So I heard a rumor today that the proctors who are watching you as you take the NCLEX know whether or not you passed because it shows up on their computer.
I dont know how true this is, so I was wondering if maybe people could give their input.
I hope it is true because as I left the proctor was like "congratulations on passing!" .. at the time I was so out of it from the whole experience that I thought she just meant passing as in finishing the exam. But maybe it means something more?!! A few of my friends also had winks and congratulations (at other test centers) and they passed too. .
Did anyone have proctors who winked at them or said something similar and did not pass?
Her exact words were "graduates of American nursing schools normally passes with a test cutoff of 75-76". It was the best statement I have ever heard in a long while (at least at the second I heard it)! But was she implying that foreign graduates who took NCLEX and only got 75 questions are likely to fail? hmm. I know its a bit "ethnocentric", but I hope she's right about her statement for my case!
IMO, I think you're reading a bit too much into the question...er, her words :)
Granted, there are cultural differences that may give foreign grads a harder time on some areas of the American NCLEX, but unless she specifically said something negative about foreign grads that you forgot to post here, I don't think she was implying anything negative. It sounds more like she was giving you encouragement since it seems that most people fret if they get "only" 75 q's.
You are right I think I was "reading" into her statement. The good news though is that I really passed NCLEX! The weird thing is, it appeared first in our BON website before it was in Pearson Vue, so i was waiting all along at pearson site's to come up with my result, then a friend of mine called me to say its already in the BON site.
When i left out of there, I made a comment about how I hoped that went well, and the proctor looked at me and said" oh, you have nothing to worry about, you will do fine." At first, i thought well, wasn't she nice to encourage me but as I started thinking about it on the way home, she said it with that look that everyone has seen... the one that says oh, I got to tell you someonthing but I can't!
Well if they know instantly why the heck can't WE know instantly if we pass or not?? I mean, I'M the one that paid $300 to take the test!! Geez..... (sorry bout the rant lol)
Let's say, for instance, that this was your 2nd or 3rd time being NCLEX'd, and you HAD to pass this time in order to keep your job. Some people, unfortunately, are less mature than others in receiving bad news.
I, for one, wouldn't want to be the Pearson employee explaining to you (and your 250# "1%-er" biker significant other who was waiting for you in the lobby) that you failed the exam.
There can also be stress on the proctor's side in administering some types of exams. I was a practical skills station examiner for the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians from ~1992 - 2005 (on & off - not every single exam in my area). I'd test paramedic candidates in airway management, IV/meds, static/dynamic cardiology, ...
We had people sometimes come in from out of state, for whom this was their VERY LAST chance to pass the practical skills exam, or they'd both lose their job on their fire department, plus have to take a significant amount of coursework before being allowed to retest. I'll tell you - it was not easy to give these folks a failing grade if they earned it, but I did. It would have been even more difficult if I had to tell them "pass" or "fail" at the end of my skills station.
I don't know if they really do know. I watched the monitors as I was fingerprinted in and out of the room and he has pictures of all the people from a top view making sure no one is cheating. I didn' see anything else but camera shots of people in their pods. When I took it the 4th time, I had a bad feeling and I said "see you back in 2 months" and he said "nah". I failed. I passed on my 5th time though.
My proctor said "hopefully it works out for you" and had a sad look on his face. For no reason too, since i passed with 75q. Didn't seem like he knew the result.
I work for Pearson and we don't give scores or know when a person fails or passes for NCLEX. They limit the information they give us, other exams do provided scores but depends on the board. A lot of people think we do know if the person has passed or failed. People constantly ask and we really don't know. With this specific exam we don't say "oh don't worry you passed" its more like good luck and check out your brochure on how to get your results.
Meriwhen, ASN, BSN, MSN, RN
4 Articles; 7,907 Posts
IMO, I think you're reading a bit too much into the question...er, her words :)
Granted, there are cultural differences that may give foreign grads a harder time on some areas of the American NCLEX, but unless she specifically said something negative about foreign grads that you forgot to post here, I don't think she was implying anything negative. It sounds more like she was giving you encouragement since it seems that most people fret if they get "only" 75 q's.
I hope you did well!