In the United States, all nurses must pass the National Council Licensure Examination or NCLEX, which is created and administered by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. These exams are given in all fifty states and all U.S. territories in order to maintain a standard level of practice for nurses in the nation and to aid in public safety. The NCLEX comes in two variations. The first is called the NCLEX-RN, which is the test for registered nurses. The second test is the NCLEX-PN, which is the examination for practical nurses. Each of these tests is taken through computerized adaptive testing. In computerized adaptive testing, the questions are presented based on the test taker's abilities. The exams can be difficult, but with hard work and by following these tips, passing should be easier.
1. Know the exam content.
In order to be prepared for a test, it's important to know what is on the exam and what is does and does not cover. The NCLEX covers safe, effective care environments, health promotion and maintenance, psychological integrity, and physiological integrity. The test questions are mostly multiple choice and test knowledge recall and its practical application to nursing situations.
2. Know how computerized adaptive testing works.
The NCLEX is taken on a computer using computerized adaptive testing (CAT). Understanding how CAT works is important in passing the examination. The basic idea behind CAT is that the computer will give questions to the tester that depends on whether or not the previous question was answered correctly. The more questions a tester gets right, the higher their skill level will be assessed. If a person gets a question wrong, the difficulty of the questions decreases, lowering the final score. It is important to get off to a good start when undergoing CAT examinations. The first question will be a question of average difficulty. Answering it correctly is imperative, because it can boost the start value score of the tester. Answering more questions correctly at the beginning will also shorten the length of the examination, because the computer will skip questions, assuming that if someone got a high level question correct, they could have correctly answered test questions that are less difficult.
3. Remember to prioritize.
Many questions will deal with having to prioritize treatment for patients. It is important to look for key words that help to determine order or priority. Nurses should recall Maslow's hierarchy of needs, which from bottom to top are physiological, safety, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization. Nurses should also keep in mind standard safety procedures and be able to distinguish which patients need critical care first.
4. Know how to interpret lab results.
Many questions on the exam require knowledge of normal lab values for blood work, urine analysis, etc. It is important to remember the normal ranges for the most important tests like potassium serum level, glucose, blood count, and so on. By knowing normal ranges and the consequences of having low or high abnormal results, nurses can more easily diagnose problems and how to treat them.
5. Think before acting.
Treating a patient for symptoms before finding out the underlying cause is not always the most prudent course of action. It is important to first take stock of the situation, plan, and then take action to help the patient.
6. Understand that the test is a "by the book" examination.
Sometimes it is difficult to separate practical training experience from the examination room, but for the NCLEX, it is crucial. The exam follows textbook guidelines, which do not necessarily represent how treatment is offered in a practical setting. The tests present questions about idealized situations and should be answered in a manner accordingly.
7. Know the five rights of medication administration.
These are important rights that come up all the time on the NCLEX and in real life. They are the following:
1. Right patient
2. Right time and frequency of administrating the drug
3. Right dose
4. Right method of administration
5. Right drug
Knowing these five rights assures patient safety and well being.