable. Nursing is the art of caring, is it not? Then having the patients well-being on a caring level is just as important as it is on a medical level. I have test anxiety, as many people do, but I will stand by my purpose of being a nurse. It is what I have devoted my life to, it is what I enjoy doing (at least on a CNA basis for now), and I will not give up my quest to make a difference in the lives of others in that respect.

That being said, there have been more and more people failing the exam. As far as critical thinking and prioritizing, I have no issues with that. I fully understand which patients are a priority and I can certainly critically think. The ABC's, etc. However, it is quite difficult to work with patients having been through nursing school and seeing nurses who do not prioritize based on their physical needs, walking by rooms and seeing that there needs to be a dressing change and the nurse ignores it. The absolute worst is seeing that a patient is in excrutiating pain and there medication is past due and the RN feels no sense of responsibility.

I, like you, have studied day in and day out, reviewing any and all textbooks I had from school including newer ones, and I personally feel that the exam is certainly geared more towards strategies than content, as even Kaplan teaches.

Like I said, I respect your opinion and will continue to persue my passion.

[PostOpPrincess, BSN, RN]

I am sorry you haven't passed.

BUT there is a reason for this test and that is to weed out those who ARE NOT SAFE. Blunt, and forthright, but a FACT.

Keep going--but changing the test isn't going to change the underlying problem.

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

I graduated a year ago. My class of 105 had 101 people pass on the first attempt.

[NC Girl BSN]

Sorry you have not passed the NCLEX but the national average of nurses passing the NCLEX is 85% so you are in the minority. A majority of nurse pass the first time and alot more pass the second time.

You should try Kaplans review and figure out how to answer the questions. You will never win with a petition when it comes to the NCLEX.

[Wsmith16, ADN, BSN]

I don't think the exam should be changed since 85% of people pass it. Maybe the reason you are not passing could be test anxiety or reading to much into the question. I suggest you go to barnes & read the priority, delgeation book by LaCharity it helped me immensely helped some of my friends.

Keep your head up-- your obviously very frustrated since you put so much time & effort into this exam. Don't give up change your stragety in attacking this exam.

[cardiacRN2006, ADN, RN]

Gosh, if I could, I would change the NCLEX too! I would make it harder. An 85% first time pass rate means it's too easy.

To get licensed after 75 questions is a joke. Maybe we could make everyone take 250 questions.

[iteachob, MSN, RN]

The NCLEX is not only fair....it is very fair. It is thoroughly tested and has admirable internal consistency. It is a test of critical thinking and nursing judgment, not just knowledge (which is the lowest level of Bloom's taxonomy).

The writer's of the questions are highly educated (advanced degrees) and experienced nurses. There is an application process to become a writer for the NCLEX question pool. The questions are then tested for reliability and validity (also difficulty) before ever becoming a scored part of the exam. Every NCLEX taker has 15 "trial" questions that are not scored because they are being tested first.

The 2 day agonizing wait? PLEASE! You're going to make all the older nurses among us groan. I had to wait approximately 6 weeks to find out if I had passed the 2 day (all day) long test that I took. Not only that, but I tested in TX....a really big state. I had to drive >500 miles to the nearest testing center. I lived in El Paso, closest testing center? Ft. Worth......travel, hotel, test....it wasn't cheap!

[blondy2061h, MSN, RN]

Gosh, if I could, I would change the NCLEX too! I would make it harder. An 85% first time pass rate means it's too easy.

To get licensed after 75 questions is a joke. Maybe we could make everyone take 250 questions.

It took me 25 min to take the NCLEX. Kinda scary that they're judging I'm a safe nurse in that short of time.

[Jules A, MSN]

I didn't think it was too hard and my class' pass rate was 97% first time.

[RheatherN, ASN, RN, EMT-P]

I am sorry that you have had problems with the NCLEX exam, it freaks us ALL out! no matter what year we have taken it, in what form we have taken it, its a test that will always be in place for us to pass to make sure we are safe practioners. i am sure you have heard what we were told also, that school; nclex and the real world are 2 different things, they are and you have to proof youself with the prior 2 before moving on. i disagree that you have "earned" that right because you went to school, because some ppl are book smart and can anwser a question, but cannot prioritize or critically think and thats why we need a test like this. that is just a fact, it will NOT change. I will only state what the others have said as well that it wont change, petitions wont work for the nclex and that the majority of ppl pass on the first attempt. i dont know where you have seen stats that more and more ppl are failing, but overall- that is not being shown as the majority at all. the statistics have pretty much remained the same overall.

With all that said, i think that you need to make some type of a meeting with an instructor at your school that you can talk to about this. see what they can help you do. try making a list of what you have tried, what you havent tried, what others have tried and even what you think would never work for you, because you never know, maybe you just havnt found what you need to make it hit ya when your testing.

i wish you all the luck in the world, i really do, because you seem like you really care about what you want to do, compassionate. but you need to have this onen last hurdle behind you- dont give if u if you want it, how bad do you want it?? :)

-H-RN