my nclex experience:
i took the nclex-pn on september 19th at 8:00 am in cincinnati ohio. i prepared for this exam for months. i studied from saunder's, kaplan, nclex 3000, ncsbn online review, audio reviews, among others. i knew all the main topics that the school kept pounding in my head for the last 15 months. i studied for hours and learned everything form a simple bed bath to a complex chest tube. i graduated with high honors and my gpa was pretty much perfect, so bring it on! i was ready for the test and even though i was anxious, i was not nervous. the morning of the test i was photographed and fingerprinted and was told to put all my belongings in the locker. the only thing i was allowed to bring in with me to the testing area was my driver’s license. no chewing gum or even a bottle of water. i sat in my chair and prayed for myself and the other test takers. i went through the tutorial and started to take the test.
after the first few questions, i looked at the left upper corner of the computer to see if i was taking the right test. it had my name followed by "nclex pn". so, yeah! it was the right test after all. i swear i left my critical thinking and test taking abilities on the locker with the rest of my belongings because when i was answering the questions i couldn’t dissect exactly what they were asking. i felt like a cna taking the nclex rn, that's how lost i was. i had several sata (select all that apply) questions, a bunch of weird infectious diseases, several unheard drugs, and some priorities. no math, no main drugs (what happened to digoxin, coumadin, heparin, nitro, albuterol, etc?) no conversions of any kind, no main disorders, diseases or facts. urrrg!
since i knew i was being videotaped and recorded the whole time i wanted to yell at the makers of the nclex, the ncsbn (national conspiracy to sabotage beginner nurses) and ask them what on earth were they thinking when they made up this bunch of nonsense. i felt like i was guessing the majority of the time, even when i was able to rule 2 of the answers out, the remaining two were so similar that i had a 50/50 chance of picking the right one. i was told that with nclex you must know your stuff, because you will never pass by guessing. oh geez no pressure there, since it seems that that was exactly what i was doing.
after an hour i was only in question #30. i decided to not take a break at that time, because if i did i was going to grab my keys and go home and leave behind everything and run to safety. i decided to be strong and put off with the torture, the computer shut off in question #85, i guess it realized i would not pass and it also realized that i couldn't take anymore of the torture for that day. it knew i'd have to go back to be beaten up and mentally abused for at least one more time.
i left "guantanamo bay" (the test center) and drove home. i did not cry, i told my dear husband how i miserably failed and that i didn't want to talk about it. i just laid in bed and try to watch some tv to put the traumatic experience aside. i couldn't. later that day, like people who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, i was reliving the whole thing over and over. i couldn't sleep, think, function or even pretend to be a decent wife and mother. after a while i did break up and cried my eyes out.
that night most of the questions i had during the test were running through my head, and i was re-answering them all again and again. during my second sleepless night, believe it or not, i was able to write down about 50 of the exam questions i had in the nclex exam. i thought i would be able to remember a few, but i never thought i could actually remember about 50 of them. wow! that’s how marked i was by the test.
today is the 21st of september, almost 48 hours have passed and i am still dying to know my results. i am 95% positive i failed but i just want to see it in writing so i can start studying again, call my employer and give up my promised position since i won't be becoming a nurse after all, not for a while at least. i also need reapply so i can retake the torture, again.
the waiting is killing me softly. i believe it should be "illegal" to make us wait more than a couple of hours (actually minutes) for the results after we take the test. i wish there was a way we could be compensated for the emotional pain, suffering and agony we go through while waiting for our results (lol). thankfully ohio participates in the “quick-results” program, but still, 2 days have felt like an eternity. my heart goes out for those who have to wait several days and even weeks to get the so wanted results.
it’s 10:00 am. exactly 48 hours have passed since i took the test. i log in for the 25th time or so to the pearson vue website to see if my results were available. for my surprise/terror they were. i had to put in my credit card information to “confirm” my fear. (it’s amazing that after putting you through all that agony, they still make you pay to get your results). after entering the credit card information i click the "next" button and closed my eyes tightly, after taking a deep breath i opened them and there it was, i a four letter word meant the world to me: “pass”. i jumped out my chair, i cried, i scream. i was so relieved; it felt like some one took a huge load off of my shoulders. i thank god that after 15 rough months full of ups and downs it came to this moment, i am a nurse!
i decided to write my own experience for those of you who are getting ready to take the nclex examination. you probably feel overwhelmed, unprepared, tired, with no confidence, anxious and afraid. i just want to say that it’s ok to feel that way, what is not ok is to give up, you have come to far from where you started from. keep studying every day; do utilize the tips that have being given to you on how to examine the stem of the question. remember your abc’s, safety, priorities, and delegations and last but not least; believe in your self. if i did it, so can you! i wish you all the best of luck and god bless. 
:yeah:
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mjm1979
72 Posts
Congratulations!! I have a question. Did you take a comprehensive exit exam at your school before graduation?
We had to take the ATI and had to pass it in order to pass the program. I was wondering if your class had to take an exam and how you think it compared to the NCLEX...
I'm guessing it's very comparable. I couldn't imagine the NCLEX being any (much) harder. We were absolutely stunned at how hard this exam was! We were expecting the test questions to be like the ones we had during our schooling... questioning on knowledge of symptoms, meds, etc. But it was all critical thinking and we were just amazed. Wasn't what we expected at all. But, your story reminded me of how I felt when I took that test... I was sick. I just knew I had failed it and would have to retake it ?? many times in order to graduate. Actually I passed. I was stunned that I had passed coz I just knew that I had failed it big time. I passed it in the range that predicted that I'd pass the NCLEX on the first time. I was in the range that gave a 99% chance of passing on the first try. But, boy, I was shocked. Thought for sure I had failed. I'm guessing that this test was very close to the real thing. I'm worried and studying like mad.