Should there be a limit on trying to pass NCLEX?

dragonflyRN · Aug 25, 2006

I was prepared to fail when I walked into that office. I am not good at testing...especially when there is so much on the line. Will I be a RN or not? I don't think there is a good way to study for the NCLEX. I didn't study. It's not so much about what you know, but in your ability to be safe and to keep your patient's safe. Oh, and I did pass on the first try.

NurseBeefcake · Aug 25, 2006

While taking an NCLEX review given by my school, I met a girl who had graduated from NS ten years before and had yet to pass the NCLEX. I must say, it gave me pause and I had extremely not nice thoughts. However the one thought that I still have and am not ashamed to say out loud is "How do you retain the knowledge and the skills after ten years of not being a nurse?" I know even when I don't work for a week or two it takes me some time to get back in the flow? Now regarding the question. I think although there shouldn't be a limit there should be some kind of mandatory refresher or other class that one must pass after failing say 4 or 5 times or 1 or 2 years after graduating NS.

CHATSDALE · Aug 25, 2006

i have seen a nurse i don't know how long she had been out of school but when i went to work there she was working as an aid/wardclerk because she had failed it several times already...however she was smart and working ward clerk will make you aware of lab values etc...anyway she finally passed and i am sure that she was a good nurse

a woman who graduated with me was the only one who failed the test - there was a rule that you could take the test 3 times [q6months at that time] then you were required to take a refresher course or repeat the nursing program...i don't think that she ever became a nurse

masstudent · Aug 25, 2006

Three strikes and you're out seems to be a good rule that could apply here.I think the nursing profession would be held in greater esteem if it didn't look like any Tom, Dick and Harry could be a nurse. Essentially, that is what is happening when people are allowed to take the NCLEX 3+ times. I can understand failing once, but once you fail it seems like you would know what you need to study. Do you want a doctor who had to take the medical boards numerous times? Yes, it is a cold cruel unfair world but there are people who should not be nurses, and the NCLEX isn't doing the world any favors with their testing system.

In regard to Lady Madonna's comment "do you want a doctor who has had to take the medical boards numerous times", I am sure there are plenty out there. Also, some people can be A students but do horriblely on standardized tests-I for one am dreading the GRE and I am in the process of figuring out what test prep class to take online-Kaplan or Princeton Review. Perhaps the NCLEX can't be compared to the GRE but both have standardized content and the NCLEX is based on what all nurses are expected to learn in school. As I have heard other people say, no one knows if their doctor (insert nurse here) graduated #1 or at the bottom of their class, but either way they are both called doctors.

Bala Shark · Aug 25, 2006

I have been reading the NCLEX boards often at this site because I take the NCLEX in two weeks for my first time..Most people who take the NCLEX are just guessing but they still passed..They always write about how they did not know the material and stuff like that..But the thing is that they passed..

DaFreak71 · Aug 25, 2006

It seems like the assumption is that the number of attempts for passing the NCLEX correlates to the quality of the nurse. Since nursing is an evidence based profession, perhaps some research should be done.

Shouldn't be too hard for the various states to gather statistics that could illustrate if a nurse took the NCLEX a higher than average amount of times that he/she had a higher than average of incidents on file.

steelydanfan · Aug 25, 2006

That is the way NCLEX is supposed to work. But, what of the person who takes 4 tries and still fails. They will have seen an extra 1060 questions. Questions you can't see by doing Kaplan or anything else. They are the real questions. Although there are many, many questions available for the test, eventually there will be repeats. That is where the averages catch up. If you have seen 5-10% of the questions from prior tests, and can recall them, you have an advantage over those who take the test a finite number of times.
As far as a poor test taker. My god, they just finished nursing school. Don't you think they may have had to take a test or two, and learned some test taking strategies?
I will still stick by my feeling that 3 times and then remediation should be the norm. If failed the 4th time, perhaps a formal remedial nursing course, much like nurses who have been away from nursing for several years are required to do before obtaining a license.
bob

I have to be the devil's advocate here.

Firstly, Bob is correct. ANY nursing student cannot be considered a "poor test taker" whatever that is.

No rebuttals here please, I don't believe in the concept, or nursing schools would do orals to graduate.

As far as NCLEX, 2 strikes and you are out. It's a difficult exam, but we have to maintain SOME standards.

And before you think I am being harsh, consider the scenario:

A GN is precepting on a med-surg floor. Takes her boards in June. Fails. Works as a preceptee through Jan. Takes boards, fails again. Would you be worried that this supposed RN candidate cannot pass Boards after 6 months of graduate clinical experience?

Otherwise, our profession is a joke.

Trauma Columnist · Aug 25, 2006

While I don't think that taking the NCLEX more than twice shouldn't be disallowed (wow, what a double negative), I think there needs to be remediation after say, the second failure. Obviously there is a problem if a student gets through school and then can't pass the NCLEX. I think that after all that school and effort, one should at least get two chances to try the NCLEX and then remediation to find out the cause (and fix it) BEFORE we just throw in the towel.

BTW , when the old NCLEX was around - the test that had five parts and you had to pass all five, there were many more failures, usually of only one part of the test (psych and/or OB).

rninme · Aug 25, 2006

I can remember working with several GN that did not pass NCLEX on the 1st or 2nd try. After failing for the 2nd time, they had to take remedial classes....and then both of them passed on their 3rd attempt. I don't know if the state required the remedial training (I tested in IL), or if it was a program implemented by our hospital. I do remember the nurse educator working very closely with both of them. In those 2 cases....remedial classes seemed to be the answer.

ZASHAGALKA, RN · Aug 25, 2006

The test requires that you show proficiency in meeting minimum standards. If you DON'T meet those standards, no amount of taking it will help.

This is why the average pass rate for first time takers is in the 87% range, but the success of a multiple takers is in the low 40s%.

Someone that fails the test more then twice MUST make the gut check to discover WHY they don't have the educational base to pass, and address these problems. No amount of studying for the test will help you pass if the questions you are studying are foreign to you.

At that point, a prudent person would spend some time addressing their deficiencies.

There are courses out there that are much more indepth.

I would only see limits on taking the test as positive if those limits are designed to encourage a prospective nurse to re-examine and address their base of knowledge with the goal of re-taking AFTER they prove that they have addressed those concerns.

IF someone passes NCLEX, the tested assumption is that they have the minimum requirements to function as a nurse. If we can't make that assumption after the 5th time, we can't make it after the first.

~faith,

Timothy.

JHUBRAIN · Aug 25, 2006

I have to be the devil's advocate here.
Firstly, Bob is correct. ANY nursing student cannot be considered a "poor test taker" whatever that is.
No rebuttals here please, I don't believe in the concept, or nursing schools would do orals to graduate.
As far as NCLEX, 2 strikes and you are out. It's a difficult exam, but we have to maintain SOME standards.
And before you think I am being harsh, consider the scenario:
A GN is precepting on a med-surg floor. Takes her boards in June. Fails. Works as a preceptee through Jan. Takes boards, fails again. Would you be worried that this supposed RN candidate cannot pass Boards after 6 months of graduate clinical experience?
Otherwise, our profession is a joke.

I have to agree with this. There should be a limit - or there are no standards. If someone could just retake - retake - retake until on the 12th time they pass - maybe nursing is really not for them. The same should hold true for MDs as well. I can see failing it a couple of times, but after 3 - 4 times, there should be some major retraining in store for that person before they take it the 5th time.

sister--* · Aug 25, 2006

I like the idea of 3 tries within 2 yrs. of graduation. If unsuccessful then a remedial program would be mandated. Some of us need a bit of time for all the info. to organize into a useable and safe ground-floor practice in which to build upon.

However, if a graduate chose not to take the NCLEX in that two yr. time frame then back to school you go.

Even though I did pass on my first attempt, I say there's a lot to be said about stress!