Failed the NCLEX-RN for the 5th time!

BMW10 · Sep 25, 2008

Sorry, but in the real world you will be expected to be correct 100% of the time. I carried a 4-point, passed NCLEX with flying colors, worked for several decades before making "an error" that cost me my job, my career, my dignity, my life. If you haven't passed your boards by now, you likely will NOT. Wake up, see the light, get on with your life. Nursing is not in your future.

pjanney50 · Sep 25, 2008

I've been an LPN for 18 yrs, for the last 2 years I have worked as a wk-end staff nurse on a telemetry floor. I finally decided to go back to school to get an RN degree. I've been in school now for over a year taking the core classes. I have test anxiety and have struggled with most every class I've taken. I also had test anxiety when I went through the LPN program, but I passed the boards just fine. I'm taking a break now because of a family illnes, but plan to go. After hearing about all the changes in the scores, I'm wondering if I should go back? Is it really worth the time and money? Do you have to pass the NCLEX-RN before you take the actual exam?

pjanney50 · Sep 25, 2008

WHAT!!! Are you for real! Did you get fired? DId the patient die? How can this be BMW10 ?

gwafuh_rn, BSN, RN · Sep 25, 2008

zeldajane

-a winner never quits,a quitter never wins.

I passed the exam after the 5th attempt.If I pass,you too could do it.

this help me pass my exam

excellnursingreview.com

babymaica · Sep 25, 2008

Try another study plan. Maybe there are plan that will suit you. I know you can do it. Just keep on trying. Good luck and God bless.

iloveclay · Sep 25, 2008

So sorry to hear of your not passing. It would be and is difficult to be in your position. It's real easy for everyone to give advice and another to be you. I will be retaking my boards Oct 6th. I let my license lapse in early 92 and now would like to get it active again. I took these boards 30 yrs ago when it was held over 2 days and we waited 6 weeks to get our results. And I passed.

I did practice for 12 yrs, last 1992. I have been studying for the last 2 months, doing many questions. From all of the posts I've read, the NCLEX is testing your critical thinking skills. In the questions I've had a lot covered basic skills and situations I encountered in my practicing days. So it will be interesting to see how I fare on this NCLEX.

hissteps4u · Sep 25, 2008

"come on...the nclex is not that hard."

your not being honest it is one of the most complicated tests in the nation next to medical md certification and lawyers state bar exams

if a person gets that torn up just taking the test, how will they react with a patient emergency??"

test anxiety and the ability to react with a cool calm and collected head in a medical emergency are vastly different things and you should recognize that. your being unfair.

"sure it was stressful...a lot rides on the results. but nursing is as stressful if not more. and lives ride on the results of a nurse's actions/non-actions."

yes lives do ride on a nurses abilities in conjunction with physicians abilities to recognize and diagnose problems, yet again this has little if nothing to do with test anxiety...

snip: "take breaks if you have to. do the best you can do and relax."

i sure don't know what you mean here??? no such things as taking a break during the exam which is timed in sections for two days??? no getting up and taking a break-- what third world test site did you attend? not in the usa...

there are nurses in the world who really care for others and then there are nurses in the field who only care about themselves and the money they can make and some even have little mercy for others. as someone who has been in and around the field for along time they are easy to spot and even easier to read as they deal with others be they nurses or patients.

yes patients rely upon us for care, yes it is an all important decision making process we go through as we determine what course of action and nursing measures to take based upon a diagnosis.

i can write care plans off my head for almost any diagnosis---when i see others have to dig into a book to figure out what to do so what???? most nursing stations now even have care plan books by diagnosis to pull out and copy to make your life easier. i don't use them but again so what???

everyone is different and everyone needs to be seasoned and to gain practical experience. i bet you trembled like a vibrator the first time you ever felt a uterus to gage the effacement and presentation of an impending birth. i as a male nurse felt great anxiety as the dr in my clinical took my hand and guided it to understand the process in the poor woman who was only 2 centimeters at the time. she as a patient was a real trouper for allowing me to gain that experience so early in my training.

have some compassion for others in their quest for this awesome field we work in. it is truly complicated. i have worked med surge, psy, long term, or, pulmonary, hospice. each has its challenges and its unique ways of doing certain things yet they are all tied together in a number of ways and the only comparable experience to that is to become a physician.

this poor student has some issues to deal with no doubt about it but some positive feed back rather than a slap in the face would be a lot better than pouring salt in the wound and blaming them for the pain caused by it.

the truth is there are folks like this poor person who have severe anxiety when it comes to test taking.... i use to be one of them. i would almost fold under the pressure of a test but in real life i was able to recall what i needed to do easily and the more i worked and gained knowledge in the real world the better off and more seasoned i became the easier it became and the more confident i became as well.

i know nurses who have been around for years that can not even start an iv or do the math if they have to calculate and titrate a particular medication to exact orders much less figure out what a normal lab looks like and how to treat an abnormal one or when to stand up to a physician and fight for the rights of the patient much less simply keep up with the tons of paperwork we must do on a daily basis. every field has its nitch and particular ways of doing things. in every hospital across the land nurses make medication mistakes all the time usually because they are in to dam a hurry and do not follow protocols correctly. we read about it daily in the national news

this poor student has some issues to resolve and to work through.... what is it nurses do by nature???? we nurture those around us, be they other students, patients, family and others as well.

what makes a true professional in my mind is one who is level headed, understands the world around them, knows their place in it and one who seeks to be the best that they can be and one who is supportive of others in their quest to do the same.

true enough they ought to take a step back for a short time to evaluate things yet the only way to be ready for the test is to study, cram and study some more no if's ands or butts about it.

but some great relaxation techniques could help with such things and yes there are those who have to rely upon chemical's to get them through the day and life in general because they are so anxious about things.

i hope such is not the case for this poor student and that they are able to see the light at the end of the tunnel and move forward and reach it and then the real story begins.

all college is really about anyway is how to look up information, how to remember it and how and what to do with it once you have it. it boils down to a simple formula. it just takes some folks a little longer to get it than others.

i remember correcting a student in front of a nursing instructor in class, he became indignant thinking that i embarrassed him on purpose.. it was not true i was trying to help yet he was one of those kind of folks who did not want others to help him in any way. sad but there are lots of premadona's in the world. they are a dime a dozen and i would trade 5 regular joe's or janes for any premadona any day of the week because i know that most of the regular folks are working and doing their dead level best to do a good job and do not mind peer review to help them to become better. the premadona thinks they already know it all and wont listen to another's advice...

in all my years of school and college and education and life i have learned this... i don't know squat about a lot of things but i am willing to learn and know how to listen and know how to find out information and what to do with it once i have it. that's a pretty neat trick if i do say so myself for an old country boy from the south who failed in high school and was 30 before i ventured back to college and found my calling in nursing.

LelaRN · Sep 25, 2008

to ms. "zelda" and others who are taking the nclex-rn for a consecutive time, stop letting anxiety win !!! :banghead: if all of you have graduated nursing school, you can pass this exam. the hardest part of becoming a nurse was getting though school and you've done that. you've gotten through the pop quizzes, care plans, finals, dealt with mean nursing instructors, you got up at the 'crack of dawn' to go to clinicals to practice what you learned on real patients etc.... this test is just a formality to give you the license you need to practice in your respective states. you only have to pass this test once and never take it again. so kick anxiety in the back-side so you can pass, we need more nurses out here, we're short staffed, besides aren't you tired of spending all that money :twocents:each time you take the exam, i told myself i was only paying that exam fee one time and was determined to take the test once and that's what i did.

good luck to all :nurse:

Wishinonastar, BSN · Sep 25, 2008

I agree that it may be the stress and not your knowledge. Having worked as a test question developer I will tell you that the questions are designed to be challenging, but they are not trick questions. You need to read each answer throroughly and ask yourself if it makes sense given the question. On a personal note, if you know your weak areas you may want to focus on studying them. You cannot relearn everything from nursing school in a short time. If you over study you will not be able to focus well because you have to be able to use nursing judgement in these type of questions. It is not just a matter of knowing facts. Are you working? Being in the field helps tremendously. Hang in there.

Trauma Columnist · Sep 25, 2008

I think this poster is looking for some support. To suggest that she get out of nursing is not being supportive. Please try to offer concrete suggestions and support.

Thanks.

AudryC · Sep 25, 2008

Hello there and sorry about what I heard regarding your unlucky moment with NCLEX. But ..try to see the positive side so listen to me .. I am a student from Québec-Canada...so here is to sustain the RN exam in 3 volets! the 1st- ECOS is practice -oral you will have 16 facke patients and different cases to solve each in 10 minutes ; next day is 2nd writting and 3rd another writting one! And more .. it is not in our city Gatineau or at least at Ottawa no... the stupid people made us to go et Montréal or Québec City!!! Away from home and surounded by teacher and observers we do not have a clu about them. And it is not all... we have the right at 3 times to try this exam, if ..you did not pass the 3 time.. all the study ....all the money is ZERO..nothing counted and you have (if you are crzy enough) to go back to school to pay again 4 fricking years of university and for WHAT?? Our wages here are the lower of lowerst....anyway.. sorry again and sorry for my English! But trust me ... here in Canada ..they DO NOT WANT TO HAVE NURSES OR DOCTORS they are just hypocrits"!!!!!!!

Cheers

Good luck

chrys

determinedgal1 · Sep 25, 2008

Hello BMW10,

That IS NOT the truth. GPA has nothing to do with passing the boards. It is not correct to say nursing is not in someones future. You do not know this or other things someone is going through. You are to be encouraging not downgrading. :madface: