NCLEX Strategies: The Ultimate Guide to Breakdown Every Type of Question

 

As a nursing student, I experienced the same level of stress and anxiety that many students face when it comes to the preparing the Nursing School Exams as well as the NCLEX. This is what led me with a desire to make a difference in other student’s lives which is why I created an app called NCLEX-RN Proficiency. In this app, we provide students with several thousand nursing practice questions with detailed rationales to help you learn exactly what it takes to pass the exam and ultimately become a Registered Nurse. I’ll share more about NCLEX Proficiency below but let’s first dive into the NCLEX Strategies You Absolutely Need To Know!

 

There are strategies to passing this type of test and the strategies can be different, depending on the type of question you are answering. Here are the tips:

 

1. Choose the most comprehensive answer. Sometimes the correct answer is like an “umbrella” that also incorporates aspects of the other answers. If you find an answer that also means another one or more of the answers are correct and this answer is more complete/comprehensive, that will be the correct answer.

 

2. Be wary of statements that say “all”, “never”, “only”, or “always”. Answers that use any one of these words are more likely to be incorrect because there are usually going to be exceptions to everything. If the answer says, for example, “This type of client is always hypertensive”, you can usually eliminate that from your choices because there are usually going to be an exception. This narrows down your list of possible correct answers.

 

3. The focus is always on the client. Most of the correct answers involve something that benefits the client. Answers that aren’t directly focused on what is best for the client will not likely be a correct answer. By eliminating these types of answers, you can narrow down your search for the correct answer.

 

4. Choose the most reasonable answer. Put yourself in place of the nurse in each answer and apply it to what you know about nursing. Is the answer reasonable and practical or does it stretch the limits of credibility? If an answer doesn’t seem like a reasonable option, cross this one out as a possible answer.

 

5. Choose an answer that is different from the other choices. If three of the answers are very similar and a fourth is a unique and different answer, it is more likely to be the correct answer. If the three choices essentially mean the same thing, the one that is different is likely to be the correct answer.

 

Finally have the certainty you need to pass the NCLEX on the first time! Try NCLEX RN Proficiency now!

 

6. Cross out any answer that puts the client in a bad light. In the NCLEX examination, clients are always believed to be worthy of your care so that any answer that puts the client in a bad light is likely to be a wrong answer.

 

7. Watch out for words like “least” or “contraindicated”. This means that you are choosing the least effective nursing strategy. There will usually be an answer that is something you can’t imagine doing and this will be your correct answer. Look for a false statement and eliminate those things you believe to be true.

 

8. Know that the answer may be the same for several questions in a row. They don’t stagger the answers so you might find yourself answering the same option for several questions in a row. Just because answer “3” has been selected on the last three questions you have answered doesn’t mean that answer “3” in the fourth consecutive question is automatically going to be wrong.

 

9. Pay attention to questions that say “which of the following indicates the client needs more teaching”. This is leading you to find the wrong answer about each of the four possible answers. You can eliminate all of the true statements, easily finding the statement that just doesn’t make sense.

 

10. Know that wrong answers are really short or really long. A short answer is usually too simplistic and won’t be the correct answer. In the same way, a long answer may be filled with extraneous details that are designed to trip you up. Be wary of answering a question with a very short or very long response.

 

11. When answering psychosocial questions, choose the answer that acknowledges the client’s feelings and that focus on the here and now. Answers in psychosocial questions are client-focused and are usually answers that are “here and now” choices. The client’s feelings take priority over everything else in a psychosocial question unless there is a safety issue in one of the answers.

 

12. Eliminate any choices that are controversial or highly esoteric. Things that are more common are likely to be the correct answer. The NCLEX examination does not focus on “zebras” and aren’t trying to trip you up with diseases or drugs that are rarely used in nursing practice.

 

Click here to get NCLEX RN Proficiency now! 

 

13. Eliminate any choices that are actions the physician should take. Remember that this is a nursing examination and, if an answer doesn’t directly say “as ordered or prescribed”, it may be out of the scope of something a nurse would do and will be an incorrect response.

 

14. Look for answers that are all similar to one another and choose the answer that is not similar to the others. Find things that are common among the incorrect responses so that any one of them would result in the same outcome. The answer that is unlike the others and would lead to a different outcome is likely to be the correct answer.

 

15. Watch out for “priority” and “first” questions. There will be many questions that ask for the priority nurse response or that will have you select the first thing you should do. This should naturally lead you to the most emergent nursing intervention, that will be the correct answer.

 

16. Be wary of extremes. Most of the time, the answer to a numeric question will have numbers that are extreme and are obviously wrong. If you don’t know the correct answer in a numeric-type question, avoid those answers that represent extreme values.

 

17. Know that each question incorporates words that all count toward the correct response. Read the question twice, paying attention to every word. The NCLEX examination doesn’t toss out questions that have inconsequential words in them. For example, if an age is given for the client, it is not just to fill in space. The age usually means something and will be crucial in answering the question correctly.

 

18. If an answer has a lot of distracting words, it is likely to be a wrong answer. The correct answer won’t have distracting words in it and will be relatively concise. If an answer has a lot of distractors in it, it is likely trying to throw you off and will be a wrong answer.

 

Try out NCLEX RN Proficiency now and access it from any device! 

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My name is Chase Hassen and as a nursing student, I experienced a level of stress and anxiety that led me with a desire to make a difference in other student’s lives which is why I created NCLEX Proficiency.

 

Initially it all started with just an idea… I just wanted to help people.

 

I’m sure you can relate to that statement especially since you are involved in the medical field. However my plan to help patients individually each and every day began to change as I experienced the level of intensity in nursing school that I’m sure you know so well. Nursing school is no joke! With the stress that is involved, the constant tick of anxiety, and the overload of information, I began to search for ways to make it easier and from there I had to share these tips and strategies!

 

I created a team of professional authors who began to create 35 short, clear, and concise Nursing books that skipped the fluff of textbooks and truly made the learning process much easier. After several months, we eventually made each book available on the Amazon bookstore and in just one year, we distributed well over 100,000 copies of the 35 books! The success stories from students all over the world has brought true fulfillment and happiness in the lives of myself and the authors that have worked so hard to help students like you. 

 

Here are some pictures that show my book covers and yes many of them are #1 Best Sellers 🙂 

 

Again, as I believe you can relate…We all share a gift in our hearts that we must give to others…mine is the gift of struggle…and through the pain that I experienced during nursing school, it truly gave me the perspective and the idea of creating solutions to help eliminate the pain for other students. It all came back to that one idea, helping people and I knew I could impact more lives by creating an app that would provide similar content but in a different platform so that students could take it with them on the go and at any time without the hassle of carrying around another textbook.

 

With the help of my team of medical professionals and authors, we then created NCLEX-RN PROFICIENCY! A resource that provides students with:

1. 2000+ NCLEX Practice Questions & Rationales

 

2. 300+ Medical Terminology to Easily Breakdown Test Questions Quickly and Efficiently

 

3. NCLEX-RN Exam Simulation

 

and we provide additional resources each and every week to ultimately help students along the path to proficiency!

 

See what students are saying about us!