The NCLEX-RN (National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses) is a standardized exam that nursing graduates must pass to become licensed as registered nurses (RNs) in the United States, Canada and Australia. The exam is designed to assess whether a candidate has the necessary knowledge, skills, and abilities to practice nursing safely and effectively at the entry-level.
The NCLEX-RN format is formulated based on ‘client needs’ and real- world case studies. The questions in this test, more than merely checking your ability to recollect nursing knowledge, assesses how well as a nurse one is able to apply critical skills, interpret data given about the patient, apply theoretical knowledge and make the most appropriate and safe decisions for the patient’s need or care.
The NCLEX-RN is a computer-adaptive test (CAT), meaning the exam adjusts the difficulty of questions based on the test-taker’s performance. The number of questions can range from 75 to 145, and the exam must be completed within a 5-hour time limit, which includes a tutorial and optional breaks.
