ESTUDYR
NURSING EXAM SUCCESS: NCLEX, NGN QUESTION TYPES &
CLINICAL JUDGMENT 2025 MULTICHOICE ANSWERED EXAM
QUESTIONS WITH DETAILED RATIONALES
1. A nurse is asked why an examination is given in a course. Which statement best
describes the purpose of an examination?
A. To provide entertainment for students.
B. To measure what the instructor thinks is important only.
C. To measure what the student has learned. ✅
D. To replace clinical experience.
Rationale: Examinations are tools to evaluate the learner’s knowledge and mastery of course
objectives. While instructors design tests, the primary purpose is assessment of student
learning, not entertainment or substitution for clinical practice.
2. Which exam must a candidate pass to become a licensed registered nurse in the United
States?
A. ATI TEAS
B. HESI Exit Exam
C. NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination). ✅
D. GRE
Rationale: The NCLEX is the standardized national licensure exam created by the NCSBN to
determine competence for entry-level nursing practice. ATI/HESI are school/assessment tools;
GRE is for graduate school.
3. A nursing student reports feeling nervous before clinical. Which option best identifies
this feeling?
A. Depression
B. Anxiety. ✅
C. Apathy
D. Delirium
Rationale: Anxiety is a state of unease or worry about upcoming events and is common before
clinicals or exams. Depression and apathy involve low mood or lack of interest; delirium is an
acute change in cognition.
,ESTUDYR
4. Which item describes “alternate item format” on modern nursing exams?
A. Traditional single best-answer multiple choice only.
B. Question types that are not just multiple choice (e.g., drag-and-drop, select all that
apply). ✅
C. Oral viva voce examinations only.
D. Essay questions only.
Rationale: Alternate item formats refer to non-traditional question types used to assess applied
skills and reasoning (e.g., SATA, drag-and-drop, hotspot), not solely essays or oral exams.
5. The Next Generation NCLEX (NGN) was developed to:
A. Shorten the test length without changing content.
B. Replace clinical rotations with online tests.
C. Test real-life thinking and decision-making (clinical judgement). ✅
D. Focus only on pharmacology.
Rationale: NGN emphasizes clinical judgment and real-world decision-making through case
scenarios and new item types. It is not intended to replace clinical experience or focus solely on
one content area.
6. Which best defines “clinical judgment” in nursing practice?
A. Following orders without thinking.
B. Memorizing protocols only.
C. The nurse’s ability to notice, think, and act correctly for the patient. ✅
D. Delegating all tasks to other staff.
Rationale: Clinical judgment is the integrated process of recognizing cues, analyzing them,
making decisions, taking actions, and evaluating outcomes to provide safe patient care. It
requires thinking, not rote following of orders.
7. Which term best describes “careful, logical thinking to solve problems”?
A. Hindsight
B. Impulsivity
, ESTUDYR
C. Critical thinking. ✅
D. Intuition
Rationale: Critical thinking is the deliberate process of analyzing and evaluating information to
make reasoned decisions. Intuition can support decision-making but lacks the explicit logical
steps required for critical thinking.
8. A nurse must choose between several treatment options. Which process is this?
A. Data collection
B. Decision-making. ✅
C. Delegation
D. Documentation
Rationale: Decision-making involves selecting the best action among alternatives based on
available information. Data collection is preparatory; delegation and documentation are
different nursing functions.
9. Which organization is responsible for creating the NCLEX exam?
A. American Nurses Association (ANA)
B. National League for Nursing (NLN)
C. NCSBN (National Council of State Boards of Nursing). ✅
D. WHO (World Health Organization)
Rationale: The NCSBN develops and administers the NCLEX; ANA and NLN are important
nursing organizations but do not create licensure exams.
10. “Cognitive skills/processes” in clinical judgment refer to:
A. The physical tasks of patient care only.
B. Emotional responses during stress.
C. The six steps your brain uses to think through a nursing situation. ✅
D. Medication calculation only.
Rationale: Cognitive processes refer to the mental steps—such as recognizing cues, analyzing,
prioritizing hypotheses, generating solutions, taking actions, and evaluating outcomes—used in
clinical reasoning, not just physical tasks.
NURSING EXAM SUCCESS: NCLEX, NGN QUESTION TYPES &
CLINICAL JUDGMENT 2025 MULTICHOICE ANSWERED EXAM
QUESTIONS WITH DETAILED RATIONALES
1. A nurse is asked why an examination is given in a course. Which statement best
describes the purpose of an examination?
A. To provide entertainment for students.
B. To measure what the instructor thinks is important only.
C. To measure what the student has learned. ✅
D. To replace clinical experience.
Rationale: Examinations are tools to evaluate the learner’s knowledge and mastery of course
objectives. While instructors design tests, the primary purpose is assessment of student
learning, not entertainment or substitution for clinical practice.
2. Which exam must a candidate pass to become a licensed registered nurse in the United
States?
A. ATI TEAS
B. HESI Exit Exam
C. NCLEX (National Council Licensure Examination). ✅
D. GRE
Rationale: The NCLEX is the standardized national licensure exam created by the NCSBN to
determine competence for entry-level nursing practice. ATI/HESI are school/assessment tools;
GRE is for graduate school.
3. A nursing student reports feeling nervous before clinical. Which option best identifies
this feeling?
A. Depression
B. Anxiety. ✅
C. Apathy
D. Delirium
Rationale: Anxiety is a state of unease or worry about upcoming events and is common before
clinicals or exams. Depression and apathy involve low mood or lack of interest; delirium is an
acute change in cognition.
,ESTUDYR
4. Which item describes “alternate item format” on modern nursing exams?
A. Traditional single best-answer multiple choice only.
B. Question types that are not just multiple choice (e.g., drag-and-drop, select all that
apply). ✅
C. Oral viva voce examinations only.
D. Essay questions only.
Rationale: Alternate item formats refer to non-traditional question types used to assess applied
skills and reasoning (e.g., SATA, drag-and-drop, hotspot), not solely essays or oral exams.
5. The Next Generation NCLEX (NGN) was developed to:
A. Shorten the test length without changing content.
B. Replace clinical rotations with online tests.
C. Test real-life thinking and decision-making (clinical judgement). ✅
D. Focus only on pharmacology.
Rationale: NGN emphasizes clinical judgment and real-world decision-making through case
scenarios and new item types. It is not intended to replace clinical experience or focus solely on
one content area.
6. Which best defines “clinical judgment” in nursing practice?
A. Following orders without thinking.
B. Memorizing protocols only.
C. The nurse’s ability to notice, think, and act correctly for the patient. ✅
D. Delegating all tasks to other staff.
Rationale: Clinical judgment is the integrated process of recognizing cues, analyzing them,
making decisions, taking actions, and evaluating outcomes to provide safe patient care. It
requires thinking, not rote following of orders.
7. Which term best describes “careful, logical thinking to solve problems”?
A. Hindsight
B. Impulsivity
, ESTUDYR
C. Critical thinking. ✅
D. Intuition
Rationale: Critical thinking is the deliberate process of analyzing and evaluating information to
make reasoned decisions. Intuition can support decision-making but lacks the explicit logical
steps required for critical thinking.
8. A nurse must choose between several treatment options. Which process is this?
A. Data collection
B. Decision-making. ✅
C. Delegation
D. Documentation
Rationale: Decision-making involves selecting the best action among alternatives based on
available information. Data collection is preparatory; delegation and documentation are
different nursing functions.
9. Which organization is responsible for creating the NCLEX exam?
A. American Nurses Association (ANA)
B. National League for Nursing (NLN)
C. NCSBN (National Council of State Boards of Nursing). ✅
D. WHO (World Health Organization)
Rationale: The NCSBN develops and administers the NCLEX; ANA and NLN are important
nursing organizations but do not create licensure exams.
10. “Cognitive skills/processes” in clinical judgment refer to:
A. The physical tasks of patient care only.
B. Emotional responses during stress.
C. The six steps your brain uses to think through a nursing situation. ✅
D. Medication calculation only.
Rationale: Cognitive processes refer to the mental steps—such as recognizing cues, analyzing,
prioritizing hypotheses, generating solutions, taking actions, and evaluating outcomes—used in
clinical reasoning, not just physical tasks.
