What is the NCLEX?

National Council Licensure Examination for a Nursing License

Oct 23, 2009 Marian Henderson

Registered nurses and practical nurses must obtain a nursing license to earn their titles; basic information about the licensing test (NCLEX) follows.

A nurse requires a license to practice the profession, and the licensing test that nursing candidates must pass is called the National Council Licensure Examination or NCLEX. Each registered nurse and practical nurse in the United States must take this test and pass.

Two NCLEX Types

Candidates who are testing to receive a license to practice as registered nurses take NCLEX-RN, and candidates who are testing to receive a practical nurse license take the NCLEX-PN. The candidate specifies which test he or she wants to take.

Academic Requirements for Taking the NCLEX

The procedural requirements for taking the exam include such details as making contact with the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCBSN), payment of registration fee, submission of official transcript, and fingerprint scans. The candidate must also meet certain academic requirements to be eligible to take the NCLEX. The test candidate meets these requirements by completing the coursework dictated by their school.

But receipt of a nursing license is not justified by course completion alone. The prospective registered nurse (RN) and practical nurse (PN) must further demonstrate proficiency by passing a licensing test.

Qualifying for the Nurse Licensing Exam

Successful course completion qualifies one to take the licensing exam, but it doesn't qualify one for a license. The National Council of State Boards of Nursing requires that nursing candidates successfully complete the NCLEX in addition to receiving a nursing education from an accredited institution.

A creditable nursing school won’t allow students to graduate without the students demonstrating the prerequisite knowledge, skills, and abilities to work safely and knowledgeably in a healthcare facility. Nonetheless, many students doubt their abilities and voice these doubts on nursing forums devoted to the subject of NCLEX test anxiety.

Some student nurses who post on the forums seem to dismiss their years of study, attained knowledge, and successful completion of course curriculum. Although the questions on some nursing school exams focus on memorization while the questions on the NCLEX focus on comprehension, the student still has a solid foundation of nursing knowledge and shouldn’t feel totally unprepared. Also literally hundreds of NCLEX review books, companies, and CD’s are devoted to increasing understanding and comprehension of nursing subjects.

Why so Much Trepidation About the Nursing License Test?

A student who has memorized or crammed for nursing tests throughout nursing school will have a difficult ordeal with the NCLEX because the developers of the exam evaluate one’s understanding of principles and concepts as well as some memorized facts and figures. What’s the difference between understanding and memorizing?

Understanding Arterial Blood Gas Values as Opposed to Memorizing

Arterial blood gases provide an opportunity to compare the strategy of understanding principles to memorizing figures. Arterial blood gas (ABG) readings convey information about ph balance of the blood and metabolic and respiratory processes.

Metabolic processes are concerned with using energy (food consumption provides calories and energy). If in the NCLEX test question the client is hyperemetic (throwing up a lot), the client is losing stomach acid.

The nursing student who momentarily forgets or confuses the specific arterial blood gas (ABG) values but understands the principles of ABG will surmise that the client probably has a ph imbalance that is too alkaline (due to the loss of stomach acid from vomiting the ph is more alkaline) and metabolic because the stomach is directly involved in food consumption (the renal system and respiratory system are ultimately responsible for maintaining ph balance).

Although the student must evaluate all of the information in the question, the student with comprehension has a better understanding of the situation than the student who is relying on memorization of ABG numerical values.

Understanding the relationship between the client’s condition and the arterial blood gas (ABG) values leads to better comprehension. In other words, the student who understands the concepts will find hints and reminders in the questions and the scenario presented, but the student who is relying on memory alone may not notice subtle hints and clues in the patient condition and scenario presented in the test question.

Preparing for the NCLEX?

Different students take different approaches to studying for the NCLEX. One approach is to purchase an NCLEX review book, and use the review booklet to study for both in-school nursing tests and the nursing license test.

Reading NCLEX review books while attending school ensures that the student studies the concepts necessary for passing the NCLEX. And because most review books include rationales and explanations of the answers, the student is likely to develop an understanding of important nursing concepts, instead of just developing a talent for memorization.

The NCLEX candidate should also take practice tests. NCLEX test review booklets and many other programs and test preparation companies provide NCLEX test questions. Whatever route is chosen, the candidate should answer test questions daily.

How Many Questions?

The NCLEX-RN is a computerized test consisting of 265 questions with a time limit of six hours; the test ends whenever the candidate demonstrates that he/she is knowledgeable enough to pass. The minimum number of questions is 75, and a candidate who meets the computer adaptive testing (CAT) standard for passing within 75 questions ends testing at that point.

But the candidate will not learn whether or not he/she passed the NCLEX until several days later (nursing forums feature posts from nervous test-takers awaiting results). However, during testing the computer will post questions until the candidate either demonstrates the necessary level of competency – and the candidate receives up to 265 questions to prove this, or the candidate is judged incapable of passing – this could occur at any point past the minimum 75 questions.

Registered nurses and practical nurses must pass the NCLEX to receive a nursing license. An education provided by an accredited institution qualifies them to take the NCLEX, but an understanding of nursing principles enables them to pass the exam.

How to Prepare for the NCLEX

Understanding Arterial Blood Gas Readings

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