I lost my ID! My harrowing NCLEX misadventure

[charcharRN]

So, I have never posted before, but allnurses has been my go-to during the past few verrrryy stressful days, and I thought I'd come back and share my experience since it may help some people.

Background: I signed up for the NCLEX as soon as I could after graduation, and wasn't worried much about the test at all. The soonest available slot was the morning after I flew back from visiting my family across the country, which isn't ideal, but I just wanted to get it done. I've been a great test-taker all my life, had excellent grades through nursing school, and my school has almost 100% 1st time passer rating. I figured I could handle it, no sweat. I studied the bare minimum (mostly just doing RN Mentor Q's on my phone and looked over labs) and still felt no stress.

Fast-forward to the night before the exam. I just flew in, tired from traveling all day, but I start setting all my stuff out like a good girl. Welp, set out everything and I look in my wallet just to double check I have my license. NO LICENSE! My heart dropped...where could it possibly be? In an airport somewhere? I looked for that thing EVERYWHERE and it was nowhere to be seen. I think, ok, I'll just suck it up and reschedule the test. NOPE - can't do it for any reason in less than 24 hours from the test. I racked my brain for any possible solution, but in the end I still have no license and had to miss the exam.

I was completely distraught...I have a job offer from my literal DREAM job waiting for me and I have to have my RN license number prior to orientation. My timeline is tight. I called Pearson Vue and they were the definition of unhelpful. The person who answered my call even laughed at my situation. Who does that?? They told me I have to re-pay them (which I knew, of course), and also that I have to get a new ATT from my BON. UGG!! I was sure I was going to lose my job.

I immediately called my BON (sobbing like a small baby child at this point), and they were thankfully incredibly nice and said it would only take a few days to reissue one. They told me I just had to re-pay Pearson, and then Pearson would send them a request for ATT, which would then be emailed to me. So the only step I had to do was re-register on the Pearson site and pay my $200 again. I had to wait for about 12 hours after my scheduled test time for the Pearson site to finally show me as a "no-show" rather than "scheduled" so I could pay again, but my BON was true to their word and 2 business days later I had my ATT :) I also found my license in the meantime....wedged down a crack in the console of my car :/

I was afraid there would be no appointments left by the time I got to sign up, but thankfully there was a last minute slot the very next morning. I had to drive clear across the state to get there, but the story has a happy ending because I passed in 75 questions :)

So, if something horrible happens to you and you can't make your NCLEX appointment, it might not be the end of the world after all :) In the end, I got to take my NCLEX 4 days after I originally had it scheduled. I live in NC, so I can't vouch that this is the exact same situation for every state, but if something happens definitely call your BON first and don't panic like I did!

Random NCLEX prep advice: Even though I passed in 75, I thought the questions were HARD! Over 3/4 of my exam was SATA, and I felt confident about maaaaybe 2 questions the whole time. If I were to go back, I would spend time studying via Uworld (I just did their little demo, but the format is very similar to the real deal) or NCSBN (because they're the source for actual NCLEX questions). In my opinion the questions were nothing like ATI, which our school pushed heavily. I spent 48 hours sweating and worrying because I felt so unsure about the test. I would trade all that worry for feeling better prepared any day. Just my thoughts. Good luck and don't lose your ID!

[janetpa]

Wow--exhausted just reading about what you went through. I do agree with you--BON in NC are the best people you can deal with--they explain everything and are so nice.

[charcharRN]

Yes, they are wonderful :) Even though I think I took a few years off my life from the stress of this whole situation, I am SUPER thankful I live in NC. Especially after reading some other people's horror stories from other states!

[Kala08]

Wow, thanks for posting! I'm really glad that everything worked out and, as a future nurse living in NC, I'm glad to hear the BON is so easy to work with. Best of luck with your new job!! Is it at a hospital?