NCLEX-PN study guide
NCLEX-PN · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The NCLEX-PN is the licensure examination that state boards of nursing use to decide whether a graduate of a practical or vocational nursing program is ready to practice as a licensed practical nurse (LPN) or licensed vocational nurse (LVN). It is a regulatory gate rather than a school final or a specialty certification: a passing result is one of several requirements a board of nursing weighs, alongside program completion, a licensure application, and a background check, before a license is issued. The NCLEX-PN study guide has 7 sections and about 2,165 words.
01Safe and Coordinated Care
Safe and coordinated care questions ask you to protect the client while organizing work. Know the difference between assessment, which the licensed nurse performs, and routine tasks that may be delegated to assistive personnel, such as bathing a stable client, recording intake and output, or measuring vital signs.
319 words, about 2 min02Health Promotion and Maintenance
Health promotion asks what keeps clients well and what detects disease early. Distinguish primary prevention, which prevents disease before it starts, from secondary prevention, which finds disease early, and tertiary prevention, which limits disability and supports rehabilitation.
305 words, about 2 min03Psychosocial Integrity
Psychosocial integrity questions reward calm, nonjudgmental communication and immediate safety. Build rapport by using open-ended questions, reflection, clarification, and silence.
298 words, about 1 min04Basic Care and Comfort
Basic care questions test whether you can keep a client clean, safe, mobile, nourished, and comfortable while preserving dignity. Know positioning and pressure injury prevention: reposition at least every two hours for at-risk clients, keep skin clean and dry, use pressure-redistribution surfaces, and avoid massage over bony prominences or reddened areas.
302 words, about 2 min05Pharmacological and Parenteral Therapies
Pharmacology questions combine the rights of medication administration with client monitoring. Verify the right client, drug, dose, route, time, reason, and documentation; use two identifiers and an independent double-check for high-alert drugs such as insulin, heparin, and opioids per policy.
325 words, about 2 min06Reduction of Risk Potential
Reduction of risk potential asks you to identify clients at risk and act early. Know risk factors for falls, pressure injuries, infection, deep vein thrombosis, aspiration, dehydration, medication errors, and postoperative complications.
311 words, about 2 min07Physiological Adaptation
Physiological adaptation questions ask you to recognize what is going wrong and respond to changing condition. Review fluid and electrolyte balance, acid-base balance, oxygenation, perfusion, neurological status, endocrine function, renal function, digestion, immune response, and shock.
305 words, about 2 min