bhermann

Hi! I graduated in May of 2007 BSN and passed my boards a few months ago and was having the hardest time trying to find a hospital position. I really wanted peds oncology but had a very hard time getting in so I thought I would look into peds in an office. To make a long story short, I quit after 3 days. It was sooo boring to me. I should have known something was up when I walked in on my first day and I had my stethescope and noone else did. In the office, they normally have the "back" office nurse and "front " office nurse. Since medical assistants are cheaper and can do the back office stuff, they really didn't need RN's back there so they stuck me on triage nursing. I had No patient care and sat on a phone for 8 hours scheduling appts. and dealing with minor, boring issues. Since you are new to nursing like me, I just want to give you a heads up that I didn't have. If you want to maintain your nursing skills, documentation, patient interaction, passing meds, I would really stick with the hospital. I was so worried that I would forget everything I learned and after 4 years of nursing I felt I wanted to do more than sit on a phone all day. I did find the job though by just simply opening a phone book and calling asking if they were hiring and faxing resumes. It was pretty easy to get the spot but I would think twice before leaving a hospital setting =) Hope I didn't scare you but that was my personal experience

What a long journey it had been but the waiting is over! My story is long but the point to it is for those out there who have failed the Nclex like I did once and for people who have lost faith, I hope my story can help.:heartbeat I graduated in Florida with my Bachelors in Nursing in May of 2007. At the time I was living in Miami and wanted to move back home to Tampa. I figured it would be short term since I planned on passing my boards and we would only be there a few months. WOW was I wrong! I took the first 3 months to study and I did a private course which was my first mistake. I did Saunders questions and did very well. I scheduled my test for August in Sarasota which was an hour away from my home. Another mistake I made was to invite my fiance and mom to wait for me while I was in my test. So, not only did I have that on my mind, I was also thinking if I did not pass this test I would not get married, move to our own place, and not be able to start my life! DO NOT DO THIS!!! I totally bombed my test because I gave up in the middle of it and was not prepared from the studying I did. After finding that I failed (which I have NEVER failed in my LIFE), I hid everything relating to nursing and did not to speak about it. Anytime anyone would ask me about it, I would simply ignore them and die inside:uhoh3: Since I spent so much time studying, I realized I needed money and had to work. So, here I was serving tables with my bachelors degree and a member of Sigma Theta Tau (nursing honors society).... I ended up serving tables for 5 months and found myself getting alittle too comfortable for a life that was not me. I decided to take the money that I had saved from tips to enroll in the "magic" kaplan. Little did I know that this would be the best decision I had ever made:bow: I had heard from EVERYONE that kaplan was the magic key and that I was pretty much guarnteed to pass. I figured if I spent the 500.00 it would pay off because once I passed I would be making major money and it would pay off (plus the hospital will more than likely reimburse you). After taking the course, doing 6 hours of studies per day, and 2000 questions later I was going to retake the Nclex. In the mean time I was still living with my fiances parents in their spare room with my fiance, 2 cats AND a dog and was well past the "3"month stay. It was more like 9 months! When I went to take my nclex for the second time, I figured this was it. Everything was pointing to me being ready to do this and I had the mindset that I WOULD! On this past Friday, I woke up to take my test and had very little sleep. On top of that, we were under tornado warnings (go figure). I got to the testing center and was beyond convinced that I would get 75 and be out of there. Low and behold, I got 251 questions and almost 6 hours!!!! What did I do wrong again????!!! I left the exam in total tears and was convinced that I would be working at Taco Bell. All that ran through my head was MORE studying, failing, no marriage, no moving, and I am a complete LOSER! I have failed myself and my family once again. I returned home and cried til I literally had no more tears:cry: I kept checking the BON to see a license number pop up and nothing.....On Sunday, I knew my results would be posting on pearson and was shaking in my knees to see those words FAILED once again. I decided to go online to check and could not remember my password! I freaked! So, I thought I would call. Well, to get results you need a land line and I only have a cell phone!! AHHHHHH I had talked to my friend and she jumped in her car to take me to her office where there was a phone there. Once we got there, I went straight to the bathroom and got sick because I couldn't take this any longer. I heard my fiance set the phone down and he said the best thing in the world.....................You PASSED!!!!!!!:bowingpur The reason I have spent the time to post this long story and journey of mine is for those out there who are losing faith and questioning their role in nursing. PLEASE keep faith as I did! It was much easier for me to give up (which I did for awhile) but MUCH BETTER to KEEP FAITH! Studying, Kaplan, my fiance, this site and prayers are the reason I did this. When you go to the test, do not make the mistakes I did. Do not convince yourself this is the end of the world because it is not. If I can live in a bedroom with another person and 3 pets while serving tables ANYONE can get through their troubles! Everyone of you are going to be great nurses and we are a "family". Believe in yourself and keep the faith and everything will fall into place:nurse:

Good luck to both of us!! We can do it!

Well, Friday is my big day! I took the test back in August and didn't pass. I was beyond devistated! I had just graduated with my bachelors, in sigma theta tau (nursing honors), and have never failed a test until now! How can this happen? I literally could not look at anything nursing and got very upset when anyone mentioned it to me. Since I had taken 3 months off to study, I found myself with no money. I couldn't get a hospital job because I knew I was going to move in the next few months and it would be a hassle. So....I became a server!! Talk about humiliating! I had a 4 year college degree and I am waiting tables all because of one stupid test! After about 4 months of that, I found myself really straying from nursing and quit. I knew this was the time more than ever to get back in the game. I was at the lowest part of my life and felt I needed to make a change. From my serving, I had saved up enough for the kaplan course. I did the week long course, did the lectures online for 4-6 hours a day to get though the book, and then moved onto questions. I did about 1-2 question trainers a week with my scores ranging from 57-64 (with 64 being my last test grade)!! I also highly recommend qbank! I just finished all of the questions today and feel really good. There are roughly 1200 questions but I highly recommend doing them. I learned things I never knew before and read every rationale. For everyone I got wrong, I wrote them in a notebook and read them nightly before I went to bed. So, here I am now. I am DONE with studying and I take my test Friday. I pray very badly that this is going to be great and I pass with flying colors. Please pray for me and give me support.:bowingpur I am putting the books away and having a nice day tomorrow to relax! I pray that each and every one of you becomes a great nurse and that we ALL pass this stupid test called the NCLEX:redbeathe

Well, I studied ALOT! Maybe too much. I went to the kaplan course first and got that out of the way. I then went home and started the course book. It took my 2 straight weeks to listen to the lectures but I did about 4-6 hours a day of just listening. Then, I went onto the questions. I did one of the seven tests about each week roughly and went over every rationale:right or wrong. I also did Qbank. I actually just finished it yesterday and I think that program is great. It is A LOT of work but I did about 125 per day depending on my mood. I did it on tutor mode because I felt it was better that way because you get the rationale right then which I liked. For every one I got wrong, I wrote them down in a notebook and overlooked it every night. My scores on the question trainers were ranging from 57-64. I actually am not going to do the last test because I am way too overwhelmed =( On test 6 which I did Tuesday, I got a 64! I was so excited and I knew I showed great improvement. Today I am just going to go over the rationale of test 6, read over the ob chapter, and calling it a day. I would not burn yourself out at the end. You want to mentally ready. The day before (tomorrow) I am going to the beach and getting my nails done and staying away from it and going to pray lol If you have any questions please let me know. I know exactly how you feel. All my nursing friends live elsewhere. Some passed and some didn't but I really don't talk much to any of them anymore. Wish me luck on Friday!!!:bowingpur

Hi! I too live in Jax. I just moved here 2 weeks ago =) I also have my bachelors and graduated in May 2007. I took my boards in August and did not pass. I was beyond devistated and it took me awhile to pick myself up again. I decided to take the wonderful kaplan that everyone talks about and feel that up to this point it has worked. I take my boards again on Friday and am I freaking once again but I know I am ready. I finished all of the qbank today and got a 64 on test 6. If you want to talk or just need support feel free!! I know exactly where you are at :heartbeat

Thanks for the advice everyone! I'm just going to get through all the questions and read every rationale and go in and do it =) From what I hear, Kaplan is really helpful in success in passing and have read many success stories on this website. Wish me luck and in 2 weeks I WILL be an RN

I am in the same boat as you! I actually took the Nclex once before and did not pass and so I decided to take the Kaplan course that everyone seems to pass on. I read the entire book and did the question trainers 1-2 and got a 59% and a 58%. When I went to redo them, I too got a 98% on both because I knew the rationale. I don't know if that is how it's supposed to work or what? I don't know if you have the Qbank questions but they work great. They are a bit hard but read through the rationale for all. Well, I am planned to take the test at the end of the month but still feel nervous and not ready. I have heard though that if you do everything they tell you and understand it you will do fine!

So, I took my NCLEX yesterday in Florida and have never felt this bad in my life! I graduated from a very respectable college in South Florida, Have a 3.5 GPA, am in Sigma Theat Tau (Nurses Honor Society), and have dreamed of nursing since I was in 5th grade. I paid 350.00 for a review class from a lady who use to write for NCLEX, studied for 2 months straight, did a 5,000 question book, and made a million notecards. So, when I walked out of the test yesterday after doing the hardest 200 questions of my life I started balling! I felt like a failure and felt like all this time and college experience meant nothing. I honestly felt like I did not know anything on that exam . Where do they get those questions? They were ridiculous :angryfire Please someone give me positive feedback. I can't stand this!!

Congrats!! I find out mine tomorrow!! Wish me luck;)