Graduate nurse of 4-year BS program

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hello one and all!

my name is carie. i have been reading many comments throughout the year from this website and have found them to be very helpful and reassuring in many ways. i just graduated in may 2005 from a four-year program with a bachelors in science. i took a position in pediatric oncology as a graduate nurse in anticipation of passing the nclex-rn my first time. however, i didn't. my first time was a nightmare becuase nys lost my paperwork twice and i ended up running out of time to work before taking my boards because they also lost my limited permit (don't worry they cashed the check i sent them still :madface:).

and so... i ended up failing the test becuase of losing my job and the stress of nys losing my paperwork. so.... i went on and took a clin tech position on the same unit while i studied for time #2. time number two i felt like i was prepared... and then found out the only open site around the time i needed to take the test was in albany... which was 6 hours from where i live. none the less. i was determined. so i drove out half way... stayed for a while... then drove the other half... and relaxed the whole day before. i thought this was it. i thought i did well. it ends up that i failed it again. i missed by one section.

sooooo.... ok... one section... ok i can do this... i did some assessments and realized that the books and techniques i was using were just not working. i was told to go with the kaplan book. there were no courses around this time so i had to rely on the book and questions. i felt more ready than ever! i thought i did it for sure when i came out of the test!! well... i didn't.

here i am... an honors student throughout nursing school... 5 years of working as a cna in a large hospital. graduate with a bs.... and no liscense. :( i feel so unconfident.... low... like a failure... i'm sure many can relate.

i have convinced myself and gotten back on the horse to start studying again. this time i'm choosing to do the online kaplan study. my goal is to take and pass the boards by the second week of april. however, i will need so much support and reassurance because i'm scared to death that the same thing will happen. i am very open to supportive advice! thank you all for welcoming me! the books i've already used to study with are listend below:

mosby's complete nclex review 2005

lippencott complete nclex review 2005

lippencott flashcards

mosby flashcards

medspub nclex online questionbanks

nclex made easy flash cards

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Wow. I'm so sorry what's happened to you. I think you'll have better luck with the Kaplan review. I too did the Lippincott and Mosby reviews and I think they are a great place to start, but I think those questions are a little too easy; I was getting 80 - 90% of them right. So I then moved up to the Saunders review and was getting only 70 - 85% right. Then I took the NCSBN's NCLEX review (they're the people who make up the NCLEX!) and my gosh, I think I was getting only 60 - 70% right, but I think gradually increasing the difficulty level really helped me. If I would've started out on something like Saunders, I think I would've been way too intimidated. So definitely do Saunders, Kaplan, or NCSBN. It's recommended to do at least 3,000 questions before retaking the NCLEX.

Good luck. I know it's frustrating, but you can do it! The hardest part was graduating from nursing school, so you'll be able to pass this f***ing test. YOU WILL PASS!!!

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thank you so much for the advice and especially the reassurance! i have a good feeling about this time!

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I graduated in May 2004 with an ADN and have failed Nclex 4 times so far. I have been unable to get hired as a Nurse Tech or even as a CNA so I am working as a Pharmacy Tech. I tried using Saunders book, Mosby, Nursing Made Easy, Anderson Review and most recently Kaplan, which my scores had dropped instead of improved using just those techniques. I am losing faith.

I want to be excited and optimistic, but it has been so long I don't even know if I can remember the basics of nursing care. I never tested well in school, but clinicals were fine. It really sucks! My aunt is a nurse and said I need to work in the field to pass, I told her easier said than done. Sometimes I think I wasted 2 years of my life at school for nothing but putting me in debt, and then I remember how good it felt when I remember my patients telling me how much I helped them and I have HOPE!

I hope you have better luck than I did.

Ally

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I also have a BSN and I highly recommend Kaplan's Qbank. It's a little pricey at $300, but it's well worth it. It keeps track of what questions you answer correctly and incorrectly and gives you a rationale as to why the question is correct. I am a HUGE HUGE HUGE procrastinator. I took my NCLEX-RN Jan 24, 2006 and started studying Jan 2, 2006 -- seriously! I hate to study!! haha! The Qbank gives you 1,000 questions. I also took the Kaplan course after I graduated. Just keep on doing questions and read the rationales!!

Good Luck!!

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Hello Ally,

I am sorry to hear about your situation. Maybe this can help you out. Go to http://www.RNboardreview.com. Registration is FREE. Click on the NUGGETS in the left hand corner. and print off all the Fundermental ones, Maternity. etc and study those to REBUILD your KNOWLEDGE BASE. I KNOW THIS HELPS!!Rozy

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