NCLEX Q&A with Jannah Amiel

Hi, I'm nurse. Janna.

I'm the founder and educator of Tr and N prep. And I am working along with osmosis to oversee creating a training program to help raise the line for our frontline healthcare workforce.

So I'm home today, like many of us have been for the last couple of weeks and I know that these days are kind of hectic and chaotic and we're all affected by COVID-19 in lots of ways.

And the NCLEX has not been an exception to that, but good news is that Nurses Week is coming up starting on May 6th. And if you didn't know 2020 is actually year of the nurse.

So we are happily celebrating that. Now in honor of Nurses Week starting on May 6th, I have gathered six of the most common UNCL rumors and myths that I hear from my students and just kind of out in the field.

And I want to take a minute to debunk those rumors and kind of put those things to rest today with you all. So the first thing that I'm hearing a lot of is that the New nclex is here.

So by New nclex, I know that, that means the next generation nclex. So that is coming, but that won't be in place until at least 2023.

So rest assured the nclex test plan now is more or less the same as what it's been for the last couple years. So same type of multiple choice questions, same type of alternate format items, like select all that apply and drag and drop and hotspot questions.

That's all the same. So again, 2023 that's going to be the earliest that we might see this next Gen nclex.

But right now this test plan in place will be in place until that time. No worries there.

And on a related note with that, it's not gonna be as scary as some people are making it up to be. In fact, I think that a lot of test takers are gonna appreciate this exam because one of the common complaints or concerns that I get is that the nclex now maybe doesn't reflect practice as great or as closely as it could.

And I think that with this new next gen and it's gonna do a really good job in bridging those two things together, right?

The reality of practice and the reality of the exam that we have to take. Now, the next thing I hear number 275 questions and your test shuts off you've passed.

Not true. So we know that with the nclex RN, you can get anywhere from 75 questions to 265 questions.

So 75 is the minimum, 2, 65 is the max just because you get the minimum amount of questions and the computer sets off does not mean that you've passed.

It also doesn't mean that you failed. The opposite is also true.

Right. So, if you get 265 questions, that's the max and the test is over, that doesn't mean that you failed and it doesn't mean that you've passed.

So I say that to say this, don't focus so much on the number of questions that you're getting. So don't focus on amount so much because just by doing that, you can't guarantee if that's a pass or that's a fail and it's very distracting to you as you're trying to take your test.

So just worry about doing your very best, right? Answering every single question to the very best of your critical thinking nurse brain ability.

Now, number three, the other thing I hear a lot is the Pearson view trick. Some of, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

Some of you don't know what that is. But the Pearson view trick is not an official or reliable way to tell if you have passed or failed your exam.

So the N CSB N has actually made a statement on this and said, hey, we don't endorse this. This isn't the way to find out your results.

So the Pearson view trick is this in theory, if you've taken your NCLEX, you've completed your test. If you go online and try to register at Pearson View to take it again, if it lets you register, that means you didn't pass.

If it doesn't let you register, it means you did pass. But that's the theory except it's not a reliable method.

So again, it's not officially endorsed, it's not recommended if you wanna get your results officially and legit wait for your official results to be sent to you.

And that can take a couple of weeks and II get that waiting for. That is kind of long.

But the other thing you can take advantage of is the quick results service. So within 48 hours of your exam, you can get your unofficial results there.

And that is something that the N CSB N does endorse. Now, next up, select all that applies and this is a two part here.

If you get a lot of select all that applies on your tests, you're definitely passing again, not true. And that's something that's super subjective.

We know that the NCLEX is unique to each and every single test taker. So one test taker might get 10 Sadah on their test and feel like that was a ton.

Another test taker might get 30 on their tests and feel like that wasn't so much. So it's very subjective to your ability and your skill and your perception of taking the test and how much you love or hate those questions.

So just because you're seeing a lot of that, that's not an indicator that Yep, this is a task or no, this is a fail and it's just a reminder to not focus so much on the types of questions that you're getting.

Don't focus on the number of questions that you're getting, but really focus on being a rock star test taker and really answering everything to the best of your ability and then sticking with sa I wanted to also add on that with select all that apply questions.

No, you do not get partial credit. That's another one of the myths and rumors that I hear a lot of.

So we know that with a one sum or all of those answers options may be correct. And so in order to get that answer or excuse me, that question, right?

You have to answer all of the answer options that are correct. They all have to be selected, right?

So there's no partial credit that's given for that. Now, the other one that I hear this one is very popular is that the NCLEX is easier in different states, not true.

The NCLEX is a national exam. So that means it's used everywhere in the US and it's also used in Canada.

So whether you test in Florida or in Idaho or in New York or in Wisconsin or Hawaii or wherever the NCLEX is used nationwide.

It's the same exact exam everywhere you go. So it's not any easier or any more difficult in different states.

However, what is different are testing rules. So each state has a state Board of Nursing and it's really important that you're familiar with your state Board of Nursing and what that testing rule says.

So for instance, each state has a policy in place regarding the amount of times that you can take the test and in what time period.

So for instance, if you're in one state, they might have testing rules that say you can only take the NCLEX five times and that's it, or maybe they have rules that say you can take it up to three times.

But then you have to take a remediation course if you've not been successful and then you can apply again. So those type of rules are different, but the exam itself is not.

So no matter what state you go to, things aren't any difficult or any easier based off of that alone. Now, with COVID, we know that there's been some changes to NCLEX testing and that's gonna be in place until at least July 4th.

So we know there's less test centers open. We know that there's been modifications to the exam to make it a little bit shorter.

Again, it hasn't changed anything about the quality of the exam or the standard of the, the exam. But it is important to be familiar with the changes that are in place.

So the best place to go to find that out is directly on the NC SBN S website. See what modifications have been made to the test, see what uh limitations have been put in place to make sure that, you know, we're all testing safely during this time.

So remember, keep up with your studying, keep up with your complex prep, even despite what's going on right now, you want to make sure that you are ready to go and to rock and roll and to work at your best ability and not only to feel competent in your knowledge and your skill, but also to feel really confident in your ability to get out there and do your best.

So here's the safe testing and a Happy Nurses week coming up.