Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Did you know that first year nurses
[00:00:03] Speaker B: experience the highest turnover of any group?
[00:00:07] Speaker A: That reality is staggering, but it also tells us something important.
You are not alone and your growth matters.
[00:00:19] Speaker B: Welcome to the All One Nurse Podcast, where we are bridging the gap between the stethoscope and the soul through real nursing stories and nursing conversations.
Here, our mission is simple, to get back to the human side of healthcare.
I'm your host, Nurse Chanel Tompkins, and I'm also your mentor and nurse educator. And this space was created just for you to breathe, to learn, to grow, and most importantly, feel supported no matter where you are in your nursing journey.
So take a deep breath and let's step into your next breakthrough.
[00:01:02] Speaker A: Hey friend. Welcome back to the All One Nurse Podcast. I'm your host, Nurse Chanel Tompkins, and I'm so glad that you are here with me today. And if this is your first time listening, welcome.
You have found a safe, open space for new nurses, aspiring nurses, and nurses in general. Because, as you will see, I also interview nurses from all around the country in different specialties and they come to tell us everything.
You know, there's no gatekeeping here. It's just real support, real encouragement and real conversations.
And that's what I admire so much about All One Nurse.
Today. We're talking about something that many people experience but they do not want to admit it. Failing the nclex. Now, as a staff development specialist, have
[00:01:56] Speaker B: seen
[00:01:58] Speaker A: groups of new nursing grads where almost everyone passed on their first try at nclex. And I've seen groups where almost everyone seemed to have failed except for one or two out of six, as it happens. And in this episode, I want to do two things. One, speak life and encouragement to anyone who has failed the nclex.
And number two, some real reasons why some nursing grads that I have worked with did not pass so that you can avoid some of these same pitfalls. But before we jump in, of course, go ahead and subscribe so you don't miss another episode including conversations with nurses from, again, different backgrounds who share their expertise, their stories, and their patient perspectives. Now, first thing first, my words of encouragement to you. I always start with, you are not alone and you are not the first, nor will you be the last person to fill the nclex. Okay, Nurses like Wally Khan, who I admire for his advocacy. If you've seen him on, like, Instagram, he talks openly about his struggles in nursing school and that includes failing the NCLEX multiple times. And he even shared his journey on Nurse Converse, which is a podcast presented by Nurse.org and guess what? He is now a certified nurse anesthesiologist. Yes, a certified registered nurse anesthesiologist. A crna. But imagine if he would have given up on the first, second or third try. Guess what?
There's only 100% guarantee that he would still not be a nurse if he never tried again. And so I encourage you, be strong and hold on to what you know is true. You made it through nursing school. You passed every exam. Or maybe not. But you passed every class, including your exit exam. And now you simply need to learn how to take the nclex.
And if you haven't already, listen to my previous bonus episode. It's the one before the last one. But I give you some very powerful tools to help you prepare and to help you be more successful at passing nclex. And now you can revisit that anytime through your NCLEX Prep support.
And you know me, if you've been rocking with me for a while, I am big on the Word of God because it encourages me more than anything. And what you deposit into yourself becomes what you withdraw when you need strength. So we are not depositing shame, guilt, weariness, anxiety or frustration. We are depositing life, abundance and hope. And here are a few scriptures to carry you the first one is Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. The second is 2 Corinthians 12:9 and it states, my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. And I love to lean on Proverbs 3, 5:6, 7 where it says trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways. Acknowledge Him. So for me that's like let's rest in God, but let these scriptures carry you, carry you through to see what the end will be.
And go ahead and attempt reattempt taking NCLEX again.
And because I feel led right now, I am going to add Scriptures for Strength onto the All Oners Facebook community and it is a private Facebook group and so you can head that way and join so that you'll have access to those. And if you love Christian motivation, you're also welcome to join me in the All1 Nurse Private Facebook group for Monday Motivation devotionals. Now the next thing why some nursing grads fail the nclex maybe the main reason why you're here. So I want to give you some real reasons that I have gotten from nursing grads that did not pass NCLEX on their first Attempt. Now, one thing was, of course, no studying at all. They showed up, took the test and assumed that they would pass. And guess what? They didn't.
And then on the other end of the spectrum, I've had grads that studied too much. They're using every resource, prep books, practice, exams, more than one or two review courses. And then they overwhelm themselves because too many, many resources equals no strategy. And so again, revisit the bonus episode a couple episodes back from this one about awesome strategies for preparing for nclex. And then another big reason that some grads feel like they didn't pass is because they didn't take a break during their exam. And I'm pretty big on that. I think if I don't remember anything else, my test prep, my test prep review course told me, told us to be sure to take a break, take a break. And it's something about that number 85. So a lot of nursing grads get discouraged when they, they're taking a test and they get to number 85 and it keeps going.
Well, that may be your moment to take a break. Okay. And give yourself, give your mind time to reset so that you're giving, so that you're able to give your best and able to refocus. Okay. Because you can get all the questions on the exam or you can get only 85 questions on the exam and still not pass. Okay?
Now another reason, mismanaged anxiety. Mismanaged anxiety makes it impossible to focus.
Like you, you know the content, you didn't even broken down the NCLEX from front to back and how it's made and how it's structured.
But your anxiety just gets the best of you. So go ahead and tell yourself, hey, I could take this test again.
So to free up your mind from the anxiety of failing the test, even though our goal and our hope is always to pass the first time. Okay? And then another reason that I have witnessed that individuals have failed NCLEX is that they have wrong test day strategy. You can take again NCLEX over and over.
So do not go in there feeling like you the weight of the world is just on your shoulders and you rob yourself of the opportunity to pass at that time during that day. And so be sure to get the rest that you need the day before. Okay? Take the pressure off of yourself the first time. Rest the day before. Choose a test time that fits your natural rhythm. I've had grass tests early in the morning, like I am an early morning person. And then I've had a grad recently they test it later in the morning time in the like around noon, whatever works for you. And then be sure to go to the restroom, get some water, reset your mind. And now when it comes to NCLEX prep material, I'm not naming anything specific on here because I've seen grads use. I've seen people pass and fail using the same ones. The difference is those who failed were using too many resources and once they narrowed it down, created a study schedule and worked and stuck to it and learned how to study right instead of studying wrong and long or long and wrong, they passed on their second attempt because of course they failed the first attempt. And wherever you are in your journey, I want to hear about it.
So I would love for you to share your story inside the private Facebook community. And then there's also all one nerds across social media on Facebook, TikTok and Instagram. And I would love to connect with you there. You can always DM me from there.
And if this episode has blessed you, let me know on social media as well.
And if this episode encouraged you in any way, be sure to subscribe so that you don't miss Season five with my first guest, Darlene Bell, and she is supporting not only individual nurses, but organizations and I cannot wait for you to hear all that she has to share.
I hope this bonus episode has blessed you somehow. Maybe you've taken one or two nuggets away from it and able to go and successfully set yourself up to create a strategy to pass nclex on the first attempt or be encouraged and more confident as you go in taking the nclex again, no matter where you are on your second or third attempt, give yourself grace. Give yourself grace. And I would love to connect with you. Now this wraps up today's bonus episode on Belly nclex. So what next? How do you restore your confidence? Right, and this is Chanel on the All Winners podcast. And until next time, let your light shine. Bye.
