BOSS IS PRESSURING ME TO TAKE THE NCLEX asap!!!

MoriahRoseRN · Oct 28, 2006

I took a Kaplan course. It was pretty pricey, but I passed on the first try. I have seen Kaplan at some chain book stores. The very same book that came with my course. There was a CD that came with it, and there were 7 exams. If you scored at least 65% on one of the test, then you will probably do well on NCLEX. You can keep taking the tests until you are scoring at least 65% or above. The Kaplan tests were much harder then any other NCLEX books I'd studied from, and Kaplan gives some very good study tips on how to approach the NCLEX. As far as your employer pressuring you, I would not take the test until I was fully prepared to do so. Do you have a set amount of study time alotted everyday? Good luck, and keep us posted.

ashley_michelle · Oct 28, 2006

I definitely don't think this is something you should rush. I also failed this summer ( june ) ... and was told I HAD to retest after my 45 day mark was up. They let me work two more weeks after that.. and then I got married. I had originally planned to retest before I got married... but then decided to take it slow... NOT stress... and be totally prepared before I took it agian. So, I got married.. and didn't work for another month or so.. and retested Sept 8th.. and passed. =)

So, my advice is ... if you can deal without having the paycheck.. then take it slow, prepare yourself.. and retest when you finish suzannes plan.. or when you feel ready. Although I didn't feel ready when I took it (i'm not sure if you ever feel ready ready) I knew I had done a ton of review questions and studied.

If you have to work.. then I'd go ahead and cont. to work ( you'll be demoted to a CNA most likely ) and then retest when you're ready. Don't let people pressure/rush you! People were telling me to get it over with before I got married.. but I decided to go with my gut and get settled in and THEN retest. You might wanna ask about a Nurse Extern/Intern position.. that's what I was demoted to right after I found out I failed. So that's always an option if your hospital offers it.

Hope that helps! Good luck studying. Just remember that you CAN do it.. tell yourself that ( even if its stupid ) and believe that you can. Don't stress... and remember that you did pass school. Good Luck!!

elkpark · Oct 28, 2006

I'm surprised your boss is allowing you to work as a nurse at all -- in most states, your "GN" status is revoked as soon as you flunk boards the first timee. Are you sure you are even legal to practice at this point?

Tweety, BSN, RN · Oct 28, 2006

If you are truly not ready then you will have to work as a CNA, which isn't the end of the world. It's humbling for sure. Here the nurses who fail are immediately taken off GN status and returned to CNA, and can take all the time they need.

If you're not ready, you're not ready.

Good luck!

bmmagic · Oct 29, 2006

In Texas, you must cease and desist practicing as a GVN/GN upon receiving the failed results. If you continue practicing once you have failed the exam, you are in direct violation of the Nurse Practice Act and this may result in disiplinary action.

In my case, I graduated school and immediately relocated to Texas (from Wyoming) where I began working as an intern in the ICU. I hadn't seen my family and friends for about 3 years, so the spotlight was on me. My F-I-L had been living alone on 87 acres in a huge home needing a TON of work, so my wife and I moved in to assist. NOTE: I'm going on 18 years of marriage and this is the 1st time since I was 17 years old that I didn't have "my own" place, but it was for a good reason. In retrospect - HUGE mistake to relocate post-college.

Welp, I put-off the NCLEX initially to better prepare. Instead of focusing on this task, I found myself preparing for ICU training and 12 hour rotations in SICU, PICU, CCU, and MICU. As time ran-out on my GN permit, I finally scheduled for the test. I've never had trouble with tests in general, so I didn't expect this to be any different.

Welp, 265 questions and my head was about to pop. Still, I felt I'd probably pass as usual and didn't stress much about it. That is until I checked the BNE's online site and noticed my GN permit was gone and there was NO RN license listed. OMG! Could I have failed? I put the old credit card to use and Pearson said my results were not available. Hmmm. OK, perhaps I'm ok? Later that day I was preparing my "stuff" for my 12-hour shift in SICU and decided to call again. FAILED!

Knowing that my license was GONE, I had to "call-in" and I felt like my world had come to an end. I actually stayed the night at my Brother's home and told noone at this point what had happened. Though wrong, I needed some time to think. Telling my wife I had failed was something foreign to me, not to mention my best friend, mother, grandmother, etc. etc.

My wife was shocked for she had hardly considered it a possibility. I've had quite a few tests (military and civilian electronics) in the past, not to mention quite a few in college that she was stressed over and I always did well. Telling her sucked!

My supervisor (Director of ICU) was great and suggested I focus on studying instead of working if I could financially handle it. So the plan was to focus on studying. This was not working well at my F-I-L's due to constant "work" needing to be done, so I moved in with my older Brother. He, his wife and son were all gone from 7am-4pm M-F and this would allow me a lot of time to focus -- WRONG! Simply put, big mistake realized after 16 days. So, my wife and I obtained a rather nice apartment and I moved us in and studied intermittantly until taking the test again. My wife and family had plans to celebrate when I obtained my PASSING results.

Well, 265 questions again! Still, I was better prepared this time and confident that I passed. So much so that I had my wife call for the results from her sister's home just down the road. I was sure she'd call back all happy and excited but instead said, "Babe, you failed. I'm not joking."

This sucked, for I needed my income back. I was started at $20.73/hr as an ADN graduate (~1.50 more for BSN) and $0.00 was not going to be enough. I e-mailed my supervisor and figured he'd have nothing to do with me. I started applying for jobs of all sorts (government, electronics, laborer) and thought I might try the LVN exam while waiting for the next NCLEX-RN. To work as a nurse, I figured I needed a license, so I filed a request to take the CNA test based on nursing school education and to take the PN exam ASAP. In the process, I had the fun of writing the Director of Nursing at the college I graduated where I detailed all of the "success" I've had lately.

A few respected sources suggested NOT taking the PN and instead focusing on the RN exam. I had not paid the BNE or Pearson yet due to needing the affidavit from the college first, so it was not a costly decision to skip on the PN exam. My supervisor offered to have me work in ICU as a nurse tech ($11.50/hr base) until I passed the RN exam -- then I'd be back in the internship immediately as an RN. I didn't need to take a test or pay a fee of any sort to work as a nurse tech. I simply needed to have my ID card changed and had to get some teal colored scrubs (RN's wear navy blue).

This is working well for me, though being around all the staff that knew me as an intern (GN/RN) was/is tough, but it's the reality that I'm in and it feels great to be in the unit getting experience, having an income, and having a plan to succeed.

Study, study, study!

While you can fail or pass with 75 or 265 questions, I'm hoping to do well enough for that darn machine to cutoff sooner! I'll be ready for the full dose, but the full 265 again would really suck.

I did poor on the 1st attempt with 7 of 8 catagories BELOW the standard and only 1 of 8 NEAR the passing standard.

The 2nd attempt was 7 of 8 NEAR and 1 of 8 (pharmacology) ABOVE the standard.

I still wonder why the machine didn't fail (stop) sooner with the 1st exam, being that I did considerably worse on it. For instance, at 260 questions I shouldn't have had a chance, yet it continued to the end. ????

RNKay31 · Oct 29, 2006

Wow! Please do not let anyone rush you into anything you are not prepared for as yet, only you alone knows when you are ready.

DolphinRN84, MSN, RN, APRN, NP · Oct 29, 2006

Definitely agree with the above posters. Do not rush something if you are not ready. The worse that can happen is you'll be demoted to CNA- which is not bad at all. But if they offer a nurse extern/intern position, I would check up with that. Good luck! AND DON'T RUSH!! :)

caroladybelle, BSN, RN · Oct 30, 2006

I failed the NCLEX my first try is Sept.2006. I just didn't feel like studying after that. It took some time to chill out and get my self together. THen I found out about Suzannes plan. But I am only on chapter 7 and still need to finish the book and do the 6wk plan. My boss told me I need to take it in two weeks or else she can not keep me at GN status. I am not sure what happens then, do I fall to a CNA??? Anyways any advice out there? Should I do Suzannes plan and tell my boss this is the way it has to be or Bite the bullet and just do a ton of review questions (saunders) and take the test Nov. 27th like I had planned.

Actually it is your boss "telling you the way it is".

In most states, GN is a very limited status. Limited by time and by taking the NCLEX. Most regulate that you MUST take the NCLEX at the earliest appropriate opportunity and you must pass it. After you take the NCLEX, you will no longer ever be a GN again, only either an RN or a nursing school graduate that has failed the NCLEX. In many hospitals you will either be fired or demoted to a CNA/NT status immediately.

The fact that your facility continues to let you work with GN status is exceedingly generous of them, and in most states would be illegal. Thus if you boss is pressuring you to take the NCLEX it is probably because s/he is under extreme duress from her bosses, facility policy or state legal issues to correct this deficit.

It is not a matter of her wishes but a matter of law.

If you wish to have extra time, you need to tell her. But also expect that you may lose your position, or be demoted. And that is not unfair to you but a matter of law and/or policy.