Failed NCLEX, now what?

Hi amy, I just took my boards today. My computer shut off at 89 questions and I got the good pop up :) Hoping that means I passed!

I would like to share with you what I studied to prepare for this exam. I used Kaplan, which I felt was extremely helpful because the questions were even harder than the ones I experienced on the actual NCLEX. I completed ALL of the questions and read all of the rationales even if I got the question right. If there was anything that I did not understand, I used the Saunders Comprehensive Review book to look it up. I would not recommend reading through the whole text, just touch on the topics of the questions that you got wrong. I also used the Prioritization/ Delegation book by LaCharity which helped with priority and assignment questions.

I hope this helps, but most importantly don't give up. You graduated nursing school for a reason and you certainly deserve to be a nurse. Try to stay positive because your time WILL come!

Hi amy0024, I am sorry to hear you did not pass. Do not feel discouraged, it happens to the best of us. I did Kaplan and the PDA La Charity book and it worked for me. I didn't watch all of the Kaplan videos, only some of them, but they were helpful for me to get in the right mindset for answering NCLEX style questions. I do recommend answering questions and reading all of the rationales, whether or not you got it right/wrong. You got through nursing school, you can do this!!! Let me know if I can be helpful in any way, even if it's just to think good thoughts for you on exam day! Good luck.

Given that you've taken the NCLEX, you're now at an advantage the next time around. You now know what the test looks like and how it presents material to you. At this point, I suggest you wait for your Candidate Performance Report before you do anything serious... like studying some more. You need to know where you're having difficulty and the CPR will point to that.

In the meantime, if you want to actually do something, you can try to replicate the testing environment as much as possible. When you're doing questions, change your focus. It's not the content, but how the question is worded that might trip you up. Those questions really are pretty straight forward.

I'm not one that has test anxiety issues, but I'm definitely known for taking tests quickly. Sometimes too quickly. Sometimes when I read questions, I read them too quickly and miss key words and phrases that can alter what the question is asking. So, with each new question, I take a deep breath, read the question and answer it in my head first. Then I will read the given answers and see if something matches. I don't answer the question yet. I go back and re-read the question and I look for words and phrases that relate to the answers given (there will be one "most" correct answer, usually) and then re-read the answers. This is the step that is kind of an error-catcher. I have found that when I do this, I tend to catch the fact that I mis-read the question in the first place and this allows me to answer the question correctly. Then once I've decided which answer is the most correct, I select it and move on to the next question.

I do not worry about the previous question or the next question because I can't change the past and the future isn't decided yet. The only question that matters is the one in front of me and for the NCLEX, I have 6 hours to answer all the questions, if need be.

Here's why I think you should replicate the test environment as much as possible. The more you expose yourself to that environment, the less sensitive you'll be to the actual test center when you retest.

Try the steps I outlined above and when you're doing questions, read those rationales right and wrong (because that doesn't matter for this purpose) and look at those questions and answers for words that might point you to the correct reason why a particular answer is the correct one. As you do this, you'll be learning how to pick apart NCLEX questions and you'll be better prepared to take the exam next time.

Once the CPR arrives, you can also study it to see what areas you may need to specifically focus on. If pretty much everything is low, then it's probably a test-taking issue (you know you have one) and not necessarily a content problem. If you're low in just one specific area, then focus on that content and general test-taking skills.

Good luck and I hope you do better next time!

Keep your head up, the NCLEX-RN is not an easy exam. For me, I recently took the exam as well but, I got the good pop hopefully, I get the official results soon.

I graduated from an ADN nursing program in May and registered for the NCLEX-RN. Like you, I studied for about 2 weeks from Saunders fifth edition and my old HESI NCLEX: PN book (for medication review and content review and it was extremely helpful).

For me, while studying I had to set my priorities straight. To have the greatest chance of passing you have to dedicate yourself.

First decide what studying methods works for you:

Determine your focus points (topics/format questions) in answering NCLEX Questions: what are your weaknesses, what are your strengths.

Study your weak points first and review them prior to the exam. Check your labs values and med prior to exam.

Focus and move on: Don't become distracted and think of the NCLEX as your final chance- commit and succeed.

What I mean is don't take the exam lightly ( your spending a lot of TIME AND MONEY to take the exam). Not to mention all of your time spend in nursing school, you have been through worst right?!

Stress yourself out and learn the material (think of it as nursing school minus the teachers).

(Just my thought) If your getting 8 hours of sleep you are not studying enough- studying, sleepless nights and doing hundreds of problems to the point if exhaustion is what I consider good NCLEX studying (don't do this everyday though your body needs rest).

Be consistent and persistent. You can do it: Focus, have faith (pray), and believe in your ability as a future REGISTERED NURSE!

Hi Amy, failing does not mean you are stupid absolutely not, it is a challenge, it is a way for you to find your strength and your weakness i am sure everybody has failed at one point in there life. Does that mean you should give up? NO. I recommend you take Davis q&a i did not buy the book but a former classmate gave me her cd and i downloaded it, talk of challenging questions, i think its harder than Kaplan, i love that it has SATA questions( that is my aweakest area) in each category you chose. Please check it out it is very good. Btw i did not pass my NCLEX RN the first time. God bless