Preparing to retake the NCLEX-RN. The experience of graduates who fail

Many schools of nursing counsel and provide practice sessions to their students in initial preparation for the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX). What then of the graduates who fail and are now outside of the educational and often supportive environments of schools of nursing? Graduates cannot be employed to practice what they have learned, nor do schools of nursing have the programs to assist graduates who have failed. How can these graduates be enabled to succeed? The authors discuss the stories of 10 graduates who failed the examination and their preparation to retake it. Data from their study reveal important ways that nurse educators can help graduate nurses during this stressful period in their lives.