The National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX), is country wide test in the United States offered in a bid to license nurses. The licensure examination has been on offer in the US since 1982. Every state nursing regulatory board in the US uses the NCLEX standardized test to evaluate a candidate’s readiness to qualify as an entry level nurse ( Mager et al., 2017) . The NCSBN commits itself to designing legally defensible and psychometric sound nursing licensure test which is congruent to the current practice. In the United States, more 5.7 million candidates have registered and taken the standardized exam since April 1994 (NCSBN, 2018) . The base charges for the NCLEX nursing exam is $200 although the state’s nursing board may require additional registration fees. The NCLEX licensure exam is of two types that is, NCLEX-PN and NCLEX-RN. Depending on the role that one is seeking and a candidate’s level of education, one may either chose to take NCLEX-PN (practical nurse) or the NCLEX-Rn (registered nurse). Individuals having a diploma in licensed vocational nursing or practical nursing can sit for NCLEX-PN while candidates who have a bachelor’s degree in nursing (BSN) or an associate degree in nursing can take NCLEX-RN test.
The NCLEX exam focuses on four practice areas. The first one is safe effective care environment which lays emphasis on ability to control infections and maintain hygiene. The second component is health maintenance and promotion focusing on preventative care as an important field work. The third is psychometric integrity which assesses a candidate’s ability to handle the pressure and stress of being a nurse ( Hanna et al., 2016) . The area also assesses a nurse ability to deliver mental health care. The final component is physiological integrity accounting for 43% to 67% of all the NCLEX examination questions. Physiological integrity assesses a candidate’s ability to deliver appropriate and evidence based nursing care.
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The National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) process is composed of eight detailed steps which a candidate has to meet to qualify for the standardized test.
The first step is application for the licensure. A candidate interested in taking NCLEX is required to make a formal application addressed to the board of nursing in the territory or state where one wishes to be licensed. Prior to application, one is required to contact the board for application prerequisites. After application, if the nursing regulatory board is convinced that a candidate has the requisite skills to become a nurse in the state, the board puts the person forward for the NCLEX examination ( Hanna et al., 2016) . To confirm an applicant’s place, the candidate receives an Authorization to Test (ATT) letter via email. One is needed to meet the eligibility requirements determined by the Nursing Regulatory Board. However, an applicant has to meet the minimum education requirements for the license sought. To be accredited in the LPN certificate program, one has to be a licensed vocational or practical nurse. Accreditation to be a registered nurse requires an individual to have at least an approved associate degree in nursing preferably bachelors.
The second step in the NCLEX process is registration. Upon being authorized, an applicant ought to register with Pearson VUE, either through internet or telephone registration. A program code is needed to complete registration and an email address must be provided since Pearson VUE correspondence is only available via email. The name that an applicant registers must coincide with the printed name on the identification presented at the examination center. If an applicant provided an email address when making the NCLEX test registration, subsequent correspondences from Pearson VUE will be channeled only by email ( Hanna et al., 2016) . If a candidate did not provide an email, all communication is made via the US mail. The NCLEX examination registration remains valid for a period of 365 days, during which a person’s eligibility to take the NCLEX test is determined by the state board of nursing. Upon determination that an applicant does not meet the minimum eligibility requirement, the $200 NCLEX registration fee cannot be reimbursed.
The third step in the NCLEX examination process is reception of confirmation. Upon approval of an applicant’s registration details and eligibility, the Pearson VUE sends a confirmation through the mode of application used by a candidate. The confirmation or authorization to take the NCLEX examination has a validity period specified by the Nursing Regulatory Board ( Cox-Davenport & Phelan, 2015) . The average length of authorization to take the test is usually ninety days. The applicant is required to take the NCLEX examination within the dates specified on the ATT. Upon losing one’s ATT or if the Nursing Regulatory Board has confirmed a person’s eligibility but the individual has not received the ATT, the applicant is obliged to contact the NRB via phone call. The approval to sit for NCLEX exam contains an applicant’s identification number, authorization number and expiration date. The nursing regulatory board cannot extend the indicated validity dates for any reason whatsoever. The fourth step is therefore reception of eligibility confirmation from the state nursing board that a person applied. As explained, the fifth NCLEX examination process step is receiving of authorization to test (ATT) from Pearson VUE. As Cox-Davenport and Phelan (2015) explain, an applicant’s printed name on the identification details must exactly match the name printed by the nursing board on the authorization to take the test. In case the name a person registered differs from the name indicated on the identification, the candidate is required to carry along a legal name change documentation on the day of the NCLEX examination at the test center. The nursing regulatory board stipulates that the only acceptable forms of legal documentation can either be; court action name change documents, divorce decrees or marriage licenses.
The sixth step in the NCLEX examination process is scheduling of an appointment to take the test. One is required to seek appointment either through calling the Pearson VUE or by visiting and filling details on the Pearson VUE website www.pearsonvue.com/nclex . To change one’s appointment for NCLEX examinations scheduled either on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, a candidate is advised to contact Pearson VUE via phone call at least 24 hours prior to the time or day of appointment. For NCLEX tests scheduled on Saturday, Sunday or Monday, changing appointment requires one to contact Pearson VUE not later than Friday at least one business day preceding the time of the exam’s appointment.
NCLEX examination step seven involves presentation of at least one form of acceptable identification and authorization to take the test (ATT) during the material exam day. As a requirement from the nursing regulatory board, a passport, US driver’s license or US state identification are the only acceptable documentations in all examination centers in the United States ( Silvestri, 2013) . The same identification applies in Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands and Guam. For international test centers, the nursing board requires a passport as the only acceptable form of identification. The identification documentations ought to be written in English, have an embedded signature, include a photograph and be valid. The nursing board does not admit to test candidates from nations that have previously been embargoed by the United States. No candidate is admitted to the NCLEX standard test without recommended identification accompanied by the issued ATT. An applicant will have his or her exam session forfeited for arriving without the acceptable identification and ATT implying that the candidate must register afresh and pay the $200 fee the second time.
The eighth and the last step in the examination process is receiving of the NCLEX results. The outcome is channeled via Pearson VUE by the state board of nursing that a person applied for licensure. The board of nursing ships the results within a period of one month from the examination date.
References
Cox-Davenport, R. A., & Phelan, J. C. (2015). Laying the groundwork for NCLEX success: An exploration of adaptive quizzing as an examination preparation method. CIN: Computers, Informatics, Nursing , 33 (5), 208-215.
National Council of State Boards of Nursing. (NCSBN)(2018). NCLEX examination statistics.
Hanna, K., Roberts, T., & Hurley, S. (2016). Collaborative testing as NCLEX enrichment. Nurse educator , 41 (4), 171-174.
Mager, D., Beauvais, A., & Kazer, M. W. (2017). Surviving the NCLEX dip. Nursing education perspectives , 38 (5), 283-285.
Silvestri, L. A. (2013). Saunders Comprehensive Review for the NCLEX-RN® Examination-E-Book . Elsevier Health Sciences.
