How to Use Osmosis Quizzes to Prep for the NCLEX-RN®

The nursing licensure qualification exam, known as the NCLEX-RN®, is a crucial stepping stone for Registered Nurse program graduates to become licensed and begin their work as RNs. Preparing for the NCLEX can feel daunting due to the amount of knowledge and critical judgment required to get a passing grade, so it’s essential to approach it with confidence. You can tackle this challenge head-on with the right tools, study strategies, and mindset!

The Osmosis quizzing tool can help you prepare and feel confident for exam day. Come along for a quick tour to help you conquer the NCLEX!

Understanding the NCLEX-RN Exam

Let’s start with getting a better understanding of the NCLEX. The exam measures your ability to perform safely and effectively as a new nurse. A computerized adaptive testing (CAT) system selects questions that match your ability as you progress through the exam. The exam will present you with a variety of question types, including multiple choice and alternative format questions like select-all-that-apply, hotspot, and drag-and-drop questions. These questions cover four primary categories called the Client Need categories, which include:

Safe and effective care environment
Health promotion and maintenance
Psychosocial integrity
Physiological integrity

In addition, you’ll also have three case studies, each with six questions about a single case based upon the Clinical Judgement Measurement Model (CJMM).

Each exam is at least 75 questions long, and the test ends when you’ve either reached the maximum number of questions (150), the maximum amount of time (five hours), or when the computer system has made a pass or fail decision.

Get more information about what to expect on the NCLEX in The Osmosis Ultimate Guide to the NCLEX-RN.

With so much information and different question types, it’s important to set yourself up for success with an organized and thorough plan.

Getting Started with Osmosis

To begin, create an Osmosis account so you can access all that Osmosis Nursing has to offer, including 750+ nursing videos on topics like nursing fundamentals, pediatrics, and pharmacology, 500+ essential science videos in areas like anatomy and pathology, thousands of practice questions, and useful features like playlists and performance analytics.

Give yourself some time to explore Osmosis using the search area on the home screen to look for particular topics:

The “View all topics” drop-down arrow to look over the entire library:

And the navigation panel on the left side of the home screen to find the video library, playlists, and the quiz builder:

Strategies for Maximizing Quiz Benefits

Now that you’re more familiar with the Osmosis platform let’s take a closer look at the quizzing features and how they can help you prepare for the NCLEX. You might wonder why there is so much focus on NCLEX practice questions. Completing high-quality practice questions can help you gauge your understanding while revealing your strengths and weaknesses. This phenomenon is known as the testing effect, where answering questions serves as an active learning method to help you recall information more easily later on rather than passively absorbing it.

A great place to start your learning journey is in the Osmosis Question Quiz Builder. You can find this tool using the left navigation and clicking the stethoscope icon:

Once you’re in the Question Quiz Builder, you can filter down to specific question areas you are looking for:

Starting at the very top, you can select Question Types and Question Mode:

Using this tool is particularly helpful as you get closer to the date of your NCLEX exam so you can challenge yourself with the question types you find most difficult or only build quizzes with unused questions or questions you answered incorrectly.

The next section down is for Core Content:

In this section, you can select the topic areas that are relevant to you. Keep in mind that everywhere you see, you can click for more specific options.

Another category that is helpful as you gear up for the NCLEX is the NCLEX Test Plan area:

This section allows you to select different Client Need categories.

Then there’s the Cognitive Level:

The Cognitive Level categorizes various thinking levels. No matter the question types, content areas, or Client Needs categories you focus on, it’s helpful to start your studying with Remember-and-Understand questions, as they are generally less complex. From there, gradually move on to Apply-and-Analyze questions:

At this point, you can choose the quiz size at the bottom of the Quiz Builder and then start taking your quiz!

Once in the quiz, take advantage of some quiz features, like highlighting specific words and phrases to help you practice homing in on what’s important in the question. You can also eliminate options you think are unlikely to be the correct response:

Make sure to rate your confidence level honestly each time you answer a question to get a clear sense of how it changes over time.

Next, focus on getting a deep understanding of the material rather than memorization, as you’re unlikely to come across that same question ever again. To do this, review the major takeaway of the question and spend time reading explanations for both correct and incorrect options.

Creating a Comprehensive Study Plan

Staying organized and creating a clear plan is the key to passing the NCLEX exam. The next step is to create a study schedule for yourself. Use a calendar, calendar app, or planner and write down the day or approximate exam date. Take a minute to determine how many days, weeks, or months you can study. Create a realistic schedule for yourself that takes work, school, socialization, other responsibilities, and even relaxation time into account (because you can’t drink from an empty well)!

Each person’s study needs are different. If you have access to a predictor score report, like from HESI or ATI, use that report to help guide your studying, focusing on areas of improvement. Alternatively, create your own practice test using Osmosis by building a 100-150-question quiz, including all of the Client Need areas. Be sure to keep in mind that while dedicated study time is needed, your quality of studying is more meaningful than the quantity.

Let’s look at a sample study schedule for an RN graduate with eight weeks until taking the NCLEX. In this sample, the learner starts by taking Osmosis quizzes and tracking areas of weakness based on correct and incorrect question responses. Then, using that list of weak content areas, they build a selection of Osmosis playlists, ensuring they focus on their toughest topics for the majority of their study time. Along with watching the playlist video, this learner will also take the associated playlist quizzes to help further reinforce their knowledge. As the weeks progress, the learner increases the length of their quizzes, building up their testing endurance for NCLEX exam day.

Note that this is an example and not a recommended schedule. You’ll build your schedule based on your specific learning needs and the time you have until the exam. It’s always beneficial to use a variety of valuable resources like Osmosis videos and quiz questions along with NCLEX study books.

Week 1 Study Schedule Example:

Day 1: Read the NCLEX-RN Test Plan
Day 2: Take a 75-question quiz on fundamentals and medical-surgical
Day 3: Build a fundamentals playlist and a medical-surgical playlist in Osmosis based on your areas of weakness from the quiz
Day 4: Rest day
Day 5: Complete the fundamentals playlist and quizzes
Day 6: Complete the medical-surgical playlists and quizzes
Day 7: Rest day (trust us, your brain needs some downtime)

Week 2 Study Schedule Example:

Day 1: Take a 75-question quiz on pharmacology and mental health
Day 2: Build a pharmacology playlist and a mental health playlist in Osmosis based on your areas of weakness from the quiz
Day 3: Rest day
Day 4: Complete the pharmacology playlist and quizzes
Day 5: Complete the mental health playlists and quizzes
Day 6: Rest day
Day 7: Rest day

Week 3 Study Schedule Example:

Day 1: Take a 75-question quiz on maternal-newborn and pediatrics
Day 2: Build a maternal-newborn playlist and a pediatrics playlist based on areas of weakness from the quiz
Day 3: Rest day
Day 4: Complete the maternal-newborn playlist and quizzes
Day 5: Complete the pediatrics playlist and quizzes
Day 6: Rest day
Day 7: Rest day

Week 4 Study Schedule Example:

Day 1: Take a 75-question quiz on leadership and gerontology
Day 2: Build a leadership playlist and a gerontology playlist based on areas of weakness from the quiz
Day 3: Rest day
Day 4: Complete the leadership playlist and quizzes
Day 5: Complete the gerontology playlist and quizzes
Day 6: Rest day
Day 7: Rest day

Week 5 Study Schedule Example:

Day 1: Take a 50-question quiz on Safe and effective care environment
Day 2: 50-question quiz on Health promotion and maintenance
Day 3: Rest day
Day 4: 50-question quiz on Psychosocial integrity
Day 5: 50-question quiz on Physiological integrity
Day 6: Identify areas of strength and weakness in these categories
Day 7: Rest day

Week 6 Study Schedule Example:

Day 1: Watch the case study playlist
Day 2: Take a 100-question quiz with only alternative format questions
Day 3: Build a playlist with your most challenging topics
Day 4: Complete the challenging topics playlist and quizzes
Day 5: Rest day
Day 6: Take a 150-question rehearsal exam that mimics the NCLEX-RN
Day 7: Rest day

Week 7 Study Schedule Example:

Day 1: Practice traveling to the testing site and prepare all forms and documents
Day 2: 125-question quiz using “Incorrect” question mode
Day 3: Rest day
Day 4: Take another 150-question rehearsal exam that mimics the NCLEX-RN
Day 5: Identify areas of weakness from the exam.
Day 6: Use Osmosis playlists or other resources to reinforce those areas
Day 7: Rest Day

Week 8 Study Schedule:

Focus on good nutrition, sleep, and self-care
Do a small amount of review of challenging materials
Pass the NCLEX!

Using Osmosis quizzes as part of your NCLEX-RN preparation can be a game-changer. By leveraging the extensive library of practice questions, you can identify your strengths and areas for improvement, engage in active learning through the testing effect, and build the endurance needed for exam day. Remember, the key to success lies in a well-rounded study approach, combining quizzes, videos, and other resources to solidify your understanding and boost your confidence.

If you haven’t created an account yet, do it! You can include Osmosis quizzes into your study routine today and take a crucial step towards acing the NCLEX-RN exam. And don’t forget, you’re not alone on this journey. Engage with the Osmosis community to access additional support and resources, share your experiences, and stay motivated. By taking advantage of all of the resources open to you, you will conquer the NCLEX-RN and take a monumental step forward in your nursing career.

Additional Resources

Happy studying, and let us know if this guide helped you pass the exam in the comments below!