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Discussion

Not going to give up!

Just found out that I failed NCLEX on 3rd attempt.

First exam Spring 2013 - got 265 questions and was 'close to passing standard' in all areas.

Second exam Fall 2013 - got 265 questions and was 'close to passing standard' in all areas.

Third exam August 2014 - got 75 questions and FAILED

I feel so disheartened and after crying for a few days...i resurfaced and decided that I was not going to let this beat me................

I know there is a lot of threads out there from people looking for tips and inspiration to pass the exam.....i guess i am too. However, what is frustrating is that I definitely have put the work in over the past few years. I just have no idea what i'm doing wrong.

I won't give up!.......

Featured Replies

You need to do a different type of review. What you are doing isn't working. I wish you the best of luck. So many times we just psych ourselves out. When I took it I was unnerved by the whole check in process.

  • Author

thank you. I know now I have to do something else. I have been studying from the following books................

NCLEX RN Review ~ Made Incredibly Easy

Saunders 2014-2015 Strategies for Test Success

NCLEX RN 2010-2011 Edition, Strategies, Practice and Review

Saunders, Comprehensive Review, NCLEX RN Exam

In addition to my cell phone apps ~ NCLEX QBank, NCLEX Questions.

I will resit for 4th time....Spring 2015.

  • Author

reading the chapters e.g paeds, maternity, leadership etc....and then doing the questions at the end of each chapter but im also doing questions on the cell phone app....and any i dont get right i'm reading the rationales. I have read the Strategies book by Saunders 3 times....and i totally get about maslow, saftey , nursing process etc....but somehow i'm still not succeeding. I always know the vital labs before i go into the exam. On the last NCLEX, i got a lot of prioritisation of patients questions, and paeds, no drug calculation and one acid base balance question............

Where do your weak areas lie? Try to focus on studying those areas. On the other hand, maybe you know your content, but, you may lack the proper test taking strategies. You might look into books that provide these strategies and walk you through how to "pick apart" NCLEX questions.

Yiu state you had a lot of prioritization questions... Do you feel comfortable with them? Lacharity is a great book that helps you with these types of questions.

Before you sit for the exam make sure you really get to the bottom of why you are not passing and make a plan to fix it. (Weak areas, anxiety, test taking strategies, etc)

best wishes.

Go with kaplan !!!!

I'm sorry you didn't pass, though as you said don't give up - you will and CAN pass NCLEX!! Take some time to refresh, and start a new game plan...

Are you a visual and/or auditory learner as well? I like to "hear" and "see" information as well as "read" it. HURST was excellent for content - going to the live class and then listening to all their core content videos a second time. You really need to know core content "like second nature" so you can eliminate/pick correct answers on NCLEX. Also, Kaplan is excellent for content as well (though HURST was my primary) and then most important doing a few thousand or more questions. Kaplan has excellent questins (and they even have several videos of questions where they go over about 300 questions and show you how to break down questions and eliminate/chose answers). NCSBN is a great resource too (from the makers of NCLEX) I also purchased this and found their questions very similar to NCLEX. La Charity PDA book is great for priority/delegation questions. Lastly, the 35 page study guide here on allnurses - excellent for infection control/precautions as this is big NCLEX! Daily studying until you know core content "backwards and forwards" and some strategies/question practice is what helped me.

You will beat NCLEX and can do this!! Go for it!

  • Author

thank you!....i think start afresh, even regroup, whatever...is the best strategy right now. Each time I fail...apart from money wasted, im losing confidence in my ability to pass the exam and to FAIL on 75 questions is pretty dire!...... Thank you for all the recommendations eg NCSBN, LaCharity etc etc....I will certainly check these out.

Cat, first off, I admire your tenacity! You WILL succeed. But the others are right, you need a different way to study! While the resources that they recommended are good ones, I would think after multiple fails it is not going to be enough. I would recommend looking into a review course at the very least. Kaplan and Hurst seem to be the most popular depending on if you need to focus more on content or strategy. I know they are costly, but so are multiple retakes. Most of us did 100-200 practice questions daily, most from those reviews.

That said, if you really cannot determine where your weaknesses are then I would strongly suggest looking into a tutor. These people are trained to identify weaknesses and help you work through them. Your school may be able to refer you to one, which would be your best bet. If they can't help you, theres a website caring4you.com and the nurse there tutors online. I have heard good things about her, but no personal experience.

I would suggest Kaplan. I did the face-to-face review course the last week in July and then completed all of there Q Bank which is about 1100 questions and then studied the rationales.

  • Author

@scaredsilly Thank you so much. By a Hurst Review/Kaplan Review. Do you mean buy the Hurst review book or is there a Hurst Review Online service tutorial that you can obtain and/or utilize?...I do have a Kaplan Review book. I know my strategies/method of studying has to change. I really do think i need strategies on how to think critically as my i feel my content knowledge is ok. I will let you know how I do on the next retake. Thank you again.

Being that nursing school ended so long ago, I think you need content review. Hurst has excellently detailed content in their review. I didn't find it quite as directly applicable to the exam as I'd hoped, but that was only because I remembered more from school than I needed from Hurst (if that makes any sense whatsoever). Hurst goes through by each body system and gives a concise summary of the main disease processes. It then ends with tips for NCLEX success. The tips, I did find very useful and applicable. I couldn't imagine sitting the NCLEX 2 years after graduation without a very thorough review of content from med/surg at the least.

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