passed 2nd attempt NCLEX RN

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I had been using allnurses.com since my graduation from nursing school in April 2018. I wanted to share my story of how I failed my first NCLEX attempt and passed my second try as encouragement for those who may have failed NCLEX before.

My first time around I used Kaplan and completed all the question trainers and NCLEX sample tests. I scored a 62 on the readiness exam which correlated to a 91% probability of passing. I had studied for about 7 weeks and felt confident going into the exam. I got 206 questions, lots of SATA and found out the next day that I had failed. Words cannot even describe how defeated and devastated I felt.

I gave myself a few days to let it sink in and grieve and then I knew I needed to pick myself up and continue working hard. I purchased UWorld and started taking questions every day. This time around I knew I needed to change the way I studied. When I had used Kaplan, I was more focused on practicing questions and completing quizzes than I was on actually remediating the questions. Don't get me wrong, I went through my Kaplan quizzes to review what I had missed, but I did not give the rationales enough attention and did not give myself the time to truly grasp all the concepts I was missing. Second time with UWorld, I remediated EVERY SINGLE QUESTION, whether I got it right or wrong. I bought a large notebook and wrote down every single rationale. Another tip I learned this time around was knowing the type of studier you are. I am not the type who can sit down for 7 or 8 hours doing questions. I burn out after a maximum of 4 hours. So when I felt I couldn't do any more questions, I would stop for the day. I encourage those of you to look at studying this way. The first time around I told myself "give yourself 7 weeks to study and you'll be ready". The second time around I had the mentality of "I need to finish the entire UWorld question bank before I can take my test". And I think this is important because I ended up pushing my second NCLEX test back to allow myself more time with the rationales and questions. It's not about how long you've studied, but about how well you've studied.

Took my second NCLEX attempt on August 11th 2018 and I found out this morning that I passed. Second time around I got 75 questions, 22 SATA, no math. My personal opinion is that UWorld is an absolute blessing. The questions are challenging but that rationales are unmatched. I learned so much from the rationales, I recommend to every single nursing student out there preparing for their exam.

One last thing that helped me through this extremely challenging summer of studying was this prayer I was given by a tutor. I said it before every study session, before every quiz, before my second NCLEX attempt. Whether you are religious or not, this prayer always helped to ease my nerves and give me a small peace of mind. It's the prayer of St. Joseph of Cupertino, the patron saint of students and test takers

O Humble St. Joseph of Cupertino, singularly favored by God in overcoming the difficulties of study and the worries of examinations, implore the Holy Spirit to enlighten my mind and strengthen my memory in the search of His truth and wisdom. Help me especially in the decisive moments of this examination, protecting me from that forgetfulness and disturbing anxiety which often affect me. May I succeed in offering God my finest work and may I grow in knowledge, understand, humility, and charity. May everything I attempt to learn in life be offered in faithful service to God, from who flows that wisdom which leads to eternal life. Amen.

Nursing and working in healthcare is going to be no walk in the park. Overcoming the obstacle of not passing the NCLEX and having to bust your butt to study will only make you a better nurse. I feel that I am better prepared for whatever nursing obstacles may be thrown at me because I had to pick myself up and continue to work hard to achieve this goal. Something to keep in mind. Good luck to all students and future nurses preparing for this exam!

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Specializes in Psychiatry.

Just curious, how do you know you passed since you took it on the 11th?

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My name is posted on the BON, I got the email confirmation. I live in Ohio and I think Ohio has very fast results.

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Congrats! I took mine in Mason, OH on 8/4/2018. uWorld is the best! My results also came in less than 24 hours from the board.

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Specializes in Psychiatry.

Congrats. I was curious because I took the NCLEX on the 10th of August - a Friday and I didn't get my results till Tuesday. I guess it's because I'm in California.

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awesome! I am down in cinci as well!

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Congrats. I was curious because I took the NCLEX on the 10th of August - a Friday and I didn't get my results till Tuesday. I guess it's because I'm in California.

Both times i took it i found out my results within 48 hours, Ohio must be quick! hope your results were good :)

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Specializes in Psychiatry.
Both times i took it i found out my results within 48 hours, Ohio must be quick! hope your results were good :)

Yes! I'm an RN now. I technically had to wait four days. I was so anxious.

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Congratulations I am so proud of you. I recently tokk my nclex first time around and failed it. I knew I failed walking out of that exam. I felt so defeated and it was the worst day of my life. My problem was that I only used uworld and I definitely crammed. I was in such a rush to finish the test bank that I did not fully understand the rationales and could not apply it when it came to the exam. when I was taking the exam I felt like I did not even study for it. It was the worst feeling ever. I hope to be in your shoes soon! I have been study every single day and made a new study usy plan. I sit down on the computer and do 75 questions on test mode and then I go back and review it. First time around I only did tutor mode and during the real nclex I had so much anxiety not knowing if I got the question right or not. I was simulating the actual nclex second time around. All of my friends were passing so that gave me false reassurance that I would pass too but boy I was so wrong. I cried for 2 days straight and did not leave my room. I took a week off to gather myself and made a study plan. I had never felt so alone in my life. Well I go to the library and use their computers so im use to using someone elses computer and do 75 questions in test mode then I go back and read the rationales. It takes about 3 hours to do all of that. I take a little break after that then I do questions from my Lacharity Delegation and prioritization book because on the nclex I had so many of those questions and was not confident answering those questions at all. I try to do about 2-3 chapters a day. I also listen to Mark Klimek's lectures and he is amazing. Everything he saids really sticks to my brain and I feel like I am not memorizing anything. I am actually learning. I pray all the time too because this has been the toughest thing I have had to do. I pray that I can do this and stay confident and really understand everything I am learning. When I was taking the nclex there were so many disease processes I was unfamiliar with but there is no way to go back and learn every single disease process. When I got my report from the nclex i was near the passing on all the subjects so it was more strategy I need to work on when answering questions. I reapplied to the BRN to take my nclex 2 days after I took my exam and paid for my exam on Pearson right away so i can take this exam when my 45 days is up. I am in California. how long did you wait until you took your exam again? I have a pending job offer and I need to pass the exam 2nd time around. I am been praying so much. Please let me know! Congrats again!!!! You should be so proud

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Congratulations I am so proud of you. I recently tokk my nclex first time around and failed it. I knew I failed walking out of that exam. I felt so defeated and it was the worst day of my life. My problem was that I only used uworld and I definitely crammed. I was in such a rush to finish the test bank that I did not fully understand the rationales and could not apply it when it came to the exam. when I was taking the exam I felt like I did not even study for it. It was the worst feeling ever. I hope to be in your shoes soon! I have been study every single day and made a new study usy plan. I sit down on the computer and do 75 questions on test mode and then I go back and review it. First time around I only did tutor mode and during the real nclex I had so much anxiety not knowing if I got the question right or not. I was simulating the actual nclex second time around. All of my friends were passing so that gave me false reassurance that I would pass too but boy I was so wrong. I cried for 2 days straight and did not leave my room. I took a week off to gather myself and made a study plan. I had never felt so alone in my life. Well I go to the library and use their computers so im use to using someone elses computer and do 75 questions in test mode then I go back and read the rationales. It takes about 3 hours to do all of that. I take a little break after that then I do questions from my Lacharity Delegation and prioritization book because on the nclex I had so many of those questions and was not confident answering those questions at all. I try to do about 2-3 chapters a day. I also listen to Mark Klimek's lectures and he is amazing. Everything he saids really sticks to my brain and I feel like I am not memorizing anything. I am actually learning. I pray all the time too because this has been the toughest thing I have had to do. I pray that I can do this and stay confident and really understand everything I am learning. When I was taking the nclex there were so many disease processes I was unfamiliar with but there is no way to go back and learn every single disease process. When I got my report from the nclex i was near the passing on all the subjects so it was more strategy I need to work on when answering questions. I reapplied to the BRN to take my nclex 2 days after I took my exam and paid for my exam on Pearson right away so i can take this exam when my 45 days is up. I am in California. how long did you wait until you took your exam again? I have a pending job offer and I need to pass the exam 2nd time around. I am been praying so much. Please let me know! Congrats again!!!! You should be so proud

First of all, you got this!! You can do this. Focusing on the rationales is huge, I would suggest going back through some of the uworld questions you already did and re-learn the content. One thing I learned while reviewing all the rationales was that after some time, I saw lots of trends in the question content and I was able to get the hang of the topics the NCLEX drills you on. The rationales are everything! I took my second NCLEX test 53 days after my first attempt. I felt very ready by then. I was also in the same boat, I had a job offer set up and I only had one more chance to pass before they gave up the position. You can do this! Prayer goes a long way, I really suggest using the prayer of Saint Joseph of Cupertino. He became my best friend very quickly :) I believe in you! Good luck!

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How did you get your ATT so quickly?? I am really freaking out because I need to take my nclex when the 45 days is up.

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I feel like sometimes when I study I'm like can I do this? how do you keep your spirits up? sometimes im like okay i can totally do this and then sometimes Im like this is so hard am i smart enough to be a nurse and I start to doubt myself. Its hard when you see your friends passing and you're not. It's heart wrenching.

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