Writing multiple times?

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OK I may get flamed big time for this and I am not trying to insult anyone but I have a question. Does anyone else ever think that some people should choose a different professional path when they read posts about having failed the NCLEX multiple times? I did read one post from someone who failed 14 times. I mean really? I will admit that I am Canadian and I have no experience with the NCLEX but do you really want a nurse that had to write dozen times before they could get a license? We get three shots and that's it you are done. I think three times is plenty. I can't imagine writing 10+ times and not questioning that maybe I shouldn't be a nurse. I know some people say it due to being a bad test taker but how did they get through school?

What does everyone else think?

Yep, this is something that bugs me, also. I understand that there are people who are not good at test taking (how did they get through school?) but, this is the defining moment for becoming a nurse. If someone cannot pass the NCLEX after 3 times I would seriously question their abilities with real life situations. If it takes more than 3 times to pass they may turn out to be a decent nurse but, the odds are stacked against them.

To borrow a saying from JFK, I want the best and the brightest in this profession. It is not my intention to insult anyone but, allowing unlimited opportunities to pass cheapens the licence.

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Specializes in retired LTC.
I'm glad someone finally brought this up. I feel it detracts from the profession if there's a "try til you make it" policy. How many times are docs allowed to fail and retest? I feel there is a discrepancy that is only to our detriment as a profession.
Good to talk about the elephant in the room!
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Yep, this is something that bugs me, also. I understand that there are people who are not good at test taking (how did they get through school?) but, this is the defining moment for becoming a nurse. If someone cannot pass the NCLEX after 3 times I would seriously question their abilities with real life situations. If it takes more than 3 times to pass they may turn out to be a decent nurse but, the odds are stacked against them.

To borrow a saying from JFK, I want the best and the brightest in this profession. It is not my intention to insult anyone but, allowing unlimited opportunities to pass cheapens the licence.

Exactly. How many people would trust a surgeon who failed their rotation multiple times? How many people would place their lives in the hands of a doctor who couldn't pass their licensing board exams? Or a doc who scraped through licensing, but couldn't get a certification in their specialty?

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Here in America we are used to lifting ppls spirits. And always telling ppl "you can do it" even if that person has failed 100 times. I believe it's something that's engraved in us and I'm not sure whether it works or not. We praise children even when they do the smallest of tasks and again I don't know if that works or not. Maybe you're right, and there's a point where we should be honest and not praise/encourage someone who might not just be good at what they're trying to do. Very complex situation.

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Hmmm... I'm not convinced. I'm looking at it from a different perspective, and in America, money is usually the primary driving force. The more times a person fails, the more they have to pay. It's less about lifting spirits and more about lifting revenue.

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Specializes in Pedi.
I'm with ya 100%.

I have posted in a couple of the TEAS threads that everyone needs not to study for it. When I took it back in the day I was explicitly told "do not study for this. It will not help." But when I posted that here it was like "what? No!"

I bought one review book for NCLEX and went to a program my school paid for to review. The week before the test I went on vacation and studied for maybe 30 minutes every day. And I passed on the first try.

I don't mean to be cruel but I agree that it shouldn't take someone multiple attempts to pass NCLEX.

I agree as well. Between when I graduated from college and when I took NCLEX two and a half weeks later, I think I was home for about 4 days. I know I came home from another state the night before NCLEX, woke up, drove to the testing station and took 45 minutes to answer 75 questions. I didn't find it hard at all because I'd spent 4 years learning the material. I left feeling very confident that I'd passed and paid my $8 to get the quick results 48 hours later.

I often think the same thing when I see some of the very basic math questions people post... things like "if you are to infuse 100 mL at 25 mL per hour, how many hours will it take to infuse?" and they have no idea where to start. This is math that a 4th grader could do in his head and it really does worry me when I think that a future nurse can't figure this out without step by step guidance.

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Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.

First off the NCLEX is a joke. It is a terrible entrance into the "profession" ( since I got dinged on that one in another thread).

It disgusts me that I can sit for a test, let it take 31 minutes and that decides if I should be a nurse or not. Where are the practicals? Where is the you walk into a room this is your pt and something happens aspect? Where is the skills portion? All this that is required of any EMT/Paramedic test.

You should know everything you need to pass the exam the last day of school. The fact that you have to learn how to take the test is ridiculous in and of itself. You should get a 3 strikes, so sorry you are out policy. Dont know it by then, well that sucks but the world needs ditch diggers too.

Make nursing school HARDER. Not by stupid logic puzzles of tests but by the meaty parts of pt care and actually learning how to deal with the current horrid condition our healthcare is in. Prepare the newbies so they dont come and say wahh, this is hard. It should be. People can live and die by your hand.

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Y'all stop being mean. If this is how little COMPASSION you BULLIES have for people whose DREAMMMMM it is to be a nurse, then I hate to think how horrible you are to your patients!!

NURSES EAT THEIR YOUNG!!!!!!!!!!

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.
Y'all stop being mean. If this is how little COMPASSION you BULLIES have for people whose DREAMMMMM it is to be a nurse, then I hate to think how horrible you are to your patients!!

NURSES EAT THEIR YOUNG!!!!!!!!!!

:roflmao:

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Specializes in Trauma, Teaching.

Guy, they should have been tested on all the practical hands on real life stuff to get out of nursing school; supposedly that is what the degree means. NCLEX is to set a standard that can be trusted across state lines......... local hospitals will know what to expect of local grads, but not every school nationally.

I'm with a previous poster, barely glanced through the Saunders review and passed with no problems, back in the day it was "boards". You want stress? Test offered twice a year, that's it. 2 days of 5 separate exams, several hours each. Present the diploma just to get in the door. Don't pass? can't work as a grad nurse any more until you do.

Wooh, you meanie! Want some ketchup?

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Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.
Guy, they should have been tested on all the practical hands on real life stuff to get out of nursing school; supposedly that is what the degree means. NCLEX is to set a standard that can be trusted across state lines......... local hospitals will know what to expect of local grads, but not every school nationally.

Oh I get that , but then why take the NCLEX if we should have been tested on all that material too. Just playing devil advocate, I agree with you there.

Also if it is the same why do we have to have a different license in each state, but thats another animal

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

Back in the day.....it was 3 strikes you're out.....back to school. I am not sure when that changed....but it was a BAD move.

There has been a progressive movement to dumb down the bedside nurse/education and water down the responsibilities in the push for higher and higher degrees/education....almost a purposeful desire to "prove" how certain entry level degrees/diplomas are insufficient to properly care for patients. Nursing boards have allowed inferior curriculum be continued and non accredited schools to take boards (in some states) I believe to prove their own point to make BSN entry...thus securing their position in education.

The "everybody wins" mentality and take it until you make it makes me crazy!!!! NO! Everybody doesn't win! You win by hard work, practice, application and learning. What does it prove if you take the same course 5 times to get that A? I my opinion it proves it's taking you too long to learn the material....or you have a crappy teacher....change schools. This is just a way to make money hand over fist by allowing these people to repeat the same course over an over again.

I get it fail the boards the first time...nerves....now you know what you are getting your self into. The second time maybe you were sick....but after the third time...you are clearly missing something and need to evaluate if this is for you, how much you really want to be a nurse and going back to school for clearly you have missed something.

If a nurse out of bedside nursing needs refresher courses after 2 years.... student that can't pass their boards in that same amount of time needs schooling as well.

Why do certain boards allow this? Money? a curricular cash cow feeding off these poor student who had the misfortune of being educated by a substandard school....instead of closing the school. It really makes me wonder. Yet these programs continue to pop up all over the place to feed off the bleeding remains of a failed economy....charge enormous tuition's (some to the tune of six figures) that is now a saturated nursing market (in some areas) to cause another financial failure.

Once again I am Godsmacked.......

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Since I found out that the exam could be as short as 75 questions I have been amazed. That covers 4+ years of schooling? Wow! I don't believe that 2 days of testing is necessary, but one hour cannot be very inclusive. Also, if you failed a specific segment, like pediatrics, 3 times, then you needed to take that course again. Very different now.

A good friend of mine moved to another state a few months ago and had to be licensed to be an aesthetician - - someone who does facials. They have a written AND a practical exam!!! She passed the written portion easily, but failed the practical. They didn't tell her what portion she failed, and now they have changed the practical portion from working with live models to working on mannequins. Imagine if we moved to a different state and had to show our proficiency in starting IVs, doing a med pass, and inserting a foley cath into a patient with dementia. Hahahaha!

I am not sure that it should be '3 strikes and you're out' but there should be a way to know what area was lacking, and that area is what needs to be retested.

Further, if most of your testing in school followed the NCLEX format, then you should have a good idea of what to expect. If you struggled through school you should have received help then, so that when you get to a testing site you should be relatively confident in your knowledge and test-taking skills.

Best wishes to all!

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