Passed After Failing 3 Times!

For anyone feeling like they can't do it and unsure where to go or what to do - I can hopefully help !

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Passed After Failing 3 Times!

I have seen inspiring posts on here, people turning here for answers on what to do when failing. People sharing their success stories and I would like to just help anyone I can.

NCLEX-PN: My Journey

My name is Sadie and I started my journey to becoming a nurse in 2012. I decided to go to a trade school straight out of high school so I could save money and get done with school faster. I graduated in 2012 and got my first job within a month working as an MA. I was 19 and had the idea to wait to take my NCLEX-PN so I could have some fun and not worry about school stuff for a little bit.

My first attempt was in 2013

I got around 200 questions and once I got the detailed report I did not do too bad but still decided to wait to take the NCLEX again. I did not do anything to really prep for the test, I just hoped for the best.

My 2nd attempt was 2014

I got around the same number of questions. This time to study I re-read the entire 6-inch thick nursing book (not advised).

My 3rd attempt was 2016

I got around 90 questions and basically bombed it. This time I had paid for Kaplan review and still did not come any closer to passing.

Preparing for My 4th Try

February of 2020 comes around and I am ready to get started. I Google best NCLEX-PN review courses and scroll through the list trying to find one that had good reviews but would not break the bank.

Remar Review

I came across Remar review. It was a nice content refresher but I did not care for the set up of the quizzes - wrong answers would be marked as right, I noticed contradicting info in the workbook, and by the end of it, I just felt very concerned about what I had been studying. I finished that in about 4 weeks (I sped up the course).

I had plans to take NCLEX in May so I had 2 months left and just very unsure of what to do at this point.

Mark Klimek Reviews

Multiple people recommended Mark Klimek reviews on YouTube. I listened to those and took notes and for the first time in 8 years, I finally felt like something was making some sense.

Things were starting to click and I actually felt like I could pass NCLEX.

The only problem was, I had no way to do review questions to prep for NCLEX and we all know without getting used to NCLEX style questions the likelihood of passing is not great.

NCLEX Question Reviews

Multiple people recommended UWorld. I looked into it and it was way too expensive for me.

A few people mentioned ArcherReview and at the time there was only an option for RN (no LPN yet).

NCSBN launched a sale so I signed up for that; did not care for the layout or style of the questions.

I checked back into ArcherReview and they launched the LPN version. I utilized it for all of my questions for studying. Each question gave feedback on how my peers also did on the question and the rationale explained why answers were right and wrong. You can make notes on each question and you get an overall average when done. It was AMAZING. There were questions that I had no idea what the question was even asking or what a condition was, but I read the rationale and took notes.

Will This Be the Last Attempt?

I took my test on May 2nd, I got 67 questions and what felt like at least 40 SATA. Some of the questions I had were EXTREMELY similar to what I saw on ArcherReview. A lot of the same content but honestly ArcherReview was a little harder than NCLEX which I had heard. I was okay with studying harder questions because I wanted this to be my LAST attempt at passing the NCLEX-PN.

The moment of truth ... I left the testing center and thought to myself there is no way I passed with all of those SATA and getting the minimum number of questions. I got home, I got the email and knew I could now do "the trick". I did it and ...

I PASSED!!

That's right, I PASSED.

With A TON of SATA and the minimum number of questions after graduating 8 years ago and this being my 4th attempt, I finally did it.

AND, YOU CAN TOO!

ArcherReview and Mark Klimek made this possible for me and I can not recommend either of those things enough; the combo is important. You need the info from Mark and then learn to apply it with ArcherReview while continuing to learn content and even more tips/pointers while test-taking.

Do Not Give Up

The Comeback Is Greater Than The Setback and You Only Fail When You Stop Trying.

Keep Moving Forward, You Can and You Will Pass NCLEX.

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SadieB773

About SadieB773

Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN). SadieB773 has 8 years of experience.

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Hi! Congratulations! Im so happy for you.

Quick question tho. Were you currently working while reviewing?

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I just found out I passed this morning after failing my first attempt in Feb.

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Thanks Phil Am , yes I do work full time so 40 hours a week and I was also working out still 30-60 minutes 3ish times a week - this helped me to feel like I was giving my brain a rest! Working all day and then studying is mentally tough so I needed something as an escape !

Congratulations Warchild !! So awesome !

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Specializes in graduate Nurse.

HMMM. When did you take this exam. Have you posted any comment within 3 weeks?

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Specializes in nursing.

Congratulations! Very inspiring article.

As a new nurse, this exam may appear scary but it does not have to be. Most importantly, there is no need to spend a lot of money to prepare for this. There are a lot of very good free resources out there.

I have passed recently in 60 questions. I have used Archer Review Question bank for RN NCLEX and Mark K as well. These are very good upcoming sources.

Archer Qbank is very good to create tests, understand diverse areas of NCLEX. I love peer-average statistics in Archer that are presented soon after each test is completed. This helped me gauge my readiness and gave me the confidence to see that I was consistently scoring more than my peers. I felt several of my questions on the exam came directly from archer. I finished the exam in 60 qs during the COVID limitation. When I was preparing, Archer said they were working on adding a lot more content in their rationales which will be a great plus if they are going to offer all these at this low price. It will help a lot of nurses.

Mark K is a great teacher. Mark K used to have Youtube videos but they seem to have removed now due to copyright issues. I am not sure if they have any digital versions. It is very hard and expensive to attend his live reviews. Archer review also has a free Youtube channel but it has only a few videos now but it is possible they may be including more.

There is another angel on Youtube who teaches via FREE "Registered Nurse" channel, I just love her .....she has so many videos that are immensely helpful. One can also download the popular 35 pages ( from facebook NCLEX groups) which I thought had concise important points to go through. These are all great free resources. This exam is not tough if one knows how to prepare and focuses on what is being asked often on the exam. Best wishes to everyone!!

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@Juliet29 I am not sure what you mean about comments within the last 3 weeks but I took my test May 2nd

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Hello!

Quick question about the Mark Klimek review!

Did you listen to the general 12 audio files from 2016 or did you pay for the course? Really interested in knowing 

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