NCLEX - Indiana Nurse Licensing Exam
NCLEX® stands for the National Council Licensure Examination. It is a standard exam used in every state in the USA. This exam is required by the Indiana State Board of Nursing in order to practice as a nurse. Graduates of LPN and RN programs must pass the NCLEX exam to obtain a practicing license. The exam is a way to ensure public safety by testing the knowledge of future healthcare practicing professionals. Candidates who pass this exam possess the required knowledge for entry-level, safe and effective practice of nursing.
In Indiana, applications for licensure by examination must be completed and submitted by each candidate to the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency. The registration for the NCLEX examination must be completed according to the instructions in the NCLEX Candidate Bulletin. Both the Indiana licensure application and the NCLEX exam registration process must be completed before the Indiana State Board of Nursing can grant eligibility to sit for the NCLEX examination.
Since July 1, 1995, newly graduated nurses can no longer receive temporary permits and therefore graduate nurses are prohibited to work as nurses until they take the state examination and receive a permanent license to practice nursing. The law applies to both registered and practical nursing graduates. If you are a nursing school graduate but not yet licensed as an RN or LPN, you are not allowed to practice the responsibilities outlined in the Nurse Practice Act. Unlicensed individuals who perform LPN or RN roles are at risk for charges of practicing nursing without a license. As a graduated nurse you can still be empolyed by health care organizations but only as unlicensed assistive personnel and you may perform only those tasks that are delegated and supervised by a Registered Nurse. For further information, please refer to the Indiana Nurse Practice Act, or contact the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency.
There are two types of NCLEX exams: NCLEX-RN and NCLEX-PN. Graduates of RN programs need to pass the NCLEX-RN exam while graduates of LPN programs need to pass the NCLEX-PN examination. The NCLEX-RN exam consists of a maximum of 265 questions out of which a candidate must answer a minimum of 75. Sometimes the test ends after the 75th question and sometimes it may continue for all of the 265 questions. The NCLEX-PN exam has a total of 205 questions and the minimum one is required to answer is 85. As with the NCLEX-RN exam, the NCLEX-PN might continue to ask questions until the last item is answered before making a decision of pass or fail.
The RN exam is more difficult than the LPN exam but both tests are adapted to the material studied in the respective nursing program. Both types of NCLEX exams are taken using Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT). Each question appears separately on a computer monitor and one must answer that test question before moving on to the next. There is a time limit for the test, with the NCLEX-RN having a six hour time period and the NCLEX-PN a five hour window for completion. The time limits for each exam include break periods and for a helpful tutorial at the beginning of the test. One must use the allocated exam time carefully in case the test continues to administer questions after the lower limit indicated above has been reached. It is important to avoid running out of time on the NCLEX exam because in that case the candidate will fail the exam.
Each NCLEX test is unique. The questions on the exam are pulled from a comprehensive database and the difficulty level of each question depends on the correctness of the answer for the previous question asked. For example if your first exam question was answered correctly then the computer retrieves a second question of greater difficulty. If the question is answered incorrectly then the next question is of less difficulty. This is called adaptive testing because the computer administers questions such that it can determine a candidate's level of knowledge. Depending on the correctness of one's answers and on the difficulty of the questions, the computer program may be able to determine with certainty that your knowledge is sufficient after the minimum number of questions (75 for RN and 85 for LPN) or it might need to continue asking questions up to the maximum number of items.
When the computer program is certain of one's level of knowledge (pass or fail) it will shut down. By shutting down, the program only indicates that one might have passed or might have failed the exam. The computer only shuts down the testing program when the software determined that you either have the required knowledge level to pass the exam or you need further study.
Question items on the NCLEX are mainly multiple-choice type and provide four answers to choose from. Other types of question may be fill in the blanks, or may ask one to point to an area on a picture. There are questions which have more than one correct answer and in this case one must select all the answers that apply. Upon completion of a RN or LPN program one needs to apply to the Indiana Board of Nursing to take the NCLEX exam.
Specific forms need to be completed and the Indiana Board of Nursing decides if one is eligible to sit for the NCLEX exam. The eligible candidate will receive a list of facilities which administer the test and instructions on scheduling the examination. There is a fee one needs to pay when applying to the Board of Nursing as well as another one for the NCLEX exam itself. The current fee for the NCLEX exam is $200.00 payable to the National Council of State Boards of Nursing in the form of a certified check, cashier's check or money order. The RN or LPN graduate can reschedule the NCLEX exam date without additional fees but this must be done a few days before the scheduled exam date. For rescheduling the NCLEX contact the testing center and set another date for the exam. In Indiana, NCLEX testing is available six days a week, except Sundays and holidays.
The results of the NCLEX test are not given immediately. The wait period for the official NCLEX results in Indiana is usually at least three weeks from the date you took the examination. Successful candidates will receive a notification letter and a permanent nursing license while unsuccessful candidates will receive a notification letter and an application to retake the NCLEX examination. Please note that NCLEX results are never given over the telephone but unofficial NCLEX results may be seen online within a couple of days (a fee is required). Those who do not pass the NCLEX exam receive a report of their performance which points out the topics where one did well and those that need improvement. For retaking the test one must wait between 45 to 50 days as mandated by the Indiana Board of Nursing.
After three failures of the NCLEX-RN or NCLEX-PN examination you must successfully complete a Indiana Board of Nursing approved remedial training program. Remedial training programs include classroom and clinical components and you must submit proof of completion when applying for the fourth attempt. If you fail the NCLEX exam you will have to reapply by submitting a new application to the Indiana Board of Nursing as well as a retake fee. You will also have to reapply for the NCLEX examination to Pearson and pay a non-refundable fee.
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