The methods of testing your knowledge and decision-making skills keep changing as nursing education keeps on changing. Next Generation NCLEX (NGN) was created to consider real-world clinical judgment, which is the type of clinical judgment that nurses apply in their daily practice.
The importance on learning such new types of NCLEX items is not to pass the exam but to think and to act like a nurse. We can dissect each format, examine how it functions and how you can be able to be the best on the test day.
1. Multiple Response (Select All That apply)
What It Is
In Multiple Response questions, you will answer a series of choices specifying to solve all the correct answers to a series of answers. It can be two, three or even every right response.
How to Approach
Read Carefully: Be careful to look on the important expressions such as the Select all that apply.
Target Elimination Method: Ignore the obviously wrong answers and reduce them to a smaller population.
Know the Idea, Not the Keywords: Concentrate on why all of them are right or wrong.
Practice- Every staff member can practice on sites like NurseClex.com these platforms have interactive practice questions that are presented in this format to develop your reasoning power.
Clue: Do not answer them randomly, you have to defend each answer separately in your head.
2. Fill in the Blank (Calculation or Completion)
What It Is
These questions will be in form of typing in number, value or name as opposed to a list. The typical are the dose calculations or the explanation of critical concepts in nursing.
How to Approach
Take Context Clues: The prompt of the question does have some valuable clues in most cases.
Know Your Conversion: Memorize all the formulas particularly in dosage and IV flow rates.
Check Units: Do not forget to check that your response is in the form of mg, mL, or drops/min.
Reinforce Learning: study the calculation drills and fill-in-the-blank questions on NurseClex in order to learn this type of question.
Note: Be accurate and pay attention to details: when one fogged out a zero, it may make a difference!
3. Question-and-answer (Ordered Response) Questions.
What It Is
In Ordered Response question, you are required to match the sequence of actions or steps in the right chronological or procedure sequence. This is similar to the way nurses are real time process thinkers.
How to Approach
Know the Steps: Study the standard nursing practice (e.g. wound dressing changes, medication administration).
Think Safety First: Patient-centered actions based on patient safety and the nursing process (ADPIE).
Visual: Learning Have flow charts or diagrams to aid surface memory of sequence.
Practice Using real life situations: The questions in NurseClex simulating nature will allow developing the confidence in these logical sequences.
Example:
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Wash hands
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Identify patient
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Explain procedure
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Perform intervention
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Document findings
4. The visual feature of Hot Spot is known as Visual Identification (Hot Spot (Visual Identification)).
What It Is
Hot Spot questions require you to simply click on a particular part of a picture - e.g. finding an injection location, an anatomical structure, an appropriate monitor display.
How to Approach
Learning activities: Learn how to use anatomy charts, laboratory equipment or wound management diagrams.
Know the "Why": Find out the reasoning behind it, it is not merely where.
Apply Interactive Tools: NurseClex allows training with visual practice modules using clinical images that are similar to those on the NGN exam.
Sample: You can be requested to determine the place to examine an apical pulse or find a location where a ventrogluteal injection will be anywhere on your body.
Lesson learned: Practice, Not Worth Lesson.
The Next Generation NCLEX is a step towards critical thinking and decision-making in the real world. Being a successful nurse requires more than mastery of the facts of nursing - but of logic.
In the continued practice, having exposure to various types of items, and taking a systematic method with the help of reliable sources such as nurselex.com, you will be able to build your confidence and improve your clinical judgment skills.
Ready to Start Your NGN Prep?
NurseClex is used by thousands of nursing students every day to help them achieve mastery of NGN-style questions, simulations, and test strategies to make them exam-ready and career-ready.
Practicing at NurseClex.com now is your first step towards your successful NCLEX test.