In this 20‑minute YouTube presentation, registered nurse and NCLEX tutor Damion Jenkins explains why many new‑grad nurses fail the NCLEX and outlines three common preparation mistakes to avoid. He first stresses the importance of understanding how the NCLEX is designed—its focus on application, analysis, and clinical judgment rather than rote recall. He then warns against over‑emphasizing broad content review and instead advocates spending study time on critical‑thinking concepts such as prioritization, therapeutic communication, and rules of management. Finally, he highlights the need for an expert‑approved, balanced study plan that optimizes time, stamina, and test‑taking strategy, especially for repeat test‑takers. Jenkins introduces his “NCLEX Strategies for Success” program, describing its e‑course, one‑to‑one tutoring, accountability partner, readiness predictor, and ongoing support, and offers a 15 % discount code (PASSNCLEX15). He directs viewers to thenursespeak.com for contact options. Throughout, the tone is instructional, persuasive, and supportive, aiming to motivate nurses to invest in guided, concept‑focused preparation rather than generic content‑driven programs.
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Hi there, thank you so much for joining me today in the presentation of 3 Reasons Why You Failed the NCLEX. Did you know that more than 20% of new grad nurses have a difficult time passing the NCLEX? That's right. I want you to know that failing is not your fault. You just need help building up your critical thinking skills. Did you know that the NCLEX expects for you to be able to apply and analyze data in a way that really challenges your ability to use critical thinking and test-taking strategy? This is something students don't get a lot of practice with during nursing school, and this is why the NCLEX is so difficult. Did you know that the NCLEX is challenging because it expects you to be able to answer questions at a much higher level than your nursing school exams? This is because the NCLEX assumes you already know the nursing content. So now you must be able to think like a nurse and not think like a student. The good news is, is that you do not have to remember everything you learned in nursing school in order to pass this exam. And so for the purpose of today's presentation, I'm going to discuss what you need to know and how to avoid the 3 most common NCLEX prep mistakes so that you don't keep failing. This is going to be an opportunity for you to improve your NCLEX prep efforts so that you can pass and join me in the ranks as a professional nurse. And so I just wanna take a moment and introduce myself for those of you who don't know me. My name is Damion Jenkins. I'm an NCLEX prep expert, registered nurse for over 10 years, nurse educator for over 8 years, and I have helped hundreds of new grad nurses develop strategies for NCLEX success. Most of the clients that I've helped over the years have been repeat test takers, and to no surprise, because most people don't think that they need an NCLEX tutor until they've had an unsuccessful attempt. Well, I'm hoping that I can get the news out that people really should invest in the best NCLEX prep programs, and having an NCLEX prep expert to guide them along the way is really the best option. All right, so let's talk about the 3 mistakes to avoid for NCLEX. And so the first mistake that you want to avoid is not taking the time to learn how the NCLEX is designed and how it challenges test takers. Not only do you have to be able to apply what you know to be true or what you've learned to answering NCLEX-style questions, you also need to know what the questions are asking you. How are they challenging you to make decisions? What concept are they challenging? Is it the nursing process? Is it prioritization? Is it the rules of management? There's so many different things to consider And looking at how the questions are structured and understanding how they are challenging you will give you the advantage and help you pass the test. There are so many misconceptions out there about the NCLEX, so you should really go to the source for clarity. That's why I wanna tell you right now that if you have any questions about the NCLEX, do not ask your friends, classmates, or other individuals who are not NCLEX— experts. You can start by going to the source, the creators of the NCLEX, the NCSBN. On their website, you'll find all of the information that you need in order to start preparing for the NCLEX. You can visit their website by going to ncsbn.org. On the website, you'll find all that you need to have a better understanding on how the exam is designed, structured, and administered. And so the second mistake that you want to avoid is spending too much time in nursing content review and not enough time in challenging your understanding of the concepts that guide decision-making, such as the rules of prioritization, therapeutic communication, rules of management. All of these things that I mentioned before, you need to know how to apply what you already know to being able to speak to those concepts. This is what the NCLEX is challenging you on, not whether or not you remember lab values, not whether or not you know what a normal blood pressure looks like. Of course you need to have that information, you know, a fundamental understanding, but you don't need to spend your time reviewing every single thing you learned in nursing school. It's a waste of your time, effort, and energy. You know, there are so many resources out there to help you prepare for the NCLEX, but not all NCLEX resources are created equal. In fact, I've researched over 20 NCLEX prep programs, so I know which ones are worth an investment and which ones you should pass right up. Also, I've had individuals come to me after doing almost every single program out there, and they were still having a hard time passing the NCLEX. You see, most NCLEX prep resources play on your fear that you don't know enough, and so they build a program reviewing nursing content rather than focusing on applying what you already know to answering high-level NCLEX-style questions. Now that you've had an unsuccessful attempt, your fear of failing is probably even higher, so that's why most programs won't work for you. From my experience, most repeat test takers benefit greatly from individualized one-to-one tutoring and coaching from an NCLEX prep expert. And so the third mistake that you want to avoid is not developing an expert-approved and balanced study life plan that optimizes your time, effort, and performance in preparing for NCLEX success. The one thing you wanna do is stop wasting so much time and energy reading all of this information that might not even be on the exam. So instead of focusing your energy on content review, you should really focus your energy on applying what you already know to answering questions. Does this sound familiar? There is so much information to review, I just get overwhelmed and I don't know where to start. I have so much going on in my life that I can't possibly take the time to study every day. I try to answer a few questions or review flashcards when I'm in between household chores or in between patients while at work. I have a really hard time deciding what's important when answering NCLEX questions. You may have found yourself saying those statements. Maybe you've heard other individuals in your class or your colleagues who are trying to pass the NCLEX say the same thing. I know from experience that inconsistent studying and not having a plan to follow will only lead to more frustration and more test anxiety. You cannot expect to go into the NCLEX and rock it if you haven't appropriately prepared. Trust me, even my best nursing students have had difficult time passing the NCLEX. It has nothing to do with how smart you are. So those nursing students who get straight A's in school, they are often the most surprised when they have a hard time passing the NCLEX. Again, the NCLEX has nothing to do with how smart you are, but it has everything to do with how well you can apply critical thinking strategies to answering these questions. You need to be able to prepare yourself in a way that builds focus, stamina, endurance, test-taking strategy, and critical thinking skills. You need to follow an expert study plan that has been proven to help even those who have had an upward of 20 unsuccessful attempts. I've already mentioned that I have helped people who have failed over 20 times. And so I want to let you know that I'm here to help you pass with my NCLEX Strategies for Success program with the tutoring option. So in the program, you will have access to a comprehensive eCourse that includes assignments, video prompts, resources, and a readiness predictor test. You'll have ongoing support from me via email, audio messaging, and scheduled calls from the time you enroll in the program until you pass the NCLEX. You'll have an accountability partner that will check in with you often to help keep you focused and on task while also validating your performance and making recommendations along the way. You'll receive one-to-one tutoring sessions that will help to validate your understanding of the strategies you're learning, as well as evaluating your performance in real time. And you'll receive a personalized approach to studying for the NCLEX that focuses on your individual needs. This is something that most NCLEX prep— programs cannot offer. So once you're in the program, you will learn how to utilize the program and all of its resources. You'll learn all about the NCLEX design and how it challenges test takers. You'll learn how to shift your thinking from nursing content to nursing concepts. You'll learn how to use critical thinking in an easy and systematic approach when answering NCLEX questions. You'll learn how to think like a nurse and improve your clinical decision-making, also known as your clinical judgment. You'll learn how to identify question types and difficulty levels, and you'll learn a tremendous amount of test-taking strategies, concepts, principles, and rules that will help you pass the NCLEX. And so I wanna offer a special discount for you for my NCLEX Strategies for Success program with the tutoring option. I wanna offer you a 15% discount. In order to redeem that discount, you'll use the coupon code PASSNCLEX15 at checkout. And so I wanna thank you so much for taking the time to enjoy this presentation. I hope that you found all of the information to be of great use to you. And if you have any questions about my program, about the NCLEX, or what option might be best for you going forward, please feel free to reach out to me by visiting thenursespeak.com and then navigating over to the contact page. There you'll have a couple options. You can shoot me an email or you can schedule an inquiry call with me, and I look forward to helping you or someone you know develop strategies for NCLEX success. I'll see you soon. Take care.
