The National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc., otherwise known as NCSBN, has raised the passing standard for the NCLEX-RN Exam. The new passing standard is -0.16 logits (the unit of measure for the exam) on the logistics scale. The standard is 0.05 logits higher than the previous standard of -0.21. The new standard takes effect on April 1, 2010. The standard is reviewed by the NCSBN Board of Directors every three years. The Board...  Read More »

Several weeks ago, we here at StressedOutNurses.com asked professors from around the country to nominate students for a $500 scholarship. The guidelines we laid out were simple: We want to hear about your students who have a handle on stress—even in the most chaotic situations. And the nominations poured in. And poured in some more. We waded through piles of excellent submissions before selecting Erin Nestor, a third-semester nursing student...  Read More »

After a couple of our recent NCLEX articles about waiting for results and finding success, we received an interesting email. Lawrence Underwood, a recent nursing school graduate from Illinois, told us he whizzed through the NCLEX in only 35 minutes. Thirty-five minutes!? We had to hear more. Here’s his story: Two years of school and countless hours of studying and anxiety all boiled down to one simple test: the NCLEX (insert scary...  Read More »

By Richard Freedberg, RN, MSN, MPA That’s a tough circumstance to be in! Nursing students have to be smart, capable people with proven track records of success to get into competitive nursing programs. So why is it so hard now? First, let me just confirm that you are not alone! Your classmates may not proclaim it from the rooftops, but others most assuredly failed, and the majority may not have done as well as they would have liked....  Read More »

The end of last semester is slowly creeping up on our columnist Chelsea. With less than two months to go, the thoughts of walking across a stage and saying goodbye to college (for now) are becoming very real. Last time she wrote, Chelsea talked about her desire to land the nursing job of her dreams near her home in Boston. Today, she shares her thoughts on two more crucial upcoming events: the NCLEX and graduation. So, spring break during...  Read More »