4th time is a charm

[roxy0128]

FINALLY PASSED!

after failing the board exam 3 times and a year later i finally passed and can finally call myself an RN.

for the handful of students that have been on a similar journey as the one i have been on, you know this elated feeling and it doesn't seem real yet. i am constantly looking at the website and typing my name and sure enough it says PASSED!

i am currently trying to apply for jobs and applying for my hawaii RN license (i live in hawaii but got an OR license, because i went to school in OR) both of which are daunting tasks.

for those of you who are in the same boat that i was in ... the most important thing is NOT TO GIVE UP.

im not going to lie on the 3rd time, i was seriously depressed and even sought out help from a guidance counselor (she really put things in perspective and really taught me how to think positive thoughts). if you were anything like me school was easy so failing over and over again was a new thing.

the way i studied for my last test was extremely different from the 3 previous times. i invested in two classes, the hurst review and a class from a professor in washington state (which taught kinesethic learning)

i LOVED the hurst review ... everything was made really simple, really taught you how to think critically and figure out what the question is REALLY asking. if you know these BASIC concepts reviewed in the class then it should help you for sure.

the other class i took was great, she taught us how to be a walking flash card. let me tell you when you walk into that testing room and the nursing gods are breathing down your neck you suddenly lose all the information you have learning. so having your body as a flash card worked for me. her class was like a patho class and filled in the spots that i really didn't understand.

i didnt study everyday, but when i did i sat down and did 100 questions in one sitting and studied concepts. when i went into the testing center, i also went with a different mindset ... i went in there telling myself "doesn't matter the result of todays test, i am just happy that i got the strength to try again."

after my third failure, i was really questioning myself ... questioning if this was a sign from God that nursing was not my pathway. after some spiritual guidance, professional guidance and the help of family and friends i decided to give it another try. every day i tried to think of the positive things that were going on in my life.

and when i passed, i was not only happy but so were my family and friends. they were so happy for me because they all knew that i had struggled so much and my life for a long time revolved around the test. at some point, to me, the test defined who i was. i didn't define who i was, it was just another hurdle i had to overcome.

good luck to anyone taking the nclex. :)

[Rac17]

Congrats:)

[eelise11]

Congrats! that is a very inspirational post. I have failed once and the dreaded feelings that come with it are terrible. I feel like I don't know how to prepare, where to start, what to study, etc. So I can only imagine how bad it will be if I am there a 3rd or 4th time. You should be very proud of yourself for sticking it out, working hard, and accomplishing your dream!

[ArrowRN, BSN, RN]

congrats! you inspire us all :)

[Benj2610]

Congratulations! You are amazing to have the tenacity to stick with it. Its so easy to question yourself & lose confidence. And to not let the frustration (concerning the random, vague, unrealistic, ambiguous nature of standardized testing!) keep you from focusing & studying; is an accomplishment in itself. I can't imagine the frustration you have probably felt throughout this ordeal. So again, congratulations... a great story of perseverance.

[Guttercat, ASN, RN]

Good job!

By the way, I've been an RN for over twenty years, and to this day I can still say one of the most intelligent and competent RN's I've ever worked with failed the NCLEX. Twice, I think.

She was a fantastic clinician with outstanding real-world, medical problem-solving capabilities. She just sucked at taking paper tests. :)

[swansonplace]

Thank you for sharing. Congratulations!!

[swansonplace]

I would like to apply the kinesthetic learning to pharm and my weak areas. Could you explain how to use kinesthetic learning?

[NurseKis, BSN, RN]

I am very happy for you!

[marygeller]

Congrats I'm happy for you:)

[LeLe, BSN, RN]

I'm so very happy for you...Congratulations!

[roxy0128]

to be honest with you the kinesthetic learning that was thought in the class was not used for pharm (except medications that had to do with angiotension 1 and 2 & medications to do with cardiac arrhythmias)

for me pharmacology ... i learned the last letters in each sub group and memorized what they did. like "LOL" is a beta blocker, lowers BP, don't give to asthmatics and diabetics.