Practice by NCLEX client needs category. Every question shows the answer, a rationale, and the source it was checked against. When you're ready, take a full adaptive exam that stops by the real NCLEX rules.
| Client needs category | Share of the exam |
|---|---|
| Management of Care | 15–21% |
| Safety and Infection Prevention and Control | 10–16% |
| Health Promotion and Maintenance | 6–12% |
| Psychosocial Integrity | 6–12% |
| Basic Care and Comfort | 6–12% |
| Pharmacological and Parenteral Therapies | 13–19% |
| Reduction of Risk Potential | 9–15% |
| Physiological Adaptation | 11–17% |
Ranges from the NCSBN NCLEX-RN test plan.
Which client care task can the RN delegate to an LPN?
Correct answer: D
LPNs can give scheduled medications to stable clients. First-dose IV drugs for new admissions, care planning, and triage require RN assessment and judgment.
Source: NCSBN. Model Nursing Practice Act; state LPN scope of practice
After caring for a client with Clostridioides difficile, how should the nurse clean their hands?
Correct answer: B
C. difficile forms spores that alcohol does not kill. Soap and water with friction physically removes spores. Gloves never replace hand hygiene.
Source: CDC. Hand Hygiene in Healthcare Settings; C. difficile clinical overview
Which contraceptive method also helps protect against sexually transmitted infections?
Correct answer: A
Latex or polyurethane condoms, used correctly every time, reduce the risk of many STIs. Hormonal methods and IUDs do not protect against STIs.
Source: CDC. Sexually Transmitted Infections Treatment Guidelines (2021)
A client with schizophrenia stands in the corner staring and doesn't respond to questions. What should the nurse do?
Correct answer: A
For a withdrawn or catatonic client, the nurse offers presence, uses short simple statements, and makes sure basic needs like nutrition, hydration, and toileting are met.
Source: Varcarolis' Foundations of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing, 10th ed.
A client with COPD is short of breath at rest. Which position is most helpful?
Correct answer: B
The orthopneic (tripod) position lets the diaphragm move more freely and uses accessory muscles more effectively.
Source: Lewis's Medical-Surgical Nursing, 13th ed. (COPD)
A client who started haloperidol yesterday has a sudden painful spasm that twists the neck to one side. Which medication should the nurse expect to give?
Correct answer: D
Acute dystonia is treated with an anticholinergic such as benztropine or with diphenhydramine, given IM or IV for rapid relief. Dantrolene is used for NMS.
Source: Lehne's Pharmacology for Nursing Care, 12th ed. (antipsychotic EPS)
Which hemoglobin A1C goal is reasonable for many nonpregnant adults with diabetes?
Correct answer: C
An A1C below 7% is a common goal for many nonpregnant adults. Goals are individualized, and less strict targets may be appropriate for older adults or those at risk for hypoglycemia.
Source: ADA. Standards of Care in Diabetes, Section 6 (glycemic goals)
A client's chest tube water-seal chamber has stopped tidaling. The client is breathing comfortably with equal breath sounds bilaterally, and the tubing is free of kinks and clots. How should the nurse interpret this?
Correct answer: A
Tidaling stops when the lung re-expands or when the tubing is kinked or occluded. With a re-expanded lung on x-ray, this is expected. Otherwise, the nurse checks for kinks or clots.
Source: Lewis's Medical-Surgical Nursing, 13th ed. (chest drainage)
Each item is written to the current NCSBN test plan, tagged to a client needs category and a clinical judgment step, and cited to a guideline, drug label, or nursing text. A separate review pass checks the answer key, every distractor, and every calculation. Read the full process.
1,059 fact-checked questions, a full adaptive exam that stops by the real rules, a proctored test-day mode with an integrity report, 8 NGN case studies, bedside simulations, and ACLS megacodes. Free.