Writing multiple times?

[loriangel14]

OK I may get flamed big time for this and I am not trying to insult anyone but I have a question. Does anyone else ever think that some people should choose a different professional path when they read posts about having failed the NCLEX multiple times? I did read one post from someone who failed 14 times. I mean really? I will admit that I am Canadian and I have no experience with the NCLEX but do you really want a nurse that had to write dozen times before they could get a license? We get three shots and that's it you are done. I think three times is plenty. I can't imagine writing 10+ times and not questioning that maybe I shouldn't be a nurse. I know some people say it due to being a bad test taker but how did they get through school?

What does everyone else think?

[SoniaReb]

What no one wants to say is that the Nursing profession is under siege by the proliferation of these For-Profit Nursing Schools that have taken root all over the United States. Not to mention non-accredited schools that pretty much take anyone with a pulse. I have seen colleagues who have failed multiple courses in their ADN programs and allowed to repeat until they are able to finally complete the program. These individuals eventually fail the NCLEX multiple times also. Once successful, some end up in Nursing positions which exposes the lack of basic nursing theory/knowledge/practice. One individual I know was eventually let go from her recently hired position in a Hospital for essentially being incompetent.

IMHO, the For-Profit model is a threat to the profession and their graduates are a threat to the entire healthcare industry. Why should students be allowed to take the NCLEX after graduating from a Non-Accreditedng Program which has only conditional State Board Approval? These schools have very low pass rates and very high tuitions. Something is wrong here and no one is addressing this rather vexing issue. Why is there no barrier to entry in setting up these for profit schools that seem to litter the landscape in some States? In my State, there seem to be on in almost every Shopping Plaza.

[JenTheSchoolRN, BSN, RN]

I'm just amazed that someone could afford to take the NCLEX 14 times. It cost me $400 to take it once! Even if I just paid the $200 fee 14 times...$2800! And the amount of money to repeat any coursework, yikes!

I passed the first time (and I took a couple of weeks after my wedding). My school had a great review course to apply our learned knowledge to the NCLEX format; I used the Lippincott book and PrepU in the weeks before the exam, but they had been pushing NCLEX style questions on me since day 1. The NCLEX was challenging, but I felt it was no less challenging than any of my nursing school exams :).

According to RN NCLEX stats, in 2012 87.7% taking the exam for first time passed, but only 44.4% taking it for the second or greater time passed. This speaks volumes to me.

[elkpark]

Since I found out that the exam could be as short as 75 questions I have been amazed. That covers 4+ years of schooling? Wow! I don't believe that 2 days of testing is necessary, but one hour cannot be very inclusive.

It's even worse than that -- every single NCLEX includes 15 questions that are being tested for validity, and don't "count" toward the final score. So, people who pass with 75 questions in 30 minutes are actually getting licensed to practice nursing on the basis of having answered (only) 60 questions. Back in the ignorant, benighted Dark Ages, when I took the 2-day boards, we had more questions than that (many more) on each section of the boards (and, as someone else already pointed out, we learned what we needed to know to pass the NCLEX in nursing school -- no months and months of intense studying).

[mmc51264, BSN, MSN, RN]

I was in the opposite position of many: after having high grades in all my other college endeavors, including a 4.0 GPA for my Masters, I struggled greatly in Nursing School (ADN) barely passing. They held us to extremely high standards with little to no wiggle room. We did have the NLN testing built into our program with an option to do Hurst at the end. I got really high marks on the NLN tests, which said I had a >90% chance of passing NCLEX on the first try. VERY frustrating because I didn't know if I was going to EVEN get to take the test. Managed to get through and passed NCLEX with 75 questions first try. The NLN was more accurate at assessing my nursing knowledge than the school was. I never did understand why they wanted to beat us down so bad. It's like berating a fat person all the time thinking that will help them lose weight.

I, too have issues with more than three tries. When I was taking my teaching exams (I was a school teacher) I had girls ask me what timeth (my new word LOL) try was this for me? Some had taken the teaching boards 5-6 times. I wouldn't want my kids taught by someone who couldn't pass that test.

[sunmaidliz]

I bet you the person who failed it 14 times is exaggerating. It's more possible that that's some weird lie than it is to spend that much money to take a test that many times. My BFF took it three times before she passed. And she's a VERY successful nurse. In all honesty, I don't think nursing school prepares you actually be a nurse. I don't think the NCLX means you can do the job. If it did, every new grad on the planet would get hired with out any hesitation by any hospital at which they applied.

[llg, PhD, RN]

I agree with about 90% of what has been posted in this thread. That may be a record for me here on allnurses. I can understand that a good individual can have a "bad day" and fail the exam the first time. And I support giving them a second chance. But I do believe that 3 strikes should be out -- or at least come with a requirement to take some remedial coursework before being allowed to take it again.

I also agree with the "dumbing down" comments. Standards have become so low in some schools that I am embarrassed for the profession. I can understand how hard it is for the faculty to enforce high standards, but that is what they/we must do. I am in a touch situation now regarding that issue at the moment. I am teaching a class at a local school and my students are taking an online test this week. The first few people who have taken it have done badly -- and I am hoping that I will see higher scores in the days ahead as the rest of the class takes the test. If the other students don't do better, I am going to be in that tough situation of having to face a class of angry students next week (and for the rest of the semester) who will blame me for their bad grades. Fortunately, my school will support me if I hold firm and let the grades stand "as is" -- but it is an ucomfortable position to be in and I can understand why some faculty members cave into the pressure and lower their standards. And then of course, there are the instructors who never had high standards to begin with because they themselves have been poorly educated. I've been seeing more of that lately, too.

[dirtyhippiegirl, BSN, RN]

Does anyone think that they could pass the NCLEX *now*? Couple coworkers with 5-6 years of experience on me and I were going through one of the NA's NCLEX study books and marveling at how we could only answer some of the questions. Probably not enough to pass. And I've only been out of school for two years.

[Songbird,RN]

I just don't understand someone taking the NCLEX over and over. Maybe I am wrong, but I would not want a nurse taking care of me if they had to do this. I took my NCLEX the morning after the Joplin tornado, not knowing if my parents and family were ok. Circumstances were such that I had to go ahead and test. Talk about shaking and crying during the whole time. Passed after the 75th question!

[chrisrn24]

Does anyone think that they could pass the NCLEX *now*? Couple coworkers with 5-6 years of experience on me and I were going through one of the NA's NCLEX study books and marveling at how we could only answer some of the questions. Probably not enough to pass. And I've only been out of school for two years.

I probably couldn't!

[applewhitern, BSN, RN]

Yes, those taking the NCLEX multiple times has bothered me, too. When someone says they have "test anxiety," it makes me wonder how they will act in a code or some other emergency with a patient. I was prepared from the get-go for my boards, and had no study book to cram with beforehand. I learned it all in nursing school. We were weeded out during school, plus we could not make anything less than 84 to pass; an 83 was an F in every class! I work with a lot of new grad RN's, and they are always saying "we didn't learn that in school!" But what really has me flabbergasted is the "nurse practitioners" who have to keep re-taking their tests; these are people who will be treating patients?

[Palliative Care, DNP]

Yep, I think that every time I see posts where someone has taken it more than 3 times. The NCLEX is supposed to show the minimum competence required to be a nurse.

[Leonardo Del Toro, RN]

If the NCLEX was a perfect tool measuring the ability of someone to become a good nurse, there wouldn't be bad ones right? There are plenty of nurses that had taken this test multiple times and had become great nurses and plenty of ones that pass the first time and are lousy RN's.