According to NCSBN, National Council of State Boards of Nursing the gap between international students and US educated students passing the NCLEX RN is diminishing.
In 2000 there were a total of 71,475 US educated students and 7,506 internationally educated students taking the NCLEX RN. International students made up only 10.5% of the students sitting for the exam.
As demands for nursing students increased so did the number of students going into nursing. Aging Baby Boomers, population explosion, and increased number of nurses used in place of doctors is causing a serious demand for nurses.
The demand for nurses in the United States is being answered by students in other countries. Many US Citizens are arguing that there are citizens with skills and experience to fill the positions in the computer science field and issuing more work visas will only increase unemployment in the US. Will this be the same for the nursing industry? In 2007 there were 119,579 United States educated students and 33,768 internationally educated students taking for the NCLEX RN exam. This is a bit more than 28% of all nursing students sitting for this test.
The dramatic increase is quite possibly the result of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing opening three exam centers abroad. In just seven years the percentage of international students has risen 17.5%
Students educated outside the United States are alert to the demand for nurses in North America and know that educating themselves may be their opportunity to obtain a work visa and possible citizenship in the US and may garner them a life of a greater quality of living and freedom from oppression.
How well are United States educated students performing compared to their internationally educated counterparts? are still out performing international students, but international students are gaining on them.In 2007, there were 119,579 US educated nursing students taking the NCLEX RN. 85.5% of them passed. Only 52% of the 33,768 students educated outside the US nursing students passed the first time. How about the students who did not pass the exam? In 2007 26,411 students sat for the exam for at least the second time. These were US educated students retaking the exam. Since this is obviously more than 14.5%
most students utilize the audios to study for the test, but a few students have thought ahead and use it to become familiar with the class material prior to starting the class.
Most students attribute poor test results to the lack of time they have to study. Audio study materials for the NCLEX exam make it easy to learn while doing other tasks.
