• 59 questions

Nursing Process NCLEX Questions

Unofficial NCLEX-style questions on each step of the nursing process, and on what to do first.

In the CURE hierarchy, how is washing a client's hair classified?

Pick an answer, then press Check answer. Then you see Correct or Not quite, with the reason. Keys: A to D pick, Enter checks.

Print covers the next 25 questions. Share this set copies a link to the same questions in the same order.

Exam mode: 25 questions, 50 minutes.

More options

Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the National Council of State Boards of Nursing. Bank checked October 12, 2026.

The real exam, as NCSBN describes it

Time limit
300 minutes
In the plan
An integrated process: assessment, analysis, planning, implementation and evaluation. It runs through every category and has no share of its own.
Clinical judgment
Measured by 18 case study items in three sets of six, one item for each of six steps, and by about 10% of the stand-alone items.
Length
At least 85 and at most 150 items, given by computerized adaptive testing. The number depends on your answers.
Breaks
The five hours include all breaks.

Checked October 12, 2026 against 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, NCSBN, effective April 1, 2026 through March 31, 2029. Rules change, so confirm with the agency itself before your test.

NCSBN's own test plans page

Next step NCLEX practice testPediatric NCLEX questions

All 59 questions

Assessment 11

  • A client looks at the floor through the whole interview, and the nurse suspects the client is depressed. What should the nurse do with this impression first? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.3 Assessment, Interviewing. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: assessment.
  • A client was admitted yesterday with pneumonia. This afternoon the nurse listens to the lungs again to recheck that known problem. Which type of assessment is this? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.3 Assessment, Types of Assessments. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: assessment.
  • A client with dementia cannot give a history. Her daughter tells the nurse, "She has eaten almost nothing for two days." What kind of data is the daughter's report? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.3 Assessment, Subjective Assessment Data. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: assessment.
  • A laboratory result that worries the nurse arrives shortly before a prescribed treatment is due. What is the nurse's responsibility? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.3 Assessment, Reviewing Laboratory and Diagnostic Test Results. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: assessment.
  • A resident of a long-term care facility was last fully assessed four months ago. Which type of assessment checks progress on the outcomes set then? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.3 Assessment, Types of Assessments. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: assessment.
  • Assistive personnel measured vital signs on a stable client, as delegated. Who stays responsible for analyzing those findings? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.3 Assessment, Physical Examination. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: assessment.
  • During an admission interview a client says, "The pain in my hip is a 7 out of 10." How does the nurse classify this finding? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.3 Assessment, Subjective Assessment Data. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: assessment.
  • In the NCSBN Clinical Judgment Measurement Model, which skill lines up with the assessment step of the nursing process? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.2 Basic Concepts, Table 4.2, Comparison of the NCJMM to the Nursing Process. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: assessment.
  • The medication list in the chart does not match what the client says they take at home. What should the nurse do? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.3 Assessment, Interviewing. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: assessment.
  • Which finding from a morning assessment is objective data? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.3 Assessment, Objective Assessment Data. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: assessment.
  • Which type of assessment does the nurse carry out at every client encounter to check level of consciousness, airway, breathing and circulation? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.3 Assessment, Types of Assessments. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: assessment.

Analysis and nursing diagnosis 10

  • A care plan reads: "Constipation related to low fluid intake as evidenced by hard stools every four days." Which part is the etiology? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.4 Diagnosis, Establishing Nursing Diagnosis Statements. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: analysis.
  • A client with high blood pressure says, "I'd like to find out how to manage this better at home." Which type of nursing diagnosis does this statement support? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.4 Diagnosis, Types of Nursing Diagnoses. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: analysis.
  • A nurse compares a client's morning heart rate of 112 with the 70s charted all week and judges it unexpected for this client. Which clinical judgment skill is the nurse using? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.2 Basic Concepts, Table 4.2, Comparison of the NCJMM to the Nursing Process. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: analysis.
  • A student writes: "Excess fluid volume related to heart failure." What is wrong with this statement? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.4 Diagnosis, Establishing Nursing Diagnosis Statements. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: analysis.
  • A weak, unsteady client has not fallen. Which type of nursing diagnosis fits, and what must support it? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.4 Diagnosis, Types of Nursing Diagnoses. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: analysis.
  • After an assessment the nurse groups together a raised blood pressure, crackles in the lungs, a weight gain and swollen ankles. What is this step of analysis called? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.4 Diagnosis, Clustering Information/Seeing Patterns/Making Hypotheses. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: analysis.
  • Heart failure is the medical diagnosis for both of two clients on a unit. Why may their nursing diagnoses differ? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.4 Diagnosis, Nursing Diagnoses vs. Medical Diagnoses. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: analysis.
  • What does the nursing textbook used for this page say about NANDA-I diagnosis labels and the NCLEX? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.4 Diagnosis, NANDA Diagnoses and the NCLEX. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: analysis.
  • Which of these is a nursing diagnosis, not a medical diagnosis? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.4 Diagnosis, Nursing Diagnoses vs. Medical Diagnoses. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: analysis.
  • Which type of nursing diagnosis describes a group of nursing diagnoses that occur together and respond to similar interventions? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.4 Diagnosis, Types of Nursing Diagnoses. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: analysis.

Planning and outcomes 12

  • A care plan reads: "The client will walk to the nurses' station twice a day and will bathe without help by discharge." What should the nurse change? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.5 Outcome Identification, Specific. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: planning.
  • A care plan states: "The nurse will give the scheduled antibiotic as prescribed." Which type of nursing intervention is this? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.6 Planning, Dependent Nursing Interventions. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: planning.
  • A nurse and a dietitian work out a meal plan together for a client who is losing weight, and the dietitian's advice goes into the care plan. Which type of intervention is this? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.6 Planning, Collaborative Nursing Interventions. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: planning.
  • A standard care plan lists an intervention that the client says they will not accept. What should the nurse do? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.6 Planning, Individualization of Interventions. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: planning.
  • An outcome reads: "The client will lose 10 pounds." Which part of a SMART outcome is missing? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.5 Outcome Identification, Time Limited. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: planning.
  • "The client will regain independent mobility." How is this statement best described? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.5 Outcome Identification, Expected Outcomes. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: planning.
  • For the diagnosis "Constipation related to low fluid intake", which planned intervention is aimed at the etiology? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.6 Planning, opening. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: planning.
  • The nursing diagnoses for a client are set. What does the nurse do next, before choosing interventions? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.5 Outcome Identification, opening. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: planning.
  • Which activity is indirect care? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.6 Planning, Direct and Indirect Care. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: planning.
  • Which expected outcome is measurable? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.5 Outcome Identification, Measurable. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: planning.
  • Which of these is an independent nursing intervention? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.6 Planning, Independent Nursing Interventions. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: planning.
  • Which statement is written as a client-centered expected outcome? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.5 Outcome Identification, Client-Centered. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: planning.

Implementation 8

  • A client is booked for surgery this afternoon. Two tasks are waiting: starting the nothing-by-mouth order and teaching about the procedure. Which comes first, and why? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.7 Implementation of Interventions, Prioritizing Implementation of Interventions. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: implementation.
  • A client is short of breath. The nurse raises the head of the bed and starts the oxygen that was prescribed. Which clinical judgment skill is this? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.2 Basic Concepts, Table 4.2, Comparison of the NCJMM to the Nursing Process. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: implementation.
  • A nurse changes a dressing but does not chart it. How is an intervention that was not documented regarded in a court of law? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.7 Implementation of Interventions, Documentation of Interventions. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: implementation.
  • The care plan says the client will sit in a chair for each meal. This morning the client feels faint and the blood pressure is 88/54. What should the nurse do? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.7 Implementation of Interventions, Client Safety. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: implementation.
  • Two interventions would each meet the outcome for a client who has not passed urine since surgery: helping the client stand at the toilet, or inserting a catheter. All else being equal, which does the nurse try first? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.7 Implementation of Interventions, Prioritizing Implementation of Interventions. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: implementation.
  • Under which standard of the nursing process do the American Nurses Association standards place health teaching and health promotion? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.7 Implementation of Interventions, Coordination of Care and Health Teaching/Health Promotion. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: implementation.
  • Which task from a care plan should the registered nurse keep and not delegate to assistive personnel? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.7 Implementation of Interventions, Delegation of Interventions. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: implementation.
  • Why does the nurse keep reassessing the client while carrying out the care plan? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.7 Implementation of Interventions, opening. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: implementation.

Evaluation 7

  • An expected outcome was not reached by its date. Which two reasons does the textbook give as the common ones? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.5 Outcome Identification, Realistic and Relevant. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: evaluation.
  • At the end of the time frame the nurse reassesses the client and compares the findings with the expected outcomes. Which step of the nursing process is this? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.2 Basic Concepts, Evaluation. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: evaluation.
  • Evaluation shows that an outcome was not met. What does the cyclical nature of the nursing process mean for the nurse's next step? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.8 Evaluation, opening. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: evaluation.
  • How does the 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan describe the clinical judgment step "evaluate outcomes"? 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, NCSBN, Clinical Judgment. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: evaluation.
  • How often should the nurse reassess a client as part of evaluation? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.8 Evaluation, opening. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: evaluation.
  • Three expected outcomes were set for one nursing diagnosis. By the deadline two have been achieved and one has not. How does the nurse record this, and what follows? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.8 Evaluation, opening. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: evaluation.
  • Which question belongs to the evaluation step? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.2 Basic Concepts, Evaluation. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Integrated Processes, Nursing Process: evaluation.

Priority setting 11

  • A client admitted after a fall is bleeding through a leg dressing and is crying about who will feed her dog. By Maslow's hierarchy, which need does the nurse meet first? Open RN Nursing Management and Professional Concepts 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 2.3 Tools for Prioritizing, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Management of Care (Establishing Priorities) and Clinical Judgment (prioritize hypotheses).
  • A client has unstable vital signs, a high-risk intravenous medication and needs frequent nursing assessment. Which term describes this client? Open RN Nursing Management and Professional Concepts 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 2.3 Tools for Prioritizing, Acuity. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Management of Care (Establishing Priorities) and Clinical Judgment (prioritize hypotheses).
  • A nurse is about to begin discharge teaching when the laboratory phones with a critical result for another client. What should the nurse do first? Open RN Nursing Management and Professional Concepts 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 2.3 Tools for Prioritizing, Diagnostic Information. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Management of Care (Establishing Priorities) and Clinical Judgment (prioritize hypotheses).
  • As a shift begins, two clients say they are in pain. One was admitted this morning with a new kidney stone. The other has had arthritis pain for years, at its usual level. With no other information, whom does the nurse assess first? Open RN Nursing Management and Professional Concepts 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 2.3 Tools for Prioritizing, Acute Versus Chronic Conditions. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Management of Care (Establishing Priorities) and Clinical Judgment (prioritize hypotheses).
  • Away from the hospital, a nurse finds a person who is not breathing inside a burning car. As the textbook applies Maslow's hierarchy, what comes first? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.4 Diagnosis, Prioritization. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Management of Care (Establishing Priorities) and Clinical Judgment (prioritize hypotheses).
  • In the CURE hierarchy, how is washing a client's hair classified? Open RN Nursing Management and Professional Concepts 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 2.3 Tools for Prioritizing, CURE. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Management of Care (Establishing Priorities) and Clinical Judgment (prioritize hypotheses).
  • In the CURE hierarchy, where do a scheduled medication round and shift physical assessments fall? Open RN Nursing Management and Professional Concepts 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 2.3 Tools for Prioritizing, CURE. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Management of Care (Establishing Priorities) and Clinical Judgment (prioritize hypotheses).
  • One client has mild soreness at an incision the day after surgery. Another, admitted with a sprained knee, has a new fever. Using expected and unexpected findings as the cue, who gets priority? Open RN Nursing Management and Professional Concepts 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 2.3 Tools for Prioritizing, Unexpected Versus Expected Conditions. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Management of Care (Establishing Priorities) and Clinical Judgment (prioritize hypotheses).
  • Two call lights go on together. One client needs help to reach the bathroom at once. The other says, "I can't catch my breath and my heart is racing." Whom does the nurse see first? Open RN Nursing Management and Professional Concepts 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 2.3 Tools for Prioritizing, ABCs. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Management of Care (Establishing Priorities) and Clinical Judgment (prioritize hypotheses).
  • Which factors does the 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan name for the step "prioritize hypotheses"? 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, NCSBN, Clinical Judgment. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Management of Care (Establishing Priorities) and Clinical Judgment (prioritize hypotheses).
  • Which statement about ranking actual and risk nursing diagnoses is correct? Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e (WisTech Open, CC BY 4.0), 4.4 Diagnosis, Prioritization. Outline: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, Management of Care (Establishing Priorities) and Clinical Judgment (prioritize hypotheses).

How it works

These 59 nursing process NCLEX questions are our own: one set for each step and one on priority setting. They are unofficial, not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN).

Read the full guide

What the test plan says

The 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan, read October 12, 2026, lists the nursing process among its integrated processes. It has no share of its own: it runs through every client needs category.

Timing

Exam mode asks 25 of the 59 in 50 minutes: two minutes each, the pace of 150 items in five hours.

Where the answers come from

Each answer names the section of an open nursing textbook it was read in. Two rest on the wording of the test plan itself. No review book was used.

  • Place each question in its step first: gathering data, making sense of it, planning, acting, or judging the result.

Questions and answers

What are the 5 steps of the nursing process on the NCLEX?

Assessment, analysis, planning, implementation and evaluation, in the words of the 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan. The textbook cited on these questions teaches six, remembered as ADOPIE: assessment, diagnosis, outcome identification, planning, implementation and evaluation.

Are nursing diagnoses on the NCLEX?

The open textbook cited on these questions says knowledge of specific NANDA-I diagnoses is not assessed. Analyzing cues, clustering data, forming hypotheses and ranking them are parts of clinical judgment that the exam does measure.

How does the nursing process relate to clinical judgment?

The test plan lists six clinical judgment steps: recognize cues, analyze cues, prioritize hypotheses, generate solutions, take action and evaluate outcomes. The cited textbook sets them beside assessment, analysis, planning, implementation and evaluation in one table.

Are these real NCLEX nursing process questions?

No. The test plan says disclosing exam items is a violation of law. All 59 are our own, and none repeats or rewords an item of the exam, of NCSBN's samples or of a review book.

How do you answer NCLEX priority questions?

The cited chapters give these tools: Maslow's hierarchy, airway, breathing and circulation, acute before chronic, unexpected before expected, and actual before potential problems, with the caution that a risk can sometimes rank highest.

More tests

Show 7 more

Browse Safety and Trades