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?

Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
I posted about this about 6 months ago. I was amazed how hard people were saying the test was. I was told "I had it easier," I took it back in 1999. And people fail it because they struggle with English. So you're going to be a nurse in the US and you don't know English well enough to pass a test, and my sympathy is non existent. That makes me a bad person? Seriously strike 3 and you are out. That should be around the board for every state IMHO.

Anyway, just wondering where you all were when I was getting my head ripped off for being so mean last Spring? :ninja:

I get kind of irritated when people say NCLEX was easier years ago. No, it wasn't. It was just as hard for us then as it is for new grads now. Perhaps the difference is back then students were prepared.

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I get kind of irritated when people say NCLEX was easier years ago. No it wasn't. It was just as hard for us then as it is for new grads now. Perhaps the difference is back then students were prepared.[/quote']

And you don't think telling the students today that they aren't as prepared as you were is irritating. I would never make the comment that people taking boards in the years past had it any easier I believe the questions are still as demanding based on the education at each time period. However I know for a fact that in April of this year the NCLEX did raise the passing standard very slightly and has done so numerous times in the past. Having said that I can't say how that really impacts the overall test from year to year.

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Simple question, would you want a surgeon who failed his surgical residency boards 14 times? Both practical and didactic?

Yeah I didn't think so.

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I find it hard to believe that a test with only 85 questions, can actually determine that a student nurse has learned enough information, to be able to practice safely. Especially with the much higher acuity of patients that nurses are having to deal with.

What other health care profession determines license preparedness, using a test with only 85 questions?

My dentist told me, that when she was doing her dental licensing exam for dental school, in addition to having to complete a written test, that ALL OF THE STUDENTS HAD TO FIND THEIR OWN PATIENTS TO PERFORM CERTAIN DENTAL PROCEDURES ON!!

That is right. They had to find patients to do dental fillings on, tooth extractions, root canals, placing crowns, you name it. And they had instructors watching and grading, them as they did each procedure.

And we wonder why nursing is becoming what it is.

JMHO and my NY $0.02

Lindarn, RN, BSN, CCRN (ret)

Somewhere in the PACNW

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So you think they should do an excelsior type thing? Get graded while they do skills on a real patient? I'm still a student myself, and I think that's kind of a goo suggestion. But ppl get really nervous (like me) I would probably fail. Lol

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
And you don't think telling the students today that they aren't as prepared as you were is irritating. I would never make the comment that people taking boards in the years past had it any easier I believe the questions are still as demanding based on the education at each time period. However I know for a fact that in April of this year the NCLEX did raise the passing standard very slightly and has done so numerous times in the past. Having said that I can't say how that really impacts the overall test from year to year.

Well, you didn't hear stories of people taking NCLEX numerous times, so yes, I think I can question the preparedness of students today. There has to be a reason why people are struggling with this test, and it's not because it's harder.

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I think the way the test was done back in the day was harder. Not to mention you had to wait for the results, unlike today when you know within 48-72 hrs.

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Specializes in ICU.

I took mine 25 years ago. I personally think a 2-day written test was harder. You had to take the entire test, which was hundreds of questions; there was no "cutting off" at a certain point. Plus, remember we did not have computers to use for studying. I had to rely on books only, and had to drive for over an hour (each way) just to use the college library. Research was time-consuming; you couldn't just google anything. And, yes, we used real-live humans to do our skill's check-offs on. We had to start IV's on each other, give injections to each other. We even did our head-to-toe assessment (BSN) on a real live person.

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Specializes in ICU.

I still say if someone has such severe test anxiety that they have to re-take boards more than once, then I would be skeptical how that person would act in a code or bad situation with a patient. There is no "doing it over again" when it comes to a real live patient.

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Specializes in CCM, PHN.

I went to a fancy-schmancy private women's school with a big-reputation nursing program for my BSN that cost a bazillion dollars per credit. It was a HORRIBLE program. Total garbage. The teachers were too busy being involved in petty academic politics with the administration, and treated students like utter crap. Theory and conceptual approaches were emphasized over clinical skills, technology or real-time practice. Worst 4 years of my life. I distinctly remember the day after graduating, totally bewildered, thinking, "I am in absolutely no way prepared to take NCLEX," and sadly, my classmates felt the same about themselves. We all took a Kaplan prep course, and I do not exaggerate....we all learned more in that 2-week course about nursing than we learned in 4 years of drudgery & claptrap about Sister Roy, public health continuums, or Piaget. I firmly believe almost anyone off the street could take that prep class and pass NCLEX.

I graduated magna cum laude from a crappy program, and I'm dumb as a bag of hammers, but I passed on the first try. I only have the Kaplan course to thank for it. Schools haven't been preparing students for NCLEX for years. Especially BSN programs.

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Specializes in Emergency.
So you think they should do an excelsior type thing? Get graded while they do skills on a real patient? I'm still a student myself and I think that's kind of a goo suggestion. But ppl get really nervous (like me) I would probably fail. Lol[/quote']

Yup, it's called an OSCE... And in order for me to exit my university and be eligible to write the CRNE (sorry, no NCLEX experience) I had to pass several. Not sure about the practicality of this as a national standard but it tells you a lot of things that a pen and paper exam can't.

While it may not be common to fail more than once there seem to be a lot of posts here on AN bemoaning failures, multiple failures, and "are you serious?" failures. And then there are multiple posts advocating that these people just medicate themselves for test anxiety and that will fix everything.

Perhaps in a very small number of people this will work, but a beta blocker or Ativan isn't going to fix lack of preparation and understanding which I'm willing to bet is what us causing the vast majority to fail.

Regardless, if you can't pass a licensing exam, you can't be a nurse. There has to be a standard, and that is it. Allowing more than 2 tries in my opinion is a bad idea. I guess I could get on board with a 3rd after remedial education, but one failure should be enough to tell you where you went wrong and give an idea of how to fix it.

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.
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.

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

And this post made me appreciate the thread about spelling and grammar!

Seriously -- what is a "ppl"? Engraved in us? I believe you meant "ingrained." I'm not in favor of "lifting ppls spirits" when they're in the wrong. In many cases, "telling it like it is" is a greater kindness. If people don't understand they're wrong, why would they be motivated to change anything? I've learned that if you don't sugar coat honesty enough, people tend to get angry and shrill on you. But there just isn't enough sugar coating for some topics. I suspect I'm going to get flamed for this post, for example.

And just so you know -- "America" is a continent, not a country. Canadians are Americans, too.

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