Pearson Vue woes

Nursing Students NCLEX

Published

I am a recent graduate of a nursing program in Minnesota, and it looks like the only business that offers NCLEX testing is one called Pearson Vue. I have some complaints about them and I haven't even sat for the exam yet!

First of all, their website is cryptic. My school gave me a code that I was supposed to input so Pearson Vue could ensure that yes, I really did graduate from them and will be ready to sit for the exam. I keyed in the number in the right field, and I was unable to proceed. None of the buttons worked as long as I had anything in the field where the program code was supposed to be. I double and triple checked the program code to ensure I keyed it in correctly. The number didn't work, and I ended up just running a search for my school and inputted (the same number my school gave to me) and it finally worked. If they want you to search for your school instead of manually inputting the number, why even bother to have it as an option?

Then when I went to pay via credit card, I made an honest mistake and forgot to change the expiration date on the payment form. No big deal, its an easy fix but did they tell me that the card I was using was expired? Of course not, that would have made it much too easy for me! Instead they highligted in big bold letters "your mailing address must match your card on file." What the bull crap is that?

So I fired an angry email to Pearson Vue, essentially telling them that if they hired a technical school dropout to take a diarrhea dump all over their servers (that is literally what I wrote to them), they might end up with a better website, and that just because there's no competition in the licensing exam racket, it isn't an excuse to be lazy. At $200 per test, they can afford to hire a damn consultant to fix their horse excrement website. This is unacceptable!

Don't we have rules against monopolies? When one business has absolute control over their field, what incentive do they have to improve the way they do business?

Anyone else had problem with these guys? Or are there other testing companies that I just don't know about?

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Wow. Ummm... I had no problems with the site, and neither did anyone else in my school.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, LTACH, LTC, Home Health.

I don't think Pearson Vue chose to administer the NCLEX. I believe the NCSBN chose Pearson Vue and accepted the fee as an adequate charge. Your argument about PV having a monopoly in the testing area is one that those seeking their services should have if they deem it to be warranted, not the examinees.

For what it's worth, when you receive your nursing license and get ready to apply online during your job hunt, you will find that lots of electronic applications have their own pre-selected options that you must choose from, even though you may enter it in the required field identically as the option only to have it rejected. I've experienced this many times over the years.

Just my my opinion, but I think something else has gotten you very frustrated. Your Pearson Vue situation is nothing compared to what you will encounter at the workplace. Try to keep it together; pick your battles wisely...it will save you A LOT of aggravation for the long haul.;)

Good ode luck with the NCLEX!

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did they respond?

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.

Your credit card mailing address must match the address you input in the system as this is a fraud protection step for quite a few years now. This should be for any online transaction.

I'm sorry for your frustration but a single vendor for a licensing exam is pretty standard as it is one of the few ways to ensure security and standard protocol between exam sites. It's not about vendor monopoly but about exam standards and security.

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.

And no there is no other vendor if you wish to sit the NCLEX and become a licensed nurse in the US.

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Thank you, BSNINTHEWORKS, and very astute. Yes, there are other things bothering me with how my final clinical rotation went; a topic for another time, but it involved interrogations, grammar police and price gouging. The problems I had just registering for the test is the last straw.

No, omg move, they did not reply yet. I only registered and complained a couple of days ago. Given the language I used, they probably won't. Writing and sending it made me feel better, though.

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You should prob update your browser ?

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Specializes in Leadership, Psych, HomeCare, Amb. Care.

"So I fired an angry email to Pearson Vue, essentially telling them that if they hired a technical school dropout to take a diarrhea dump all over their servers (that is literally what I wrote to them), they might end up with a better website, and that just because there's no competition in the licensing exam racket, it isn't an excuse to be lazy. At $200 per test, they can afford to hire a damn consultant to fix their horse excrement website. This is unacceptable!"

I understand your frustration, and as you progress through your job hunt, you will run across frustrating & challenging websites. Once hired, you may be saddled with even more challenging EMR systems.

There may be legitimate reason for the issues, including server or browser issues. And wasn't your "honest mistake" at least a small part of the problem?

Life is filled with problems and frustrations so you might want to think about how to deal with your own anger. Someday, and more than once, someone is going to call you a lazy, worthless nurse (or worse), and that they could get better care from a "technical school dropout" with diarrhea than from you.

How will that make you feel? How will that make you react in solving the problem?

Just something to think about.

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Specializes in Gerontology RN-BC and FNP MSN student.

Why is it their problem you didn't realize your credit card was expired?

:rolleyes:

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" So I fired an angry email to Pearson Vue, essentially telling them that if they hired a technical school dropout to take a diarrhea dump all over their servers (that is literally what I wrote to them), they might end up with a better website, and that just because there's no competition in the licensing exam racket, it isn't an excuse to be lazy. At $200 per test, they can afford to hire a damn consultant to fix their horse excrement website. This is unacceptable!" ~~~OP

I wouldn't expect them to respond to an irate, unprofessional message such as this. Would certainly make ME disinterested in helping you, if *I* was on their IT staff....

Your life's frustrations and issues are certainly valid. Carrying on that way via email is not.

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Specializes in Pediatrics, Emergency, Trauma.
"So I fired an angry email to Pearson Vue, essentially telling them that if they hired a technical school dropout to take a diarrhea dump all over their servers (that is literally what I wrote to them), they might end up with a better website, and that just because there's no competition in the licensing exam racket, it isn't an excuse to be lazy. At $200 per test, they can afford to hire a damn consultant to fix their horse excrement website. This is unacceptable!"

I understand your frustration, and as you progress through your job hunt, you will run across frustrating & challenging websites. Once hired, you may be saddled with even more challenging EMR systems.

There may be legitimate reason for the issues, including server or browser issues. And wasn't your "honest mistake" at least a small part of the problem?

Life is filled with problems and frustrations so you might want to think about how to deal with your own anger. Someday, and more than once, someone is going to call you a lazy, worthless nurse (or worse), and that they could get better care from a "technical school dropout" with diarrhea than from you.

How will that make you feel? How will that make you react in solving the problem?

Just something to think about.

Agree...

WOOSAH.

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