NCLEX basics

Client needs categories

Each question on the NCLEX is assigned a category based on client needs. This chart lists client
needs categories and subcategories and the percentages of each type of question that appears on
an NCLEX examination.
Category

Subcategories

Percentage of
NCLEX questions

Safe and effective care environment

Management of care
Safety and infection control

16% to 22%
8% to 14%

Health promotion and maintenance

6% to 12%

Psychosocial integrity

6% to 12%

Physiological integrity

Basic care and comfort

Pharmacological and parenteral
therapies
Reduction of risk potential
Physiological adaptation

allow you to focus on the questions, not the

keyboard.

Q&A

When you take the test, depending on the

question format, youll be presented with a
question and four or more possible answers,
a blank space in which to enter your answer, a
figure on which youll identify the correct
area by clicking the mouse on it, a series
of charts or exhibits youll use to select the
correct response, items you must rearrange
in priority order by dragging and dropping
them in place, an audio recording to listen to
in order to select the correct response, or a
question and four graphic options.

Feeling smart? Think hard!

The NCLEX is a computer-adaptive test,

meaning that the computer reacts to the
answers you give, supplying more difficult
questions if you answer correctly, and slightly
easier questions if you answer incorrectly.
Each test is thus uniquely adapted to the
individual test-taker.

A matter of time

You have a great deal of flexibility with the

amount of time you can spend on individual

313419NCLEX-RN_Chap01.indd 5

6% to 12%
13% to 19%
10% to 16%
11% to 17%

questions. The examination lasts a maximum

of 6 hours, however, so dont waste time. If
you fail to answer a set number of questions
within 6 hours, the computer will determine
that you lack minimum competency.
Most students have plenty of time to
complete the test, so take as long as you need
to get the question right without wasting time.
But remember to keep moving at a decent
pace to help you maintain concentration.

Difficult items = Good news

If you find as you progress through the test

that the questions seem to be increasingly
difficult, its a good sign. The more questions
you answer correctly, the more difficult the
questions become.
Some students, though, knowing that
questions get progressively harder, focus on
the degree of difficulty of subsequent questions to try to figure out if theyre answering
questions correctly. Avoid the temptation to
do this, as this may get you off track.

I react to
you!

Free at last!

The computer test finishes when one of the

following events occurs:
You demonstrate minimum competency,
according to the computer program, which

4/7/2010 5:08:55 PM