In November 2014 the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN®), opened NCLEX-RN® Examination registration for Canadian students and graduates, international applicants and others looking to take the NCLEX for licensure/registration in Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island and Saskatchewan.
Candidates seeking licensure/registration in Canada are able to take the NCLEX at any Pearson VUE test center within Canada, throughout the mainland U.S. and at select test centers internationally.
The NCLEX-RN licensing exam is a six hour computerized adaptive test designed to measure the competencies required of entry-level nurses for safe and effective practice.
Questions are primarily multiple-choice with four possible answer choices, however there are also alternate question types. Alternate question types include multiple-response, fill-in-the-blank, hot spots, charts, drag-and-drop, audios, and graphics. All questions involve integrated nursing content. Candidates will complete anywhere between 75 and 265 questions. There is no set number required to pass the examination, rather the NCLEX is graded by comparing the responses to a pre-established standard. The NCLEX-RN uses the five-step nursing process, and each of the questions will fall into one of the five steps: assessment, analysis, planning, intervention and implementation, and evaluation.
The NCLEX-RN is notoriously difficulty, with an overall pass rate for first time test takers in 2014 of 68.95%. First time, internationally educated test-takers had even lower chances of success, with a 2014 pass rate of 28.88%.
Tips to Pass the NCLEX Exam
Many students experience high levels of anxiety when preparing for and writing standardized exams, so check out these tips to pass the NCLEX exam!
Review sample questions and take practice tests to get a feel for the type of information you should be studying.
Create a study schedule starting at least six months before your test date. Prep courses and review courses are a great option if you’re having trouble with particular concepts, or have fallen behind on your study schedule.
Plan for the examination by knowing the location of the test-taking site. Be sure to take photo identification to check in.
Plan to get at least 8 hours of sleep before the exam, eat a healthy breakfast and drink plenty of water, as there is no food or water allowed in the exam.
Once you’re in the exam, take your time! In 2014 test-writers took an average of 2 hours and 16 minutes to complete the exam. However, up to six hours is allotted, so be sure to read each question carefully and take time to consider the options.
If a question topic is unfamiliar, don’t panic. Use your knowledge of similar problems and nursing principles to eliminate as many answer choices as possible. Then read the question carefully to determine the key pieces of information. If you’re still stuck, make your best guess- you can’t skip a question or return to it after you have pressed ‘next’.
Key words in the stem can help direct you to the right answer. Look for words like “most,” “best,” and “first.”
Don’t focus too much on the computerized adaptive nature of the exam by trying to figure out if the question you are answering is easier or harder than the one you just answered. Approximately 30 questions will be “test” question for use in future NCLEX exams and these random questions are no indication of how well you’re doing.
Don’t let other candidates distract you. If they finish the exam quickly, don’t worry; each person receives a different test so their performance isn’t a gauge of your own progress.
Most importantly, do your best! You have spent four years preparing for this exam, so take a deep breath and give it your best shot!
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