..(2) more classmates from my DEC 07 class just passed thier boards. (leaving only 5 more left) I, myself passed last month on my 3rd time. Many of my 65 gradauting classmates had to re-test to pass.
I just wanted to say to those that have yet to take it or have to take it again.
That no matter what ATI, or your school, or the BRN website says..
If you dont GIVE up on this dumb test, EVERYONE passes, !! and in yers to come no one really remembers that you took it X amount of times,
failing this test does NOT define you as a person OR a nurse, it does not prove "competence" in any way..just becasue i know for a test which pt i should see "first" or that i selected 'all that apply' to a M.I. pt
no way indicates, i will know what to ACTUALLY DO ! when the time comes up for me to apply my "book" knowledge.
true, good point i was not aware there were states that had a "limit" of times for the NCLEX. Thats pretty harsh. i f they dont pass in X amount of time , then what ? thats it ? thats unfortunate, very unfortunate indeed..and i gives me more reason to hate this exam, that good people and possibly great potential nurses are falling through the cracks because of a poorly constructed test (again, my opinion)...
i cant imagine any other proffession that does this, lawyer, doctor, cop, etc. that if you dont pass by the X time..ALL that school, money, time, sweat, and tears are just..............gone.
to critique someones competence, intelligence, and general humaness on a SINGLE test is bad.. What if a person is a english second language person, or a bad test taker, or simply just was just sick that day.
Just because a person is "bool" smart and passes on the first try does NOT mean they are a good, competent nurse. period.
I am slightly offended by this comment, but that is for another thread... I think much of what is discussed here just goes to show that "just getting in to nursing school" is NOT enough. But rather newbies must chose one that will help prepare them to take the test (and pass it) and eventually become a safe and competent nurse. My school taught from the VERY beginning NCLEX style questions and reasoning, and to my knowledge only 1-2 students failed in my class (45 graduated)... I passed on the first time, did I think it was easy? NO! Did I think is really showcased my competency as a practitioner? In some areas. Did I think it will weed out those who cannot hack it or may not have the passion for it? Yes, and as Suzanne stated many of these people simply do not retest.
As for your idea to let people practice for a year and if they make it they get a license. this is simply opening the door for more criticism on nurses and their lack of professionalism and intelligence... Not to mention all the lawsuits that would come about...
PS
"A cop, who has the power to take LIFE, cops who MUST have the highest critical thinking skills in any proffesion.." Maybe I misinterpreted what you were trying to get across, but cops may have the power to take life, but so does the degenerate on the corner, and critical thinking skills do NOT justify taking a life...
In the state of Florida you have three attempts to take the boards and then you have to take a review/remedial course. After you have completed the coorifice you are required to submit the proof to the board and re-apply w/appl fee.
When the nclex is referred to as "not the real world", they are referring to the scenarios(info in the test). In the nclex world, the equipment is never broken/malfunctioning, you are never understaffed, and all supplies are readily available. In the real world, we deal with understaffing, equipment that may malfunction (Dynamap), may have to search for supplies or request them sent up from SPD. Ex. If an LPN is taking a patient's Bp and gets a high reading (243/119), in the real world you would check to make sure the cuff was on right, take it in the other arm, or take it manually to see what you get and if you get another high reading go get the RN( because they are most likely going to ask you if you took it in the other arm or did it manually). In the nclex world, the first thing you would do would be report it to the RN because in the nclex world the machine would not malfunction.
I know many people who when taking their test or reviewing would think, well what if this or this is happening. That's what they are trying to tell us not to do when taking the nclex.
I have worked in the hospital setting for ten years and am now going from LPN to RN. This is something that I have had to pay close attention to when studying for my RN boards because I no longer report to the RN, I am the RN.
Just because a person is "bool" smart and passes on the first try does NOT mean they are a good, competent nurse. period.
I AGREE WITH WHAT YOU GUYS ARE SAYING. I TOO FEEL LIKE THE NCLEX GRADE SYSTEM IS ?????. WHERE I WORK NOW (IN A HOSPITAL) IF THE BON COULD JUST REVIEW SOME OF THE NURSES THEY HAVE GIVEN LICENSES TO B/C THEY ANSWERED QUES A CERTAIN WAY AND WHAT THEY HAVE DONE, THAT HAS JUST NOT HIT THE FAN B/C OF ADMINISTRATORS ETC., CONSULTING WITH THE FAMILY TO AVOID LAWSUITS, THEY MAY TAKE EM BACK!! FROM WHAT I WAS TOLD, THE NCLEX QUESTIONS YOU AS IF YOU WERE A NURSE WITH TWO WEEKS EXP. TO ME U COULD NEVER ANSWER ENOUGH QUESTIONS A CERTAIN WAY TO KNOW IF YOU WILL BE COMPETENT IN EVERY SITUATION.
Just because a person is "bool" smart and passes on the first try does NOT mean they are a good, competent nurse. period.
I AGREE WITH WHAT YOU GUYS ARE SAYING. I TOO FEEL LIKE THE NCLEX GRADE SYSTEM IS ?????. WHERE I WORK NOW (IN A HOSPITAL) IF THE BON COULD JUST REVIEW SOME OF THE NURSES THEY HAVE GIVEN LICENSES TO B/C THEY ANSWERED QUES A CERTAIN WAY AND WHAT THEY HAVE DONE, THAT HAS JUST NOT HIT THE FAN B/C OF ADMINISTRATORS ETC., CONSULTING WITH THE FAMILY TO AVOID LAWSUITS, THEY MAY TAKE EM BACK!! FROM WHAT I WAS TOLD, THE NCLEX QUESTIONS YOU AS IF YOU WERE A NURSE WITH TWO WEEKS EXP. TO ME U COULD NEVER ANSWER ENOUGH QUESTIONS A CERTAIN WAY TO KNOW IF YOU WILL BE COMPETENT IN EVERY SITUATION.
I WORK AS A STUDENT NURSE NOW AND RARELY SEE ANYTHING THAT I HAVE LEARNED IN SCHOOL.
----"As for your idea to let people practice for a year and if they make it they get a license. this is simply opening the door for more criticism on nurses and their lack of professionalism and intelligence... Not to mention all the lawsuits that would come about..."
-So are you saying that the law enforceement proffesion lacks proffesionalis and intelligence ? because this is what all cops do-they have to work a full year, full time to get their P.O.S.T lisc, and as far as i know, no one has sued on the actual procedure to get thier post lisc
when i failed twice i studied my butt off. my wife is a nurse and has been one for 9 years, she was #2 in her class, her best freinds were number 1 and 3 in ranking, most of my freinds are RN's. When i was studying i would give them the practice test i would take and see how they scored to see where i was going wrong in my "critical" thinking.
more often i would do better then them.. I would like to see 10 veteran nurses go in and pass the current NCLEX.
They are, after all, considered "competent nurses" by the BRN and the NCLEX soo reason dictates that they would all pass with flying colors..right ?
i mean, logically, a nurse would GAIN MORE "competence" as their career progressed..right ? so if ONE of them failed..they would all of a sudden become "less" competent ??
if someone could debate this point i would like to hear it.
every RN now, is considere competent, so every RN, if given the NCLEX again....EVERY one should pass right ?? 100%
now if you say no ? if a veteran nurse cannot pass the NCLEX again with MORE competence, and knowledge..how can we expect such a high pass rate with brand new nurses who have yet to work one day in the field ?
--I agree, there ahs to be a way to prove "competence", nurses are responsible for peoples lives...but..the NCLEX is NOT the way.
ONE single test cannot prove ALL that encompass the broad and ever changing field of nursing.
-So are you saying that the law enforceement proffesion lacks proffesionalis and intelligence ? because this is what all cops do-they have to work a full year, full time to get their P.O.S.T lisc, and as far as i know, no one has sued on the actual procedure to get thier post lisc
I NEVER said that law enforcement agents lack professionalism or intelligence! Please do NOT put words in my mouth... What I was referring to is the constant battle we, as nurses, face trying to prove we are not a trade (like an mechanic) but rather a profession (like a lawyer). And by the way neither one is better than the other. Nurses have just worked HARD to be taken seriously and seen as fully contributing, competently trained, educated, and licensed professionals within the medical community. And personally, I feel working without a license to see if a new grad can make it and eventually become licensed (like an apprenticeship) is just plain dangerous! Would you want to be a patient in that system? I wouldn't!
Just because a person is "bool" smart and passes on the first try does NOT mean they are a good, competent nurse. period.
I AGREE WITH WHAT YOU GUYS ARE SAYING. I TOO FEEL LIKE THE NCLEX GRADE SYSTEM IS ?????. WHERE I WORK NOW (IN A HOSPITAL) IF THE BON COULD JUST REVIEW SOME OF THE NURSES THEY HAVE GIVEN LICENSES TO B/C THEY ANSWERED QUES A CERTAIN WAY AND WHAT THEY HAVE DONE, THAT HAS JUST NOT HIT THE FAN B/C OF ADMINISTRATORS ETC., CONSULTING WITH THE FAMILY TO AVOID LAWSUITS, THEY MAY TAKE EM BACK!! FROM WHAT I WAS TOLD, THE NCLEX QUESTIONS YOU AS IF YOU WERE A NURSE WITH TWO WEEKS EXP. TO ME U COULD NEVER ANSWER ENOUGH QUESTIONS A CERTAIN WAY TO KNOW IF YOU WILL BE COMPETENT IN EVERY SITUATION.
Yeah that's what clinicals (school) are for. And the nclex does teach you how to be safe in EVERY situation... Please give me an example of what you learned when studying for the nclex that indicated how the patient would receive unsafe care? From saying this is a stupid test(as JON claims) and other nurses(or soon to be nurses god for bid) believing that worries me! It's the icing on the cake(+) from what we learned in school. I agree somewhat that this TEST in and of itself can't ultimately measure a nurses 100% competence, but applying and PUTING into action(what I'm learning here regarding nclex content and what I learned in school) DOES...and there is a lot you have to prove in school remember...and it's up to him/her to apply all of the gained knowledge from what is learned through nclex material/content/school(I know the subject is about the test and not school but I'm just saying )....it's ALL on the RN...RNs have tons of responsibility on their hands and I would hope that MUCH of what is learned is applied...
Wow--great post so far. Here is what I meant when I said "are you not upset with your school for not preparing you for Nclex better."
The purpose of nursing school is to yes teach us the skills, teach us to keep our patients alive and safe and report off the facts to the Drs. Teach us what to look for etc etc etc. Another important part of nursing school is preparing us to work in the real world---we cant work in the real world if we dont pass Nclex. So they must prepare us to take that test.
My nursing schools exams were all Nclex based/style of questions. Each semester we had to turn in 1000 Nclex questions(Saunders-Davis-Mosby-ATI etc etc) we had to turn them in in 100 question format-meaning 100 taken at a time, if we scored less than 80% they were of no use, we had to do them again until we hit the 80% mark. Each semester we also had to have a 265 question test in 1 sitting at 80% or better as well. Do you know the frustration of taking a 265 test in one sitting and hitting submit only to see your score of 78%? That means, it doesnt count and we had to do another one. This got us ready for Ncelx---did we hate it? Yes. Was I happy when I passed Nclex on my 1st attempt with 75 questions? Yes.
When I hear people say the comment of "book smart" it personally ticks me off, because I am from what I think "book smart" but I also studied ALOT, I read ALOT and asked ALOT of questions, I got good grades but I worked hard for them very hard. From what I have been told by my mgrs and peers I also have good common sense and self confidence. Clinically I have so far been a good nurse. So just because I got mainly As and didnt think Nclex was difficult does not mean in any way I am a poor clinical nurse.
I think your school let you down because they did not prepare you fully to sit for the Nclex exam. If that many people in your graduating class had that much difficulty passing, then they should have added a class specifically how to take Nclex, or mandated you to take Nclex style of questions as part of the requirement for passing. As every nursing school knows that with out a lic you cant work as a nurse.
So because they failed you by not preparing you, you then had to pay how much money to take the exam 3x? Had to miss out on 6months of nursing pay while you taught your self how to take Nclex and pass. Causes you how much grief and frustration? You cant put a dollar amount on that type of stress. I am glad my school was hard on us. I paid alot of money to attend nursing school and it was a huge sacrifice to my family to have me attend. I paid them to prepare me to be a nurse and that means 1st I have to pass the licensing exam called Nclex.
I do agree with you that nursing is an on the job training job, Nclex only test the minimal requirements, I have learned more working as a nurse than I have in 4 years of school. Nursing school scratches the surface of what real nursing is all about. Nclex is just the 1st step.
Specializes in Cardiac Thoracic Surgery, Emergency Med.
----" I would like to see 10 veteran nurses go in and pass the current NCLEX."
JON
Jon,
The passing rate on the NCLEX (overall) is over 80%. That means, most people pass it on the first try. That is huge... and pretty amazing. Only one in my class of 42 failed the first time... everyone else passed. She then passed 45 days later on her second try. I find it absolutely offensive that you base your statistics on your own personal experience. It is irresponsible to do that and you just sound like a very angry person. I have been following your posts and at some points when you were going through the worst of times taking the NCLEX, you came across as a spoiled angry child... you sound like that again.
Giving people support through this test is what they need... not angry resentment if they are not succeeding or beating the test. It is important to be able to understand what a question is asking and how to respond to a situation when presented with it. These questions ask you those important questions. If you cannot answer them correctly, then you may not be interpreting the question properly. I find that most people that insult this test are the ones that have failed it. Sometimes it is easier to say that "the test is not the real world", then admit that you are "the less than 20% in the US" that cannot interpret the test enough to answer correctly.
I am sorry if this offends you, but I cannot help but find you somewhat angry.
well, im glad thae fact that most of your students pass the test the first time, but if you look around in "here" there are alot of students that are re-peat test takers.
yes, i am biased towards re-peat test takers (obviously), i defend them. ONE of my fellow clasmates told another student at work last week that "IF you dont pass the NCLEX the first time, you are an idiot"---TO ME thats what alot of you are saying, in a sense as well--after iheard this..I had SERIOUS words with this person, this PERSON is the same person..i was with almost every week helping to study for tests in school, who would cry about not passing certain tests etc..NOW that they passed on theri first time..they are now on there "high" horse, what right do they have to judge a person who has failed and what kind of MORE pressure are they needlessey putting on the NCLEX taker that hasnt taken it yet ?
MANY great nurses fail NCLEX, so does that meant they are bad nurses ? that they wernt prepared ? or that they didhnt care ?
To call me a "spolied child" is really big of you, I have never insulted anyone in here, in fact, i beleive i am well liked in here, a few of you still try to get personal and throw insults my way...and "im, thCHILD here"--right.
The FACT is i give encouragement to MANY, you may not beleive that but yes, its true
yes i am anti-NCLEX, thats my choice and my right..but i am PRO-NCLEX taker.
ALOT of members feel as i do on this topic as well, but do not post their opinions openly in here, becasue of the back lash that i often get, being called "childish" (twice now) soo they choose to PM me or email me, its a shame that members in here cannot voice their opinion without being flamed..If you have been following my post, you will see i have never insulted anyone, BUT have been insulted numerous times (see above) --do the admins condone their behavior ? or do they just let it go because my opinion is bot there own. i wonder.
My main point in here is to tell people that have yet to take the NCLEX or has failed it...NOT to be hard on themselves, (as i was) this is just a test and not an indication of how a person wioll be as nurse or reflect them as people. many people who fail take it really personal, that its "them"..i have been down that road and eant to help them.
sure, sling insults my way....and the admins allow it.
it only goes to show the qaulity of character you possess.
:twocents:
And the nclex does teach you how to be safe in EVERY situation... Please give me an example of what you learned when studying for the nclex that indicated how the patient would receive unsafe care? From saying this is a stupid test(as JON claims) and other nurses(or soon to be nurses god for bid) believing that worries me! It's the icing on the cake(+) from what we learned in school. I agree somewhat that this TEST in and of itself can't ultimately measure a nurses 100% competence, but applying and PUTING into action(what I'm learning here regarding nclex content and what I learned in school) DOES...and there is a lot you have to prove in school remember...and it's up to him/her to apply all of the gained knowledge from what is learned through nclex material/content/school(I know the subject is about the test and not school but I'm just saying
MaleNursesRock
292 Posts
SUZANNE--
true, good point i was not aware there were states that had a "limit" of times for the NCLEX. Thats pretty harsh. i f they dont pass in X amount of time , then what ? thats it ? thats unfortunate, very unfortunate indeed..and i gives me more reason to hate this exam, that good people and possibly great potential nurses are falling through the cracks because of a poorly constructed test (again, my opinion)...
i cant imagine any other proffession that does this, lawyer, doctor, cop, etc. that if you dont pass by the X time..ALL that school, money, time, sweat, and tears are just..............gone.
to critique someones competence, intelligence, and general humaness on a SINGLE test is bad.. What if a person is a english second language person, or a bad test taker, or simply just was just sick that day.
What a shame.
JON