NCLEX RN Exam Information and Tips

In order to become certified as a registered nurse, individuals must pass the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses. This exam has been developed by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing to ensure that standards for professional practice are the same in every jurisdiction.

The NCLEX-RN exam is divided into the following Client Needs categories and subcategories: Safe and Effective Care Environment, which consists of Management of Care (13-19%) and Safety and Infection Control (8-14%); Health Promotion and Maintenance (6-12%); Psychosocial Integrity (6-12%); and Physiological Integrity, which consists of Basic Care and Comfort (6-12%), Pharmacological and Parenteral Therapies (13-19%), Reduction of Risk Potential (13-19%), and Physiological Adaptation (11-17%). The following subjects, known as Integrated Processes, are essential to all of the Client Needs categories: Nursing Process, Caring, Communication and Documentation, and Teaching and Learning. The NCLEX-RN exam is administered through an interactive process called Computer Adaptive Testing: as questions are answered, the computer selects the subsequent questions that will give the most accurate gauge of the candidate. The computer will continue to pose questions until it has settled upon a grade of pass or fail.
NCLEX-RN Flashcards
NCLEX-RN Study Guide
The exam will contain 75 questions at the least, and 265 at the most, and cannot last any longer than six hours. Although most of the items will be multiple-choice questions with four options, there may also be fill-in-the-blank, picture/graphic-based questions, or multiple-choice questions that ask the candidate to select more than one right answer. Many of the questions on the exam will require the candidate to read and interpret charts, tables, and pictures. Unofficial exam scores will be available two business days after the exam date in some jurisdictions; official results will be delivered by the licensing agency in the candidate’s jurisdiction. The NCLEX-RN exam is administered at Pearson Professional Centers around the United States; prospective test-takers should visit the NCSBN website.