75 Fail to 75 PASS after 2 years!

[Kaceface]

Hey everyone, I am posting to share my story and hopefully ease the minds of those who may have been unsuccessful their first go round, and those who may have committed the cardinal sin of waiting too long after graduation to test. It’s long winded but stay with me.

I graduated nursing school in December of 2017, and proceeded to move to another state where I planned to take my exam. On the day I submitted my paperwork for the exam in February of 2018, I got devastating news that would upset my life. I was so heart broken that I vaguely remember the days. My parents pressured me, on top of constant messages from classmates asking “have you taken NCLEX yet? They even convinced me that taking the exam would be a way to push through my grief and move forward. So I got the nerve to schedule my exam for April 26, 2018.

I would be lying if I said I properly studied, I didn’t. I was just on autopilot and did it to shut them up. I took the test feeling like I failed. Test shut off at 75 questions with 5 or 6 SATA. I KNEW I failed. I did the Pearson vue trick- Bad pop-up. Defeat, and even more depression. I stopped thinking about it. Got a job in my previous field and just let the reality of failure kill me while my friends reached milestones in their careers. A former classmate even told me to forget about NCLEX because I waited too long and probably wouldn’t pass anyways. Harsh.

I purchased Kaplan. Used some things from it, but the lectures weren’t helpful to me. I was getting too much erroneous information.

I worked with a young lady who was in her last semester of nursing school and we were chatting in October of 2019. She said to me “You’ve been out for nearly 2 years? How are you going to pass?” Within 2 weeks I quit and decided to devote myself to passing that blasted exam.
I purchased the HURST review, and things came back to me. I watched every video, took the guided notes, made the skimpy notes, and even lectures to myself over some topics. But the most helpful part of the review was the How to Pass section. Everything they tell you not to do, I had done previously. This is why I failed. The questions didn’t seem to be so tough, and the rationales weren’t always helpful. But those videos. Knowing that core content “without a doubt or hesitation” was the key to my success. And also ALWAYS ASSUME THE WORST, DONT BE A KILLER NURSE!

anyways. I secretly scheduled my exam for February 18, 2020. This time I spent a little more time focusing. I went to the testing center with my head held high, makeup on, ready to crush it. I knew I wasn’t at the level of passing at 75, so I expected at least 125 questions. You can imagine my heartbreak when the computer shut down at 75. Then I had to complete the research section. Which I heard was a good sign? Still unsure if that’s true.

I went home numb, and unsure of what the outcome was. I let my aunt convince me to do the PV trick and I got the good pop up. I cried because I had finally felt hopeful. But my anxiety would build over the next 46 hours. But as of yesterday my license is active, I have defeated my anxiety, my paralyzing fear, and the doubts that I allowed a few people to plant in my head.

My exam was 75qs, 22 SATA, 1 drag/drop, 1 strip.
I went from showing incompetency in 75 to showing competency in 75. And that is a glorious comeback that we are all capable of. We did not suffer through nursing school for no reason. You are where you are meant to be and you have all the tools you need to pass.

[DenC]

Congratulations on becoming an RN! Please do you mind sharing your scores for your 4 HURST exams? Thanks

[Kaceface]

Thank you! My hurst scores were in order that I took them:

77/125

75/125

91/125

74/125

My Kaplan CAT scores were overall score of green all 3 times, but the individual categories were always yellow. I took Kaplan right before taking HURST.

[DenC]

Thank you for your response! How & what did you study the 2-3 wks before the exam? How many questions did you do daily and so on. TIA

[Kaceface]

I only studied the HURST review handbook and resource documents. I did 75 questions every other day, and remediated the 75 questions on the opposite days. I took my time doing the remediation by pulling up the resource documents or going back to the pages they suggest you review if you miss said question. On the exam I had to remind myself to always assume the worst. The hurst review reiterated that NCLEX wants to put you in a bind, so if they are asking you a question, there is a problem.

[Kaceface]

I also did focused questions from areas that I did not do well on in the first attempt. I tracked my progress in those areas and did ALL of the management of care questions. Even though I had done okayish in that area. Sharpening the biggest sections on the NCLEX helped push me over that pass threshold.

[DenC]

Thanks for all your tips. I appreciate it.

[magnoliablush, BSN, RN]

Such a great story! Congratulations, NURSE! ?

[SamanthaS1209]

First of all congratulations, I recently failed my exam and feel very sad because all of my friends from my class did end up passing first try. They also kept asking me over and over again if I had taken the NCLEX, even my teachers emailed me asking which added more stress that I did not need.

I have a quick question, did you have a hard time finding a job? After two years of graduating from the program?

[Kaceface]

Not really. It is weird and I definitely had to explain my gap. But I was working private duty and making the same or more than my cohort about 9 days after passing. I had classmates asking, and instructors as well. Just ignore it. They don’t genuinely care. Focus on you and understand that you have already experienced the worst possible outcome, and you have seen the exam and you’re better prepared now. You won’t feel that same hurt twice, and you have a guide letting you know what areas you need to work on. Go to he NCSBN website and download the 60 page NCLEX guide.