NCLEX: Do’s And Do Not’s

The NCLEX-RN exam is the entry-to-practice exam required for all domestic and internationally educated Registered Nurses to work in the USA. With the appropriate amount of preparation and practice, you will be successful when taking the NCLEX-RN exam yourself. Here are 5 Do’s and Do Not’s when preparing for and taking the NCLEX-RN exam:

Do: Create A Study Plan

• Your review will often be self-paced and you will need to ensure that you give yourself enough time to study and practice. For many NCLEX takers, you may be working full-time, have a family, or perhaps have other commitments that you will need to work around. Dedicating 6-8 weeks of study time (longer if needed) is a good starting point for creating a study plan.

• Make sure to include time for breaks and self-care. You do not want to burnout or overwhelm yourself when studying for the NCLEX. You may plan to study 5 days a week while having 2 days off for other activities, for example.

Do: Learn And Understand The Testing Format

• No matter which comprehensive review book or course you choose to take to supplement your learning, the publisher or instructor will almost always have test taking strategies at the very beginning of the book or course for you to utilize. This includes how to answer the different types of questions on the NCLEX as well as the Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT) format itself, which is a format meant to reduce the number of both easy and difficult questions to avoid having skewed results. Every time you answer a question on the NCLEX, the CAT system will re-estimate your ability to test based on the previous answers and the level of difficulty of the questions that you have already answered. The CAT system will then choose a question that it determines will give you a 50% chance of answering correctly. Thus, if you get a question right, it is likely that the next question will be slightly more difficult. If you get a question wrong, it is likely that the next question will be slightly more easy. It is common that NCLEX test takers will leave the NCLEX testing location feeling that the exam was difficult as the CAT system is meant to challenge the test taker by making the exam more difficult when they are answering questions correctly.

Do: Remember To Utilize The ABCs, Maslow's Hierarchy Of Needs, And The Nursing Process

• The NCLEX exam questions are designed to test how you would prioritize care, and as such when choosing your answer(s) you will need to ask yourself “does this action immediately improve the patient/client’s safety?” The NCLEX-RN exam is less intended to focus on your knowledge or understanding of questions, and is more focused on the critical thinking and decision making processes required to be a nurse. Therefor, when choosing answers, you will want to utilize the ABCs, Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, and Nursing Process.

Do: Practice, Practice, And Practice Some More

• I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to practice NCLEX style questions. When completing each chapter of a comprehensive review book, always take the time to answer the NCLEX practice questions. There are many great online NCLEX practice question apps for your phone or desktop that you can use to supplement your learning and practice as well. Always remember to take the time to read the rationale of why your answer(s) are correct or incorrect for each question as this will provide a significant learning opportunity for how you can approach NCLEX questions moving forward.

Do: Be Prepared For The Day Of The NCLEX

• It is important to ensure that you do not encounter any unexpected stressful situations leading up to the NCLEX exam the night before or the morning of the test. Remember to confirm the address of the Pearson Vue testing center that you will be going to, the weather and road conditions (to allocate an appropriate amount of time to drive or for public transportation), and to have your breakfast or snacks ready ahead of time to ensure that you are adequately nourished and not hungry going into the exam.

Do Not: Rely On Your Clinical Experiences To Answer NCLEX Questions

• It is important to use the theoretical knowledge from your nursing education and NCLEX preparation (comprehensive review books, courses, practice guides, etc.) to guide you in selecting answers on the NCLEX. Not every hospital or patient/client setting will perform tasks or approach situations the same. This may be due to staffing or resource issues for example. Therefor, rely on your theoretical knowledge from you nursing education and NCLEX preparation to approach each question the correct way.

• You may also want to consider taking the NCLEX shortly after graduation as nurses may stray away from the textbook approach to nursing care and pick up other habits in the workplace setting. Taking the NCLEX shortly after graduating may be to your benefit while much of the required knowledge is still fresh in your mind.

Do Not: Fall For "Absolute Words" Such As Always, Never, All, Every, Only, Must, No, Except, None

• It is rare that an absolute exists in healthcare, so it is unlikely it will exist in the NCLEX as well.

Do Not: Panic If You Run Out Of Time Or Don’t Complete Every Question

• Remember, simply running out of time or not completing every question does not mean that you failed the NCLEX.

• If you complete the minimum of 75 questions the CAT format will determine if you are above or below the imaginary pass/fail standard, using the answers you have provided, to determine your results.

Do Not: Cram The Night Before The NCLEX

• Ensuring that you get an adequate amount of sleep is important for the day of the exam. By having prepared a study plan and dedicated a minimum of 6-8 weeks to study, you will have been as prepared for the NCLEX as you could. Plan to be in bed at a reasonable time to ensure that you wake up on time, feeling refreshed, without feeling tired or fatigued.

Do Not: Overthink The Questions And Answers

• It is important to strategize how you answer questions and to give yourself the best opportunity to correctly answer them. One strategy is to simply look at the question without looking at the answers. If you read the question, attempt to answer it before looking at the answers. Often, NCLEX questions will include distractors to try and trick you. If you correctly identify the answer before looking at the answer selection, do not overthink it. Trust your intuition.

• Remember, you will need to answer every question and move on. You cannot go back to review or change answers for previous questions.