Failed NCLEX

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NCLEX materials

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My thoughts are with you... my cousin is a great nurse it took her 4 times to pass. Please don't give up.....here for your support! Good luck on 2nd try!

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See if your school has any recommendations for review courses. Your student health center, if you have one, may also have some good resources about anxiety/test anxiety.

Is there any specific part of medications you have trouble with, or just all the memorization in general? I like Springhouse's "Clinical Pharmacology Made Incredibly Easy." They have a whole line of Made Incredibly Easy books, and I like pretty much all of them!

I tend to race through tests too. I was almost always the first person in my class done, and even now in classes like ACLS. I would start to get more stressed if I wasn't. Go figure. ;)

You know the things that might have tripped you up the first time, and now you have time to fix them. You WILL pass the next time! :)

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I am so sorry. I understand how bad you feel but don't give up hope. You'll get through this, and I can tell by your determination that you will pass next time. You will get through being jobless too. I know it is the scariest thing. Since you won't need a non-nursing job for very long, I would advise going to a temp agency. Temp jobs are easier to get and usually easier to do so you can dedicate you energy to studying (the most important part). Try Adecco and Apple 1. Both are pretty good.

Hey guys. Well, I found out roughly an hour ago that I failed NCLEX :o. I have gotten my crying out, and talked with my husband about it. I can retake it in 45 days. I just hate the thought of having to study again, etc. Today we are going to research study courses (Kaplan, etc.). I have heard that some have not been satisfied with Kaplan and some have, but going on the 2nd attempt, I really don't want to leave anything to chance. I have the green Saunders book w/CD. I started out using it, but it was sooo in depth for the amount of time that I had before taking NCLEX, which was 3 weeks. Several people said to just do the questions on the CD, so I covered a lot of them. I think what's most difficult for me is the critical thinking and those damn priority scenarios. The most critical pt was not as easy to pick out as they were in school. Anyone know of practice questions that have more priority/delegation? I am determined as hell to pass the 2nd time. I have to! Now my husband and I both are jobless (because he's in school full-time). Someone mentioned that they have a Kaplan Review book, I am going to go to a couple of bookstores and look over that book. Please give me your thoughts on Kaplan, and other review courses....please be honest. Also, I've got some MAJOR test anxiety, so I am considering getting some medication for that. Actually, I have anxiety about things pretty regularly, if you couldn't tell from all of my posts over the last couple of days. When I was thinking about my test, I did 75 questions in 50 minutes. That is super-FAST for me, way too fast. I was hung up on my friend who had 225 questions and ran out of time, and failed. I didn't want to chance that happening, so I guess I thought I should move at warp-speed. I would have been done faster, but the math questions took a little bit of time. I just REALLY want to pass this the 2nd time! I am amazingly calm, and I think it's because I kind of prepared myself for it. Don't get me wrong, I cried, and I am majorly disappointed at not being able to say that I am an RN, damnit!!!

One more thing, all of the medications stress me out, is there a relatively simple way to get a grasp on them? Thank you guys for all of your support!

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Specializes in OB, M/S, HH, Medical Imaging RN.

I'll be honest, I did take an Ativan before sitting for my NCLEX. Also as I read each question I would stop before looking at the possible answers, close my eyes, take a deep breath and think of what the answer should be, then opened my eyes to see if it was there. I think this (and the Ativan) calmed me down alot and kept me from hurrying through. I have a really bad habit with that. Go to half.com and see if you can find a book on test taking stragegies for multiple choice. I had one and it explained how there are 2 definately wrong answers and two possibly right answers. Those are the only two you have to pick between. Then think which of these two answers would go first or which would apply to A-B-C. I think that helped alot. Keep your chin up. I failed my first clinical through EC and was devastated. I do know how you feel. The second clinical went great, passed without any repeats and yes I did take an Ativan the second time! I know what people say about using drugs but during those 2 very stressful situations in which I did use Ativan I felt it made a huge difference. I don't medicate myself for everyday life. That's what's important to me about the Ativan use.

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While you're out looking at books, look for a Lippincott NCLEX review. I am pretty sure that is what I used. Helped me a whole lot more than Kaplan. Good Luck!!!

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I didn't look at a book after graduating from nursing school. All I did was hit as many questions as I could. The only CD I used was the NCLEX 2000 or 3000 (Can't remember which.). Very good disk to use and sorts the exam into groups that you can concentrate on, such as OB or Psych.

Remember these 3 concepts, they will take you far.

ABC's

Maslow

The Nursing Process

If you don't study anything else, study these.

Hope this helps,

Donn C.

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Hey guys. Well, I found out roughly an hour ago that I failed NCLEX :o. I have gotten my crying out, and talked with my husband about it. I can retake it in 45 days. I just hate the thought of having to study again, etc. Today we are going to research study courses (Kaplan, etc.). I have heard that some have not been satisfied with Kaplan and some have, but going on the 2nd attempt, I really don't want to leave anything to chance. I have the green Saunders book w/CD. I started out using it, but it was sooo in depth for the amount of time that I had before taking NCLEX, which was 3 weeks. Several people said to just do the questions on the CD, so I covered a lot of them. I think what's most difficult for me is the critical thinking and those damn priority scenarios. The most critical pt was not as easy to pick out as they were in school. Anyone know of practice questions that have more priority/delegation? I am determined as hell to pass the 2nd time. I have to! Now my husband and I both are jobless (because he's in school full-time). Someone mentioned that they have a Kaplan Review book, I am going to go to a couple of bookstores and look over that book. Please give me your thoughts on Kaplan, and other review courses....please be honest. Also, I've got some MAJOR test anxiety, so I am considering getting some medication for that. Actually, I have anxiety about things pretty regularly, if you couldn't tell from all of my posts over the last couple of days. When I was thinking about my test, I did 75 questions in 50 minutes. That is super-FAST for me, way too fast. I was hung up on my friend who had 225 questions and ran out of time, and failed. I didn't want to chance that happening, so I guess I thought I should move at warp-speed. I would have been done faster, but the math questions took a little bit of time. I just REALLY want to pass this the 2nd time! I am amazingly calm, and I think it's because I kind of prepared myself for it. Don't get me wrong, I cried, and I am majorly disappointed at not being able to say that I am an RN, damnit!!!

One more thing, all of the medications stress me out, is there a relatively simple way to get a grasp on them? Thank you guys for all of your support!

Hi-

I am so sorry to hear this, I know you must be so disappointed....but on the positive side, you know the areas you need to work on and you can retake it again. It's not an easy exam, that's for sure.

Like you, the prioritization questions I got on my exam weren't what I expected. They were tricky and you really couldn't answer them using the ABC's and up Maslows. What helped me was to be aware of chronic vs. acute medical conditions, possible serious complications of each patient's situation, (how stable they are) and also early vs. late stages of diseases. Of course, the ABC's and Maslows when possible. And it might help to review disaster triage, because the prioritization of patients is different in that situation.

As for medications, it might help to review the most common meds, also the different classes and their use and action. It's impossible to know ALL meds!

You asked about Kaplan. I personally thought the questions on my Kaplan practice CD (and book---I got them on Amazon.com I think) most closely resembled my NCLEX exam. I used a few different books to study. I also used the www.ncsbn.com learning extension website. You can go through each section and focus on whichever areas you're having the most trouble. (Just don't freak out if you score low on the practice exams---you're not alone!).

I wish you the very best of luck on your next attempt & I'm hoping for your success!

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See if your school has any recommendations for review courses. Your student health center, if you have one, may also have some good resources about anxiety/test anxiety.

Is there any specific part of medications you have trouble with, or just all the memorization in general? I like Springhouse's "Clinical Pharmacology Made Incredibly Easy." They have a whole line of Made Incredibly Easy books, and I like pretty much all of them!

I tend to race through tests too. I was almost always the first person in my class done, and even now in classes like ACLS. I would start to get more stressed if I wasn't. Go figure. ;)

You know the things that might have tripped you up the first time, and now you have time to fix them. You WILL pass the next time! :)

For medication, it's specifically what does what.

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Hi,

Sorry to hear you did not pass...

I too suffered from test anxiety. I had to cut out coffee, soda and other stimulants two days before taking tests. Instead of the "good stuff" I ate oatmeal, veggies and lean meats. No sugar. If it tastes good I had to spit it out. I also drank chamomile tea starting a couple of days before the tests. However a major change in habit will also cause anxiety.

If you do decide to take a medication. Don't start medication just before the test.

But the thing that helped me the most was reading the answers first and then reading the question. I found I could pick out the right answer before reading the questions. You might have 3 false statements and one correct statement. Or you might have a series of signs and symptoms and you'll be able to pick out the disease processes (and the question will likely ask about that disease). It also helps with anxiety because you go into the question knowing what the the question is likely to ask.

I used Saunders Q and A. It has a chapter in the beginning on test taking strageties. And it is nice because it has the rational right next to the questions. No shuffling back and forth the find the answers. Also the CD has complete NCLEX practice tests, that you can stimulate "the actual day."

Good Luck on the second go around.

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Specializes in neurosurgery, cardiology, rehab, LTC,.

I'm sorry to hear you didn't pass, but I wish you the best of luck for the next time

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Specializes in Med-Surg.

Good luck to you!

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