What Happens if You Fail the NCLEX? (RN)

00:01 Some of the best nurses that I have had the pleasure of working with, they failed the NCLEX a time or two, and some even failed it three times.

00:09 Why? Because they're not good at tests.

00:12 Or their brain said no thank you to the super high stress environment and turned off at some point all the critical thinking parts of their brain because it, once again, in this exam thought it was fighting a bear , and it was just like, no, no, thank you, I'll duck out here. If we are being really honest, the NCLEX does not determine the type of nurse you will be at all.

00:32 Your performance on this exam, it literally means nothing about your future career.

00:38 Nobody will care that you passed the exam in 75 questions when you go to apply for a job. All they want are the letters RN after your name.

00:48 And no one will tell you that you can't give this med because you passed in 145 instead of 75.

00:55 Your colleagues will have absolutely no idea that you failed the NCLEX twice, unless you tell them. Because once you do pass, like I said, the RN after your name is the exact same as theirs.

01:07 If you do not pass the NCLEX, it does not mean you are a failure and that you will never be a good nurse.

01:12 It means that maybe you aren't the best at taking exams.

01:17 And this one is a particular beast.

01:19 So if you don't pass the NCLEX, go home and be sad.

01:23 Absolutely be sad.

01:24 This totally sucks.

01:25 Wallow. And then regroup.

01:27 Identify your weak points.

01:29 Pearson will actually send you a document where it highlights the sections that you need to improve on.

01:35 Double down on those and go again.

01:37 And when you are ready, contact your Board of Nursing and notify them that you plan to retake the exam.

01:44 Figure out what money that they want from you again, and resubmit your intention to the Board of Nursing and then re register with Pearson Vue.

01:53 Pay them again and wait to receive your new ATT and schedule your new exam once you've got it.

01:59 Per NCSBN policy, you will need to wait a minimum of 45 days between your NCLEX attempts. And how many times you can take the NCLEX without needing to do a remediation course is up to your state's Board of Nursing.

02:11 And like I said before, just give them a call.

02:14 Find your Linda.

02:15 They're usually very helpful.

02:16 And don't give up, friend. I promise you will be a great nurse.

02:20 This is a sad and really frustrating chapter to a much longer story.

02:24 And in all honesty, it's one that you will maybe not forget, but it won't stand out once you hit the next major plot point.

02:32 You are not the only one who didn't pass the NCLEX. You are not alone here.

02:37 You are enough. This test, honestly, it doesn't define you, and you can do hard things. And we know this because you did so many hard things to get here.