For those who fail NCLEX

[scaredsilly, BSN, RN]

Albert Einstein once said "Doing something over and over again and expecting different results is a sign of insanity"--and what is NCLEX other than a way to make us all feel insane!

The moral of that is--if you failed once (or more) do something different next time!

No pat answer is going to work for everyone, and today on these boards there are at least 4 people searching for answers because they failed more than once. I thought perhaps I would add my two cents in the hope it will help some of you.

First--did I mention that no single strategy works for everyone? Because it doesn't. No two of us are alike, we all have our personal strengths and weaknesses and we all have different ways of learning and maintaining information. We all came from nursing programs that prepared us in a different way. What that means to YOU as an individual is that you need to know your weaknesses and focus on them. If you failed, you will get a CPR from PV showing you in which areas you were below the passing line (and "almost" at the passing line is still below it). Use that as a starting point to begin to focus your studying.

There are a ton of different study methods and review resources out there.

Kaplan focuses more on test taking strategy, if you know your content but get lost in the strategy, I would look into that.

Saunders and Hurst focus more on content review. Hurst will give you a free one week trial that is recommended before you spend the $400.00 or so to buy the course.

Visual learner: Kaplan, Hurst and some others have great videos that you may find helpful.

LaCharity is great for prioritizing.

ATI-some people swear by it. My school stopped using it as prep because they found it lacked focus and didn't help, but it may be what you need.

Kaplan makes a great set of flash cards for meds if that's your issue.

There are websites like BrilliantNurses (among others) that some people like-I can't comment because I never looked.

Some people do this by studying 9 hours a day, some 3 or 4, again there is no set time, it all depends on how you retain information. I would recommend focused study for whatever amount of time feels right to you for 5 or 6 days a week. It is really important to take off a day or two to have a life and focus on something you enjoy-to recharge!

For those of you who really do not understand why you failed, call your school and ask if they can recommend a tutor. NCLEX tutors are trained to find your weaknesses and strengthen them. It isn't cheap, neither are repeated NCLEX exams!! If your school can't help you, there are a few names floating around these boards, but I don't want to share because I have no good idea if they are good.

IMPORTANT: Every state is different. Some allow only two tries, others allow unlimited tests, still others will allow more testing but only with a remedial course. Find out what your state's rules are. Otherwise you may spend time and money studying only to find out you have to do something else to get the chance to test again.

Most important, please know it is awesome that you made it through nursing school!! You are NOT a failure, you merely failed. There is a difference! Everyone who made it to graduation has what it takes to pass this monster test!! You just may need a different kind of nudge in order to succeed at it. DONT GIVE UP!!

[monkeyhq]

Add these to helpful resources:

NCLEX 3000 for PN

NCLEX 4000 for RN

EXCELLENT test bank, with rationale, and fantastic practice for taking computerized tests.

I also recommend The Memory Notebook of Nursing Series. It sounds juvenile as they are technically 'coloring books', but putting hand to paper on each page does help some absorb the information.

[rob4546, ADN, BSN, MSN]

Like this post a lot!!! Hope people find this and take it to heart. When people fail they assume they need to find a better source that will help them pass, but in reality they need a better strategy and study skills. If they use the same strategy and study skills on the new information they usually wont learn anything new. Time to shake things up and improve their study skills.

[scaredsilly, BSN, RN]

Monkey and Rob---exactly!

Monkey, thanks for adding, I knew I was forgetting something!

[lovemore40]

thanks you make me feel better because I just find out I failed nclex thank again