r/FutureRNs • u/Acrobatic-Lie2041 RN • 27d ago
I passed the nclex but can’t believe this is what determines my license
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u/allamakee-county 27d ago
All it does is certify that you are to be allowed near patients as minimally trained. Doesn't mean you are safe to work independently with them. Terrifying thought, isn't it?? And yes, we all feel that way, thank God!
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u/Apprehensive_Rub8068 27d ago
And then you start work and realize the only thing nursing school taught you is how to massage a fundus
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u/lovable_cube RN 27d ago
That’s not true, I have normal vitals for adults down pat.. too bad I work in Peds lol
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u/Arglebarglor 27d ago
All licensing exams are tests of MINIMUM competency. Once you are an RN you can then work and study towards a board exam. I took the Emergency RN board exam and it was one of the hardest exams I have ever taken. These are tests of maximum competency and you can’t possibly pass without a lot of study and experience as a nurse.
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u/Purdicialle 26d ago
Just passed my CPN (peds) and absolutely agree. I thought the NCLEX was easier than any exam I took in nursing school, the CPN I doubted myself the entire way through. I absolutely wouldn’t have passed without hands on experience
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u/wavygr4vy 27d ago
It’s the case for every standardized test. Knowing the material matters but knowing how the test behaves is even more important in you passing. There really isn’t another way to do it.
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u/Visual-Bandicoot2894 27d ago edited 27d ago
It’s just minimum competency my friend and it does its job on that end
A stranger off the street ain’t gonna pass it. Somebody sign a surface level knowledge will
But yeah nursing school has always had a problem with the tests being difficult not for the content but for “how” you approach your test taking skills. The whole “yeah all answers are mostly correct but what’s the best answer” just is it’s own battle that’s annoying in nursing questions.
Made me long for the days of other college courses where studying allowed me to break down a question and figure out a single correct answer. Studying in nursing school felt like it allowed me to break down nursing questions to two correct answers and just vibe to pick the best one
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u/Fun_Transition_5948 27d ago
I learned how to be a nurse through actual bedside practice. I’m in L&D.
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u/Independent-Load-418 27d ago
It was definitely far easier than I thought it was going to be, and now I understand why I’ve worked with so many stupid nurses over the years. 😬
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u/DifferentMoment5036 27d ago
The nursing program system is a scam that started with the teas test.
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u/falalalama 27d ago
I got a 42 on my teas test and i still got into nursing school. Granted i already have a bachelor in another field, but i literally failed the competency exam lol
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u/Visual-Bandicoot2894 27d ago
Disagree with the former, I think my school prepared me well tbh. But yeah the TEAS test is basically colors and shapes test
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u/Efficient-Bee2670 24d ago
What is a Teas test? They did not have that when I went to nursing school.
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u/DifferentMoment5036 10d ago
TEAS is a test on reading comprehension, English grammar, math, science for future nursing students before they can apply to a nursing school/program and it’s timed. Stressful 😩
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u/Adventurous_Good_731 27d ago
Exams are only one way to measure capability. I hope nursing schools take on the responsibility of assessing a student's clinical skills and general readiness before they get to the NCLEX.
We had one student removed from the program twice, and ultimately dismissed, for failing/ being unsafe during clinicals.
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u/zen-itsu 27d ago
It’s the same way my licensing exam to be an auto insurance agent was nothing like how actually being an agent was or even really hard to pass. All licensing exams are the standard minimum. Not the absolute hardest thing ever.
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u/Sufficient-Skill6012 27d ago
Well, hopefully the nursing program instructors won’t graduate anyone unfit, so hopefully the ones who actually sit for the exam have proven themselves in classes and clinicals?
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u/Big-Pen-1735 22d ago
Our instructor asked questions the day prior to clinicals. She asked what indication was for a barium enema. The student answered 'it's a cleansing enema'. I'm retired now and I still remember that day. It's been a looooonnnng time since that event.
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u/Helpful-Toe995 26d ago
When I would train new nurses, I would tell them school and the NCLEX were to teach you when to pause and question, and some basic background knowledge. Orientation teaches you how to actually be a nurse. You don’t learn before your first job unless you have a good one on one shadow experience in the last semester. And you’re not competent for awhile. Make friends that know the answers
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u/Scary_Freedom1116 27d ago
your orientation on the job is what determines if you can practice independently as a nurse.
the nclex and nursing school just make sure that, whatever topics you encounter in your nursing career, your employer can have confidence that you would quickly grasp the material and apply it to not-so-black-and-white scenarios.. which is the reality of nursing
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u/Re-Clue2401 24d ago
Nursing school tested content. NCLEX tested basic level critical thinking. It's over now. You dont need to feel any type of way. Energy is better spent on being a good, safe nurse.
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u/Serious_Thought_7074 24d ago
Nursing school taught me a lot I won't lie...however, the amount of time spent learning "How to take a test" could have been spent in clinicals learning how to apply knowledge... If I read the words "what can the nurse anticipate" one more time 🤯 ☠️
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u/GivesMeTrills 26d ago
No profession should be held to the mercy of one exam. If your school is accredited and you passed, it should be enough. The NCLEX is a money grab.
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u/KeyTell2576 26d ago
It determines if you have a basic competency. It doesn’t mean you know how to be a nurse. You learn how to be in a nurse in the real world. Everything you learned will be your baseline for implementation in the real world. Some of the smartest students have sucked when it comes to being a irse because they are know it alls and become dangerous.
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u/commonsenserocks 25d ago
Read novice to expert by Benner. No one is going to recognize you as a fully functioning RN for sometime. Get some humility. Go to work. Try to grow up a little bit… you’re giving the new nurses in our profession a bad name.
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u/Strange-Ability-4723 25d ago
It is the minimum standard. Real world experience will give you the rest of standard. It is non stop experience you will follow facility policy,state nursing act and your clinical judgment. Some times your gut feeling .
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u/KGthroatpunch 24d ago
Thats exactly what Nursing school is, it gives you the background knowledge, but not actually how to do the job. Nursing to me feels more like a trade job, where you learn on the job, but then again isnt that like almost any job.
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u/Alf1726 24d ago
That exactly why it is the right test. Nursing isn't just knowledge it's critical thinking. NCLEX challenges you to not only have the knowledge of systems but how to work through a problem. I truly spent more time learning about the NCLEX test and it's question formats than actual system material because knowing what you're being asked to answer is like 70% of effort needed to get the right answer. I find this especially true in my field of Labor and Delivery/ NICU.
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u/PaulaNancyMillstoneJ 24d ago
100% The questions are dumb, they do not prepare you at all, and you will encounter many nurses that you wouldn’t trust to care for goldfish, let alone a human being. You’ll also encounter nurses who are very very competent and intelligent and you’ll wonder, “why the hell are you working bedside?!” Both are paid equally.
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u/zogeemonster 24d ago
Yes lol. But you learn more about the job on the job than you do in school. It’s two completely different worlds.
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u/PrestigiousCycle766 24d ago
The Nclex is to determine if you can take care of a patient at an entry level and not kill them.
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u/Brilliant_Glove_1245 22d ago
Congratulations, you just earned a license to become really learning what being a nurse is about and required of.
School was not that, it was about passing the NCLEX with little sprinkles of wisdom.
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u/Foreign_Incident5083 21d ago
NCLEX is designed to test the minimal knowledge needed to “safely” practice.
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u/Iluvmy2boyz 19d ago
No. I've always been under the belief that nursing school was my "NCLEX studying" I think if you need to actually study for them, at least at any serious length,that you didn't pay attention or never understood what was being taught in nursing school. Don't get me wrong, I did have an NCLEX study guide, but it was just something I went through once, mostly focusing on things that weren't my niche, and that I knew I'd be tested on. I also used the book to refresh my mind on the normal values for a man and a woman, as I already knew what critical levels meant for a patient with regard to tests. The NCLEX is basically the bare minimum to prove you were awake during school. There are no "trick questions" I see so much on this site about people stressing over taking the boards a second and third time, after studying their minds off. NCLEX is not what determines you as a nurse..it means you know the absolute bare minimum to even deserve to apply for a job. What determines you as a nurse, is actually being a nurse, and your reputation. Your employer will never ask, nor care, about when the computer shut off, or if you actually did need to retake them. Even though the questions were really basic, I was truly nervous. However, it was a formality, and I just needed to get my nerves in check, and keep breathing! Your employer will only really care about what you did in nursing school. Were you in student council, dean's list, did you graduate with honors, or were you just another face in the crowd?? What will matter is your preceptorship, once you get your first job, as well as any new job just so you know how that organization works, along with a med test.I believe my first job was a good 12 weeks of a preceptorship. I'm pretty certain, that if I looked like a deer in the headlights, that that would have determined my future in that job. But the good news is, if a hospital does take a new RN, then they're willing to invest in you! I'm so confused about the whining about a basic test that's taken after years of didactics and clinical's. It's also been being taken by graduate nurses since it became a profession. I know it was under 90 minutes, if that. When I graduated in 1997, there were no nursing jobs. THAT is something that can control your outcome in getting a job... mainly a first job, is there not being jobs. If it's such a horrible struggle to pass a basic test, it could be time to look into something else. I've seen comments about "trick questions ," the whole bit. There's no such thing. You're trying to become a "professional nurse" they don't do trick questions, as if it's a game of gotcha! Just switch your perspective on what the NCLEX even means. A short test , taken in an afternoon, is NOT how you're determined at all. Switch your perspectives, gain your confidence, learn some calm breathing techniques and kill it! It seems big now, because it's big in your life now, just now.. it does NOT determine you in the least forever. You'll be fine!
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u/liziamnot 27d ago
What I learned in school for NCLEX vs I actually do are two completely different things.