What is it that makes the NCLEX so hard?

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Specializes in PACU-general.

Hi everyone,

I've been reading the NCLEX forum for quite some time now, mainly because I've failed twice, third attempt coming up in January. I'm trying to figure out why and what it is that's making this exam so hard!?

Why does one student pass at the first go and another needs 2 or more attempts?

Who thinks he/she knows the answer? I would love to know, cause I want to pass in January!!:grad:

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Hmm for me nclex is not the test on how good a person can memorize. Its the test on application of what you learn from school.

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Application questions are always going to be more difficult. And sometimes people are not as prepared as they believe they are. And don't forget the power of nerves taking over.

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What makes it so hard? Honest answer...you. The test is only as hard as you(or anyone else) let it be. That and word of mouth make it sound so hard. People have made it into something so infamous and scary, but it's really not. If you understood the basics from school, you should be able to knock it out in 75 questions, as long as you don't let nerves and anxiety get the best of you. You can't really say that the NCLEX is "hard" because every person will have different questions. What's hard for one person, may be easy for the next

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Specializes in PACU-general.

What makes it so hard? Honest answer...you. The test is only as hard as you(or anyone else) let it be. That and word of mouth make it sound so hard. People have made it into something so infamous and scary, but it's really not. If you understood the basics from school, you should be able to knock it out in 75 questions, as long as you don't let nerves and anxiety get the best of you. You can't really say that the NCLEX is "hard" because every person will have different questions. What's hard for one person, may be easy for the next

You make it sound so simple. I hope you're right. The first time I was extremely nervous, got all 265, had numerous breakdowns during the exam. The second time, I was completely relaxed, had no anxiety whatsoever and again got 265 questions... Being an foreign nurse may be an obstacle. I'm trained in Europe. The basics seem to be the same, however, LPN's and nursing assistants are trained differently in the US. But I'm tackling that part now.

I most certainly will keep your post in mind. Thanks!

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Specializes in "Wound care - geriatric care.

The NCLEX is hard because it is a computerized test which measures things you are not even aware of. I think the secret or at least what did for me (also a test repeater) was when I answered the questions within less than a minute each. You have to keep a certain pace, and try to hit as many questions as you can in the shortest amount of time. They don't tell you that anywhere and I believe this to be a big component in those who pass. If you want to pass (looks like you do) you must train in two things: speed and endurance. Not only you need to answer it fast but you need to be able to maintain that stamina until the very last question, the #265. Strong finishing is very well revered. Don't think for one minute you will get out at 75.

Good luck

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Specializes in PACU-general.

Hi Marcos,

Thanks for your response. I agree with you, however, I feel like I had enough 'speed' during both attempts. 4 Hours and 10 minutes the first time and 4½ hours the second (got 265 at both) My results where, on all subjects, near passing standard...

I had several questions about diseases I'd never heard of, I assume many people come across those questions.

I wanted to look it up once I got home, but by that time I couldn't remember what it was. Stress I guess.

But I'm gonna give it another go. I will pass at one point don't you think?

If I may ask, at how many attempts did you pass?

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You make it sound so simple. I hope you're right. The first time I was extremely nervous, got all 265, had numerous breakdowns during the exam. The second time, I was completely relaxed, had no anxiety whatsoever and again got 265 questions... Being an foreign nurse may be an obstacle. I'm trained in Europe. The basics seem to be the same, however, LPN's and nursing assistants are trained differently in the US. But I'm tackling that part now.

I most certainly will keep your post in mind. Thanks!

I have lurked on this site since september when I first took the test, I never registered because I mainly just researched and read the info here on the website. After reading your last post I registered just to tell you to get the LACHARITY book if you have not done so yet. I have been an LPN for 8 years, and failed my first try at the NCLEX. I thought nursing school was very easy, HESI was a breeze and went on to fail the NCLEX at 265. I was crushed and embarrassed because I finished very high out of my class but I knew after failing what my problem was. Instead of going crazy and studying eveything and pulling my hair out. I researched and purchased the NCLEX book, because I did not understand delegation. I studied 4-5 days and only 16 hours before taking my exam. I did not go through the case study part in the back of the book, because I found that the front was enough for me. I researched anything that I did not understand from the book.

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Specializes in PACU-general.

I have lurked on this site since september when I first took the test, I never registered because I mainly just researched and read the info here on the website. After reading your last post I registered just to tell you to get the LACHARITY book if you have not done so yet. I have been an LPN for 8 years, and failed my first try at the NCLEX. I thought nursing school was very easy, HESI was a breeze and went on to fail the NCLEX at 265. I was crushed and embarrassed because I finished very high out of my class but I knew after failing what my problem was. Instead of going crazy and studying eveything and pulling my hair out. I researched and purchased the NCLEX book, because I did not understand delegation. I studied 4-5 days and only 16 hours before taking my exam. I did not go through the case study part in the back of the book, because I found that the front was enough for me. I researched anything that I did not understand from the book.

Hy,

thanks for your reply,

I did get the LaCharity book, and indeed, I find it very useful. I couldn't figure out the LPN/ assistant part and also deligation. LaCharity is very clear and understanding in that. I have to admit medication is my weak area. I've been working in the PACU for 12 years now and my knowledge of meds have dropped severely. It's down to painkillers and hypertensives, diabetic an thyriod.. :oand the US meds have different names. Not helpful!

Thanks for your advise, I'll let you know how I did. Lets hope it's good...

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In my case I took the time out to understand each question and eliminate Wrong answers.

Have you tried saunders? answering q&a? Doing these drills will help you a lot. And somehow you can guage your grasp of the subject based on your scores. They say test taking is a skill. It's not just what you know but also how you avoid traps and tricks that are incorporated in the answer choices.

And I think it helped that my impression of the exam was that it was really difficult because I never studied so hard in my whole life like what I did To pass NCLEX. :)

Maybe this will help you with pharma :)

http://www.moadn.org/MOADN%20Pharmacology%20Made%20Insanely%20Easy.ppt#307,20,Slide

All the best!

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NCLEX was difficult for me #1 because I wasn't confident like I should have been. Two because the material that I used and review that I attended had absolutely nothing to do with the NCLEX. I now see that there is a great deal of good information on the net and on forums such as this that I didn't need to spend 400.00 to get. Yes the test is computerized but honestly the information covers general concepts so study those. And most importantly don't give up, confidence is key.

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it's hard, because you can't figure out the right answer based on critical thinking. Your thinking over the questions is not going to lead you to the right answer, because your nursing school and texbooks haven't taught you what information to focus on when you study nursing. NCLEX is designed in such a way that you have to KNOW, not logically deduce, not guess what the right answer is. A lot of times the rationales don't make sense, so using your "rationality" also is not going to help you select the right answer. Another reason is -- if we assume that NCLEX uses similar guidelines as nursing schools for pass or fail, which is 77% on average -- this is a very high threshold. Think about it -- answering 75% of NCLEX correctly is actually a big number -- it shows that you know a lot, yet it's not eough to pass the exam, and you fail.

The only way to study for NCLEX is to see as many NCLEX style questions, their correct answers and rationales as you can. You will soon notice that you get a lot of similar questions. They might be worded differently, but the correct answer is always the same.

Don't bother with content review, don't bother with test taking strategies. Get as many NCLEX books from the library for free as you can, and only go through the questions and answers, and memorize them, memorize rationales for the correct answer.

Have you done that? How did you study for the exams?

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