If you can't pass the NCLEX after three attempts....LVN license only!

Nurses General Nursing

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I just read in another thread that some Boards of nursing are allowing multiple attempts at taking the NCLEX exam. Is this true? If so, this is ridiculous! If we are trying to elevate the profession by requiring a minimum BSN to practice, then why are we allowing multiple attempts at taking the NCLEX? No reputable profession would allow this. If you can't pass it after three attempts then you shouldn't be allowed to practice as an RN. Boards of nursing should grant them an LVN license only!

Specializes in HH, Peds, Rehab, Clinical.

Just WHOM are you agreeing with? You seem to be the only one thinking this is a great idea...

Forgive me but I was not trying to insult LVNs. I am frustrated that people are being allowed to take the NCLEX 4 or 5 times. When I graduated, you could only take the NCLEX three times max, then you needed remediation. This really needs to stop! I agree that maybe the solution should be to allow them to take the NCLEX-PN only.
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I keep seeing this topic time and time again...people:

85% pass the NCLEX the FIRST time.

50% pass the NCLEX of those who failed the first time pass the second time.

Do the math, and that leaves about 7.5% of people who fail after the second attempt. I am not sure why people are so hung up on a topic that doesn't even apply to approximately 92.5% of the nursing population.

People might fry me on here,but the only people i see taking the test multiple times are graduates of Foreign Nursing schools.

It could be a language barrier problem with the multiple test takers.

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Specializes in psychiatric.

Wow....I'm mad for the LPN's. I'm insulted for them. I have a ton of respect for all my coworkers and to make a statement like this does not bode well for your working relationships. See the ThePrincessBride's post above.

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People might fry me on here,but the only people i see taking the test multiple times are graduates of Foreign Nursing schools.

It could be a language barrier problem with the multiple test takers.

So what you're saying is that every RN program in the US has 100% pass rates on the first attempt for all of their graduates. Got it.

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So what you're saying is that every RN program in the US has 100% pass rates on the first attempt for all of their graduates. Got it.

No I did not.

I said the only people *I* see.

What is so bad about saying that it could be a language barrier problem?

Also,i realize nursing is practiced differently in other countries,so i guess that could be a factor too.

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Specializes in Complex pedi to LTC/SA & now a manager.
No I did not.

I said the only people *I* see.

What is so bad about saying that it could be a language barrier problem?

Also,i realize nursing is practiced differently in other countries,so i guess that could be a factor too.

Not true 15% of US educated nurses fail their first attempt at the NCLEX, 7.5% of US educated nurses fail the NCLEX twice.

There are US schools that 30-65% of students failed first attempt. Majority are on probation or closed due to poor performance.

65% of internationally educated nurses fail the NCLEX first attempt... Which may be attributed to language difference and/or not being educated to US customs and standards including no prep for the NCLEX during school. (But they are educated to the country standards. Why should a nursing school in Africa teach to US standards?)

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Forgive me but I was not trying to insult LVNs. I am frustrated that people are being allowed to take the NCLEX 4 or 5 times. When I graduated, you could only take the NCLEX three times max, then you needed remediation. This really needs to stop! I agree that maybe the solution should be to allow them to take the NCLEX-PN only.

A few more points re: your bizarre idea of failed takers of the NCLEX-RN be "allowed to take NCLEX-PN only":

1. If one has failed the NCLEX-RN multiple times one will, in all likelihood, also fail the NCLEX-PN. The scope and length of RN programs are, indeed, greater.... but both versions of the NCLEX test for a minimum-safe level of basic nursing practice. It is not as though the NCLEX-RN is substantially more difficult than the PN version.

2. The purpose of licensing is to give the public a guarantee that the nurses practicing in a given state meet a minimum standard. If a student is unable to pass the NCLEX-RN, they have not met this minimum requirement and they are not considered to able to practice nursing safely. Thus it would be incredibly irresponsible for states to give failed RN students an LPN license. An unsafe LPN poses a risk to the public, too.

3. I think you do not understand the very basic fundamentals of the roles of LPNs and RNs. It is not as though LPNs are not nurses who do not require critical thinking. Most LPNs have often functioned in roles where they are the primary nurse for a group of patients, with not a single RN in the facility. We are the ones in these cases to do the assessments, notify the physician, and carry out the ordered interventions. Someone who cannot meet the bare minimum for safe RN practice cannot safely do these things. What you are suggesting would simply be plugging a bunch of unsafe nurses into LPN roles where their unsafe-ness will harm patients. It is a horrible idea that would be a very poor move on the part of any BON.

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No I did not.

I said the only people *I* see.

What is so bad about saying that it could be a language barrier problem?

Also,i realize nursing is practiced differently in other countries,so i guess that could be a factor too.

My apologies. So, to clarify, what you're saying is that every US educated RN you have ever "seen" has passed their NCLEX on the first attempt. Do I have that right now?

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Specializes in Mental Health, Gerontology, Palliative.

The suggestion that if a student cant pass nclex they should get an LVN license is pretty demeaning towards LVN nurses. I know some fairly awesome LVNs, I also know some fairly incompetent LVNs and RNS however thats another story

If a student cant pass NCLEX after two attempts they should get one more chance after having to do remedial course work and after that no more

I just read in another thread that some Boards of nursing are allowing multiple attempts at taking the NCLEX exam. Is this true? If so, this is ridiculous! If we are trying to elevate the profession by requiring a minimum BSN to practice, then why are we allowing multiple attempts at taking the NCLEX? No reputable profession would allow this. If you can't pass it after three attempts then you shouldn't be allowed to practice as an RN. Boards of nursing should grant them an LVN license only!
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Specializes in Mental Health, Gerontology, Palliative.
Your conclusion that a person who fails NCLEX three times is incapable of being a safe nurse is flawed. There are no facts to support this conclusion.

I would have questions about a persons nursing skills if they require more than three attempts to pass the registration (NCLEX) exam

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My thing is that if this profession is all about being elevated (BSN minimum to practice), then why are people allowed to take this exam until they pass it? Are doctors allowed to take their boards 7 or 8 times? Are lawyers allowed to take the bar 7 or 8 times? Maybe I'm missing something here.

Well, some take an NCLEX and pass in 78 questions, others 278. Some nurses who did amazing on the NCLEX are not great nurses in practice. And it can be the other way around, too. Some people don't test well. Other's test really well and have zero critical thinking skills.

If they really wanted to use the NCLEX to the advantage of the profession, it should be 2 separate tests for ADN's and BSN's, one for LPN's and every NCLEX 75 questions, period.

There are nurses who are appalled that their co-worker needed over 200 questions to pass....seriously.

The NCLEX-PN was quite a test. I am not sure that if one couldn't pass the RN exam, that they would be able to pass the PN exam. And who the heck would want a nurse who got an LPN license because they couldn't "make it" as an RN????

Regardless, "elevating the profession" is a new flavor a koolaid. If all of us, regardless of education, would just be totally THRILLED that we got a JOB and did it for 10.00 and hour, the facilities wouldn't care if it took 153 times to pass the darn test.

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People might fry me on here,but the only people i see taking the test multiple times are graduates of Foreign Nursing schools.

It could be a language barrier problem with the multiple test takers.

No frying from me, that was my first conclusion I could possibly draw while wondering 'who in the heck is she going on about??'

In my senior year in school I was the 'nursing tutor' ($4.41 per hour!) and ALL of my tutorees were girls from Viet Nam or Thailand. Plenty smart, but their spoken/written English skills were such that they slowed them down, interfered with their critical thinking in ENGLISH (not in their native language). I ran this by a professor I felt close to and she brought it up to the Dean, as it was not a new concern.

If I may ask the OP, do you work with a nurse who's taken the board many times and find him/her substandard, or . . .? Do you know someone personally in this situation? If so, that would be interesting. Anecdotal but still interesting.

If not, why does it matter so much to you personally?

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