What to do after failing the NCLEX 2 times

AB normalRN · Sep 16, 2009

take it again... im up for my 3rd round this oct.. i know it's really depressing, but eventually you'll have to pick yourself up and take it again.. i suggest that you send the thingy back to the BON so you can resched ASAP.. bcoz the longer you wait, you'll forget most of the stuff that you studied.

you can do this!!! :icon_hug:

im cheering for the both of us

btw.. took kaplan.. paid 500 but did not worked for me so im trying something else.

smn2010, BSN, RN · Sep 16, 2009

sorry to hear about what happened. you are not the first who has ever failed at 2 attempts and you will not be the last!.

one thing to remember, you deserve every opportunity to grieve over the failure. once you get over the grief and become more accepting of the fact that you failed, you should take a break from studying all together. do not pick up another study item for at least a week or two.

then, when you feel that you are ready to begin studying again, you should look at the test results from both exams and do a comparison. ask yourself:

***was there improvement from the first exam to the second??? (i.e. are you below, near or above the level of passing for each area) if you find there was no improvement in certain test areas, you may want to consider focusing on these areas (your weak areas) first, as you begin studying again.

***is your issue a lack of understanding in regards to content???

***is the issue a lack of understanding "what" the question is really asking???

***how much time did you study each day??? maybe you were spending too much time in a given day.

***where were you studying?? if it was in your home while the tv, radio, etc. was playing, this was not an appropriate study location. when you take the nclex, you can't run the tv, radio as you answer questions.

***since you used kaplan...do you understand how to use their "decision tree"??? if not, this might be the first area you need to focus on.

even though the questions on the nclex are different from kaplan, you should still be able to use the kaplan strategies to determine "what the nclex is asking".

try marlene hurst of hurst review. her book is at the bookstore (barnes and noble) if not, call and ask them to get it for you (barnes and noble will hold books for 3-days at their main cash registers). i don't suggest you spend money on the book. i would suggest you go to barnes and noble (or your local book store), buy (or not buy) a drink/coffee and sit down, relax, and peruse the pages of the book. sitting for an hour and reading through this book may help you to focus on other ways of looking at an nclex question. you might need another perspective on how to approach an nclex question. if you like the book....buy it!

saunders, to me, was good for understanding "content." the saunder's cd has a "pretest" that you can complete. once you complete the pretest, you can print out a study calendar based upon your pretest results. a good place to start if you are not sure how/what to study. my local library had the saunders comprehensive rn with the cd on their shelf. the cd contains the same questions located inside the book, plus several 1000 more questions.

nclex-rn examcram (located, for free, at a public library) reminds me of an nclex exam. if you find examcram at your public library, just download the cd onto your pc and return the book. the cd has about 1200+ questions on it. one good thing about examcram, each chapter begins with terminology you should know as well as nursing skills you should know/understand before taking the nclex. as i studied for the nclex, is used a spiral notebook and wrote out definitions, reviewed skills and wrote notes as i read each chapter. i carried the spiral notebook with me so i could study during down time (sitting at dr appointments, stalled traffic, etc.)

find your weak areas, focus on these until you have a good understanding. then, begin reviewing all content as you prepare again. only you can determine what works best for you when it comes to studying. you may need to take some time (a day...a week...) to figure this out.

don't give up!!! find a way of studying that works then develop a study plan. follow your plan then go and retest!!

good luck to you!!! :up:

MH24 · Sep 16, 2009

I failed my first time and Im getting ready to take it a second time. I can say the first time I only did one review which was the ATI review course. I did no content review and I dont feel like I did enough. Once I found out I failed I started a new plan. I agree with the above Saunders is great for content. It was my bible all through nursing school. Why I did not use it my first time around I have no idea. Also this time I am not relying on just one source I am using multiple and I alternate them every day or every couple days. Im using exam cram, lacharity prioritization and delegation, saunders, ATI again but really taking my time to read the rationales, and I have used a little bit of the NCSBN but not much. I also have a spiral notebook that I just ideas down of things Im uncertain. I try to reread through it just to retain those facts. I also have note cards with the endings of drugs jotted down with a fact about each. I have no idea if any of this is going to work for me the second time around but Im hoping and praying. Also I only study a couple hours each night. The minute I start getting tired or punchy I stop. I think its my brain telling me ok thats enough for tonight. I also take one day off a week from studying. You know your own limits. My best suggestion is to take a week off from studying but still get your paperwork in. Set up your study plan and go. Most importantly don't give up on yourself. I keep saying this to myself as well. There have been many great nurses and doctors who have failed there boards. Its just another challenge put in front of us.

Lastly I will tell you this. I have issues with confidence and believing in myself so im trying real hard to get over that. This time around when Im not studying Im reading "The Last Lecture" By Randy Pausch and there is one quote in there I keep telling myself.

Here goes : "Brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want something badly enough. They are there to keep out the other people.

So again I dont know if any of this helped but I wish you the best of luck.

KAYBDT6, BSN, RN · Sep 17, 2009

Don't give up and have your anxiety under control. Wish all the best in your NCLEX!

lovered1224 · Sep 19, 2009

Thank you thank you to all of your kind words!!! I will be looking at these posts all the way through my studying time! I hope to be posting that I pass on my next go around! Thank you again :)