May/May Not make you feel better about NCLEX, hope so !

[DutchgirlRN, ASN, RN]

When I took my NCLEX-PN (1975) it was all paper and #2 pencil. You had two days to take it, 8 hours each day. There were 500 questions, you had to answer them all. Talk about anxiety. If you didn't get every single circle filled in completely you were in trouble. If you got one circle marked in the wrong row it would throw off every answer for the rest of the test. If you were dumb enough to go back and change an answer you had to make sure the little circle that you worked so hard to fill in completely now had to be completely erased and it still looked kinda gray after being erased. I had to wait S-I-X weeks for the results and they came in the mail. I was so worried about all those little circles that I had a hard time concentrating on the correct answer. I passed but whew! When I took my NCLEX-RN (2001) it felt like a pop quiz and I passed ! Just something to ponder before you take the NCLEX.

[nursemomruns]

I didn't take the PN exam, but I did take the RN exam in much the same way. The test was only offered twice a year and at only a very few locations in each state. My state had only one location. The test was over a two day period. You took it in a big room with hundreds of other candidates and in my state you were elbow to elbow - no partition. You wouldn't dare move your eyes for fear of cheating. The wait was 6-8 weeks and you received a score. The test was administered on the same days in every state. It was kind of neat to know you had all of that company!

[mstigerlily]

I have heard this from some of the seasoned nurses on our unit. They told me it was a 2 day, all day test (paper/pencil).

I know what you mean about the NCLEX being a pop quiz now, I was really surprised it was so easy and was completely so quickly.

When I took my NCLEX-PN (1975) it was all paper and #2 pencil. You had 8 hours to finish. There were 500 questions, you had to answer them all. Talk about anxiety. If you didn't get every single circle filled in completely you were in trouble. If you got one circle marked in the wrong row it would throw off every answer for the rest of the test. If you were dumb enough to go back and change an answer you had to make sure the little circle that you worked so hard to fill in completely now had to be completely erased and it still looked kinda gray after being erased. I had to wait S-I-X weeks for the results and they came in the mail. I was so worried about all those little circles that I had a hard time concentrating on the correct answer. I passed but whew! When I took my NCLEX-RN (2001) it felt like a pop quiz and I passed ! Just something to ponder before you take the NCLEX.