Abstract
The graduate who fails the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) on the first attempt is psychologically, socially, and financially devastated. It is humiliating for the graduate to inform family, friends, and potential employers of the failure. It is also devastating for the graduate to have to wait until the 91st day following the NCLEX-RN failure to retake the computer adapted test (CAT). This length of time between examinations may increase the graduate's risk for failing the NCLEX-RN a subsequent time, because the graduate is not authorized to function as a graduate nurse in the clinical setting; there is no ongoing reinforcement of nursing knowledge, nursing process, critical thinking, or clinical performance skills. The graduate's NCLEX-RN performance also impacts the school of nursing's annual NCLEX-RN pass rate.