What's your opinion: not passing NCLEX = incompetence?

christvs, DNP, RN, NP · Jun 9, 2005

I was talking to a former classmate & told her that a person that I worked with had taken NCLEX twice & had not been successful on the second attempt. Her response was, "I wouldn't want to be his patient." Guess what, it turns out that I have now become that person--who did not pass NCLEX after two attempts. Honestly, do you all think that not passing NCLEX has to do with not being competent? Be honest.
I have another former classmate who had not passed NCLEX after two attempts, & I KNOW she is quite competent, & would be a really good nurse, but for some reason the test is a problem.

Hi! Hmm...I believe each situation if different. For example, maybe some people don't pass NCLEX because they just blow it off and do not prepare for it. I would say they were being careless and not responsible (and not necessarily incompetent). If someone else failed because they tried hard and prepared but didn't pass , there could be a number of reasons: too much test anxiety, not being able to choose correctly enough between two options, having a hard time concentrating after sitting there for so long, and probably many other reasons-among which being incompetent may be included. In other words, I would say if a person failed, she/he should seriously try to figure out for him/herself what the issue is and people should not automatically assume she/he has to be incompetent. However, if someone were to take the test say five or six times and STILL does not pass, maybe then I'd say "I don't feel safe being this person's nurse." Of course, the person DID pass nursing school, so that says the person has to be somewhat knowledgeable about safe nursing. Good luck to you!!!!!!! Don't give up. :)

-Christine

blkdawn · Jun 9, 2005

I'm about to take it for the second time tomorrow (wish me luck) and I promise you, it has nothing to do with incompetence. One of the best nurses I know absolutely CANNOT test paper and pencil. If you give her an oral exam, she knows everything inside and out. So the knowledge is there, the anxiety overrules.

As for non-anxious people, the first time you don't pass (my personal theory) is just plain ol' bad luck. The second time you don't pass, I don't care what anyone says, there's a lot of anxiety there...probably moreso than the first time because you've got the pressure of having already failed once behind you. So we're back to theory (paragraph) one.

If you haven't used a review course yet, I guess I would say that now is the time to use one. Perhaps it's just one basic thing that you may be missing.

Either way, good luck and don't give up.

llg, PhD, RN · Jun 9, 2005

I agree with the general stance of the above posters -- it depends on the situation and on why the person failed the exam. I have known many excellent nurses who failed the exam the first time for one reason or another.

However, I have also know some people who could not pass the test because they never learned the material and/or did not have the ability to process complex information and apply it in a situation. They graduated from schools that had very low standards and were truly not prepared to practice nursing.

To say that everyone should pass the test is not right. There are some people out there who need to fail it in order to protect the public. But it is also wrong to say that everyone who struggles with it and takes a couple of tries to pass it is incompetent.

Good luck to all of you.

llg

grinnurse, RN · Jun 9, 2005

I was talking to a former classmate & told her that a person that I worked with had taken NCLEX twice & had not been successful on the second attempt. Her response was, "I wouldn't want to be his patient." Guess what, it turns out that I have now become that person--who did not pass NCLEX after two attempts. Honestly, do you all think that not passing NCLEX has to do with not being competent? Be honest.
I have another former classmate who had not passed NCLEX after two attempts, & I KNOW she is quite competent, & would be a really good nurse, but for some reason the test is a problem.

I don't think that it has to do anything with the competency of the person!! I think alot of it has to with test anxiety, pressure, fatigue, and alot of different things. A very dear friend of mine didn't pass hers last week, but, I tell you what, if I or a family member were in the hospital and my choice for nurses were to be between her and someone who it only took one time to pass I would pick her!! Darn tootin!! I think that everyone that survived nursing school has got to be somewhat competent or they wouldn't have made it to that point of the NCLEX. I truly think alot of not passing c/b a problem with confidence in oneself!! A positive attitude also helps.

How have you been studying? Would love to help you if I can. YOU WILL PASS!!

pie123 · Jun 9, 2005

I'm about to take it for the second time tomorrow (wish me luck) and I promise you, it has nothing to do with incompetence. One of the best nurses I know absolutely CANNOT test paper and pencil. If you give her an oral exam, she knows everything inside and out. So the knowledge is there, the anxiety overrules.
As for non-anxious people, the first time you don't pass (my personal theory) is just plain ol' bad luck. The second time you don't pass, I don't care what anyone says, there's a lot of anxiety there...probably moreso than the first time because you've got the pressure of having already failed once behind you. So we're back to theory (paragraph) one.
If you haven't used a review course yet, I guess I would say that now is the time to use one. Perhaps it's just one basic thing that you may be missing.
Either way, good luck and don't give up.

How have you been preparing for your 2nd time?

allnurses Guide · Jun 9, 2005

I don't think that it has to do anything with the competency of the person!! I think alot of it has to with test anxiety, pressure, fatigue, and alot of different things. A very dear friend of mine didn't pass hers last week, but, I tell you what, if I or a family member were in the hospital and my choice for nurses were to be between her and someone who it only took one time to pass I would pick her!! Darn tootin!! I think that everyone that survived nursing school has got to be somewhat competent or they wouldn't have made it to that point of the NCLEX. I truly think alot of not passing c/b a problem with confidence in oneself!! A positive attitude also helps.
How have you been studying? Would love to help you if I can. YOU WILL PASS!!

I agree with you here. The NCLEX is NOT the measure of a good nurse . . it is only the measure of picking the least stupid answer on a very dumb test.

I passed the first time but I've been angry ever since taking it. I was shocked at how little it related to nursing and how much it related to out-smarting a test.

I hate that someone has to resort to trying to trick people . . . just ask us the question in a forthright manner and let us answer it.

steph

mstigerlily · Jun 9, 2005

When I took NCLEX I was amazed that all those years of school could be summarized in 75 questions that took me about an hour. And apparently they said 15 of those were just "practice questions" that didn't count and were used to formulate questions on future NCLEX exams. So 60 questions.

I think that failing NCLEX does NOT necessarily mean you are incompetent. However, I have to admit I would be concerned over someone who took multiple tries to pass the NCLEX. I didn't find the NCLEX to be terribly challenging frankly, a lot of it was common sense (ABC's, delegation, prioritizing) and a good portion of the answers could be reasoned out and guessed based on the process of elimination. I can't see how someone who made it through a decent nursing program including clinicals, tests and writing papers could take multiple tries to pass the NCLEX. I guess it's possible someone could suffer from real test anxiety, but in that case I would think they would have found nursing school to be too much of a challenge too.

Melissa

TweetiePieRN · Jun 9, 2005

I don't believe that failing the NCLEX automatically labels someone incompetent. There are many facets to why any person would not pass it.

Failing the test because of anxiety,nervousness, and stress does kind of worry me (looking at the scenario as your potential future coworker or patient.) I am not saying that taking the test is not nerve-wracking. I only took it a year ago and I didn't forget the fear it put into me :uhoh21: . But, nursing as a job creates anxiety, nervousness, and stress!! You are constantly surrounded by that anxiety to perform to the best of your ability. You have to be able to think and act fast under pressure and make good decisions for your patient. If you were to harm a patient and then tried to use the excuse of being anxious or nervous...it would not hold up :uhoh21: . Just some food for thought. :)

But, good luck to you all who are going to be taking it. Study well in advance, get plenty of rest before the test!! Take a deep breath before you start answering the questions. THOROUGHLY and deliberately read through the question, then reread it again to make sure you are picking up every small detail presented. Slowly read through the 1st answer choice and either eliminate it or keep it as a possibility. Once you eliminate a potential answer, keep it out of your head!! Continue through the all the answer choices in this manner. I took the Kaplan class before taking the test and this method was highly recommended in answering the questions. I passed on my 1st try with 75 questions!! So, it is possible to be really nervous and anxious and still pick the correct choice and ultimately get your nursing license!! GOOD LUCK!!

allnurses Guide · Jun 9, 2005

I think test anxiety can be a unique phenomenon not at all related to the stress encountered while working as a nurse.

On the otherhand, you can become anxious anytime you have to perform.

There are some great website for test anxiety - just google "test anxiety". I found some very helpful information just now when I googled.

As I mentioned, my own personal opinion is that the questions I got during nursing school, which drove me crazy because they were so debatable, were also the same sort of questions on the NCLEX, which is why the teachers drove us crazy with them. You have to outwit the test . .. which I still maintain is a stupid way to test someone's nursing knowledge.

steph

blkdawn · Jun 9, 2005

How have you been preparing for your 2nd time?

As silly as this will sound to a lot of people, I always failed my first test in any nursing class on purpose. The reason was our program was so scattered that from one class to the next, depending on who made the test, changed how I should study. This is my third degree (already have a BA and MSPH) and the only one I've had to do this for I might add. The NCLEX was kind of the same principle for me. From one stupid NCLEX review book to the next, the emphasis was different. By the time I got to the real deal, I wasn't even sure what I would be tested on! :)

Everyone always tells you to practice, practice, practice. For me, I could have done 10,000 more questions and the result would have been the same. I left that first try realizing that I didn't have my med/surg down as much as I needed to. So to answer your question (finally, huh?) I spent this time reviewing my med/surg and the results in my practice tests are showing off my efforts. I'm very confident going in to the test tomorrow. Too bad I had to do this to the tune of $390, but it could have been worse! :chuckle

Good luck!

ZZTopRN, BSN, RN · Jun 9, 2005

I'm about to take it for the second time tomorrow (wish me luck) and I promise you, it has nothing to do with incompetence. One of the best nurses I know absolutely CANNOT test paper and pencil. If you give her an oral exam, she knows everything inside and out. So the knowledge is there, the anxiety overrules.
As for non-anxious people, the first time you don't pass (my personal theory) is just plain ol' bad luck. The second time you don't pass, I don't care what anyone says, there's a lot of anxiety there...probably moreso than the first time because you've got the pressure of having already failed once behind you. So we're back to theory (paragraph) one.
If you haven't used a review course yet, I guess I would say that now is the time to use one. Perhaps it's just one basic thing that you may be missing.
Either way, good luck and don't give up.

I think test anxiety has a lot to do with it. This may seem funny or irrelevent at this time, but when I was in grade school, I was petrified of my math teacher. She used to walk around pulling her girdle down and all of sudden she would stop and look at me and ask me a question and I would just freeze. Also when she said the word "lowest common denominator," I thought she was calling me, my name is Lois, pronounced "lowes." However, I have an AA in accounting and never had any problem with other tests. I had a really hard time in nursing because of the math. To this day I don't know how to do ratio and proportion. But I only had 2 simple math questions on my exam and I think I got one wrong.

As Suzanne4 says, questions are now more on med/surg.

YOU GOT THROUGH NURSING SCHOOL, DIDN'T you? Doesn't that tell you something? I wish I had proper guidance for you, but all I can say is, "don't give up."

Lots of good thoughts coming your way.