The Commuter(s), Any and All RN's What's the real deal?

[cee cee g]

Good day to you all. I just first want to say that I love and appreciate allnurses.com. I've been on it since 2012 and I just turned in my ADN application for Fall 2014 (can't wait until April 1st to find out). I really want a true answer because this has been bothering me since I've been on the website. Seriously, what is it about the NCLEX that have people taking it 3, 4, 5 times just to pass? Are the skills and lessons we learn during nursing school have nothing to do with test or something? Maybe one study guide is better than others? Does some of the questions have more than one choice? WHAT IS IT??? lol It's really got me thinking about buying a NCLEX study guide right after I get my acceptance letter in April (I hope anyway). Thank you for your time.

And BTW: That's a lot of money too.

[bell1962]

Mine was a paper and fill in the blanks too, but I think it was just one day.Hard to remember 30 yrs ago but I did pass the 1st time and it was a long wait to find out!

[applewhitern, BSN, RN]

I think you are wise to be thinking about this now. Research the different nursing schools in your area. Find out something about the instructors (their educational background, how long have they been teaching nursing programs, etc.) I went to school years ago, but I chose my school carefully. The standards were extremely high, and we were weeded out quickly. 66 of us started, only 22 of us made it to graduation. If you made 83 on anything, it was automatic failure for the entire program. You were out. We took a math test at the start of every semester; miss one single question, and you were out. By the time we got to NCLEX, we didn't even have to study~ we were already well prepared.

[donsterRN, ASN, BSN]

Strong words alert: If anyone is easily offended, thin-skinned, or uncomfortable with an incontrovertible truth, scroll on down. Don't say I didn't warn you.

OP, completely candidly, I have no idea why people who have allegedly passed a real nursing program cannot pass the basic entry-level examination to practice. But there are always some, just as anybody with minimal skills can pass driver's ed but a certain number of them have to take their driver's tests more than once for whatever reason.

I don't want to hear it about test anxiety, your learning disability, your grandmother died, your kid kept you up all night, you had to work 75 hours a week and didn't have time to study, your faculty was mean and didn't help you enough. While they may each, or all, be true, it won't matter when you have a real job and it doesn't matter now. It doesn't. If you want to be a licensed professional, you have to do what it takes to demonstrate you have the basic, entry-level cognitive and affective skills to be one. Nursing schools will, in fact, prepare you for that, but you have to do your part.

OP, you are clearly thoughtful and literate, which puts you welllllll above the multiple-failers we're talking about here. When you consider the number of people who take it, and that the pass rate nationwide is over 90%, that should make you feel a lot better. In answer to your question, nursing programs are well-aware that NCLEX is the gateway to licensure, and they teach and test with that in mind from the git-go. The people who can't pass don't have the excuse that they weren't prepared, since 9/10 of their classmates seem to have gotten the message. Good luck! We look forward to seeing you around the boards.

Yes. This, exactly.

[cardiacfreak, ADN]

Grn Tea, thank you, that needed to be said. I agree if you can't pass the test on attempt two, you need to go back to do remedial work. There are so many studies about how a BSN degree saves lives, I would love to see a study on NCLEX attempts and mortality rates. I'm sure there is a study out there somewhere, I just haven't seen it.

[liketheairport]

I'm not a nursing student even, but I got an NCLEX book...and strangely, I get most of the questions correct. I think maybe it's one of those things where you psych yourself up so much, because this is what allows you to use your education, and it's important for getting the license. That being said, even I know the NCLEX isn't even really the most important part.

I guess teach yourself to think in the way the NCLEX tests, but don't let that get in the way of learning.

[nurseprnRN, BSN, RN]

I'm not a nursing student even, but I got an NCLEX book...and strangely, I get most of the questions correct. I think maybe it's one of those things where you psych yourself up so much, because this is what allows you to use your education, and it's important for getting the license. That being said, even I know the NCLEX isn't even really the most important part.

I guess teach yourself to think in the way the NCLEX tests, but don't let that get in the way of learning.

I wouldn't take this opinion to the bank. You study nursing to learn how to think like a nurse, not merely to learn test-taking skills. I would hazard a guess that good test-taking skills can get you perhaps a 5-10% boost in your score, which may get you over the line-- I taught test-taking skills in the NCLEX context, and I have taken nursing-related specialty certification exams where that knowledge was definitely helpful.

But broad general fund of knowledge and generic test-taking skills alone will not help you recognize the difference between two factually-correct answers, only one of which is the correct nursing answer. So don't be too cavalier about dismissing NCLEX, nor that sound bite about not letting it get in the way of learning. It definitely doesn't, and if you're learning what you ought to, NCLEX will pose no barrier.

Again, the vast majority of NCLEX takers pass the first time. The ones we see here with multi-fails are the exceptions often looking for an excuse; do not be that person.