I am an international graduate (Graduated nursing school last year, 2014). I am one of the "smart" kids since lower school until college back in my hometown. I always get good grades and I am a good test taker. I even passed my country's local board of nursing exam without studying.
NCLEX PREPARATION
I studied for a month, 8 hours/day. I read the Saunders book cover to cover and answered probably 1/4 of LaCharity book. I watched a lot of medical/nursing videos on youtube. I read a lot of stories of people who passed and failed the nclex and wrote down test taking strategies.
EXAM DAY
I was a little nervous but didn't let that bother me. Computer shut off at 90 question in 1 hour and 30 mins. I didn't find the questions "that" hard though it is hard. I got 18 SATA, 4 Exhibits, 1 calculation, 3 delegation and the rest are priority and disease control questions. I didn't get to use the ABC's and Maslow's that much because my priority questions are more about health problems/diseases that doesn't involve airway, breathing and circulation. I answered it based on who I think will die first. I walked out the test center smiling because I was confident that I did good. After 2 days, I checked the quick results only to see the big "FAIL" word. Its crazy. I was shocked. I actually THOUGHT everything went well but yeah, thats what I thought. I guess what I knew wasn't good enough. I don't really know why I failed but I'm keeping my head up. I need to move on and do better.
I checked the NCSBN and found out that the passing rate for international graduates is only 32% as of April to July 2015. Why though? Well, I guess I am not alone. It is heart breaking but I know we can do this!
I am retaking it again in 45 days. Wish me luck! I hope I'll get it this time!
I am open for comments and any help will be much appreciated!
NOTE: Getting a lot of SATA and prioritization questions nor getting "hard" questions doesn't mean you are above the passing rate. I am the living proof. I didn't get any basic questions but still I failed.
Hello! I am also an international graduate. Took the NCLEX back in 2011 and totally bombed because I was not ready and so many life events going on. Got discouraged and gave up until just recently. I reapplied and have been studying since June this year. I am taking my exam next Friday and I am totally freaking out! I am using KAPLAN review and I feel that it has really helped me in the long run, especially content review. I had to brush up on basically everything because I had forgotten so much in the time since I had taken graduated. Trying to be positive and keeping the faith! Let me know how you're doing! Would love to hear your input. :)
Hi @BloggerNurse! I'm so curious! How did it go? And Kaplan is an EXCELLENT route to go! Very trusted source that I recommend. And yes unfortunately, international nurses do typically have a lower passing rate so you have to be more aggressive with studying. But the key is to really build a strong foundation in your understanding of the material. Let us know!
I'm a man who failed the Nclex. I've heard so much about men having a harder time passing the Nclex. Not that it wasn't obvious to me that men and women use different types of logic. I did the Kaplan review and failed, I then signed up for Hurst in a panic and studied relentlessly to just fail again. I did the Nursity review and finally got the pass. What is also critical and obvious is that you need to have your labs memorized. If you don't know Na is 135-145 or WBC 5000-10000 you wont be able to get rid of those distracting answers that are not out of range.
I would recommend UWORLD. English is not my first language, and I am poor test taker. I just found out that I passed. I mainly used UWORLD and kaplan Qbank. UWORLD is not that expensive compare to other study materials. They have great explanation and picture. I think it is because of UWORLD that I passed my test. Again I would highly recommend. I agree with you that number of SATA doesn't mean anything because I only had 6-7 but alot of pharm and maternity. I have study notes that I can email you if you send me an email.
Can you send me the study notes i take nclex next month
I've never heard of men having a higher rate of not passing the NCLEX than woman. I'm sorry to hear pf your struggles. Knowing and understanding the lab values is critical but what's even more important is understanding what happens to the patients when the values are abnormal. Once you understand this then getting these types of questions right will be easy. I actually find this topic very interesting and I wrote a free guide called the "10 NCLEX Mistakes You Must Avoid So You Don't Fail Your Exam". You can find more information about it in my bio. Take care!
We could go back and forth on what lab values are important or what are signs and symptoms of these values. What I'm saying is the Nclex has changed in the last few years and is really focusing on prioritization. I just took the Nclex and I got a ton of which patient would you see first questions. And like I said previously I did Kaplan and Hurst and neither really focus on prioritization the way that Nursity did. So Nursinglady28 I really appreciate your comments and I respect your experience. Take care.
Hi Nibbles1: Congratulations!!! I'll be taking the test on december 16th, getting anxious/excited.
I also used Kaplan Q bank for 3 months to prepare for the big day. Since you used the same stuy method than I, did you find the kaplan Qbank questions harder than the NCLEX?
Were the questions similar?
Thank you in advance for your response and the reply of other people. Your comments will be greately appreciated!! :)
genieayat
9 Posts
Hello! I am also an international graduate. Took the NCLEX back in 2011 and totally bombed because I was not ready and so many life events going on. Got discouraged and gave up until just recently. I reapplied and have been studying since June this year. I am taking my exam next Friday and I am totally freaking out! I am using KAPLAN review and I feel that it has really helped me in the long run, especially content review. I had to brush up on basically everything because I had forgotten so much in the time since I had taken graduated. Trying to be positive and keeping the faith! Let me know how you're doing! Would love to hear your input. :)