Terrified after taking the NCLEX

2016srnfcc · Jun 15, 2018

I think you passed, especially with the score you ended up with on uworld, thats is amazing. 96th percentile is really good. The good pop-up is reliable almost always. Good luck keep us posted

nursenat6 · Jun 15, 2018

Thanks so much! I'll keep you posted!

2016srnfcc · Jun 15, 2018

Thanks so much! I'll keep you posted!

For sure i would appreciate that. May i ask some questions if you can help?

I would like to know if you have used any other resources, also, why did you feel like you failed (most do feel this way to eventually find out they passed) but was it the way it was worded? did you feel like there were a lot of priority questions, and did you feel like uworld prepared you well? Finally, how long did you study and how many questions perday

nursenat6 · Jun 15, 2018

Sure, I'm happy to help if I can! U-World was my primary method of studying. I studied for about 3 weeks and I made a plan so I knew which topic(s) I would be covering on which day. I did anywhere from 100-175 questions per day depending on what else I had going on. I also used Saunder's Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN Examination to supplement, but I found that I preferred doing practice questions on my computer. I honestly cannot put my finger on what exactly made the NCLEX so hard for me. I think it was a combination of things. I definitely had nerves working against me. During the test I remember thinking how shocked I was that neither my nursing program nor U-World prepared me to answer so many of the questions. I feel like a lot of the questions were vague (sometimes the wording was unclear) and there were so many SATA which are impossible for me. As for priority questions, there were a good amount. However, the answers were not as clear-cut as they typically are on U-World. I hope this helps a bit!

**NICU Guy, BSN, RN** · Jun 15, 2018

I graduated at the top of my class from one of the top 10 nursing programs in the country, I scored in the 96th percentile after completing U-World, and my RN-predictor exam determined I had a 99% chance of passing the NCLEX. My test shut off after 75 questions

You honestly believe that a student that graduated at the top their class would bomb the NCLEX so badly that the computer decided at 75 questions that they were so incompetent and had zero chance of passing and shuts off?

What many graduates taking the NCLEX fail to comprehend is that NCLEX is nothing like a traditional nursing exam that they took in school. In nursing school, everyone got the exact same questions and the same number of questions. You are expected to answer all questions correctly regardless of the difficulty. You are graded on the number of correct answers on the test. NCLEX doesn't give you a grade. It's goal is to find questions at the maximum level of difficulty that you consistently answer correctly. The more questions you answer correctly, the more difficult each subsequent question gets. Test takers are conditioned that if they are answering questions wrong, they are failing. NCLEX doesn't care how many questions you get wrong as long as you are consistently answering questions above the pass line correctly. Ideally, the computer is looking for you to alternate between correct/incorrect answers, that way it knows the precise level of difficulty you can handle. That would mean you answered 37-38 correct and 37-38 wrong, which in a traditional test would mean you fail (50% correct).

KrCmommy522, BSN, RN · Jun 15, 2018

If I remember correctly, SATA questions are higher level questions, and if you are getting higher level questions a lot it means you are doing well. I'm not positive about that, but I vaguely remember being told that before taking my NCLEX. I'm sure you did better than you think! EVERYONE leaves thinking they failed, but most passed! All you can do is relax, do something fun to take your mind waiting for the results, and take a deep breath! Good luck!

mnurse1995 · Jun 15, 2018

You definitely passed. I was in the almost EXACT same boat as you to the percent with UWorld and my class and felt iffy after it shut off at 75 and just found out I passed. You're not going to feel like you succeeded or rocked it because if you're at the top of your class you feel like you're failing because you aren't getting 90-100% of the questions right. Realistically you're going to get 50-60% on the NCLEX and pass, as stated above. So take a deep breath, the chances of being so successful to this point and bombing so bad you shut off at 75 is very minimal. Good luck!

AngelKissed857, BSN, RN · Jun 16, 2018

Relax- you passed. NOBODY walks out of there feeling good! Let us know when your license posts! Seriously- you're fine!

babyNP., APRN · Jun 16, 2018

I know you are anxious, but you need to re-read your post and see how irrational and over the top you sound. Guyinbabyland's post is a good read. good luck to you in your career.

GamerNurseRN · Jun 16, 2018

I would say relax and congratulations! Pretty sure you passed. Welcome to the RN family!

AtheistRN, ADN, RN · Jun 16, 2018

My test was done in less than an hour. I was stunned and thought I must have failed. It took 2 weeks for the results to post. 2 weeks! But the "good pop-up" showed and I did pass.