A collective community approach to preparing nursing students for the NCLEX RN examination

ABNF Journal, The, May-June, 2004 by Laura McQueen, Patricia Shelton, Lynn Zimmerman

ADDITIONAL REMEDIATION STRATEGIES

Last summer many of our students returned to campus after graduation to participate in a pilot two-week program to assist nursing graduates who were having difficulties with standardized nursing tests. The students had varied reactions when told they needed additional time on campus with faculty after graduation to prepare for the exam. Some students are eager to return to school after the daily grind of classes has ended to focus their attention on the NCLEX-RN examination. However, other students wanted to return home or take on additional hours at their work. We began by telling all our students, especially focusing on our students who had tested below the mean on nursing tests, how important it is to prepare for this examination. We insisted that preparing for the NCLEX-RN was their current job and primary focus and we asked them to rearrange their work schedules and other commitments during this time. In addition, we asked for a minimum of two weeks of eight-hour days to assist in this preparation. These classes were without cost to the students and were informal sessions with a variety of daily scheduled activities focused on their success on the NCLEX-RN exam. This review class was not graded or punitive to students and was offered as a pledge of commitment to every nursing graduate. During these ten days, students took three additional NCLEX-RN formatted exams from a variety of testing companies and participated in smaller, individualized group activities to assist them individually and as a group. Students and faculty thought that this additional time in campus was beneficial to assisting our graduates and a decision to continue these activities for the next group of seniors is currently in effect.

As nursing faculty working with students for NCLEX-RN success we want to connect the student with nursing knowledge, and to their community, as both a participant and future healthcare worker. Historically black schools of nursing have a long tradition that incorporates learning and community. During the civil rights movement, black nurses and educators struggled to gain equality and recognition of black nurses in healthcare settings and to bring learned nursing skills to black women (Carnegie, 1986). This struggle was a collective effort that forged women of color together to make a positive difference in their communities. This collective community effort is the core to our philosophy for NCLEX-RN success in our school. We want 100%, not just for our schools pass rate, but as a collective goal for every student and their community. We want to engage students with this philosophy and carry this connection into nursing practice. We invest in our student's ability to succeed because they are capable, needed, and valued as future nurses in our healthcare systems.

As faculty at a historically black university we understand the challenges of assisting and preparing our students with first time passage on the NCLEX-RN exam. However, we as faculty need to have a collective community of nurse educators working together, sharing ideas, and developing strategies to ensure success for all of our students. The competitive nature of testing necessitates a collective effort to ensure our schools and student's survival and we must do this together.