On this page you will find all you need to know about the NCLEX exams, both RN and PN versions. Below is a brief summary of the test and it’s process.
The Exam
For those that don’t know the NCLEX, or National Council Licensure Examination, is the board exams for nurses which is a requirement to gain licensure for practice. It determines if you will be safe to begin practicing as a new nurse out in the real world. It’s different than the exams you take in nursing school in that instead of you studying information then taking a test on that information, the NCLEX has you analyze the situation and apply the knowledge that you learned in school. This is where critical thinking and nursing judgement come in to play.
It is a comprehensive test of all areas of nursing so the questions, which are pulled from a question bank, can cover a wide range of topics (which I’ve outlined the categories below) and is a Computer Adaptive Test (CAT), meaning it uses an algorithm to give you the next question based on how you answered the prior question. Most of the questions are multiple choice but there are some select all that apply, fill in the blank, drag-and-drop, hot spot (pick an area on an image), and a chart/exhibit (open a chart or image to help answer the question) style.
There are four primary areas of a client’s needs that the NCLEX focuses it’s questions on (with links to examples of the topics for each): safe and effective care environment (management/coordination of care, safety and infection control), health promotion and maintenance, psychosocial integrity, and physiological integrity (basic care and comfort, pharmacological and parenteral therapies, reduction of risk potential, physiological adaption). Below you’ll find a chart of the percentage range of each question category on the NCLEX based on the most recent test plans provided by the NCSBN.
| NCLEX Categories Four Areas of Client’s Needs | % of questions on test RN PN |
| Safe and Effective Care Environment | |
| Management/Coordination of care Safety and Infection Control | 17-23% 18-24% 9-15% 10-16% |
| Health Promotion and Maintenance | 6-12% 6-12% |
| Psychosocial Integrity | 6-12% 9-15% |
| Physiological Integrity | |
| Basic Care and Comfort Pharmacological and Parenteral Therapies Reduction of Risk Potential Physiological Adaption | 6-12% 7-13% 12-18% 10-16% 9-15% 9-15% 11-17% 7-13% |
For the RN exam there is an 75 question minimum with a 265 question maximum and for the PN exam there is an 85 question minimum with a 205 question maximum. To pass you must answer a certain number of questions above the 95% confidence interval. RN students have 6 hours to take the test while PN students have 5 hours.
To take the exam you must have the following done:
- Graduated from a nursing program, either Associate’s or Bachelor’s (6 weeks after you graduate you’ll receive information in the mail)
- Apply for a license in your state (every state has different rules so be sure to check with your state’s board of nursing)
- Apply to take the NCLEX and pay the $200 fee (RN & PN)
- Received your Authorization To Test (ATT) and scheduled your test within 90 days
In the mean time while you wait to take your test, study study study! Buy or rent study books, take a study class if your school offers one, or get together with fellow classmates and ask each other questions. Most nursing schools will utilize an NCLEX prep class throughout their program, such as Kaplan, ATI, or HESI, which can help to point out your areas that need improvement so you know where to focus your studying. Utilize every resource you can and do as many practice questions as possible. Every week I post a practice question with the provided NCLEX category, answer, and rationale to supplement your resources. Feel free to answer in the comments and happy studying!
Reference:
Kaplan Nursing. (2020). What is the NCLEX-RN? Retrieved from https://www.kaptest.com/nclex/what-is-the-nclex-rn
National Council of State Boards of Nursing. (2020). Test Plans. Retrieved from https://www.ncsbn.org/testplans.htm
