{"id":18625,"date":"2018-03-26T06:58:25","date_gmt":"2018-03-26T11:58:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/blog\/prep\/?p=18625"},"modified":"2020-09-11T20:42:09","modified_gmt":"2020-09-11T20:42:09","slug":"is-the-nclex-rn-harder-than-the-nclex-pn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/nclex\/is-the-nclex-rn-harder-than-the-nclex-pn\/","title":{"rendered":"Is the NCLEX-RN Harder than the NCLEX-PN?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>You\u2019ve just finished nursing school, and it\u2019s now time to become official\u2014by passing the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX). The NCLEX exam is how the U.S. makes sure all nurses meet the same standards for safe practice, no matter where you received your education.<br \/>\nThere are two versions of the NCLEX exam: the NCLEX-RN, for prospective registered nurses, and the NCLEX-PN, for prospective practical\/vocational nurses. The question often arises as to which exam is easier to pass.<br \/>\nIf you\u2019ve taken and failed the NCLEX-RN, you may be tempted to try your luck with the NCLEX-PN, instead. But think again. Here\u2019s how the two tests compare to help you decide:<br \/>\n&nbsp;<br \/>\n<div  style='padding-bottom:10px; ' class='av-special-heading av-special-heading-h3    avia-builder-el-0  el_before_av_table  avia-builder-el-first  '><h3 class='av-special-heading-tag '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >What do the numbers say?<\/h3><div class='special-heading-border'><div class='special-heading-inner-border' ><\/div><\/div><\/div><br \/>\nThe\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncsbn.org\/index.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">National Council of State Boards of Nursing<\/a>\u00a0publishes data about who passes the NCLEX and who does not. On the website, you can see how U.S.-educated students perform compared to internally-educated students and how first-timers perform compared to repeat test-takers. Or you can just compare all the students who took the test in a given year.<br \/>\nLet\u2019s take a look at some previous passage rates:<br \/>\n<div  class='avia-table main_color avia-pricing-table-container  avia_pricing_default   avia-builder-el-1  el_after_av_heading  el_before_av_heading  avia-table-1'  itemscope=\"itemscope\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/Table\" ><div class='pricing-table-wrap'><ul class='pricing-table '><li class='avia-heading-row'><div class='first-table-item'>2015 (through June):<\/div><span class='pricing-extra'><\/span><\/li><li class=''>NCLEX-RN: 73 percent passed<\/li><li class=''>NCLEX-PN: 67 percent passed<\/li><\/ul><\/div><div class='pricing-table-wrap'><ul class='pricing-table '><li class='avia-heading-row'><div class='first-table-item'>2014:<\/div><span class='pricing-extra'><\/span><\/li><li class=''>NCLEX-RN: 69 percent passed<\/li><li class=''>NCLEX-PN: 70 percent passed<\/li><\/ul><\/div><div class='pricing-table-wrap'><ul class='pricing-table '><li class='avia-heading-row'><div class='first-table-item'>2013:<\/div><span class='pricing-extra'><\/span><\/li><li class=''>NCLEX-RN: 71 percent passed<\/li><li class=''>NCLEX-PN: 74 percent passed<\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><br \/>\nAs you can see,\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncsbn.org\/7285.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">the numbers are pretty close for both the NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN<\/a>; although, they vary from year to year. If one test was easier than the other, you might expect a higher pass rate for the easier one.<br \/>\n<div  style='padding-bottom:10px; ' class='av-special-heading av-special-heading-h3    avia-builder-el-2  el_after_av_table  el_before_av_heading  '><h3 class='av-special-heading-tag '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >How do the tests compare?<\/h3><div class='special-heading-border'><div class='special-heading-inner-border' ><\/div><\/div><\/div><br \/>\nBoth exams are the same in many ways.<br \/>\nEach is taken on a computer at a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ncsbn.org\/testing-locations.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pearson VUE test center<\/a>, and they\u2019re the same in terms of structure (you choose among four multiple choice answers for each question).\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/nursing\/nclex-prep\/nclex-rn\/about-the-nclex-rn?utm_source=callingallnurses&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_term=can-readers&amp;utm_content=nclex-kaplan-nursing-aug2015&amp;utm_campaign=about-nclex\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Both are computer-adaptive<\/a>\u2014that is, they take into account your answers and adjust the questions in difficulty accordingly.<br \/>\nThe NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN differ in the number of questions you have to answer and the amount of time you have to complete each test.<br \/>\n<b>Number of questions:<\/b><br \/>\nNCLEX-RN: minimum is 75 questions, max is 265<br \/>\nNCLEX-PN: minimum is 85 questions, max is 205<br \/>\n<b>Hours to complete the exam:<\/b><br \/>\nNCLEX-RN: six hours<br \/>\nNCLEX-PN: five hours<br \/>\nAs for content, both require a basic understanding of nursing practice and knowledge. But since the purpose of the test is to apply your knowledge to specific work scenarios, the types of questions are aimed at the specific duties of each nursing profession.<br \/>\nA majority of NCLEX-RN questions center around\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/nursing\/nclex-prep\/nclex-rn\/about-the-nclex-rn?utm_source=callingallnurses&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_term=can-readers&amp;utm_content=nclex-kaplan-nursing-aug2015&amp;utm_campaign=about-nclex\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">creating care plans and evaluating patients<\/a>, whereas NCLEX-PN questions focus on the duties of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/nursing\/nclex-prep\/nclex-pn\/about-the-nclex-pn?utm_source=callingallnurses&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_term=can-readers&amp;utm_content=nclex-kaplan-nursing-aug2015&amp;utm_campaign=about-nclex\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">collecting patient information and supporting care plans<\/a>.<br \/>\n<div  style='padding-bottom:10px; ' class='av-special-heading av-special-heading-h3    avia-builder-el-3  el_after_av_heading  el_before_av_sidebar  '><h3 class='av-special-heading-tag '  itemprop=\"headline\"  >What are some tips to help you pass the NCLEX?<\/h3><div class='special-heading-border'><div class='special-heading-inner-border' ><\/div><\/div><\/div><br \/>\nGreat news: The vast majority of students pass the first time they take it, which is true for both exams.<br \/>\nRepeat test-takers face a higher challenge. In 2014, just 46 percent of U.S.-educated repeat test-takers passed the NCLEX-RN, and only 31 percent passed the NCLEX-PN.<br \/>\nRegardless of where you stand in the process, here are some tips for success:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Don\u2019t cram. Start preparing two or three months before the exam.<\/li>\n<li>Create a daily study routine.<\/li>\n<li>Learn\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/nursing\/nclex-prep\/free-nclex-prep?utm_source=callingallnurses&amp;utm_medium=blog&amp;utm_term=can-readers&amp;utm_content=nclex-kaplan-nursing-aug2015&amp;utm_campaign=about-nclex\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">test-taking strategies<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Review your problem areas to get the most bang for your study buck.<\/li>\n<li>Don\u2019t study on test day, and show up early. Arrive 30 to 40 minutes beforehand to get settled in.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div  class='avia-builder-widget-area clearfix  avia-builder-el-4  el_after_av_heading  avia-builder-el-last '><div id=\"text-78\" class=\"widget clearfix widget_text\">\t\t\t<div class=\"textwidget\"><p><span data-sumome-listbuilder-embed-id=\"ed685fed995ca0b14adea942b9321bfdb4da66714744f69d9ba773e8becb00b9\"><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You\u2019ve just finished nursing school, and it\u2019s now time to become official\u2014by passing the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX). The NCLEX exam is how the U.S. makes sure all nurses meet the same standards for safe practice, no matter where you received your education. There are two versions of the NCLEX exam: the NCLEX-RN, for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26931,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[97],"tags":[125],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18625"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18625"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18625\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35734,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18625\/revisions\/35734"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26931"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18625"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18625"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18625"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}