The NCLEX is a mutiple choice exam given several times per year. Candidates must register in advance. Registration may be done by email, regular mail and over the phone. The exam is administered on a computer screen. The test is designed to test a nurse's knowledge of basic clinical practices in four separate areas: safe effective care environment, health promotion and maintenance, psychosocial integrity and physiosocial integrity. The section on safe effective care environment is further subdivided into two additional sections: management of care and safety, and infection control. The section on physiosocial integrity is divided into four additional sections: basic care and comfort, pharmacological and parenteral therapies, reduction of risk potential and physiological adaptation. All candidates must answer at least 75 out of 265 questions.
Allow yourself enough time to prepare for the exam. Set aside a period of time each day to study for it. Study guides are available in many places, including the Internet. Candidates are given up to five hours to pass the NCLEX. Once you feel confident about the material in question, set aside five hours to take a practice test. Copies of previous tests can be found in study guides. Copy the test from the book and take the sample test in a quiet room free from disturbances. This will give you a feel for the actual conditions on the day of the test. Remember, you can take the exam more than once if necessary. If you fail the test you will receive a detailed list from the test administration company indicating where you scored well and where you need improvement. Use this as a guide for future reference if you must take the test again.
Be aware of exactly how the test is structured. For example, questions on safety and infection control constitute roughly 13 to 19 percent of the questions on the NCLEX. This section has 13 subtopics, including accident prevention, disaster prevention, home safety and injury prevention. Knowing how the test is structured can help you create an outline of which areas to focus on during test preparation efforts.