Graduated 2yrs ago need to pass NCLEX

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I graduated from Nursing school 2years ago. I took my first NCLEX exam in July 06. I didn't pass. I have been dealing with a lot of family illness , and I have been having a lot of test anxiety. I have push my test back, if I don't take the test in March of 08, I will lose the cost of the exam. If there is anyone that can give me any last minute tips, my ears are open.:bowingpur

Kind of in the same boat too...except I feel like I'm drowning!

I'm so overwhelmed!! I graduated 8 years ago. Tested once shortly after and didn't pass. I had a baby, then 2. Life happens...of course. So, last June 07, I started to pick up the pieces.

I started with the Saunders book which I read all 12,000,000 pages of, just for fun. haha!! It took me about 4 months to read. I PM'd Suzanne for her 2nd tip but she recommended not starting step 2 until 6-7 wks before the test. I had to put her strategies on the back burner for a while because I had trouble getting approved to sit through my original board. In TX, you have to pass the NCLEX within 4 years after graduation. I had to look into other boards, which took me a while since they all have their own stipulations. CA gave me the ok late Jan, 08.

During the 2-3 months that my application was in limbo, I did do the NCSBN course. I scored fairly well, or so I think. I read the Kaplan book and found their strategies quite confusing. And I read the Priority, Delegation, & Assessment book which I think helped me some. I know that Suzanne's plan recommends "just" the Saunders book...but it's hard to believe that I can pass with "just" Saunders after graduating 8 years ago. But I must believe that I can and will. I have started on my 100 Q's per day.

I want to test in March. I don't think I'm totally ready for it, but I feel that if I wait any longer, I might go crazy!! I go to bed every night, with lab values, meds, and conditions rambling in my head, taking over my "sweet" dreams. And then, there's days that I can't even recall the simplest of things. My home life and personal life have suffered. I work 3 jobs, part-time but it's still WORK! My daughter's have a busy after school schedule. By the time we get home, do homework, dinner, baths, I'm exhausted. And then of course, there's the hubby starving for attention. I have struggled to find a balance between everything, but there's some days, that I totally feel like I'm drowning.

Sorry, so long. Probably not what the original poster was looking for either. But yes, there are some of us out there who haven't passed years after graduation. And, a bigger YES that it is possible!! There's several success stories on this forum alone.

GOOD LUCK TO US ALL!

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susie496....goodluck! You still have time to study so make the most out of it,,i too scheduled my test to the last possible date on ATT,,which I dont think si a good idea by the way,,,,Im still waiting for my results,,which is driving me crazy,,,

Best of Luck! you can do it!

Good Luck to you as well!!!! We can do this!!:up:

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Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
Kind of in the same boat too...except I feel like I'm drowning!

I'm so overwhelmed!! I graduated 8 years ago. Tested once shortly after and didn't pass. I had a baby, then 2. Life happens...of course. So, last June 07, I started to pick up the pieces.

I started with the Saunders book which I read all 12,000,000 pages of, just for fun. haha!! It took me about 4 months to read. I PM'd Suzanne for her 2nd tip but she recommended not starting step 2 until 6-7 wks before the test. I had to put her strategies on the back burner for a while because I had trouble getting approved to sit through my original board. In TX, you have to pass the NCLEX within 4 years after graduation. I had to look into other boards, which took me a while since they all have their own stipulations. CA gave me the ok late Jan, 08.

During the 2-3 months that my application was in limbo, I did do the NCSBN course. I scored fairly well, or so I think. I read the Kaplan book and found their strategies quite confusing. And I read the Priority, Delegation, & Assessment book which I think helped me some. I know that Suzanne's plan recommends "just" the Saunders book...but it's hard to believe that I can pass with "just" Saunders after graduating 8 years ago. But I must believe that I can and will. I have started on my 100 Q's per day.

I want to test in March. I don't think I'm totally ready for it, but I feel that if I wait any longer, I might go crazy!! I go to bed every night, with lab values, meds, and conditions rambling in my head, taking over my "sweet" dreams. And then, there's days that I can't even recall the simplest of things. My home life and personal life have suffered. I work 3 jobs, part-time but it's still WORK! My daughter's have a busy after school schedule. By the time we get home, do homework, dinner, baths, I'm exhausted. And then of course, there's the hubby starving for attention. I have struggled to find a balance between everything, but there's some days, that I totally feel like I'm drowning.

Sorry, so long. Probably not what the original poster was looking for either. But yes, there are some of us out there who haven't passed years after graduation. And, a bigger YES that it is possible!! There's several success stories on this forum alone.

GOOD LUCK TO US ALL!

Thank you for telling your story and many people have passed just using Suzanne's plan and Saunders book. Good luck

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I just found that I passed NCLEX. I went to a horrible school :angryfire to get my BSN, but I did alot of Kaplain questions and looked up things I knew I struggled with. This really helped me. :nurse:

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hi all!

i am also in the same situation... took the nclex twvice last year and still havent passed.. now im planning to retake next month.. i wish that i didnt let 3 mos go by each time i retook the exam... i shouldve stayed on top of my studying.. oh well, cant regret it.. gotta relearn it or pull it outta my memeory somewhere!

i was down and out my first time around, had to let go of my new grad ip posistion on the floor, tell my boss, coworkers, family and friends.. it was embarrasing and humiliating, but that was the least of my concerns... if anything it drove me to study harder.. honestly i think my nerves go the best of me....

so the 2nd time comes around and im full of content.... didnt do tons of questions, like i should have... but maybe thats to blame?? maybe i just have bad testing taking skills.... but i couldnt have that bc i passed nursing skool right? well, the 2nd time i found out i didnt pass.. i was really in the guuta with my emotions :crying2:.... i leaned on my husband, parents, friends, everyone for emotional support... i didnt realize how down and out i really was.... well financial stressors kicked in.. the hubby started felling the burn:angryfire and stress of bills piling up.... we separated for awhile and now im back full force with his love and support.... :redbeathe

so instead of reading content again.. ive just been doing question after question after question.. 250-350q daily.:typing.. it really does work to read the rationales and its actually bringing back some content!!! ive been doing the learningext and i would totally recommend it.. but if i had a choice id redo kaplan qbank.. i think their qbank is much harder and similar to nclex style questions.

good luck to all of us!!!!! what a great forum to vent! i luv it! someone... one day soon.. :nurse:

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Specializes in Med/Surg, International Health, Psych.

I feel very encouraged to have stumbled upon this thread. Having graduated from nursing school in May 2006 and still no license nor no nursing job makes me feel so ashamed. Especially considering that I graduated at the top of my class and I rushed through because I could not wait to get to work. In fact, I had to beg the academic director to let me take extra classes each trimester so that I could finish in 15-months time (I was a second degree student so all I had to do was the nursing classes for the BSN). She let me do it because she knew I was a good student.

In the end, what does all that mean considering that many of my fellow students who were not as nearly as smart as I am took it and passed, are licensed, and working happily.

After graduation, the university informed me that despite my payment arrangements they would not release my transcripts until my outstanding tuition debt was paid off. I begged. I cried. I talked to everyone I could think of, but they would not budge. It was $5,000 that I could easily pay if I could just start working but I could not even begin to do that. The State Board of Nursing needed an official transcript before making me eligible to take the exam. $5,000 is not a lot of money in the grand scheme of things, but when you don't have it . . . you don't have it.

Not wanting to do anything besides nursing and not wanting to work as a nursing assistant, I took a job overseas to work in Africa. I figured that life is inexpensive there so I could quickly save up my volunteer stipend money and pay off my debt. In 2007, a year after I graduated, I paid off the debt and became eligible to take the exam.

In November 2007, I flew to London to take it because it was cheaper than flying back to the States and failed it. Boy, talk about being crushed. I studied, did positive visualization, prayed, and reviewed. It obviously just was not enough. The computer stopped at 75.

Still in Africa, I have since picked up my disappointment and registered for Kaplan online. I am just trying to decide if I think I will be ready in one month's time (end of March) to retake it or if I should wait until June. I am just so tired of being tired of hanging this lingering over my head. The psych job is worse than anything.

I really am a nurse in all my heart and soul.

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Excelsiornurse,

Best of luck to you this time around!

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:nuke:i was also in the same situation.:nuke: I graduated from nursing school in may 2005 and i was pregnant. two weeks after graduation i was diagnosed with placenta previa and was on complete bedrest.then after i had a healthy baby girl i was diagnosed with breast cancer and had to go through chemo , 2 surgeries and radiation. well after all of that i started to study for my boards. i strictly used kaplan for 3months. i knew that program inside out by the time i took the boards. i passed with 75 questions! you can do it if you put our mind to it. if you have been studying hard you will do it. good luck to you. quote=nclexrescue;2634012]I graduated from Nursing school 2years ago. I took my first NCLEX exam in July 06. I didn't pass. I have been dealing with a lot of family illness , and I have been having a lot of test anxiety. I have push my test back, if I don't take the test in March of 08, I will lose the cost of the exam. If there is anyone that can give me any last minute tips, my ears are open.:bowingpur

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lvlytxn, excelsiornurse, ivy120...Just all the people on this board. You are truly Inspiring and Amazing. I find it so therapeutic to come here and listen to others experiences and emotions and to find that I can relate to each and every one of you. I also am in the same boat. It took me over a year to retake the exam. I had almost lost all hope that I would ever become a Nurse, as the time would pass by and the more longer it was taking to get back into gear and actually try again. I just felt stuck but everyday of my life I'd wake up with one thot in my mind..I need to get out of this phase..like I couldn't stand what I was doing just giving up like that and not trying. I really took my failure as a down spiral in life..but I realize now that you just can't give up on your dream no matter what. If you really want something in life, no matter how many failures it takes you have to get up and try again. You're the only person who's able to save yourself. I got into studying again thanks to Kaplan, I was able to meet some people who've shared the same fate as me and actually failed the boards on their first take. But not only that, I think what helped me get back on my feet the most, was having people to study with. Just having a study partner to give you feedback and to test you on the book and vice versa..just helping each other out helped me out alot. Like after a week I was back in my grove. And I started remembering nursing content all over again! I decided on taking the Boards just last month on the 29th of January..still no results however I'm expecting my results to come in any time this week. This time if I fail, I will keep trying and trying until I get it right..but yeah as all of us do hope for success, I really would like to find out that I passed this time. If not im not gonna lose hope. I just see it as something I have to improve on, something I have to try extra harder to get right this next time. I know we can do it guys! Stay Positive and beleive in yourselves. Remember Success is not measured by what one has started, but what one is able to finish. Goodluck to us All! I'm hoping for the best for all our future nurses..:nuke:

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Specializes in Med/Surg, International Health, Psych.

I am really interested in learning what school it was you went to.

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I am really interested in learning what school it was you went to.
:smokin:i went to Henry Ford Community COLLEGE IN Dearborn Michigan
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how are all of you doing??

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