Hello to all my fellow nurses and future nurses! I finally passed my NCLEX-RN and I wanted to share my journey with you all in hopes that it can help at least one struggling person!
I graduated and obtained my BSN in May 2013 and due to a clerical error with my transcript, I was unable to even register for my NCLEX until September 2013 and did not sit for my initial try until October 2013. In that time I did not study or take the NCLEX seriously at all. Despite being in the top percentile for clinical rotation grades and high praise from clinical instructors, I struggled in the classroom my senior year of nursing school, which reflected poorly when it came to the NCLEX.
I failed, then I failed again.... and again.... and again. I took Kaplan, ATI, Hurst, Learningext, but I kept failing. I remember reading a statistic that repeat test-takers are twice as likely to fail again... and for me it was true. I lost all confidence in myself, questioned my life, questioned my desire. I was embarrassed to see family members and friends from nursing school. Eventually my own parents (who have always been as supportive as possible) subtly suggested I pursue a different career path.
And I was about to.... after my most recent failure I came across a thread on these message boards about a student who had failed as many times as myself seeking help. One of the first replies from a member here suggested the person give up because if they could not accomplish passing the NCLEX, they had no business becoming a nurse. Now, while other nurses quickly jumped the defense of this poor student, the initial reply hit close to home for me. I won't lie, I broke down into tears. The next day I started looking into going back to school or getting a full time job anywhere.
But I didn't. I had a fire inside of me that would not be extinguished. I wouldn't abandon my dream of being an RN or all the hard-work up until that point without giving it one hell of a last chance. Every day for two months after getting out of work at 5pm, I'd go to my local library and study. Anything I was not proficient in (for me was pharmacology and maternity) I would study extensively and make study guides for. I'd cap off the night with anywhere from 50 to 100 question tests on Uworld.com, which is by far my favorite of all NCLEX-RN preparation websites. At the beginning of October, full of confidence and knowledge, I walked into my local Pearson Vue testing center and did what I was meant to do, become a registered nurse.
I've had a lot of introspection the past two years and the past three months about who I am as a man, and who I want to be, and although it took me a long time, I shall forever be eternally grateful for the learning experience this was. When I graduated I thought I was invincible, and I'm grateful for the humility I've gained.
My message to you, someone who has failed once, twice, or ten times, is STOP, BREATHE, AND THINK. You can do this and you WILL do this. It is worth any sacrifice you have to make, just please DON'T EVER GIVE UP and DON'T EVER THINK YOU ARE WORTHLESS OR ALONE. Because you aren't. There are a ton of us who have been repeat testers and it does not reflect whether you'll be good nurse or not. How you act, how you carry yourself, your passion, your desire, that is what will make you a great nurse. Although I'm a new RN, we as nurses are a family, we love you, I love you, keep fighting the fight.
My message to someone who is still in school or has yet to attempt the NCLEX-RN is please, take is seriously. Don't make the same mistake I did. I was so glad to just be done with nursing school, I lost sight of what was really important and had my priorities mixed up. The small sacrifice of not going out on the weekends or having to spend a few hours at the library each night is worth it.
Best of luck to you all and I hope this helps at least one person!
Thank you for this post. You hit the nail on the head. We need to support each other. There is so much negativity in our profession. I appreciate those who are brave enough to show the issues that affect them. These are the attributes of being a nurse. The OP did not give up. That's what is important.
Thank you for the encouragement. I recently failed my exam. Its been hard, a lot of people here look down to those who failed the exam. I talked to my mom and told her that I failed. She said "Don't worry about it take a couple of days to rest and study for the exam again, I will support you all they way." I cried when she hugged me. Now I'm ready to retake and pass the exam!
Again thank you so much for sharing your story, it is truly inspiring!
You have truly encouraged me and I just want you to know that you are appreciated! People are horrible on this site, all I see is negative comments. Honestly, there is no need for negative comments. Some of you people who think that you are so "amazing and God sent" cause you passed on the first try doesn't make you nothing but narrow minded individuals! Please humble yourself, we got into this profession to support each other and our nursing family, yet it clearly seems that you individuals got into nursing for the money! Always remember the world's most intelligent man didn't give up, even after being thrown out of school. #Einstein Nclex doesn't determine your intelligence, it's just a randomized board exam and I truly believe that people who fail nclex is due their nerves. The moral of the story is: people please stop being so harsh with the negative comments, it can really hurt someone. My friend almost committed suicide cause she couldn't pass the medical boards and people were being so harsh to her. It's not worth losing your life or confidence over dumb people's comments.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
You have truly encouraged me and I just want you to know that you are appreciated! People are horrible on this site, all I see is negative comments. Honestly, there is no need for negative comments. Some of you people who think that you are so "amazing and God sent" cause you passed on the first try doesn't make you nothing but narrow minded individuals! Please humble yourself, we got into this profession to support each other and our nursing family, yet it clearly seems that you individuals got into nursing for the money! Always remember the world's most intelligent man didn't give up, even after being thrown out of school. #Einstein Nclex doesn't determine your intelligence, it's just a randomized board exam and I truly believe that people who fail nclex is due their nerves. The moral of the story is: people please stop being so harsh with the negative comments, it can really hurt someone. My friend almost committed suicide cause she couldn't pass the medical boards and people were being so harsh to her. It's not worth losing your life or confidence over dumb people's comments.
This is a discussion forum, not a support group. If you introduce a topic for conversation, there will be people who disagree with you and some of them may even say so. Disagreeing with the idea of taking the NCLEX over and over and over (five times unless I miscounted) does not make me a narrow minded individual. And no one ever claimed to be "amazing and God sent."
I have no quarrel with anyone who got into nursing for the money rather than being "in it to support each other and our nursing family." Someone else's motives for becoming a nurse are really none of my business; all I care about is that they're competent. Compassion is nice, but it can be faked. Competence cannot be. As a patient -- which I've been a lot in the past few years -- and as a colleague and preceptor, I'd much rather have a competent nurse who got into it "for the money" than someone who thinks they have a calling but cannot critically think their way out of a wet paper bag.
Well if nclex believes someone is competent.... You have nothing to worry about. Also people who get into nursing for the money should not because I've seen ****** nurses and plenty of them and I've also seen how the patients feel. I understand this is a discussion, yet there is no need to put anyone down. If the guy took nclex couple of times, he may have had his reasons for it. If you had to go through that, would you leave nursing? I'm sure you wouldn't and would keep trying to succeed.
This is the attitude of nurses eating their own. This thread is not only talking about competency but of understanding that one is human, not perfect. I agree that nursing is a combination of critical thinking, being competent but most important being compassionate. If you can't show kindness to your fellow nurses, how do you show this to your patient? How many of you have held a dying patient's hand or comforted their family member? I don't think they were wondering what your score was on your NCLEX. Let's stop being so judgement and stop hiding behind being superior because one passed their NCLEX on your first try. Let's for once show support for someone who was brave enough to be vulnerable.
Thank you Nursetk4, you totally see where I am coming from. I also believe that one should be compassionate instead of a total prick as a nurse. We are in a profession where we will see many types of people and care for many... Yet, we can't be judgmental as I've seen people be on this discussion board. It's very sad.
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
Well if nclex believes someone is competent.... You have nothing to worry about. Also people who get into nursing for the money should not because I've seen ****** nurses and plenty of them and I've also seen how the patients feel. I understand this is a discussion, yet there is no need to put anyone down. If the guy took nclex couple of times, he may have had his reasons for it. If you had to go through that, would you leave nursing? I'm sure you wouldn't and would keep trying to succeed.
There is nothing wrong with going into nursing to make a decent living to support your family. After forty years, I've seen some danged fine nurses who "are in it for the money." And some mighty incompetent ones who are in it for the "calling."
Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
This is the attitude of nurses eating their own. This thread is not only talking about competency but of understanding that one is human, not perfect. I agree that nursing is a combination of critical thinking, being competent but most important being compassionate. If you can't show kindness to your fellow nurses, how do you show this to your patient? How many of you have held a dying patient's hand or comforted their family member? I don't think they were wondering what your score was on your NCLEX. Let's stop being so judgement and stop hiding behind being superior because one passed their NCLEX on your first try. Let's for once show support for someone who was brave enough to be vulnerable.
I truly agree that if anything can be called "nurses eating their own", this attitude of superiority because "I'm in it for compassion" while someone else is "only in it for the money" is eating our own. Let's be kind to our fellow nurses rather than questioning (and judging) their motives for being a nurse. Motives aren't important. Competence is.
Critical thinking and competence are far more important to being a good nurse than "a calling" or even "compassion." Compassion can be faked. Competence can't.
It's obvious you are missing the point of what was said. It's a combination of critical thinking, being competent and showing compassion. Nothing was said about being superior for being compassionate. The post was referring to taking the NCLEX exam and that people were sharing their experiences of not passing.
Well if nclex believes someone is competent.... You have nothing to worry about. Also people who get into nursing for the money should not because I've seen ****** nurses and plenty of them and I've also seen how the patients feel. I understand this is a discussion, yet there is no need to put anyone down. If the guy took nclex couple of times, he may have had his reasons for it. If you had to go through that, would you leave nursing? I'm sure you wouldn't and would keep trying to succeed.
I got into nursing to do diabetes education. That is all I wanted to do. There are several routes to be a diabetes educator. Nursing costs the least to achieve with the largest paycheck at the end. I have a passion for diabetes care, but not specifically for nursing.
In order to become a nurse I did my RN prereqs then took an LVN program (to increase my chances of getting in to impacted RN programs on a bridge). I currently work in SNF/LTC. I have zero passion for it. I have no calling to it. I do make great money doing it, and it's flexible for bridging my RN. Am I a crappy nurse because I do work I don't particularly enjoy to feed my family and pay my mortgage? No. I'm rather good at what I do (for a new grad with too many residents in a SNF). I give it my all. I use what I learned in school. I'm not less than because I don't have passion.
I don't think you should get to take NCLEX 5+ times, sorry, I dont. If you need to, you need more education. That's from my perspective as a patient with a chronic illness who has almost been killed several times by poor care. Not kidding, I had a huge settlement years ago in arbitration that included all medical staff involved in my care. If you lack the basic knowledge and critical thinking skills to pass in the first few attempts, I'd prefer you don't care for me. I'm gun shy. I've seen what can happen when nobody sits back and thinks critically, or applies their education. I will live with the ramifications of that for the rest of my life. So yes, pass in the first few tries or return to school. I kind of expect that to be a standard.
Nursetk4
44 Posts
Thank you for this post. You hit the nail on the head. We need to support each other. There is so much negativity in our profession. I appreciate those who are brave enough to show the issues that affect them. These are the attributes of being a nurse. The OP did not give up. That's what is important.