failed nclex, what DIDN'T you do the 1st time?

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I tried to search this but didn't come across any topic which related to my exact question... sooo...

My question/comment is: I am taking the Nclex for the first time in 2 1/2 weeks. I enrolled in Kaplan and have been doing questions not only from Kaplan but also other sources. I do try to focus on content as well but I feel like sitting down and memorizing ALOT of information may not work for me and I might feel overwhelmed. I have heard doing questions is a great way to understand how to apply the material. So I guess let me get to the point lol.... my question is....

For anyone who did not pass on their first attempt, or for anyone who knows someone who didn't pass, do you have any advice? What didn't you do the first time that you wish you had? I know alot of people who pass the first time have offered great advice, but I wanted the prespective of someone who may not have succeeded and realized something they were missing. My hope is that I can learn something from you so that I know I am trying everything to pass.

THANKS!!!

I believe i have just failed nclex for the 3rd time because i am not getting the good popup. i consider it my second because the first time i never even opened a book i just waitied to long to take it. the second time i found out the night before that my gram had passed away. not saying that is an excuse, but it would have been nice to reschedule but it was too late. i did study for the second time but i only used questions from the books, i never put the cds in. the 3rd time, friday, i had been studying for 2 months doing the cds on the computer. i felt so much more relaxed trying to picture myself at home. i mostly used pearson's exam cram where you do adaptive drills until you reach 75%, 85%, and finally 95% before taking the stimulated exam. i did all of that and got excellent twice out of poor, below average, average, above average, and excellent. i am so saddened and depressed after not passing this time. i had a positive attitude and felt so much better answering the questions this time. now i have to wait again to take it which brings me around to graduating a yr ago! how can i get over this and move on from here? i have tons of different nclex books from friends but i don't know how to prepare this time when i thought i did everything the right way and still failed. sorry this is so long but can someone please help me??

#1. Do not think you have to invest in some really expensive class to pass. You don't. If you have good study habits and those have worked for you in the past, then use them. However, if you know you are a bad test taker (as far as mechanics go) then by all means invest in something that will teach you how to be a better test taker.

#2. All you are experiencing is fear. Failure is what happens when people let that get the best of them. Be confident and study hard. You will be fine.

2BNurse,

To be honest with you, the only people I've known who haven't passed (and did study, etc...) didn't have a great command of the English language. I think those people who tell you that you already know what you need to know may be right... I still don't know how I passed, because I don't remember a single question that I KNEW I had right on the test (I did 4000 questions, took Kaplan, and studied all of the time, though). Somehow, I am an RN... :-)

Specializes in peds.

If i were you i will practice questions upon questions from alot of review books like,kaplan review is the best as well as learning extension and saunders,Moby,Lippincott,Nclex4000 and use lacharity .Study the formatted ways of remembering infection control that is on this website.When you study the questions make sure the take your time to understand the rationales.I wish you goodluck.

marcos9999,

i think you give some good pointers.. i took nclex on saturday 7/17 1st time and found out i failed. i think it's really a matter of how much effort you put into it.. i didn't take it seriously enough and it was a distraction knowing that all your fellow classmates were passing. do yourself a favor and focus on yourself. i only told myself i was going to do 3000 questions + but i got burnt out and told myself, well I passed my exit exam so I could probably pass this. WRONG!!

i'm going to take it the 2nd time in a different light. i didn't go through 4 years of nursing school to be a failure. no way.

for those of you who are like me and really need to push yourself... please do yourself a favor and DO IT. worst part is, i have a job lined up and now i have to tell my manager that i failed. i'm just hoping she gives me another chance to take it- and this time, i'm not looking back.

I think a part of my problem was I focused on one book. Pearson's exam cram cd. I thought it helped and I was learning from it but it got to the point where it just kept repeating questions over and over again, I think that hurt me. So nobody really thinks it matters which editions of different books or anything like that? For instance, nclex 4000 was mentioned and I have nclex 3500. Also, how many questions are you supposed to do in order to really be "prepared" for the test....I have heard many different things. Thanks for the help.

I agree with Marcos9999 re: #7. Had to watch an action war movie that morning before my 2PM exam. Had to get my brain all fired up. I had all 265 questions. I knew there was no way the computer could prove with 95% confidence that I was going to fail. For example, I knew the answer to question #20 with 100% confidence but had to guess on question #21. So consistently it was a hit and miss game for me. The computer probably had trouble collecting accurate data on me to move that I deserve to fail.

For those people who got only 75 questions. Technically 15 of those questions are test questions for the next time and they dont count. Of the 60 questions leftover, is it true that you only have to get 30 questions right to pass.

For my exam, I sat through the 6hrs without a bathroom break. I practically rolled over on the desk, stretched my arms and legs in every possible directions one can imagine. I pulled the monitor close to my eyes and pushed the keyboard and the hard drive to the side. Had to make myself very comfortable. I practiced and prepared for the 6hr at home. So, when it came time for the real thing, my mind saw it as just anothe practice session. It is also important to eat food that will not cause you flattus or make you urinate. Had only one small glass of orange juice for breakfast and many slices of bread throughout the day. I was actually a slow testtaker so I really didnt take any breaks. When I practiced at home, I was able to do 50 questions per hour. When I was taking the real exam, in the first hour I was way behind. I knew I had to do very well on the first 75 questions so I really took my time. After an hour, I finished only 30 questions. That's super slow even for me. :-) I started to pick up the pace when I got to question 76. I realized I was still in the ball game so game on...

I had all types of questions. 1 audio, 2 math questions, tons of prioritization questions, lots of repeated questions during the exam (probably because I took too long to answer it initially), maternity questions, multiple multiple choice, no hot spot questions or chronological order drag/drop. I had questions on many different parts of the body, instruments, erikson stages of development, CN, MDI, chest tubes, colonoscopy, radiation implant, chemo and many many more. They were really clever in their answer selections. Very tricky at times.

This was what I accomplished for nclex prep exam.

1. 1100/1300 questions study mode Billings/Lippincott

2. All of Kaplan Qbank, question trainers and attended many courses with many different instructors teaching (they all had their own different styles for teaching the same materials --6 different instructors)

3. Completed all study materials from NCSBN website

4. Completed 500/700 Saunders study mode pharm questions and 100 questions from each content review in study mode

5. Did 20 different tests from ATI. They range from 30-180 questions each

6. 265 questions from Hogan

7. Reviewed about 140 pages of Frye's bullet points book

That's everything I did. Was going to start doing questions from the Mosby NCLEX review CD and the 3000 questions CD but ran out of time. I answered every single questions on the computer.

I really had a lot of fun doing questions and studied for the nclex. It was not something I dreaded but looked forward doing starting out each day.

Hope you could benefit from my study schedule. At the end of each day, I would record on my calendar whether I did 100 or 200 or 300 questions. Then I posted my daily progress on another website with others studying for this exam. That's how I disciplined myself.

I am a foreign student who has just failed her nclex the second time around. When I first failed, I was told I lacked nursing content knowledge. I took this advice and studied almost all the nursing content this time round, but I still failed. I did worse this time than before when I did not know much content. Can anybody advise me what to do this time round. I am super desperate please.

Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

As a International trained nurse it is harder to pass the exam. I would suggest practising questions and reading the rationale. Get used to understanding what the question is ask and looking for in it's answers. Only study a subject if you are struggling answering the subject

Thank you very much. At least I don't feel as dumb as I did a couple of days ago. I felt very very stupid that I did not pass despite investing a huge amount of time and effort in studying almost all the content required. Is there any particular review material/cd that is most helpful? I have got quite a few already. I will very much appreciate your response. Thanks a great deal. I will start doing my questions very soon after the disappointment has left my system.

Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.

I passed on my third time and of all the books I bought I found Saunders to be the best, I also used NCSBN. May also say prioritising and delegation book by L. Lacharity is very helpful

Thank you very much Silverdragon102 for your reply. I already have the Saunders, but I have just ordered La Charity and Exam Cram as new tools to add to my orificenal of nclex books. I think from what I can gather, the key to pass this exam is constantly reviewing the questions. I think that is where I went wrong in my last test. I wrongly thought studying the content alone will be sufficient to pass this time round. Anyway thanks for your encouragement. I will take your advice and start the ball rolling.

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