Trying to help a classmate that has NCLEX fail round 2

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A classmate and friend of mine just found out she failed NCLEX for the 2nd time. :-(

We all graduated in May, and she did not sit for NCLEX until the middle of September. She just wasn't ready and was struggling with the practice questions. Failed the first exam with 75 questions. I felt so bad for her because she really thought she passed the first time.

She got back up on in the saddle, enrolled in Kaplan, and also utilized the Davis NCLEX review book. She re-enrolled for NCLEX on the first day she was re-eligible to take it again. That was this past Monday. Took 95 questions and failed it again.

To say she is devastated is an understatement. She called this afternoon, bawling her eyes out and she is a complete wreck. She called her NM this morning after she found out she failed again. Her NM had a meeting with her this afternoon and she was terminated. They had kept her on as a tech after the first fail, but it is hospital policy to terminate if you fail it twice. She was well aware of the hospital policy about this prior to taking NCLEX the first time. I totally understand the NM's position and if I were her boss, I would have proceeded with termination as well. They hired her in May and the rest of her orientation class is well out of orientation and functioning as solo RN's at this point. Her unit is now down an RN because they were expecting her to be licensed at this point. Nonetheless, I feel bad that she found out she failed and lost her dream job all in the same day. Ouch.

So she is asking for my help in trying to help her get ready to NCLEX for the 3rd time. Honestly, I have no idea where to start. I took it in May, passed the first time with 75 questions. School was fresh in my mind when I took it. I honestly do not remember much about that test! That morning is just a blur to me. I did questions all along through the last semester so I don't know how to prepare her for a marathon 45 day study prep. I told her to maybe postpone scheduling this 3rd attempt until after the new year so she has more time to study. I figured if she didn't have a test date looming and stressing her out, she could just spend some time studying, no pressure on her, and then schedule the exam when she is ready to take it AFTER studying. She is adament that she wants to take it on the first day she can.

Any suggestions AN? I want to help her any way I can......I just don't know what to do that she hasn't already tried. She used ATI and Saunders for the first exam, and used Kaplan, Davis, and Lacharity for the 2nd exam. Any guidance or advice is appreciated!!

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I would ask you this.....

Are you sure you want to take this on? Think about that honestly.....

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Tell her to get the Hurst online review, it's good for 90 days. Watch the video lectures repeatedly until she knows the content back and forth. It's expensive, but worth it if you need material review....

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I would ask you this.....

Are you sure you want to take this on? Think about that honestly.....

I totally understand where you are coming from with this. I am kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place to be honest. I would like to offer my assistance......I just do not know how to do it. I am not a NCLEX guru by any means but I guess I am hopeful that there are possibly other remediation courses out there that she can try. Everyone else has given up on her.....and I hate to see her throw in the towel and make flunking a 3rd time a higher likelihood than it already is. :-(

Thank you nursey for the Hurst suggestion. Gonna add that to her study list!

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failing with a 75 means there is an absolutely fundamental lack of understanding, then the 95 shows me more of the same....

I am curious to know did she do well in RN school or skate by?

did she do her own work or did she let other people pull her along?

if she did not do well in RN school, and just skated by, then I would advise you that it is possible that time spent would be a waste...

Is this a true friend that you can count on in feast and in famine? a maid of honor type friend? or just a chick you met at nursing school?

Sorry I gotta do my ADPIE thing :)

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Given that your friend has taken the Kaplan route and not succeeded I would say take the Hurst Review and buy the LA Charity book. Content is needed in the NCLEX and if she is lacking it the Hurst will provide it in an easier way. I believe the key to passing the NCLEX is content and practicing A LOT of questions. I hope this helps. Please tell her not to give up and remain positive; she got through nursing school so the NCLEX is just another hurdle. Best of luck.

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the fact that her second try she got up to 95 questions means she had a fair chance of failing. its a different matter from what i hear if u failed at 75 questions.

when i was doing the local boards in my country we were told that if you practice with 4000 questions you will pass. well i wanted to make sure, and i did about 20,000+ questions. i answered saunders, lipincott, kaplan, ATI anything i can find. the point is, there will be a chance a similar question will show up from what u have done before.

come the day i took the test, it ended at 75 questions. 23 of which were SATAs and i ended up passing my first time around.

a good base of knowledge is a nice thing to have, but in reality they are not testing u for your knowledge. the way the exam is designed, if u are answering only knowledge type questions, it means you are below the passing mark. CRITICAL THINKING/APPLICATION is the key to passing the exam. is she able to assess and analyze each situation and apply her knowledge to answer what is being asked per question?

to be honest, out of all the questionnaires/programs i have answered, Kaplan's questions are the only ones that even came close to the difficulty level of NCLEX questions. what were her scores on the practice exams in Kaplan? Kaplan wants you regularly hitting 60 per exam, but they say 50+ is also passable.

there really is no point buying more books that only drill in the same information. reading the same information over and over again is boring and damn well cuz she should already know it. she may be able to glean some information from them, but what she really needs to know is critical thinking and how to apply her knowledge.

hope that helps. good luck!

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I used the Saunders comprehensive review and Kaplan Strategies book. I took the practice test over and over. I also wrote out the rationale's for the questions I missed. The Kaplan strategies book was a huge help for me. Everyone learns differently. This is what worked for me. I passed the first time.

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i know that people learn in different ways, but i never thought studying multiple resources was a good idea. it can get confusing, and you tend to want to rush through one thing to get to the other.

most of my classmates focused on one to two resources. and only one person failed that i know of (she passed on the 2nd attempt though). i only used saunders, did about 1500 questions, and made sure i understood the rationales. and i passed with 75 questions the first time.

i also agree that you should do questions in the thousands, to be exposed to different ways/common topics you might see come up on the exam. some classmates did up to 5000 questions, either using saunders, hurst, kaplan, or the review on learningext.com. (again, not using all of them, only one or two.)

she should definitely not schedule a date until she has gone through another review cycle. and she needs to identify the areas she is weak in, and give them more attention.

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Specializes in L&D.

Doesn't Kaplan have a guarantee of sorts if you don't pass? Perhaps it was only because we took the class through school, but they offered 1-on-1 tutoring if you did not pass the first time.

Perhaps a Kaplan tutor will help. I only used Kaplan and passed the first time with great confidence, no problems (and no, I am not a whiz kid or anything...I am an above average student with extreme test anxiety). I don't think that muddling your mind with different styles when it comes to questions is very helpful...and we all know it's not necessarily what you know, it's how you play the game with this test! :) But knowing the basics is definitely a must, of course.

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How about letting her rest for a few months time. Clear the mind from the stress, the troubles and the worries.

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My school (ADN program at Kent State) sent all of us to a program called "Buszta NCLEX review" prior to taking the NCLEX, it helped us to focus and understand what the question was asking and what we needed to know, I believe we had a 91% pass rate for my class for those taking it first time. If you are in Ohio I recommend it or contact them and see if they recommend someone in your area, be warned the lady thats runs it is very animated and seems to be powered solely by monster energy drinks but she knows her stuff. The program for new grads was $450 but she charges a lot more more for those who need remedial (nclex fail) or one on one retraining so be warned about that

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