This bulletin contains information for all registrations and scheduling of examination appointments beginning January 1, 2006. Do not discard before receiving your test results. You may also download this information from www.ncsbn.org. 2006 NCLEX® Examination Candidate Bulletin QUESTIONS & ANSWERS ABOUT THE NCLEX® EXAMINATIONS Questions About... Answers • Registering to take the NCLEX® examination Visit: NCLEX® Candidate Web Site, • Authorization to Test (ATT) http://www.pearsonvue.com/nclex. • Lost Authorization to Test Call: NCLEX Candidate Services • Acceptable forms of identification • Comments about the test center United States – Call at (toll-free) 1.866.49NCLEX (1.866.496.2539), Monday - Friday, 7 am to 7 pm, U.S. Central Time. Asia Pacific Region – Call NCLEX Candidate Services in Sydney, Australia, at (pay number) +61.2.9320.5454, Monday - Friday, 7 am to 7 pm, Australian Eastern Time. Guam – Call NCLEX Candidate Services in Sydney, Australia, at (toll-free) 1.866.895.9016, Monday - Friday, 7 am to 7 pm, Australian Eastern Time. Europe, Middle East, Africa – Call NCLEX Candidate Services, at (pay number) +3130 287 4990, Monday - Friday 8 am - 6 pm, Central European Time. All other countries not listed above – Call (pay number) 1.952.681.3815, Monday - Friday, 7 am to 7 pm, Central Time. Candidates with hearing impairments who use a Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) – Call the U.S.A. Relay Service at (toll-free) 1.800.627.3529 or the Canada & International Inbound relay service at (pay number) 605.224.1837. These services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Write: NCLEX Examination Program Pearson Professional Testing 5601 Green Valley Drive Bloomington, MN 55437-1099 E-mail: [email protected]. • NCLEX examination development Visit: NCSBN Web site, http://www.ncsbn.org • General NCLEX examination information Write: National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. • Unresolved concerns related to examination NCLEX Examinations Department administration 111 E. Wacker, Suite 2900 Chicago, Illinois 60601-4277 Call NCLEX Examinations Department: 866.293.9600 Fax NCLEX Examinations Department: 312.279.1036 E-mail: [email protected] • Name or address changes Write or call your board of nursing. • Name corrections on your Authorization to Test (ATT) • Licensure • Endorsement • Interpretation of results • Candidate Performance Report • Scheduling an appointment to test Wait until you receive your Authorization to Test. • Rescheduling or unscheduling your testing Follow directions on pages 7-9 of this bulletin. appointment • Examination results Examination results are sent to you by your board of nursing. Wait a minimum of four weeks following your examination for your results to arrive in the mail. JANUARY 2006 Table of Contents Table of Contents . 1 What is the NCLEX® Examination?. 2 Examination Fee and Registration Information . 2 Overview of the Examination . 2 Directions for Completing the NCLEX® Examination Registration Form . 3 No Refunds . 3 Failure to Pay . 3 Acceptable Identification. 4 Procedures for Requesting Special Accommodations . 5 Sample Name Entry on an NCLEX® Registration Form . 5 Sample Address Entry on an NCLEX® Registration Form . 6 How to Schedule Your NCLEX® Examination Appointment . 7 Remember…. 7 Candidates with Special Needs . 7 Schedule for Changing Your Appointment . 8 Group Scheduling. 8 Procedure for Changing Your NCLEX® Examination Appointment. 9 Personal Identification and Examination Security. 9 Test Center Regulations . 9 The Day of the Examination . 10 Grounds for Dismissal or Cancellation of Results . 10 Confidentiality . 11 Additional Information about the NCLEX® Examination . 12 Using the Computer. 12 NCLEX Examination Tutorial . 12 Developing the Examination . 13 The NCLEX® Test Plan . 14 Client Needs Categories Covered on the Examination . 14 Definitions . 15 Scoring the NCLEX® Examination . 15 Examination Items . 16 Abbreviations for States, Territories, and Canadian Provinces . 19 International Codes for Countries. 19 Education Program Codes . 20 U.S. and Territories . 20 International. 41 The policies and procedures contained within this Candidate Bulletin are subject to change at any time with or without notice. If you have any questions regarding these changes contact NCSBN at 1-866-293-9600. Candidate results are not reported during any period of time in which the board of nursing to which a candidate has applied for licensure is not a member in good standing of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. (NCSBN). Copyright © 2006 National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Inc. (NCSBN). All rights reserved. NCLEX®, NCLEX-RN® and NCLEX-PN® are registered trademarks of NCSBN and may not be used or reproduced without written permission from NCSBN. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise now known or to be invented) without written permis- sion from NCSBN. Address inquiries in writing to NCSBN Permissions, 111 E. Wacker Drive, Suite 2900, Chicago, IL 60601-4277. NCLEX® EXAMINATION CANDIDATE BULLETIN Overview of the What is the NCLEX® correspondence from Pearson VUE will arrive Examination ONLY by e-mail. If you do not provide an Examination? e-mail address when you register, your corre- In April 1994 nurse licensure spondence from Pearson VUE will arrive candidates began taking the The NCLEX® examination is designed to test ONLY through US mail. National Council Licensure knowledge, skills and abilities essential to the ® If more than two weeks have passed after you Examination (NCLEX ) on a safe and effective practice of nursing at the have submitted a registration for an NCLEX computer at test centers entry level. NCLEX examination results are examination and received confirmation from located across the United an important component used by boards of Pearson VUE, and you have not received an States and its territories. The nursing to make decisions about licensure. ATT, please call Pearson VUE at the appro- change to computerized Only boards of nursing can release NCLEX priate number listed on the inside front cover. adaptive testing (CAT) for the examination results to candidates. nurse licensure examination came about as a result of a The NCLEX examination is administered in decision made in August the United States, American Samoa, the Examination Fee and 1991 by the National Council District of Columbia, Guam, the Northern of State Boards of Nursing Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Registration Information (NCSBN). The NCLEX exami- Islands. The NCLEX examination is also nations are only provided in administered internationally at Pearson Fee Professional Centers. For a complete list of a computerized adaptive The fee for taking the NCLEX® examination testing format. international test centers, please go to is $200. You may also have to pay other fees www.pearsonvue.com/nclex or Pearson Professional Testing for licensure required by the board of nursing www.ncsbn.org.The use of the same exami- in the jurisdiction in which you are applying. provides test development nation by all jurisdictions facilitates licensure and test administration You must check with your board of nursing to by endorsement from one jurisdiction to find out about these fees. If you choose to services for the NCLEX another. Examination. schedule your NCLEX examination at an international test center, you will have to pay Eligibility Requirements an international scheduling fee of $150 plus a To take the NCLEX examination, candidates Value Added Tax (VAT) where applicable. must satisfy these requirements: These fees will be charged when you schedule your examination appointment. J Apply for licensure in the state or territory in which you wish to be licensed. J Meet all of the board of nursing’s eligibili- Registration Time Limit ty requirements to take the NCLEX exam- All NCLEX examination registrations will ination. remain open for a 365-day time period during J Register for the examination. which a board of nursing may determine the candidate’s eligibility. The time period begins Registration Process Overview when the board of nursing receives the candidate’s registration from the test service. 1. Submit an application for licensure to the Once a candidate is made eligible, he or she board of nursing in the state or territory must test within the validity dates printed on where you wish to be licensed. the Authorization to Test (ATT). 2. Register for the NCLEX Examination with Pearson VUE. If the board of nursing is unable to make you 3. Receive Confirmation of Registration eligible within the 365-day time period, you from Pearson VUE. must wait until your current registration 4. The board of nursing makes the candidate expires before re-registering. A candidate may eligible to take the NCLEX. not have two NCLEX examination registra- 5. Receive Authorization to Test (ATT) tions (of the same exam type) open at the from Pearson VUE. same time. If you re-register before your If you choose to provide an e-mail address at current registration expires, your second regis- the time you register for the NCLEX exami- tration will be processed and denied, and the nation (whether by mail, telephone, or fee collected is non-refundable. through the Web), please note that all of your 2 JANUARY 2006 Candidates who are not made eligible by their J Personal checks, cash, foreign currency, No Refunds board of