So I did it. I registered for the NCLEX. $200 for the test, $139 for the background check, and of course whatever the fingerprinting place chooses to charge me. Nevermind this is like the 4th background check in the past 3 years. With the same company. And of course I have to pay every time even though they need only pull up my file and hit "Print" or "Submit" or "He's a Good Dude", whatever their button says. I wish I could just take the NCLEX now and get it over with. My hope is that my ATT comes in time for me to take the test before we leave for our cruise. But of course I'm at the mercy of the BON. My CON FedExs their part of the paperwork at 8 am the day after graduation, which is nice. No extra charge you know. I guess that's covered by the $20K of tuition and fees...The one section of the "Candidate Bulletin" that made me a little nervous follows:
NCSBN may cancel or withhold a candidate’s results if, in NCSBN’s judgment, there is a good faith basis to question the validity of the results for any reason, notwithstanding the absence of any evidence of a candidate’s personal involvement in irregular activities. Evidence of invalid results may include, but are not limited to unusual answer patterns or unusual score increases from one exam to another. If a candidate’s result is cancelled, revoked or invalidated without a finding that the candidate engaged in irregular behavior, the candidate may appeal the decision and/or will be offered a free retest. An appeal is the candidate’s exclusive means of redress with regard to NCSBN’s decision to take this action.
Basically, if I read it correctly, they can cancel your score for any reason that they want to. This is reminiscent of my experience taking the ASVAB several years ago. I scored a perfect score, and the recruiter assumed I cheated. I was made to take a paper version of the exam with a monitor sitting in the room with me to ensure I couldn't cheat. I scored another perfect score just to spite them.
Bastards.
Yay for you, congrats on registering! I can't wait to say that someday too, oh and the part about the cruise, but with me and my hubby.
ReplyDeleteI doubt it'll be a problem, although they do make you pay them money to get the score that they automatically have after you take it on the damn computer in a timely fashion. Bastards indeed.
ReplyDeletestick it to the man! Damn the man! Bastards!
ReplyDeleteWell, supposedly you can do the re-registering trick to see if you passed. But FYI I paid the $8 or whatever for my early result, and got my notification in the mail THAT SAME DAY. :P
ReplyDeleteI don't know how much paranoia the NCLEX folks really have; if you can score perfectly to 75 questions that doesn't seem impossible, and the questions are random so it seems hard to rig. But I'd watch talking about questions - reportedly one of my fellow students was approached by somebody asking about the test and then they were like "Zing! We work for NCLEX! You're busted!" but nothing ever happened to her. Perhaps it was a prank.
When I took the NCLEX it was a 8 hr-two-day-sit-down-full-on paper examination.... there were books out there that actually had the exact same questions on the exam.... I had the book, but I ended up going to Hawaii with the book and didn't even open it....I was *told* that the NCLEX was more of an English comprehension test than anything.... the computers came in shortly thereafter....well within 10 years anyway. I didn't find it that difficult...they have probably changed it since....it was that multiple-multiple-choice psych/situational type thing at that time...
ReplyDeleteAh...the NCLEX anxiety. I remember it so well. I can see the room I was in for the test so clearly in my mind and it's been 4.5 years. The test itself is a blur...I got so many prioritizing questions and kept waiting to get to #75. When I chose my answer for question 75, I was praying I'd be done. Question 76 came up and I was devastated. Then the computer turned off after #76. Thankfully!!!
ReplyDeleteSeriously, you sound like you have a pretty good grasp of nursing at this point and you rock the standardized tests so I have no doubt you'll pass your boards on the first try. Just to be safe though, I'll wish you good luck. I think it's pretty unlikely that you'll have your score cancelled for any reason, but damn that would suck! Just saying. =]
What is an NCLEX?
ReplyDeleteOMG: The NCLEX is the national licensing exam for nurses.
ReplyDeleteZazzy: Hang in there, it seems so far away, but you'll be amazed at how fast it goes. You'll be here before you know it.
ReplyDeleteNNITH: I tell myself now that if I take less than 80 questions I'm not paying extra, because it would take real talent to fail that quickly. We'll see if that holds true the day of, haha.
Will: Preach it brother!
Chris: I've heard of that trick, I may try it. I was almost a part of a scandal regarding Chiropractic boards because the people I took a review course from got busted.
CC: Two days?! Holy crap!
Nikki: Thanks, and I'm terrified of question #76 too. My luck I'll be one of the designated people to take all the questions. I may hang myself with the mouse cord.
Yikes! Stay away from the cords! =] My friend had to take Xanax to even face the NCLEX and then she got all 265 questions. Not pretty. I wish you much better luck than that!!
ReplyDeleteAh, dreaded NCLEX anxiety! You know you are gonna ace it. :) And after question 75 (or 76 if they really want to mess with your head), you will walk out of there and feel something like I did: "Well, that was kind of anticlimactic. I either just did really well, or I just failed miserably." And then you will proceed to over-analyze the whole thing until you have the results in your hand...and after you whoop and holler and do the victory dance you will keep the disply up on your computer screen, print out 17 copies to be sure it really printed out that you PASSED every single time and that your eyes are not deceiving you, and will forbid anyone to move your web browser to a different page so you can come back and re-verify that you did, in fact, pass. And yes, I was that pathetic. ;) LOL
ReplyDeleteMy State Board of Nsg gave me a FREE way of checking results and not paying the extra $9 (and yes I tried the re-registration trick, and it wouldn't let me). Most State Bd of Nsg sites have a licensure verification page, where you can enter your name and the last 4 of your SSN and it will pop up with a license number if you passed. Some states are prompt with this (mine appeared 48 hrs later) and some take a week (couldn't have waited that long).
And yeah, watch talking about NCLEX to others.
Best wishes...I am excited for you!