6 years out of Nursing School

[Mylie]

I graduated from a good BSN program in 1998 and then did a very stupid thing - I never took my boards. At that time I believed I never wanted to go into nursing. Here I am 6 years later, and I'd do anything to have my certification!

Has anyone on this board 1) ever heard of anyone letting this much time pass bewteen school and taking the NCLEX, 2) know how many times I can attempt to take the boards if I fail the 1st time, or 3) have any suggestions?

I've taken a Kaplan prep course, but still have a lot of studying to do before Sept (when I'm registered to take the NCLEX). Has anyone heard of anyone whose done this before? I'm also afraid to step back into a clinical setting after being in a different field for so long...Help!

Thanks for any words of wisdom,

Mylie

[dimpsogre]

Hi, Mylie,

I was on the same situation before. I graduated in 1997 and I just pass the NCLEX RN exam this month after sooo many tries. I did have an LPN license, though after passing the boards in the Phils. But, it took me a while to decide to take my RN exam. I purchased the Kaplan Prep in the Box and took the International Live Review offered by Kaplan. I also studied a lot but one thing I did was --- I told myself I will keep getting this exam until I pass it and I did. Hang in there. Your time will come, too. Just understand and study what is frequently tested. Kaplan's strategies helped a lot, too. Call your BON and find out how many times you can retake or better yet, check their website. Goodluck.