Nursing graduates all over the world must undergo a type of examination known as National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX). For as long as one can remember, the NCLEX exam has been a form of grading and final evaluation for nurses before getting their licensure and being allowed to legally practice nursing in the United States, Canada, and Australia. It is an assessment exam that will check the knowledge and skills of entry-level nurses.
The National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) has variations, enabling nursing graduates with an Associate Degree in Nursing (ADN) or nursing graduates with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree to seat for the NCLEX-RN. In the same light nursing graduates from Licensed Vocational Nursing (LVN) or those from Licensed Practical Nursing must seat for the NCLEX-PN to earn their licensure.
With prospective candidates preparing by enrolling for NCLEX prep courses and studying NCLEX practice questions, some have been thrown off guard at the new NCLEX exam that has been introduced. The Next Generation NCLEX or NGN as it is being called is to commence by next year and was announced in August 2019 by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN).
The new categories of questions for the Next Gen appear to be harder to understand and answer, making students and faculty very anxious about the upcoming changes to the question format, and how to best prepare.
What strategies can you use to best prepare for the Next Gen questions?
Recent research and past exam statistics showed a lack of clinical judgement in new or novice nurses. This factor is the major reason why major changes were made to the new NCLEX exam. In the NGN, there will be a huge emphasis on the measurement of clinical judgement ability in new nursing graduates in real-life scenarios. The NCSBN clinical judgement model with regards to the NGN is to take note of nurses’ critical thinking and decision-making ability in assessing situations, generating a concern that prioritizes the client or patient, and generating the best possible solution.
Generally, it tests the interactions between nurses and their patients, and how nurses should and would provide solutions to clients in real life.
While there has been limited information on the new examination format, some new items have been confirmed to be a part of the Next Gen NCLEX.
This addition to the new examination will feature situations that will require candidates to pair scenarios with solutions in two columns.
This new addition features a situation where candidates will have to make judgements about findings with relevant information from client data and scenarios. The answers to this will have to be checked in boxes in a matrix format.
This new addition features a situation where candidates would have to provide as many as six different responses on the proper course of action or care with a narrative case study as a reference.
Like the former NCLEX, the NGN tests graduates’ ability to critically think, judge and make decisions, but on a more realistic life situation.
Although the new questions are expected to be more difficult because it requires applying clinical judgement skills to life-like situations, taking the Best NCLEX prep courses, using NCLEX Reviewer and relating it to real life will help you succeed in the exam.
Feuer Nursing Review’s comprehensive content-based review course has been helping repeat test takers and foreign trained nurses pass the NCLEX RN/LPN exam since 1971. We have updated our curriculum and incorporated the clinical judgement model to effectively prepare students for the Next Generation NCLEX (NGN) exam.
Read our former students NCLEX Success stories on our website https://www.feuernursingreview.com/testimonials/. For more information about our 2023 courses, visit our homepage at feuernursingreview.com.
We are here to help you on your NCLEX journey.
