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NCLEX-RN 2013 Test Plan

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April 2013

It's 60 degrees and sunny on April 1st while I'm writing month's newsletter. For this month's newsletter I've decided to write yet again about the flu shot. APRIL FOOLS! I wouldn't do that to you. This month I want to discuss the recent changes to the NCLEX-RN nursing board exam.

But first I want to congratulate Katelyn, my latest client to pass the NCLEX-RN, bringing my overall pass rate up to 96.5% (28/29). Katelyn had to overcome attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and the stress of an ongoing divorce in order to pass the NCLEX. After having failed the exam once, Katelyn attended one of my exclusive 4-Hour Prep Classes in January. She studied on her own using my recommended study plan and then met with me for three one-on-one sessions to get into peak test-taking shape before her exam. Her total cost of NCLEX preparation, including both the prep class and our sessions, was only $270, barely more than the $250 it costs to take the exam, and much less than my competitors' overcrowded and impersonal prep classes that bore students to tears. This past Saturday, after taking the final exam I've prepared for my students on Friday, she sailed through the NCLEX after only 87 questions. 

I just ran another sold-out prep class this past Saturday March 30th, so I've added another on Sunday April 14th from 12-4 PM at the Newton Free Library in Newton, MA for $60. Class size is extremely limited, so tell your friends to sign up early. Just click the link to register. 

After graduating from a nursing program, which is no easy task, students must then pass the NCLEX-RN nursing board exam before they become Registered Nurses and can enter clinical practice. The NCLEX-RN is an incredibly challenging exam. Not only is the exam cumulative in the sense that it tests on all aspects of nursing, but it also tests at the application level of knowledge and above.

For example, the aminoglycoside antibiotic Vancomycin can damage the kidneys. However, the NCLEX-RN doesn't ask, "What organ can Vancomycin damage?" That's way too easy. Instead, it asks:

A patient's peak Vancomycin level comes back elevated. Which lab values are most important for the nurse to assess?
a) Lipase and amylase
b) BUN and creatinine 
c) ALT, AST, alkaline phosphatase, and biliruibin
d) Hemoglobin and hematocrit

Correctly answering a question like this not only requires remembering that vancomycin is nephrotoxic, but it also requires the student to then piece together that they need to monitor BUN and creatinine because those are measures of kidney function. The NCLEX is also rich in dreaded "Select All That Apply" questions. There are also alternate format questions that require putting a series of steps in the proper order or correctly identifying a heart or lung sound. It's a beast of an exam.

As if the nursing board exam wasn't already challenging enough, it just got harder. Starting April 1st, a new test plan is being put into place, and the passing standard is being raised. The new test plan doesn't bring any major changes, and I've had a chance to thoroughly review it and adapt my curriculum. Prioritization, delegation, pharmacological and parenteral therapies, and Medical-Surgical nursing still take up a big chunk of the exam, and that's why my 4-Hour Prep Class hammers the most testable content.

Of bigger concern is the fact that the passing standard has been increased. Students must now achieve a higher score in order to pass. NCLEX pass rates are expected to drop in response to the elevated passing standard. It is impossible to know by how much, but probably somewhere around 3-5%. Data from 2012 shows that about 10% of first-time students failed, 44% of repeat students failed, 63% of first-time internationally educated students failed, and 79% of repeat internationally educated students failed. Overall, 21%, more than one out of every five candidates, who sat for the exam didn't pass. 

Given that the exam itself costs $250 dollars, that students have to wait 45 days before reattempting the test, that they can't begin working as a nurse until they pass, and that failing the NCLEX is more than enough throw someone into a legitimate depression and brew feelings of powerlessness and anxiety, proper NCLEX preparation is essential. That's why I've spent the last two years becoming an elite NCLEX tutor. I won't say I'm the best, but lots of my clients will, and I've yet to meet anyone better. 

Katelyn texted me, "This feels so good! Thank you! I cannot even come close to describing how much I appreciate your awesomeness!" I love getting texts like that. It's very satisfying for me to help people overcome this difficult task and take their anxiety away. I wish for everyone to be successful on the NCLEX-RN so they can begin their careers and live happy, prosperous lives. I've helped students who were just barely scraping by working as nursing assistants, techs, or home health aids more than double their salary by finally passing the board exam. I've helped students who had failed up to four times previously. They had already spent thousands of dollars between the cost of the exam itself and competitors' prep classes and online reviews when one-on-one tutoring is cheaper and more effective. 

There's a simple reason why students who complete my program have a 96.5% NCLEX-RN pass rate: because my program works. The exam just got harder. I guess I'll have to use that as motivation to get even better.  

Best Wishes,
Dan

Daniel A. Clinton, RN, BSN
The Awesome Nursing Tutor
617-312-3799
www.awesomenursingtutor.com