Failing my nursing test after graduation

[angrythoughts]

I’m feeling so down and like a failure. I guess I just wanted someone to tell me it’s gonna be ok. For the nursing test you get unlimited tried to pass so I can retake it in 45 days. I’m just sad because I didn’t think I’d fail. I seriously feel like a dummy and the biggest failure ever. There’s so many other things in my life that I haven’t succeeded at and I just feel like there’s something wrong with me. 

 

 

[Batya33]

It's going to be ok!!  Can you pinpoint the reason[s] you did not pass?

[Wiseman2]

 

Michelle Obama-After graduating from Harvard Law School,  failed the bar exam the first time she sat for it. 

John F. Kennedy Jr.-Son of the 35th U.S President John F. Kennedy, Kennedy Jr. failed the New York Bar exam twice.

Hillary Clinton- Former first lady, former Congressional Senator, and former Secretary of State, was never able to pass the D.C bar.

Kamala Harris-initially failed the California Bar exam. After retaking the exam and passing, Kamala went on to  United States Vice President 

[angrythoughts]

The BAR is more understandable than a nursing test though. Becoming a nurse is so doable, really anyone can do it (except me apparently). I do appreciate hearing that though. It’s just hard for me to compare myself to people who’s goals were way harder to achieve than mine.

And no, I’m not sure why I failed. In a couple days I’ll get an email to pinpoint my weak areas. 

[Jibralta]

8 minutes ago, angrythoughts said:

The BAR is more understandable than a nursing test though. Becoming a nurse is so doable, really anyone can do it

I don't know about that. Nurses are extremely knowledgeable. Honestly, I think they are better than most doctors. Especially in hospital settings. 

[SherrySher]

5 minutes ago, angrythoughts said:

really anyone can do it

No, not true.

Nursing is hard. It takes loads of patience, a huge heart, lots of tolerance and endurance.

It's a never ending learning process.

You're not a dummy. Failing happens to us all at some point in our lives.

You're temporarily disappointed, but you should use that disappointment as motivation to study more and to work out what it was you failed at, so you can know the material better and not fail next time around.

Try not to be so hard on yourself. You can do this!!!

[Batya33]

I would fail a nursing test for sure.  Are there prep courses for it?  Were you nervous during the test? I really admire the breadth of nurses' knowledge and ability to think on their feet and have information at the ready even during really stressful situations.

If it helps, I failed at nursing (yes, but LOL) AND - I failed two road tests in 8 days and two road tests 30 years earlier when I was a teenager.  First test- automatic failure, second one, failed by one point.  Finally passed with a 97/100.  It was awful especially since I paid my instructor to take me to each test.  And even more of a failure -I'm still not a driver, 5 years later.  We all have those types of "failures." I think you'll pass next time and please please do not give up and thank you for your service!!

[angrythoughts]

Thanks so much guys. I’m feeling so down and stupid, but I appreciate the support! I hope this is something I can bounce back from. I’m in a spiraling depression and haven’t eaten all day. I just want to get my sh** together and have to wait longer to do so. 😞

 

Sorry for sounding super negative but this is how I’m truly feeling in this moment. 

[arjumand]

Two nurse friends who failed the exam the first time.  Wildly successful. One got an MS in some kind of specialty and an MBA — she runs a rehab hospital. The other got a masters and is a nurse anesthetist. 
 

It’s just a bump. 

[angrythoughts]

40 minutes ago, arjumand said:

Two nurse friends who failed the exam the first time.  Wildly successful. One got an MS in some kind of specialty and an MBA — she runs a rehab hospital. The other got a masters and is a nurse anesthetist. 
 

It’s just a bump. 

Thank you so much for this. I hope I’m that person one day, someone who can say she failed but came back in the best way possible. It’s hard to shake this failure feeling and the feeling that I may fail a second time. The test wasn’t hard to me so o was surprised when I failed. I hope I pass someday and can come back here and tell you guys how I bounced back lol. 
 

[catfeeder]

Awww, my heart goes out to you. Cold test, warm heart.

You passed your course and floor work, yes? That's 90 percent of the battle, and it's also where most who are NOT nurse material flunk.

There are so many test prep books you can use to better understand and prepare for the test, and you have 45 days to do it.

Use your local library for the material if it's a stretch to purchase books, and recognize that there's a difference between test taking and nursing.

I've taught over 100 teenagers how to take the SAT exams, and there's a formula, such as noticing how many questions are in a given section. Divide those up by thirds, the first third being the easier questions (to which you can narrow down wrong answers and guess between the remaining ones) versus the harder questions at the end (to which you're better off NOT guessing because there are trick answers to pull your guess). 

Review the books, read the strategy material before attempting the example tests, and then watch your scores improve over time.

Build your confidence rather than tearing yourself down. It gives you a smarter platform from which to study rather than sinking yourself into an unnecessary hole to climb out of.

Head high, you can do this, and THANK YOU for being a nurse!

[Tonight.majestic]

3 hours ago, Jibralta said:

I don't know about that. Nurses are extremely knowledgeable. Honestly, I think they are better than most doctors. Especially in hospital settings. 

Except that doctors have to pass board exams totaling 41 hours just to enter residency alone while nurses have one board exam around 6 hours required to graduate. There are also attempt limits on each exam. So the difference is HUGE. 

 

That's not to discourage OP. Perhaps you think they are better because they have more time with patients whilst doctors spend far more time on EHRs than face to face. 

[SherrySher]

1 hour ago, Tonight.majestic said:

Except that doctors have to pass board exams totaling 41 hours just to enter residency alone while nurses have one board exam around 6 hours required to graduate. There are also attempt limits on each exam. So the difference is HUGE. 

Seriously, not helpful.

Both jobs are very hard, both take a lot of knowledge.

Nurses on the other hand, (imo), learn a lot while they are working. Hands on experience is invaluable and I feel that after years of working in the hospital, they acquire a lot of the same kind of information as a doctor.

I have heard countless stories of nurses saving lives by pointing things out that the doctor missed.

Nurses don't get half the pay as doctors, but they work twice, if not three times as hard at saving lives and they don't get even half the recognition that the doctors do.

Please don't underestimate how brilliant and invaluable nurses are or how much they actually do.

Not everyone has it in them either to become a nurse. It really does take a certain kind of person who is a very hard worker with a huge heart.

Nurses deserve far more respect than they get.

I, 100% believe you'll be a great nurse one of these days, OP.

[Jibralta]

7 hours ago, Tonight.majestic said:

Except that doctors have to pass board exams totaling 41 hours just to enter residency alone while nurses have one board exam around 6 hours required to graduate. There are also attempt limits on each exam. So the difference is HUGE.

That may be true, but in practice doctors would be absolutely lost without nurses. That's just been my experience. How are you gonna heal someone staring at a record? Apply a statistical salve? Silly.

[Jibralta]

6 hours ago, SherrySher said:

they acquire a lot of the same kind of information as a doctor.

I have heard countless stories of nurses saving lives by pointing things out that the doctor missed.

OMG. So true. My dad was in the Mayo clinic, which is not exactly a crappy hospital. By the end of that stay, I was sold on the value of nurses. They ran the show! He was on the edge of death. If his wife's sister (a nurse) didn't fly in and take charge, I think he would have died that time.

[Wiseman2]

11 hours ago, angrythoughts said:

. In a couple days I’ll get an email to pinpoint my weak areas. 

Excellent. Then you can study those areas and perhaps get someone to tutor you.

Don't they have prep courses for boards, licensing exams? Can't imagine going in cold.

 

[Jibralta]

9 hours ago, angrythoughts said:

I hope I’m that person one day, someone who can say she failed but came back in the best way possible. It’s hard to shake this failure feeling and the feeling that I may fail a second time.

If you want to bounce back, then you have to bounce back. It's that simple. The only rule is: Don't Give Up.

@indea08 posted something good in one of my threads a while back, and I think it sums things up pretty well:

On 3/30/2021 at 10:19 AM, indea08 said:

It doesn’t matter if you swing and miss 999 times, you just have to make contact once. That’s probably the most important quality a person can have.

If you need a good kick in the butt, go to YouTube and inundate yourself with videos on failure and perseverance. 

[angrythoughts]

43 minutes ago, Wiseman2 said:

Excellent. Then you can study those areas and perhaps get someone to tutor you.

Don't they have prep courses for boards, licensing exams? Can't imagine going in cold.

 

Yes! I went in prepared but came up short. I had practiced almost 3,000 questions and did predictor exams that told me I had a high chance of passing, so I was devastated when I failed. 

[angrythoughts]

37 minutes ago, Jibralta said:

If you want to bounce back, then you have to bounce back. It's that simple. The only rule is: Don't Give Up.

@indea08 posted something good in one of my threads a while back, and I think it sums things up pretty well:

If you need a good kick in the butt, go to YouTube and inundate yourself with videos on failure and perseverance. 

That is seriously what I need to do. I’m more concerned with my mental health at this point than passing the test on the second go. I couldn’t sleep last night and I just want to crawl into a hole and isolate myself from the world lol. Getting out of this mental state is my priority right now. I’ll definitely be watching some motivational speeches on YouTube. 

[Batya33]

9 hours ago, Tonight.majestic said:

Except that doctors have to pass board exams totaling 41 hours just to enter residency alone while nurses have one board exam around 6 hours required to graduate. There are also attempt limits on each exam. So the difference is HUGE. 

 

That's not to discourage OP. Perhaps you think they are better because they have more time with patients whilst doctors spend far more time on EHRs than face to face. 

Apples and oranges. Doctors need to be trained in different ways and take different exams.  My road test was 15 minutes and my graduate level exams were hours.  My road test was harder and more stressful for me to pass.  I never failed a graduate exam.  Failed 4 road tests.  

[boltnrun]

You are not bad or stupid. You are a caring, compassionate person who wants to make a career out of helping people.

I admire you, actually. 

[angrythoughts]

11 minutes ago, boltnrun said:

You are not bad or stupid. You are a caring, compassionate person who wants to make a career out of helping people.

I admire you, actually. 

Aw thank you! I’m trying to get to that final step of passing so I could actually help people and make a difference. There’s so much I want to do in my nursing career. I’ll cry it out for a few days and then I’ll bounce back and get to studying. All of you guys are so sweet, thank you!

[Seraphim]

You CAN DO IT. Just breathe and have faith. Do you know where it went wrong ? Take failure as encouragement that you are learning and doing things . A person who never fails is a person who did nothing. 
 

You have this ! 

[angrythoughts]

2 minutes ago, Seraphim said:

You CAN DO IT. Just breathe and have faith. Do you know where it went wrong ? Take failure as encouragement that you are learning and doing things . A person who never fails is a person who did nothing. 
 

You have this ! 

No idea where I went wrong. I didn’t officially fail but there’s this trick you do where you find out if u failed right after the test and it’s pretty accurate. But being so, my official results aren’t in and I haven’t gotten the run down of my weak areas yet. I should get the breakdown tomorrow. 
 

In the meantime I will be feeling sorry for myself while making a plan to study ONCE AGAIN! 
 

 

[Seraphim]

You can do this ! We are rooting for you! 
Once a very special nurse did something for me at one of the lowest points in my life . I had lost my unborn baby at 16 weeks and needed a D&C as I was gravely ill from the placenta being left inside for 6 weeks. After her shift she came an sat with me and held me and listen to me talk and cry. She certainly didn’t need to but she had a beautiful heart. A few years later I saw her in a movie rental store and I ran over and hugged her and told her how much her kindness meant to me. 
 

You will be a great nurse.