Failing my nursing test after graduation

[angrythoughts]

37 minutes ago, Seraphim said:

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. 

Aww that’s so sweet! I hope I can be that person for someone. I’m sorry you had to go through that. That must’ve been really hard for you. 

[boltnrun]

I was in the hospital and was assigned a very nice young RN.  I was there for about 5 days.  She wasn't assigned to me the next rotation but she came to check on me anyway.  She said I was her favorite patient.  I've never forgotten her or her kindness.

I love nurses.  The best medical care I got was primarily from nurses.  I trust them completely.

Make sure to think positively.  If you think you're stupid and you'll fail again, you just might. Not because you're stupid but because you THINK you are. But if you give yourself a break and say "Yeah, I didn't pass THIS TIME.  But I got this.  Next time I'm going to pass"  then you most likely will.

[angrythoughts]

56 minutes ago, boltnrun said:

I was in the hospital and was assigned a very nice young RN.  I was there for about 5 days.  She wasn't assigned to me the next rotation but she came to check on me anyway.  She said I was her favorite patient.  I've never forgotten her or her kindness.

I love nurses.  The best medical care I got was primarily from nurses.  I trust them completely.

Make sure to think positively.  If you think you're stupid and you'll fail again, you just might. Not because you're stupid but because you THINK you are. But if you give yourself a break and say "Yeah, I didn't pass THIS TIME.  But I got this.  Next time I'm going to pass"  then you most likely will.

This is so true. Idk if you’re a believer in the law of attraction, but I’m planning on listening to an audiobook about it to put me in a better headspace about everything. I definitely need to fight this feeling of being a complete failure and dusting myself off and trying again with CONFIDENCE! Easier said than done but I’ll do my best. 

[Lambert]

it's going to be OK

Take some time off for a few days. blow off some steam or just rest.

Then get back at studying. I'm a terrible test taker. don't let it in your head.  

You can do it. 

[Tonight.majestic]

On 6/13/2021 at 6:39 AM, Jibralta said:

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.

That's not the point. 

The point is that academically, the academic rigors of physicians outweigh those of nurses. 

Secondly, I would NOT trust a nurse to diagnose me. That's NOT the job of a nurse yet the national nursing boards consistently keep pushing nurses to be the equivalent of a Family Medicine physician. This is downright preposterous! 

You truly underestimate the heavy workload and responsibility doctors undertake. 

Both doctors and nurses have their roles but to say that nurses are far more invaluable than physicians is ignorant. 

[Tonight.majestic]

On 6/13/2021 at 12:37 AM, SherrySher said:

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.

Nurses DO get far more respect than doctors. Celebrate national nurse day, nurse gifts, etc. I have yet to see celebrate doctors day, or doctor gifts as widespread as those of nurses. 

Would you trust a nurse to do your surgery? I would not. 

Physicians undergo a far more rigorous training than nurses. Physicians carry far more responsibility for patients than nurses. Because if a nurse makes a mistake, her license isn't in danger of being revoked. So for you to say that nurses do three times the hard work of physicians when you don't even know their trainings is just wrong. Nurses do four years of nursing school and then off to work they go. Physicians do 4 years of undergrad, 4 years of medical school and at least 4 years of residency, if not for fellowships which add on more years. And for the record, their residency pay is tops 65k for 90+ hours a week whereas there are plenty of nurses who get far more for lesser hours. 

Just to give an example. There are plenty of medical facilities where nurse practitioners and physician assistants diagnose and treat patients but the head physician signs off on the final orders. If something goes wrong, it's the physician that signed the orders that ultimately pays the price for someone else's mistakes. This may mean disciplinary action, higher mapractice fees, license issues, etc. This is done to keep costs down, which is why so many facilities are cutting down on physicians and claiming that nurses and physician assistants are just as good as MDs. 

And to give another example. I have a colleague who worked as an RN, then studied for an MD and is now finishing up residency. He told me the difference in knowledge FAR EXCEEDS, but that both roles are invaluable. 

I have another acquaintance who was a practicing physician in his home country, came to the US and could not pass the board exams here. He's now working as an RN. 

As far as nurses spending more time with their patients, that's absolutely correct. Because for every 10 minutes of patient interaction, a physician has to spend 40+ minutes filling out electronic records. That's how the system is designed today. 

 

[Rose Mosse]

OP. You have to keep at it if it's something you love to do. And don't stop there. Keep going and learning. 

The road is very long and you will stumble. This is part of it and it's developing you. Brush yourself off and keep going. 

Don't give up.

[Tonight.majestic]

On 6/13/2021 at 6:39 AM, Jibralta said:

How are you gonna heal someone staring at a record? Apply a statistical salve? Silly.

By diagnosing them correctly and prescribing the correct medication. 

By ordering the correct labs. 

By referring them to the correct specialist. 

By adjusting their dosages.

By correctly interpreting their imagistics.

Countless ways. 

 

All very silly stuff. 

[Tonight.majestic]

1 minute ago, Tonight.majestic said:

By diagnosing them correctly and prescribing the correct medication. 

By ordering the correct labs. 

By referring them to the correct specialist. 

By adjusting their dosages.

By correctly interpreting their imagistics. 

By performing surgery. 

Countless ways. 

 

All very silly stuff. 

 

[Jibralta]

1 hour ago, Tonight.majestic said:

That's not the point. 

You should start your own thread to debate doctors vs nurses.

[DancingFool]

OP, lots of people in all kinds of professions take more than one time or even two or three to pass licensing exams. There is a reason why people are allowed to take those types of exams multiple times.

Passing exams has NOTHING to do with your intelligence or even knowing your stuff. It's all about understanding what the exam board considers "the correct response or the best response".

On that note, I'd focus on figuring out the test taking aspect of it. Once you get your results, see where you were short on and why. Work on that as well as all the rest.  Test taking is pragmatic rather than emotional. You don't want to be over confident or completely insecure. Aim for the practical middle - prepared and focused.

It's quite possible that since you were getting such high passing results on practice tests, you were over confident and simply not as focused as you should have been. That can cause you to skim and misread questions and therefore choose incorrect answers. Being overly fearful and insecure about the exam can cause the opposite - reading too much and overthinking questions, second guessing answers and again that will lead to failure. Neither of these have anything to do with your actual intelligence, knowledge, or capacity to do the job.

So, regroup and focus on studying up what you need and focus focus focus focus - not just in practice but during the actual exam. 

Ultimately, understand that nobody gives a flying rat's rear end whether you got your license the first time or after 20 tries, so long as you have a license AND can do the job. The only person who really cares about this and is beating yourself up is just you. Stop that. It's not helping you or doing anything for you. Literally no employer cares, no patient cares. Nobody will ever care about it. People will remember you for what you do for them, not how many times it took to pass an exam. 

[angrythoughts]

37 minutes ago, Tonight.majestic said:

By diagnosing them correctly and prescribing the correct medication. 

By ordering the correct labs. 

By referring them to the correct specialist. 

By adjusting their dosages.

By correctly interpreting their imagistics.

Countless ways. 

 

All very silly stuff. 

I’m sorry, but the point of my post was my depression due to failure. I don’t think debating over who’s better: doctors vs nurses, really matters for my topic specifically. 

[Wiseman2]

9 minutes ago, angrythoughts said:

I’m sorry, but the point of my post was my depression due to failure. I don’t think debating over who’s better: doctors vs nurses, really matters for my topic specifically. 

Agree.  Relax and don't be stressed by ax-grinders. Focus on your  exam retake. Good luck.

[Tonight.majestic]

1 hour ago, angrythoughts said:

I’m sorry, but the point of my post was my depression due to failure. I don’t think debating over who’s better: doctors vs nurses, really matters for my topic specifically. 

You're right. It's not. 

I'm replying to posters who are saying that nurses are far better than doctors because of XYZ when the reality is that each serves its own role. 

[SherrySher]

4 hours ago, Tonight.majestic said:

You're right. It's not. 

I'm replying to posters who are saying that nurses are far better than doctors because of XYZ when the reality is that each serves its own role. 

I was the one who made certain points.

Majestic, if you want to message me your thoughts on why you don't agree with me, please feel free. But don't railroad this ladies post.

Thank you.

[angrythoughts]

Thank you again everyone! I got the official notice that my slow butt failed today. Now that I have the official results, I felt I was able to accept it and move on to a happier place. I’m coping by studying. I was going to take the week to cry at first but I’m in a better headspace to start studying today. I will learn everything possible and pass the second time for sure! I’ll keep you guys updated in a couple months. Pray for me! 🙂

 

 

[boltnrun]

It's not nice to call people "ignorant" just because they have a different opinion or point of view.

OP, I wish you the very best.

[Fudgie]

Speaking as an experienced nurse here...

When someone gets upset over personal opinions on their chosen profession, that is their problem (bruised ego and the like) to deal with, not yours. Doctors and nurses fill different roles and each one is invaluable and essential to healthcare. Patients would die in droves if you took either of them away. Full stop.

I've been treated respectfully by some doctors and with the utmost disregard by others. It is reflection upon them - not me. Keep this in mind for when you are a nurse (yes, I said when) because I can guarantee you will bump heads. Healthcare is a strange, stressful field and it tends to draw odd characters in terms of patients and employees.

As for the test, I know you can do this. It's a hard test (we are assuming it's the NCLEX, right?) but that's more due to the setup/anxiety-inducing format, NOT the content. Message me if you want - I have some really good resources to share with you. I've been there myself. Many have failed, tried again, and have become awesome nurses. 

[angrythoughts]

Hey guys, just wanted to update everyone. I retook my test today and PASSED! I remembered I came in here crying about it and figured I'd let you all know it turned out okay in the end lol. Thanks for all the uplifting and thoughtful, kind words. 🙂

 

[DancingFool]

2 minutes ago, angrythoughts said:

Hey guys, just wanted to update everyone. I retook my test today and PASSED! I remembered I came in here crying about it and figured I'd let you all know it turned out okay in the end lol. Thanks for all the uplifting and thoughtful, kind words. 🙂

 

YAY!!!! So glad for you and congrats. ✨🎉

[Seraphim]

13 minutes ago, angrythoughts said:

Hey guys, just wanted to update everyone. I retook my test today and PASSED! I remembered I came in here crying about it and figured I'd let you all know it turned out okay in the end lol. Thanks for all the uplifting and thoughtful, kind words. 🙂

 

Yay!!! Excited for you !!

[HeartGoesOn]

2 hours ago, angrythoughts said:

Hey guys, just wanted to update everyone. I retook my test today and PASSED! I remembered I came in here crying about it and figured I'd let you all know it turned out okay in the end lol. Thanks for all the uplifting and thoughtful, kind words. 🙂

 

Well done

You Go Girl!     👍

[Batya33]

Hooray !!! My favorite update in ages.  

[Capricorn3]

5 hours ago, angrythoughts said:

Hey guys, just wanted to update everyone. I retook my test today and PASSED! I remembered I came in here crying about it and figured I'd let you all know it turned out okay in the end lol. Thanks for all the uplifting and thoughtful, kind words. 🙂

Awesome!  Well done!! 👍

[Cherylyn]

You're NOT a failure.  Pick yourself up, study harder, be better prepared and you will pass.  Never give up.  You are NOT a dummy.  There is nothing wrong with you! 

You can do this!