The lived experience of NCLEX failure

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Professional Licensure Examinations

Background:

• Current research on the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) primarily focuses on predicting failure.
• There is a significant gap in understanding and addressing the needs of nursing graduates who do not pass the NCLEX on their first attempt.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the lived experiences of candidates who failed the NCLEX.
• To identify factors contributing to NCLEX failure and successful remediation strategies.
• To provide recommendations for nurse educators to better support graduates during the post-failure period.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative study utilizing the voices of unsuccessful NCLEX candidates.
• Analysis of candidate responses to failure, contributing factors, and changes leading to success.

Main Results:

• Identified common themes in the NCLEX failure experience.
• Detailed successful remediation strategies for candidates preparing for retesting.
• Provided insights into effective faculty interventions for graduates facing NCLEX failure.

Conclusions:

• Nurse educators must extend support beyond graduation to aid nursing candidates in transitioning from failure to licensure.
• Intervention and support during the post-failure period are critical components of successful undergraduate nursing education.
• Addressing the needs of unsuccessful candidates is a vital, yet often overlooked, responsibility of nurse educators.