Is there anyone out there who has failed and then after 6 yrs passes?

I have a friend who was an LVN for many years, finished RN transition class in 2000. She took her NCLEX 3 times and failed. She took a prep-course, not sure which one, and passed in 2005. You can do it!

I haven't known anyone to fail & retry after a couple years, but I think it's great you haven't given up. I have a side-bar question though, I have heard that after 3 NCLEX failures a person would need to re-do a nursing program. I'm thinking it's not true since I have seen several posts similar to the situation posted here. I wonder, could it be a WA state thing? or something bogus. Just curious...

Good luck Helpmepass! Hope all goes well for you.

It is possible that it varies by state. In my state you cannot sit for the NCLEX post two years of graduating nursing school if you never passed. Thus, your NCLEX eligibility for a first time pass is only two years. Afterwards you must return to nursing school. Refresher courses do not count.

I graduated LPN school in 1999. At the time, I was going through a VERY nasty divorce (thank you, Nursing School...*sigh*) and I couldn't afford to sit for boards. I put it off for awhile and before you knew it..."awhile" turned into 7 years. I had never taken the boards...so I never failed them to know what I was going to be facing in the future. I only had the knowledge of what the test would be like from the exit exams I had taken in nursing school 7 years prior! In that time, I had gotten remarried to the most amazing man on the planet and was finally financially stable enough to take the boards. I did some INTENSIVE study work for about 6 weeks. I LIVED nursing. I read every book, took every practice test, walked around with flashcards in my purse and my car. Six weeks straight of nothing but studying. My kids and my husband left me alone to pursue this with all the fervor I could muster. In 2007, I finally took and passed the boards at 75 questions in under an hour. It was the most amazing accomplishment (save for my children) that I ever achieved in my life.

Put your mind to it...you really haven't forgotten as much as you may think you have. So much of the boards is critical thinking. That's an ability you either have or you don't. In my opinion, the ability to think critically is not something that can be taught in school or learned in a book.

Brush up on things like lab values (make sure you have the most current numbers). Go over your pharmacology notes (get a good book on this, one that includes a CD that you can take practice tests with). Remember to always prioritize patient need first and foremost. Definately brush up on your anatomy a little bit.

I did it. You can too. Congrats to you for not giving up on the dream.

Feel free to send me a private message with any other questions and concerns. Would be happy to answer anything for you!

Best of luck! Keep us posted!

Yes, the requirements vary by state. To the OP, do you know for a fact that your state BON will allow you to write the NCLEX-RN at this point? It seems to me that would be the first thing to check out, and then you can proceed from there.

Best wishes!

I'm sorry to hear you are having trouble passing the NCLEX-RN. I would love to study for NCLEX with someone else. I am sending you an email.
Best of Luck
tlc2u

Wow, that's kinda scary ...