Failing nclex 6 times

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I graduated in July 2014, I failed the nclex 6 times. Did everything Hurts, kaplan, remar review. Ncsbn. I I used the kaplan strategy and study and listen to remar and hurts. My Kaplan average test score between 60 to 65. When I used 50 questions with kaplan I average between 60/65.I am going insane. I don't want to give up coming too far to let go.Please any advice.

Specializes in CVICU CCRN.
Hello fellow nurses! Can some of you guys be a little bit nice and not being so nasty for a fellow who is struggling and asking for advice and encouragement. Is it bad that she should come to this forum to seek for help and advice. If you don't like to help her with your advice why not forget commenting on her topic. Even if she doesn't end up being RN she can still become someone in life. You people are not God. You guys are not paying for her exams and she has not asked you for the money why counting and calculating for her how much she has spent and how much she will be spending, I think is nobody's business. Please be fair to your fellows. I will advise the administrator to close this topic if what this person is getting is comments that will make her more anxious rather than help her pick up courage. Forge on girl if you still have the mind and zeal to continue your struggle in becoming an RN. Goodluck and best wishes.

This is a public forum and none of the responses have violated the TOS for this website. You can advise the administrators all you wish, but creating additional anxiety for a poster is not a violation of the TOS. The OP asked for advice and opinions. His/her emotional response to that advice is a personal thing. No one was mean or cruel, just truthful. Sometimes the truth is not what we hope to hear, but is what we need to hear.

Just because you don't agree with the posts does not give you the right or power to dictate who can post what. You're neither a moderator for this site nor a designated enforcer of polite discourse, and your statements carry no weight as I consider my position on the matter.

I simply do not agree that "keep trying" is always the right advice. I also have a hard time understanding how someone can fail 6 times and not have an issue with content. It would seem that after that many attempts, even for an ESL tester, there should be a certain familiarity with the structure of the questions - but then, I'm a native English speaker.

There is such a thing as throwing good money after bad. There is such a thing as striving for something that isn't a good fit. Desire to be a nurse and compassion is not all that is needed to be successful in nursing today. I personally think it is far more cruel to keep encouraging someone towards a goal they may never be able to achieve. At least if you start pursuing alternative paths, you're moving forward.

I work with someone who tested an inordinate amount of times. She continues to struggle daily. She is constantly on the verge of discipline from management. She now has almost 5 years experience in health care. Things don't always just work themselves out.

OP, I hope your instructor has some advice for you that you find helpful. I would recommend Khan Academy for a system by system content review; they have an NCLEX specific section. The NCLEX is about more than rote memorization, it's about being able to synthesize disparate pieces of information and prioritize care. Keeping this in mind helped me to stay focused.

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Specializes in Telemetry.
Hello fellow nurses! Can some of you guys be a little bit nice and not being so nasty for a fellow who is struggling and asking for advice and encouragement. Is it bad that she should come to this forum to seek for help and advice. If you don't like to help her with your advice why not forget commenting on her topic. Even if she doesn't end up being RN she can still become someone in life. You people are not God. You guys are not paying for her exams and she has not asked you for the money why counting and calculating for her how much she has spent and how much she will be spending, I think is nobody's business. Please be fair to your fellows. I will advise the administrator to close this topic if what this person is getting is comments that will make her more anxious rather than help her pick up courage. Forge on girl if you still have the mind and zeal to continue your struggle in becoming an RN. Goodluck and best wishes.

At what point in our society did being "realistic" become mean?

Many of us posting are licensed nurses who already passed NCLEX. Can't you understand our desire to protect both our profession and our patients?

I really don't understand how someone who has had this much difficulty with NCLEX was able to make it through nursing school when those tests should have comprised of NCLEX style questions as well.

I also have difficulty accepting that anxiety is the reason someone cannot pass in multiple attempts - didn't these people have test anxiety throughout the nursing program?

No, I don't believe we are being mean by being realistic - but empty platitudes of "Keep trying! You will pass!" with no evidence to support that does seem wrong.

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Specializes in Critical care.
Hello fellow nurses! Can some of you guys be a little bit nice and not being so nasty for a fellow who is struggling and asking for advice and encouragement. Is it bad that she should come to this forum to seek for help and advice. If you don't like to help her with your advice why not forget commenting on her topic. Even if she doesn't end up being RN she can still become someone in life. You people are not God. You guys are not paying for her exams and she has not asked you for the money why counting and calculating for her how much she has spent and how much she will be spending, I think is nobody's business. Please be fair to your fellows. I will advise the administrator to close this topic if what this person is getting is comments that will make her more anxious rather than help her pick up courage. Forge on girl if you still have the mind and zeal to continue your struggle in becoming an RN. Goodluck and best wishes.

My personal issue with someone saying the only thing holding them back from passing the NCLEX is anxiety is the question of how would they respond to a rapidly changing/declining patient? If the anxiety is so bad with an exam in a nice, calm, quiet environment how will they react in an emergency that is anything but calm and quiet? Nursing is not an anxiety free profession- it can be incredibly chaotic and stressful. That's my concern and it's nothing personal.

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[quote=AceOfHearts

That's a very valid point. In my experience the anxiety subsided with experience. I'm still a new nurse but I handle emergencies quite well, but I had bad test anxiety despite getting good grades. It's different with everyone.. Some can carry themselves even with the anxiety and some can't.

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pm me and I will help you pass the boards...I am willing to share my notes with you.

Also, invest in Uworld.com...it's a great site...that the only thing I used along with my notes and pass.

Don't give up...you can do it.

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No, it's not. I don't think that you should be on here discouraging anyone. Because I'm pretty sure that u struggle in something, that mean that you aren't perfect. Now you need to get off of this site with your negative thoughts.😣

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What's wrong with you people. You guys need to get off of this site. Young women/mens don't need to here all of this negativity right now. We need to be on here to lift there spirit up, and not to kick them why they are down. I pass my test on the second try and it took me almost a whole year to go and retake because I was afraid. The only thing that I could remember was this site. Because everyone was telling me to not give up. Please don't do this to people. If you can't have a positive attitude get off of this site..

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Specializes in Telemetry.

Here we go again.

And no, china baby, I won't be leaving this site.

This rah rah rah cheerleader mentality of everyone can pass is silly, untrue, and detrimental.

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Young women/mens don't need to here all of this negativity right now. We need to be on here to lift there spirit up, and not to kick them why they are down.

Some of these people need a dose of reality. And anyone who fails the NCLEX 6 times is one of those people.

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.
What's wrong with you people. You guys need to get off of this site. Young women/mens don't need to here all of this negativity right now. We need to be on here to lift there spirit up, and not to kick them why they are down. I pass my test on the second try and it took me almost a whole year to go and retake because I was afraid. The only thing that I could remember was this site. Because everyone was telling me to not give up. Please don't do this to people. If you can't have a positive attitude get off of this site..

Reality without changing methods you are guaranteed to fail wasting over $1200 in test fees alone.

Each attempt your chances of passing statistically drops significantly.

Many states (an Canada) 3 fails = go back to class. 6 fails something is wrong that you cannot pass an entry to practice exam. Whether it was your education, your test taking strategy or ability to apply core knowledge/critical thinking. You are responsible to determine where the barrier is before wasting another $200+ to test again

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Specializes in Hospice.
No, it's not. I don't think that you should be on here discouraging anyone. Because I'm pretty sure that u struggle in something, that mean that you aren't perfect. Now you need to get off of this site with your negative thoughts.[emoji21]

Pointing out a fact (not passing after 6 tries=something is very, very wrong) is not being negative. It's being honest.

Granted, I'm sure it isn't what people want to hear, especially people who were raised on "Oh, sweetie, just try your best, you don't have to actually prove that you have the basic knowledge and/or skills needed to perform in an entry level position. Just remember your dreeaaammm and your passssiiiooonnn will always carry you through, even if you can't pass that silly test. You really really do deserve to be the best. nurse. ever."

Remember what Einstein said:

P. S. And no, I will NOT be leaving this site.

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Do not give up!

It took me 5 times to pass.

I have zero test anxiety. Im just kind of lazy, I love to procrastinate, and I hate studying.

The first time I took the NCLEX, I didnt study at all. Big mistake.

The next time, I memorized 1,000 flashcards which helped me on exactly 2 test questions :facepalm:

The 3rd and 4th times I studied using NCLEX guides with the same result (fail).

Instead of getting discouraged, or crying, or feeling sorry for myself I got mad. I mean, really ticked off.

I said to myself, 'ok I might fail this test again, in fact I probably will fail it again

but Im not going to stop taking it until I pass!" FU test FU!!!

If you can make it past Nursing School-you deserve to be a nurse.

This test does not reflect in any way what kind of nurse you will become. Its a direct reflection of your nursing school

and that is all.

So with my new attitude (namely, rage) I started to think of the test as 2 or 3 parts. I would conquer 1 part at a time,

and move on from there. (meaning I would accept failure but only on things I had not mastered)

Basically I thought, 'Im going to fail again but Im not going to fail because I didnt know heart questions' or 'I dare them

to ask me anything about maternity' or 'Yeah Im might fail because I didnt study enough psych but there is NO WAY

Im going to fail because I didnt know COPD"

So that was my game plan: master a few subjects inside and out. You must know each subject

like the back of your hand. This way there is no question among the subjects you really know they could trick you on.

Trying to learn everything you need to know is overwhelming. Instead, learn a dozen or so subjects really well.

And when you go to test you will have the confidence of knowing at least you will get every question you mastered right.

And thats what I did. I mastered about 1 dozen subjects and ignored the rest.

I ended up passing but I was ready to fail and take it again.

So yeah bottom line do not give up!

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