Passed nclex pn 5 years after graduating

Nursing Students NCLEX

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I want to share my experience with ppl that are struggling with nclex just like I did. I passed my nclex pn on the 4th try!!!

I graduated in 2009. I worked and studied hard throughout my nursing education. I had excellent grades, but when it came down to passing nclex I was struggling big time! Took nclex 6 months after graduating and failed. A year later tried again and failed yet again! I used kaplan books, qbank questions, didn't work for me! 5 months later tried again and failed! This time I used Hurst books, CDs I just wasn't getting it. Finally I gave up. I told myself I'll never be a nurse, it's never gonna happen for me! I moved on with my life and worked as a nursing assistant. No matter how much I tried to forget about all my hard work and my dream of becoming a nurse, it was always in the back of my mind. I was seeing all my coworkers going from nursing assistants to nurses, and I was stuck. Almost 2 yrs later, I decided I'll try again! But this time I'll succeed! I went and scheduled a test and gave myself 4 weeks to study. What helped me was Saunders!!!! Why didn't I try this before. I studied 3 hrs in the morning and 3 hrs at night. I purchased Saunders Comprehensive review 4th edition which came with a cd with over 3000 practice questions. This is what did it for me! I read this book from top to bottom, and answered all the questions. I reviewed every single rationale wether I got the question right or wrong. After I got done with this book suddenly it all made sense, I just knew I would pass. I took my nclex pn at 10am. My computer shut off at 170 questions. Walking out I felt good, I wasn't scared, I didn't feel like I failed! I hear ppl say after you're done you feel like you failed, but that wasn't the case for me. 48 hrs later I got my quick results. PASS!!! I just want to say that you can do it! It is possible! I did it after 5 years, and 3 failures. We went thry nursing school, we worked hard, don't let this test discourage you like it did me, to the point of giving up!!! The tip I can give you that worked for me is, schedule a test, give yourself 3-4 weeks, and study at least 3 hrs a day. This amazing Saunders book helped me, and also Kaplan strategy book if you're struggling with priority questions. Good luck my fellow nurses!!! Also one silly suggestion I used to keep me motivated. "FAILURE IS NOT AN OPTION" this is the quote I had on my bathroom mirror. Pick smthg that will keep you going and place it somewhere where you'll see it every day. Sometimes little things like this really work 

WOWWY....so happy for you. I am going to retake it myself this will be #2 and hopefully the last time. I finished school February 2012 .But I had to finish up all the ATI exit test...long story . I did that which took me a year to finish there was 9 tests to do before they would give you the diploma in your hand and forward your name to BON. Yes I finish able to take the test a few months ago and failed. For me I think I studied everything there was that everyone was giving me. Now that didn't work...fast forward today 2014..I am doing a plan of study, questions, and how the questions are made. I haven't paid all my fees yet to retake but that okay because I want to get there. The nclex wasn't very hard but like I said I failed. I will get there in a few weeks .....best of luck to you

DJAYS the advice I can give you is don't jump from books to books. I did that and was so overwhelmed to the point I didn't know where to start. I concentrated on Saunders because it's very detailed in content, and I felt like it covered pretty much everything, also I answered all the questions from the book. Another book I used is Kaplan strategies because I really struggled with priority questions, and It really did help! Stick to 1 or 2 books and I'm sure you'll do great. Good luck to you!!! You got this!!!

I just finished LVN and it was hard... I'll be taking my NCLEX in about a month... We studied on Saunders and Kaplan... Our school was very good in reviewing with us over and over... I'm a little nervous but I'm not one to give up on my dream and I'm so glad you didn't either ... Congrats

Trust me I do understand overwhelmed with information. I have a live review a friend give me she went to for 3 days in Ohio . And the books to go along with it so I been just review that..and also how to answer the questions. I will not go through what I went through last time. The ncsbn review was just like the test for sure. I just don't have the money after having to pay all over again. My problem was the pharm part was very hard on the nclex -pn, when we didn't have all thoses drugs in school. I had over 30 drugs on my test. Everyone said because I missed a question that was why I kept on getting more and more drugs.

DJAYS yes to be honest I was scared of pharm part too. When I took my test I was caunting, I had 6 med questions and 1 math problem. I was always told you can never study for pharm, too many meds out there. I studied drug classifications, from what I remember Beta Blockers-usually have the suffix OLOL. I tried going by that and it worked for me. I can understand your situation, these boards are very pricy. Come to think of it, I ended up paying 1200$ All together before I passed. Wow that's a lot, no wonder I gave up lol. You'll do great, stay positive, study up to 3 hrs a day if you can. Try not to wait 5 yrs like me, another wow for me lol! Good luck, you got this, it's in the bag!!! :)

Thank you...I am trying to get this study thing together but like you said it is so hard to do. I have to pay my finally payment of $200 in two weeks for the test then I can go for it. Their are programs out there that I can help to pay for my fees but it take s about 3 to 6 months for the fees to be paid through them. I will make it happen one way of another...

I'm so glad you posted this to share your story, I can relate to so much here. I graduated in 2009 also and just failed nclex for the third time. I've paid for re-exam again and now I'm waiting on my ATT to schedule another date to test. This next one will be my fourth & last time taking nclex-pn. I feel like I don't have a problem at all with the content information, it's just the nclex style type questions I can't seem to grasp. After I failed this past time, it was just May 7th, I felt like giving up, thinking I just can't do it, but as my heart battles with my mind I won't let myself accept "I can't do it", I know I can, I know my heart lies in nursing & that I can pass this test. It's great to see other ppl out here that didn't give up and ended up accomplishing their goal to become a nurse. Congratulations to you, I definitely know how hard it is, and Thanks again for sharing this.

Congrats. I am actually on here looking for advice for my niece. She has failed 4 times now. She was a good student and the results say that she is near passing or above in all areas. I would love to know what has worked for other people who have taken the test multiple times.

Specializes in LTC,School Nurse.

That's excellent what counts is u never have up!!!

Specializes in LTC,School Nurse.

I scheduled my test a month from today. You are my motivation. Big Congratulations to you!!!

I scheduled my test a month from today. You are my motivation. Big Congratulations to you!!!

Thank you, and good luck to you. You will pass, keep up the positive thinking, study, rest, you got this!

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