my NCLEX story - if you've failed PLEASE READ

Published

I promised myself that WHEN I passed the NCLEX I would share my story for those who are going through the same journey I went through. So here I am with wonderful news! As of this morning I am officially an RN and it feels better than I imagined (and I've been imagining this day for years). I'll share my background then tell you the steps I took to achieve this incredible accomplishment. I've been in your shoes: reading allnurses.com posts for hours on end trying to find answers. You're doing the right thing by not going through this alone.

I "graduated" from Indiana State in December of 2014 and received my Bachelor in Nursing in May of 2015. One of the graduation requirements was to achieve a 94% or higher on an exam with three attempts. I failed all three attempts and was told that I needed to pass a fourth attempt offered in the spring in order to receive my degree which meant I couldn't sit for my NCLEX until after May graduation. I lied to friends and family about my situation because I was ashamed and embarrassed. As my fourth attempt was approaching, I buried my head in my books for hours on end and cried.. a lot. Thankfully I passed and celebrated while I waited until graduation. I decided to study on my own without a real plan and sit for the exam in June 2015. I was told by my professors that this "extra semester" was what I needed in order to pass the NCLEX and that I was ready. I am a horrible test taker and I have extreme test anxiety (I literally pull my hair out during exams). I was given the 265 questions and finished in under 5 hours. I went online to check my license status on the BON website and my name was gone. This confused me since my results weren't ready on Pearson VUE. I paid for my quick results two days later and discovered I had failed. I was so embarrassed because I shared my test date with lots of people and now I had to face them with this news. I decided to tell people that I had passed thinking they would not ask me about when I was going to retake the exam. This seems crazy but my anxiety was BREAKING ME and every time someone brought up the NCLEX to me it would trigger negative thoughts that would eat at me. I built up the courage to schedule my second attempt in September. I wanted to give myself a month straight of studying every day. I used Kaplan QBank questions thinking that was enough. I was given 75 questions in about an hour and a half when it shut me off. The next day I was on the BON license website every hour checking to see if my name was going to disappear. I cried the entire day while on my phone looking at allnurses.com posts and talking to my mom and dad about how horrific this process was. I found out two days later through my quick results that I had failed. Again. I immediately reached out to four of my professors from Indiana State asking for guidance and help. I was told about a program called Hurst by two of them, one of them never responded, and the other one said they would do some research but never got back with me. I was lost and felt forgotten. I then dropped into a deep depression for weeks. My life was on hold because of this exam.

My parents suggested professional help from a tutor that specializes in the NCLEX. After weeks of tutor research I couldn't find ANYONE local to the Indianapolis area that wasn't extremely expensive. I sent a few messages out and received feedback from a nurse who had a 100% pass rate with her students and incredible experience. I hesitated but decided to try it out. We met in October 2015 and she had a study plan that required scheduled tutor sessions twice a week until she felt I was prepared enough to sit for the exam. She taught me how to answer NCLEX questions, tested my nursing knowledge, pushed me to practice, and gave me the confidence I needed. We worked together in person and through Skype sessions for about four months. At times I would break down but I continued to put in at least two hours of studying and 50 questions a day. She told me I was ready to schedule in January so I picked a date in February to give us time to review. Here is some KEY points that I was told that helped me with my third and final attempt:

**my license number and "active status" was updated on the BON website less than 24 hours after my exam and at exactly 24 hours after the exam Pearson sent me an email with congratulations and my license number**

GET A TUTOR: this helped me to talk through questions and provided me with immediate feedback. i was able to ask questions that helped me understand on a deeper level

STAY POSITIVE: keep telling yourself and others that "YOU WILL"

DON'T PUT ADDITIONAL PRESSURE ON YOURSELF: i didn't need to share my test date with anyone. that is my business, my test, my journey, not anyone else's battle. NOBODY will ever understand what we have to go through to get this license.

GET IN A ROUTINE: try to stick to a healthy routine; diet, exercise, social.

DON'T OVER STUDY: make sure you find your time limit and cut yourself off once you reach it. for me it was 2 hours and sometimes i would stop at 1.5 hours. give your brain time to rest and don't burn yourself out

DON'T CRAM/STRESS THE DAY OF OR DAY PRIOR: the day before i woke up and did questions and studied for 1.5 hours then i stopped and exercised. keep your mind off the NCLEX by doing things that you normally do!

GUIDED IMAGERY: seems very silly but the days before the exam i found myself singing "I've Been Working On the Railroad" over and over again and it calmed me down. DURING THE EXAM I would close my eyes and silently sing that song when I felt I was getting anxious. it works.. do what works for you!

This long long long journey to my license was the most difficult, frustrating, extreme process I have ever gone through and had no clue what to expect. I would not wish this upon anyone in this world. You may feel defeated like I did but DO NOT GIVE UP. Your mission might be tougher than others but it will make you stronger. You have your degree... now go get your license!

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Congrats. Can you tell us about the tutor and contact info Please. Thanks.

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Great story ... Congratulations to you

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i found my tutor through WyzAnt.com! her name is Mary Ann. She does it as a side job and sometimes she doesn't take new students if shes booked up but take a look at the website and see if you can find another tutor! any nurse who can read through questions with you on a weekly basis should help. good luck to you!

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Awesome inspirational story... Congrats

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