Do you think nclex is fair?

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Hello nclex victims, I just wanted some feedback on the nclex exam. I have taken this exam a couple of times and fail to propell to put this thing behind me. Of course I was sucessful during nursing school or I wouldn't have made it too this point but why is it that this nclex is getting the best of alot of people? I have went as far as requesting a review of the exam questions that was given to me with my responding answers and I was hit with well it is very exspensive to allow this to be done. The starting fee is 400.00 plus other cost will be involved. Then you will not be allowed to bring pencil or paper during the reviewing process. Then to top it off they(BON) told me this will be useless to do because each time you test the questions will never be the same. Which I understand why the questions are not the same and the cost is not an issue to me but they (BON) seem very reluctant in making this request fesable and consistantly stressing the cost and time that is involved. I don't think there is a study method out there that I have not used or tried in preparation for this test and like alot of people on this site have said maybe you might get a question or two that you can apply to what you have studied but the rest of the test you seem to be asking yourself what the heck are they asking me. After rereading the question over and over you stilll are left to guess what the answer is. I have read the test plans and the print out that they send you to guide you through your week areas after you fail but these things still dont seem too help. Like others have said each time you test you will have different weak areas than before. I also read the pass/fail precentages and I find it amazing the rates of second time test takers fall way below the scale and international student have it even worse. I'm curious to know if this could be one of the reasons why there is a nursing shortage. Because the nursing schools are flooded with nursing students and there is always a waiting list to enter. They said the test dont tell what type of nurse you are but it gives board information as to if you have minimum comp. to practice. If this is so then why would they allow you to attend clincals and past after caring for the sick and tell you that a computer told them you are not comp. enough to practice?

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

Doesn't matter if people think it is fair or not the nursing board can set what they want at least NCLEX is national and you don't have to sit the exam every time you move states. Whilst you are in nursing school and attending clinicals etc you are working under the license of a RN but the test makes sure you are deemed safe to work individual and responsible for your own actions

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Humans are allowed to make mistakes, right? But computers are not? How can a perfect computer deem me as being safe? Oh, I forgot computers are perfect. Just like it was when you typed "Whilst" in you reply. Not to be rude but seriously, I just feel there should be another alternative to this test. The pass/fail ratio is just too far off and should raise a question. Smart student are going through "h-e double hockey sticks" in attempt to past this test.

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Specializes in ob/gyn med /surg.

it is what it is.. NCSBN approves all the questions submitted by a panel of nurses from the US. it is written by nurses and the questions are reviewed by a panel of nurses and NCSBN puts them in NCLEX.

the questions are not written by a computer .. it is written by your peers to deem you safe to practice.

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Thats whats up! But I guess what concerns me the most is why is the pass rate the why it is. And the questions on the exam seem to be stated in a fashion that most people fail to understand. Not that people dont know their stuff but its the way they stag the questions.

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.

What's wrong with the pass rate?

So far, in 2008, 88% of the students who have taken it for the first time have passed it. That's actually a high pass rate compared to the medical boards, law boards, CPA exam, etc.

I'm really sorry that you are struggling to master the exam -- but there is nothing wrong with the pass rate.

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Humans are allowed to make mistakes, right? But computers are not? How can a perfect computer deem me as being safe? Oh, I forgot computers are perfect. Just like it was when you typed "Whilst" in you reply. Not to be rude but. . . . ..

"Whilst" is a word . . . used by folks from the UK mostly now but still used in the USA.

And SilverDragon is from the UK.

[Q] From Gary Wade: “As an American who has spent some bit of time with British English, I have always wondered about the difference between while and whilst. Is there a relationship to formal and informal tenses left over from Old English? I also think of amid and amidst.”

[A] You’re close to the target with your second example. Another pair of a similar kind is among and amongst (a third pair, again and against, has a similar origin but the sense of the words has since diverged).

In both cases, the form ending in -st actually contains the -s of the genitive ending (which we still have today, though usually written as ’s, of course). In Middle English, this was often added to words used as adverbs (as while became whiles, which often turned up in the compound adverbs somewhiles and otherwhiles). What seems to have happened is that a -t was later added in the south of England through confusion with the superlative ending -st (as in gentlest).

Both while and whilst are ancient, though while is older. There’s no difference in meaning between them. For reasons that aren’t clear, whilst has survived in British English but has died out in the US. However, in Britain it is considered to be a more formal and literary word than its counterpart. I have a small weakness for it, for which I’ve been gently teased in the past.

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As to the NCLEX, I hated it too and don't think it is an accurate reflection of our nursing knowledge but it is just something we have to do.

It used to be a couple of days of essay questions . .. :clown:

steph

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Specializes in ob/gyn med /surg.

85 people out of every 100 pass boards... thats pretty good odds.

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Specializes in Nursing Professional Development.
As to the NCLEX, I hated it too and don't think it is an accurate reflection of our nursing knowledge but it is just something we have to do.

It used to be a couple of days of essay questions . .. :clown:

steph

When was that? I took it in 1977 and it was 2 days of multiple choice questions. There were only 2 times per year you could take it. If you weren't feeling well, or if those 2 days were inconvenient for you, that was just too bad. I remember people throwing up in the middle and just keep going, etc. If you didn't complete the test or failed it, you had to wait 6 months to take it again.

You make it sound as if it used to be easy. It wasn't easy then, either. It was just different.

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I guess if you're in the 15% group that have failed, then the NCLEX is very unfair. We've all taken the same test though, and it's a monster!

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When was that? I took it in 1977 and it was 2 days of multiple choice questions. There were only 2 times per year you could take it. If you weren't feeling well, or if those 2 days were inconvenient for you, that was just too bad. I remember people throwing up in the middle and just keep going, etc. If you didn't complete the test or failed it, you had to wait 6 months to take it again.

You make it sound as if it used to be easy. It wasn't easy then, either. It was just different.

:bow: I bow to your superior knowledge llg . . truly. :D

I was two years out of high school in 1977 and had never considered nursing. When I was 38, I read Echo Heron's first book, where she described nursing school and in my menopausal memory, I remember her writing about the test terror, driving to Sacramento with a bunch of friends from school, and taking a two day test with essay questions. However, you are probably right and it was multiple choice.

I was comparing a quick computerized test to days of questions . . . the NCLEX sounds much less difficult. I didn't mean to make the old test sound easy - I meant it to sound harder.

I think I'll have to go dig that book out and reread it . . . . . .

Thanks for clearing that up. :D:D

steph

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