NCLEX after 9 years

DoGoodThenGo · Mar 21, 2015

Simple and easy solution is to contact your state's BON. They will have the direct and correct answer to your query.

Aside from retaking and passing the boards you may have other problems. The vast gap of time between your graduation and passing the NCLEX is bound to raise flags to HR or nurse manager doing interviews. Long story short just obtaining a license would be the least of your worries.

You might wish to contact your alma mater to see if they offer and or can recommend a refresher course.

madwife2002, BSN, RN · Mar 22, 2015

Moved to NCLEX forum

QuietRiot · Mar 22, 2015

If you could not pass 9yrs ago, when the information was fresh. What makes you think you are going to pass now? You may want to look into a refresher course, or even retaking some of the nursing classes. This may help you better than looking for a glitch in the system.

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Mar 22, 2015

In my opinion, OP, you are asking the wrong questions. You shouldn't be wondering which States will allow you to take an exam that others will not. You should be asking what you need to do to ensure your greatest chance of passing an exam 13 years after you have completed your studies, when you could not pass it immediately upon completion of nursing coursework.

You said "NCLEX after 9 years" in your heading, but if you graduated in 2002....that is THIRTEEN years since graduation for you. If it's been 9 years since your last attempt, and you gave "several" attempts as you've said, that means you failed multiple times in the first four years after graduation. Your last NCLEX attempt would have been around 2006....and it is now 2015.

Let's be frank here: at nearly a decade and a half since you graduated, you are NOT ready to take this current licensing exam. You are not prepared, and your knowledge is NOT current. Set that on top of your inability to demonstrate competence at the time you SHOULD have been able to do so gives further evidence that this is the wrong way for you to be attempting to go.

Talk to your alma mater about options. Perhaps they will recommend you retake specific coursework, perhaps they will know of a tutor whose services you can hire to get you up to speed.

Until that happens, passing NCLEX is not a realistic goal for you.

strawberryluv, BSN, RN · Mar 22, 2015

Take a content-based review course like Hurst Review and then purchase a current review book.

Do as many questions as you can get your hands on. A good goal is like 3,000-7,000 questions and review

all rationales.

You should be fine. I don't think THAT much has changed. If you find anything unfamiliar just read it in

your review book or purchase a recent edition of a medical-surgical nursing book to look it up.

Jazzy_nurse_SF · Mar 22, 2015

I would like to add to this as I don't believe she was sending this message out for advice about her career in nursing. I am also in the same boat, however I didn't give up. I graduated from nursing school 2006, failed my NCLEX and picked up the pieces again. Had a child then studied over and over to prep for it again. I realized I wasn't studying the material correctly, I was just reviewing different books, but didn't have a schedule down.

In the state of California with respects to the 45 day window grace period, there is an unlimited number of taking the exam. It is definitely highly recommended to take a review course, HURST, KAPLAN, etc. Get a good content book and KAPLAN is usually great for test-taking strategies. Have a schedule in mind and make sure at least 2000-3500 questions have been answered, reviewing all the rationales. Pray, pray and pray and you will be fine. I wouldn't be so concerned about anything but preparing yourself to pass this exam, but first attend a refresher course or a review course. It is truly important that you condition yourself to have the mindset that Nursing is your path, your passion and this is what you want to accomplish. There was a reason you were in nursing school in the first place.

I will be taking my exam soon, and there is nothing that can deter me from taking this exam or discouraging me of re-taking it or even having the ability to try! Good luck and keep all the negative remarks away from you.

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Mar 23, 2015

I would like to add to this as I don't believe she was sending this message out for advice about her career in nursing..........
Good luck and keep all the negative remarks away from you.

Well, giving realistic feedback about her chances at this exam isn't "career advice" so much as it is offering ways to get to become a viable candidate for NCLEX. I didn't offer her advice on a career she does not have; I offered her ways to even CONSIDER the exam in the future.

As for all the rest.....while I wish you well in your endeavors, please don't fall into the trap so many here do, that honest, REALISTIC advice equals "negative remarks". I offered no negative remarks, I offered a realistic view of what the OP is up against. To suggest that she prepare simply picking up a study guide (and "pray, pray pray and you will be fine") THIRTEEN years after finishing school, and NINE years after having failed multiple times over FOUR YEARS is, in my opinion, absolutely ridiculous. It's unreasonable, and sets up the OP for another set of perfect failures. HOW is this helpful? I may want to be an astronaut really, really badly but if I'm wholly unprepared for space...well, I'm not going to be of much interest to NASA, now am I?

Let's get down to the tacks here: the OP does not need to review questions in a study guide, or she would have passed a decade ago after Attempt #1....or #2....or #3.....or #4.....etc. No, the OP needs to not only figure out why she wasn't passing THEN, but ALSO needs to do some serious, in-depth review of content that may involve repeating some coursework and certainly a 1:1 tutor.

What is negative, IMHO, is anyone suggesting that all that stands between her and a license is prayer and some time with an NCLEX review book. Talk about unfair expectations and unrealistic hopes!

No, I'm offering her very realistic suggestions. Telling her that she should pray and just hunker down with an NCLEX review book are doing her NO favors, I assure you.

RNsRWe, ASN, RN · Mar 23, 2015

Take a content-based review course like Hurst Review and then purchase a current review book.
Do as many questions as you can get your hands on. A good goal is like 3,000-7,000 questions and review
all rationales.
You should be fine. I don't think THAT much has changed. If you find anything unfamiliar just read it in
your review book or purchase a recent edition of a medical-surgical nursing book to look it up.

With all due respect, perhaps after you have tried your hand at the NCLEX once, you might realize why this is insufficient advice. As of now, you're still a student, correct? So....you cannot know at all that the OP would be "fine" with just reading some review books. As already said, if she could do that successfully on her own....she would have done so long before now, during all those early attempts.

The question isn't how much in nursing has changed, since the OP was unable to pass the exam knowing what she knew when her knowledge was current. ANY changes at this point only make her even more likely to fail. "Looking up" things in a med-surg book will do little-to-nothing to help, but time with a 1:1 tutor will be infinitely more useful.

DoGoodThenGo · Mar 23, 2015

Do not think any of the responses were harsh or even overly critical, merely stating facts as they are on the ground.

If the OP is seeking to pass the NCLEX for personal satisfaction reasons that would be one thing, but doing so with the view of seeking employment as a professional nurse is another.

New grads are coming out of programs every six to twelve months armed with 4.0 GPAs, honors, awards, externships *and* passing the board on their first attempt all to find a very challenging employment market. What do you think is going to happen when HR, a nurse manager or more likely a computer picks up a graduation date of 2002 (or whatever) and a NCLEX passing date more than a decade later?

It isn't just about passing the boards, anyone armed with the proper education can do that. Facilities are seeking new graduates with a certain level of minimal recent and relevant clinical competence that can be built upon as a foundation from GN to professional RN. Someone who has not been on a floor or unit aside from clinical experience over a decade ago is going to raise red flags.

The other fly in this ointment is the OP took and failed the NCLEX several times previously. It *might* be one thing if someone graduated and had a major life event just before or after graduation (major illness of herself, spouse, child, family member) and put off taking the exam, but that is not the case.

If there was an acute and dramatic shortage of RNs then things might be different for the OP. However in most if not much of the USA there is a surplus of nurses especially new grads, places are beating them back with sticks *LOL* Long as that ratio favors facilities they have no reason or excuse to dig deep into the applicant pool.

Finally it should be noted the NCLEX "passing score" was raised last year (or has it been two years now?) with some pretty tough blows to nursing programs in terms of passing rates. If the OP couldn't pass the exam of a decade ago how is she or he going to cope with the higher standard?

Cannary22, BSN · Mar 23, 2015

I also graduated BSN 2002 but I worked as a nurse in PH and other country until 2010. I took my first Nclex-rn in 2012 unfortunately I did not pass, my second attempt was 2013 and I did not pass. I feel so defeated and very disappointed that I did not have confidence to try it for the third time. Now, I have a baby and working in a different field. I should have listened to my husband and retake the exam sooner. But I found my motivation & courage now with my baby & I am planning to retake Nclex this year. I say don't give up, if you truly want to become a nurse there's no one stopping you but yourself of course I tell that to myself too since I feel like we are kind of in the same situation. It's going to be 5 years soon since my last nursing practice and in my state I think you need to go through refresher course if you are out of practice for 5 or more years. Look up your state's BON site and it will tell you what exactly you need to do or else call them. While you are looking for answers it won't hurt to self study again, brush up on updated books for new information because health care profession needs constant update on new information & knowledge. I am hoping that you get the head start you needed and continue your goal. If others can pass the exam even with distractions or hindrance along the way, I know we CAN pass the exam too. Be positive & good luck.

strawberryluv, BSN, RN · Mar 23, 2015

With all due respect, perhaps after you have tried your hand at the NCLEX once, you might realize why this is insufficient advice. As of now, you're still a student, correct? So....you cannot know at all that the OP would be "fine" with just reading some review books. As already said, if she could do that successfully on her own....she would have done so long before now, during all those early attempts.
The question isn't how much in nursing has changed, since the OP was unable to pass the exam knowing what she knew when her knowledge was current. ANY changes at this point only make her even more likely to fail. "Looking up" things in a med-surg book will do little-to-nothing to help, but time with a 1:1 tutor will be infinitely more useful.

Okay...I am a student but I don't really think my school is that awful enough to not prepare me for this exam. Moreover, I've done exceptionally well on the HESI which studies have shown high scores on those exams correlate to great probability of passing the NCLEX.

Though I appreciate your realistic approach for giving the OP advice, I don't appreciate you bashing my approach. Frankly, I didn't just say that she should pick up a review book. I, also, added that should she feel like she does not understand the content then to buy an updated edition of a medical-surgical textbook. I don't know about courses but for me, all nursing courses were basically self-taught. I think it would be more practical if the OP would just pick a medical-surgical textbook and read the new information that she does not know rather than enroll in some classes. A lot of time and money was wasted listening to a professor regurgitate information I already understood. So, if the OP could self-study the current information by purchasing the latest of textbooks on the subject it would keep her updated. Sure, purchasing a tutor is a fine idea as well I guess. But do you think a tutor has the time or her wallet has the money to go through all the information she has missed?