NCLEX Question Samples for Your Effective and Fast Exam Preparation

One sure way to prepare for a professional test is to take time to practice different sample questions that are close to what you will face during the real exam. The same holds true for the NCLEX test. Apart from reading other resource materials, taking time to go through some NCLEX questions and answers will help you understand how the exam questions are structured and the best way to answer them.

There are different sections of questions for the professional exams offered by the NCSBN (National Council of State Boards of Nursing). These sections are listed below:

– Physiological Integrity

– Health Promotion and Maintenance

– Safety and Effective Care Environment

– Psychosocial Integrity

Preparing for the professional exams requires a lot of time, and using the NCLEX practice questions is a great way to maximize your study efficiency. There are numerous practice tests that are designed to decrease the time you have to spend on study. As soon as you finish reading a particular topic on the course contents, you can go ahead and take practice questions to help you know how much you have been able to assimilate and the areas you need to work on harder. You can take free NCLEX questions as many times as you want. It is important that you study to understand the questions and how to answer them rather than simply memorize the correct answers.

There are many online platforms that offer such practice test questions to the candidates, and you are free to use as many sites as you want so that you can have an extensive experience in answering different questions. Even the sites providing paid practice questions often have a number of demo questions which you should definitely try out before you start making any payments to access the full site content. However, you can take another step by investing a little bit into the paid version of the NCLEX questions 2018. When you use the paid version, you have an unlimited access to all the exam practice questions and you can answer them at your convenience, save them and come back to review them at a later time. Be assured that there is no way of learning the questions and answers by heart because they are randomly shuffled to prevent you from memorizing them, and instead teach you how to apprehend and answer them correctly.

Guidelines for using NCLEX practice questions

To take full advantage of the numerous questions that are available to you, it is important to understand the guidelines of answering each of the questions. Below are the highlights of what you need to know before you use any practice questions during your exam preparation.

Read and understand the question carefully before you select an answer. Even if you feel you have seen the question before or you think you understand it at a first glance, take a little time to analyse it. Quite often the questions of the real exam are tweaked in such a manner that the answers to them become altered. If you don’t settle to read the questions thoroughly, you may end up choosing a wrong answer.

You need to learn how to manage your limited time when writing the exam. So try to spend no more than one minute to answer each practice question so that you can learn to use your time efficiently.

When using the NCLEX PN questions during your study time, it is essential that you read the answers as well as the rationale. Knowing the correct answers is not enough, you need to know the reason behind each answer.

NCLEX sample questions

There are four different sections in the NCLEX exam plan. Each of the sections tests your skills, knowledge and expertise in meeting client’s medical needs. We recommend that you work through the sample questions below so that you can become familiar with the question structure and what to expect during the actual exam. Before delving into these questions, it is essential to know the percentage of questions to be expected in each of the four sections:

    Physiological Integrity:

    Physiological Adaptation (7% – 13%)

    Basic Care and Comfort (7% – 13%)

    Reduction of Risk Potential (10% – 16%)

    Pharmacological Therapies (11% – 17%)

    Health Promotion and Maintenance (7% – 13%)

    Safety and Effective Care Environment:

    Safety and Infection Control (16% – 22%)

    Coordinated Care (16% – 22%)

    Psychosocial Integrity (8% – 14%)

In addition to the categories highlighted above, you can also expect questions in some other areas, including: communication, teaching and learning, documentation, clinical problem solving with nursing process, and compassion/caring. Majority of the questions in the exam are multiple-choice questions with four possible answers. However, only one of them is correct. Other exam question types include filling in the blank space and order rearrangement.

Armed with this knowledge, take your time to answer the questions below and familiarize yourself with the practice exam structure.

Which of the following members of healthcare team and their main functions are paired together?

Speech & Language Therapist – Swallowing disorders treatment

Occupational Therapist – Gait exercises

Physical Therapist – Offering of assistive machinery to facilitate daily activities

Case Manager – Ordering treatments and medications

What is the recommended daily calorie intake for children, active adult women, and sedentary older men?

1600 calories

2000 calories

2400 calories

2800 calories

Select from the options below, all the likely opportunistic infections that can affect patients infected with HIV/AIDS.

Wilms’ sarcoma

Peripheral neuropathy

Visual loss

Tuberculosis

Kaposi’s sarcoma

Toxoplasma gondii

How can you help reduce a patient’s post-surgical pain and anxiety?

Preoperative medications

Preoperative teaching

Psychological counselling

Preoperative checklist

Which pulse needs to be palpated to check for cardiac function when taking care of an infant during a cardiac arrest?

Radial

Carotid

Pedal

Brachial

Why should a patient be in a sitting position when coughing and taking deep breath?

It helps to support the patient’s incision with pillows

It is physically comfortable for patient

It allows the patient to relax and observe their environment

It loosens and relaxes the respiratory secretions of the patient

The critical goal and purpose of performance improvement activities is …

To reduce cost

To improve policies

To increase efficiency

To improve processes and procedures

How can constipation in pregnancy be relieved?

Taking a mild OTC laxative

High intake of vegetables and fruits

Reducing the intake of iron by half or even more

Lying flat on the back during sleep

The electrolyte that is necessary for neurochemical and enzyme activities is …

Phosphate

Potassium

Chloride

Magnesium

In order of usage, rearrange the options below based on the correct usage of fire extinguisher.

Squeeze the handle

Aim at the base of the fire

Pull the pin

Sweep back and forth

Which of the nursing theorists believes majority of patients can personally perform self-care?

Sister Callista Roy

Dorothea Orem

Martha Rogers

Madeleine Leininger

A positive OTC pregnancy test is believed to be a…

Positive sign of pregnancy

Possible sign of pregnancy

Probable sign of pregnancy

Presumptive sign of pregnancy

From the options below, choose all the possible symptoms and signs of hyperthyroidism.

Insomnia

Cool skin

Heat intolerance

Thickened bodily hair

Palpitation

Increased appetite

Constipation

What are the essential elements of malpractice? Choose all options that apply.

Causation

Foresee-ability

Patient harm

A breach of duty

A non-intentional act

An intentional act

What are the fire emergency interventions? Choose options in the correct order.

Contain the fire

Pull the fire alarm

Extinguish the fire

Rescue the patients in danger

Where are avulsed teeth placed?

Milk

Normal saline

Warm water

Cold water

During pregnancy, the embryonic period takes place from when to when?

Weeks 6 – 10

Weeks 1 – 12

Weeks 3 – 5

Weeks 1 – 10

Arrange the following human needs in order from the highest priority to the minimum priority, using 1 as the highest, and 5 as the minimal priority.

Physiological needs

Love and belonging

Self-actualization

Psychological needs

Self-esteem and esteem from others

When does the fetal heart start to pump its own blood?

6th week

3rd week

9th week

5th week

Which of the options below is an infection vector?

An infectious fly

A contaminated ball

An infected person

A contaminated thermometer

Conclusion

Just like flashcards, practice tests are easy to access and use. Just like you can review your flashcards as many times as you want, you can also take practice questions numerous times on a daily basis. As a matter of fact, it is one of the best ways to prepare for any professional certification exam, including NCLEX.