Study smart. Pass the NCLEX.
Study guides, pharmacology cheat sheets, lab values, and test-taking strategies for the NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN.
NCLEX Cheat Sheet: Priorities, Delegation, Isolation and Client Needs
Prioritization, the nursing process, delegation, isolation precautions and the 2026 Client Needs percentages in one place, each with the source it comes from.
ExamReady Editorial Team
14 min read · Oct 12, 2026
Start here
New to the NCLEX? These guides cover the basics. Read them first, in this order.
NCLEX BasicsHow Many Questions Are on the NCLEX? How CAT and the Pass Point Work
How many questions are on the NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN, what a minimum-length exam contains, how computerized adaptive testing picks each item, what the passing standard (the pass point) is, why the exam can end at 85 and what happened to the 75-question minimum.
Test StrategiesNCLEX Question Types Explained: Each Format and How Partial Credit Works
The NCLEX question types as NCSBN describes them: multiple choice, select all that apply, matrix, drop-down, highlight, bow-tie and calculation items, exhibits, case studies and partial credit.
Study GuidesHow to Pass the NCLEX: What Prepared Candidates Do Differently
How to pass the NCLEX, starting from what NCSBN says the exam measures: answer questions early, review every option, work on weak areas, practice pacing and treat low scores as data.
NCLEX BasicsHow Many Times Can You Take the NCLEX-RN? Retake Rules, Wait Time and Fees
NCSBN allows up to eight NCLEX attempts a year with 45 test-free days between them. How retakes work, where boards are stricter, what a retake costs and how to plan the next attempt.
Planning your whole prep? The NCLEX Prep guide explains the four parts of a prep, and the NCLEX Test Plans page shows what the exam covers, area by area.
Daily Dose of Motivation · Monday, October 19
“Energy and persistence conquer all things.”
— Benjamin Franklin
More articles
After the NCLEX: What Next? From the Test Center to Your First Nursing Job
What happens after the NCLEX: leaving the test center, the wait for the official result, license issuance, verification, practicing in another state and the first nursing job.
How to Pass the NCLEX: What Prepared Candidates Do Differently
How to pass the NCLEX, starting from what NCSBN says the exam measures: answer questions early, review every option, work on weak areas, practice pacing and treat low scores as data.
I PASS THE BATON Nursing Handoff and I-PASS: What Each Letter Means
Every letter of I PASS THE BATON and I-PASS as AHRQ's TeamSTEPPS and the I-PASS Study Group define them, one sample nurse-to-nurse report in both formats, and handoff in the 2026 NCLEX test plans.
NCLEX Exam Cost: What You Pay From Registration to License
What the NCLEX costs on the way to your license: the registration fee before and from February 1, 2027, international scheduling and change fees, retakes, board application and fingerprinting fees, and what NCSBN does not charge for.
NCLEX Fee Increase 2027: What Changes on February 1
The NCLEX registration fee rises on February 1, 2027. See the new fees for the U.S., Canada and Australia, why your registration date matters, and how retakes are charged.
NCLEX for Foreign Nurses: A Step-by-Step Guide for Internationally Educated Nurses
How internationally educated nurses get to the NCLEX: the board application, credential and English checks, Pearson registration, international test centers and fees, and VisaScreen.
NCLEX Pass Rates: What the 2025 NCSBN Numbers Mean for You
NCSBN's 2025 NCLEX pass rates for RN and PN candidates by group: first-time, repeat and internationally educated. What the numbers mean and how to read a school's rate.
NCLEX Quick Results: How and When You Get Your NCLEX Results
How NCLEX results reach you: the official result from your board of nursing, Pearson VUE quick results (timing, cost, which boards take part), why the Pearson VUE trick proves nothing, and what comes after a pass or a fail.
How Many Times Can You Take the NCLEX-RN? Retake Rules, Wait Time and Fees
NCSBN allows up to eight NCLEX attempts a year with 45 test-free days between them. How retakes work, where boards are stricter, what a retake costs and how to plan the next attempt.
NCLEX Study Plan: Build a Study Schedule Around Your ATT and the Test Plan
How to build an NCLEX study plan from the facts that bound it: registration and your Authorization to Test window, the 2026 NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN Client Needs percentages, NCSBN's free tools, and 4-, 8- and 12-week calendar examples for the time you have.
What It Means to Be a Nurse
Most of a nurse's work happens in conversations — with patients, families, doctors, and colleagues. Here is why being understood, listening, and speaking up are part of safe patient care.
Six Terrible Ways to Prepare for the NCLEX (Please Do Not Do This)
Why sleep deprivation, marathon study sessions, passive rereading, avoiding weak topics, neglecting health, and isolation can undermine NCLEX prep.
Who Would You Trust With a Patient: Someone Who Knows Every Answer—or Someone Who Can Make Decisions?
Why nursing requires more than recall—and how priorities, uncertainty, changing patient data, and clinical judgment connect NCLEX preparation to practice.
NCLEX Study Help: How to Study for the NCLEX With Seven Evidence-Based Methods
How to study for the NCLEX with seven methods from learning research: spacing, retrieval, interleaving, feedback, metacognition, exam-style reasoning and sleep, with what each study found and where its evidence stops.
Failed the NCLEX? What Happens Next and Why It Is Not the End
What happens after you fail the NCLEX, as NCSBN describes it: your official result, the Candidate Performance Report and a new registration. Then how to keep one result in proportion and plan the next attempt.
How Many Questions Are on the NCLEX? How CAT and the Pass Point Work
How many questions are on the NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN, what a minimum-length exam contains, how computerized adaptive testing picks each item, what the passing standard (the pass point) is, why the exam can end at 85 and what happened to the 75-question minimum.
Is the NCLEX Hard? Why It Feels Hard and Five Myths That Make It Worse
Why the NCLEX feels hard for every candidate, what NCSBN's 2025 figures show for each group and five myths about exam length, scoring, difficulty, memorizing and failing, checked against NCSBN's own documents.
NCLEX Question Types Explained: Each Format and How Partial Credit Works
The NCLEX question types as NCSBN describes them: multiple choice, select all that apply, matrix, drop-down, highlight, bow-tie and calculation items, exhibits, case studies and partial credit.
NCLEX Tips: Short Sessions, the Final Month and NCSBN's Own Advice
NCLEX tips with their sources: short sessions spread across the week, a routine for missed questions, the advice NCSBN gives candidates and a four-week cycle for the final month.
How Long Is the NCLEX? What to Expect on Test Day
How long the NCLEX takes and what counts toward the five hours, then what happens on test day: ID rules, arrival, check-in, security, breaks, technical problems and results.
Stop Looking for Motivation. Build a System That Works Without It
Motivation can help you begin NCLEX prep, but discipline, habits, and a realistic routine are what help you keep studying.
NCLEX Pharmacology Essentials: Drug Classes, Safety and Dosage Calculations
What NCLEX pharmacology covers on the 2026 NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN, eight drug classes with the safety data open sources tie to them, and how dosage calculation items work.
NCLEX Study Guide for 2026: An Eight-Step Roadmap
An eight-step NCLEX study guide for 2026, built on NCSBN's test plans and Candidate Bulletin: confirm your exam, set a baseline, study in weekly cycles, learn from every practice item, practice clinical judgment, learn the rules and get ready for test day.
NCLEX Test-Taking Strategies: A Six-Step Routine for Every Question
NCLEX test-taking strategies built on how the exam works: a six-step routine for each item, the shortcuts to drop, when to change an answer, case studies, pacing and what to do with a missed question.
NCLEX Clinical Judgment Model: Six NCJMM Skills Explained
Learn the six NCJMM clinical judgment functions—from recognizing cues to evaluating outcomes—and use them to review NCLEX case-study reasoning.
NCLEX Lab Values Cheat Sheet: Ranges, Trends and Context
Study common NCLEX lab-value categories while accounting for units, trends, clinical context, and the reference range supplied in each question.
How to Stop Being Afraid of the NCLEX
Practical ways to manage NCLEX anxiety, reduce uncertainty, respond to panic, focus on one question, and prepare a calm test-day plan.
Never Miss a Study Tip
Get practical NCLEX study guidance and new article updates.
High-yield rationales, cheat sheets, and test-taking strategies are published here as they are written.
Browse all articles