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Tips
for Taking the
NCLEX®
Examination
Take
Care of Yourself
-
Get
a good night's sleep.
-
Eat
a nutritious breakfast.
-
Do
not cram the night before the exam; cramming increases stress.
-
Dress
comfortably for the exam.
-
Avoid
taking sleeping pills or drinking alcohol the night before the exam.
Plan
Ahead
-
Schedule
the exam at a location close to home to reduce the stress of
traveling. Scout out parking options and the location of the
exam in relationship to your hotel prior to your test date.
-
Plan
carefully. Be sure you have your identification and your exam
admission ticket with you.
Study
Tips
-
Develop
a study schedule months in advance of the exam and stick to it.
-
If
a study group helps you, organize one. Be careful that the group
does not drag you down or waste your time.
-
If
you sign up for a NCLEX®
Examination review course, check out its pass rate first.
-
Practice
often - become familiar with the multiple choice format used on the NCLEX®
Examination.
-
Take
advantage of the CD's available with practice books to take the
computerized test.
-
Avoid
distractions.
-
Time
yourself and try to get the time you need for each question down to a
minimum.
-
Reward
yourself (with something healthy) for making progress on your study
schedule.
-
Develop
or use mnemonic devices to help you remember details. "ABC,"
or Airway-Breathing-Circulation, is a good example.
-
Develop
flashcards and take them with you for a quick study wherever you are.
-
If
you run into difficult content, seek help from an instructor who knows
the topic well for assistance understanding it; as you study, ask
yourself questions that apply the knowledge.
NCLEX
Questions Tips
-
The
NCLEX® Examination-RN is a "computer adaptive test." In other
words, after you answer a question correctly, the computer will
ask a harder question next. If you answer a question
incorrectly, the computer will ask an easier question next.
Scoring varies; an exam could have from 75 to 265 questions. The goal
of the exam is to find out your competence level in the different
areas the exam covers.
-
Fifteen
of the questions on the exam are experimental. They will neither
help you nor hurt you. You will not know which questions are
experimental.
-
You
will be given five hours to complete the exam, which includes the
tutorial at the beginning, a mandatory break, and an optional break.
-
The
test is user friendly. You will receive instructions on how to
use the computer and an opportunity to practice before the timing
begins. You will use a minimum number of keys (space bar and
enter key). You will give your answer then be asked to hit the
enter key to confirm that this is the answer you want.
-
You
will proceed through the questions and will not be allowed to go back
to revise your answers. You can not skip a question.
-
Read
each question carefully. Quickly try to answer the question before
reading the responses. If your answer is in one of the
responses, you are more likely to answer the question correctly.
-
NCLEX®
Examination questions basically ask "What should you do in this
situation?" When studying, always think in terms of how you
should handle a nursing problem.
-
If
you are having trouble remembering material, try to remember people
you've cared for with similar problems.
-
Think
conceptually rather than specifically. For example, understand
how classes of drugs work and how side effects are related to
actions. In this way, you will not need to memorize all the
details about each drug.
-
Remember
to think about what the priority would be in each situation. For
example, in an emergency always think of the ABC's first--Airway, breathing, and circulation
-
Chose
nursing actions before medical actions. For example, you would
try repositioning before giving medications.
-
Think
about the nursing process when answering questions. I.e., you
would assess a situation before doing an intervention.
-
Do
not select uncompromising answers such as "never" or
"all."
-
Remember
that the person is your client, not the person's machine.
-
Remember
that your correct response will be what you, as a nurse, should do,
not who you should call for orders.
-
Be
alert when answering questions related to children. Their
responses to medical conditions often vary from the adult response.
-
Be
sure you identify the client, the problem, and the part of the nursing
process the question addresses. For example, if the question is
about assessment, a response about intervention would be
incorrect.
-
The
RN
NCLEX® Examination covers "Meeting Patient Needs." The four
areas of patient need it addresses are
When
a question concerns delegation
-
Remember
that assessment, nursing diagnosis, and evaluation of care are
activities done by a professional nurse; these should not be
delegated.
-
You
would not delegate the care of an unstable client or complicated
interventions to nonprofessionals.
As
of April, 2003, "Innovative questions" will be added to the
NCLEX® Examination.
-
These
could include fill-in-the blanks questions, questions with more
than one possible correct answer, or questions that ask the
candidate to respond to a diagram.
-
The
advantage of these questions is that they allow candidates to
demonstrate their knowledge in multiple ways.
-
The
questions are developed and tested by expert nurses and
statisticians. They will be tested before used, just like
the multiple choice questions. Therefore, they will not be
scored until after the April, 2003 exam.
-
Item
difficulty will be taken into account, just as with the present
multiple choice exam.
-
Items
will be scored as "right" or "wrong."
Test
Taking Tips
-
You
will not be allowed to take anything into the exam center with you.
-
Remember
that your first choice for an answer is likely to be your best
guess. Changing answers typically does not work.
-
Don't
worry about how much time the other test-takers are taking for the
exam.
-
Avoid
panic; taking some deep breathes if you are feeling stressed during
the exam. Purposefully relax your face, neck, shoulders, arms,
legs, and feet in succession before going on.
-
Remember
that italicized words, such as not or first give you
clues as to which answer is correct. Read those question stems
carefully.
-
Use
the paper and pencil provided for you during the exam to make outlines
or diagrams or otherwise help you remember.
-
Take
full advantage of breaks during the exam. Bring something
healthy to eat.
-
Schedule
your exam at the time of day most productive for you.
Passing/Failing
the
NCLEX® Examination
-
The
NCLEX® Examination
is a pass/fail exam. Your state board of nursing will
notify you whether you passed or failed two to four weeks after your
exam.
-
If
you do not pass, you can retake the exam in three months.
-
If
you do not pass, you will receive a printout showing your weak areas
when you receive your exam. Use this information when you study
for the next time you take the exam.
-
If
you want to get a diagnosis of your strong and weak areas before the
exam, try this book from Kaplan: NCLEX® Examination Computer Diagnostic
Information
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