What to expect from the New Next Generation NCLEX 2023: Changes and Updates

What to expect from the New Next Generation NCLEX 2023: Changes and Updates

The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) is committed to assessing and responding to the quickly changing healthcare environment, which is why they are building Next Generation NCLEX. The NCSBN stated in late August 2019 that it would be updated and changed; hence the Next Generation NCLEX won't be available until 2023. So if you are one of those foreign-educated nurses planning to take the NCLEX and wondering when will nclex change, keep an ear to the ground. We collected the pieces of information you need to know about it.

NGN: Conceptual Changes

Clinical judgment is linked to 46% of all tasks performed by entry-level nurses, according to the NCSBN, yet a recent study has found that rookie nurses lack clinical judgment competence. Only one-fifth of employers are satisfied with new nurses' decision-making ability, and medical errors are the third largest cause of mortality in the United States. In a 2011 study, Saintsing et al. found that nearly half of all rookie nurses make errors in nursing care.

The Next Generation NCLEX will assess clinical judgment skills to counteract these trends. As the NCSBN conducts research and development for the next version of the exam, "clinical judgment" is operationally defined as "the observed outcome of critical thinking and decision-making, an iterative process that leverages nursing knowledge to:

  1. Observe and assess presenting situations
  2. Identify a prioritized client concern
  3. Generate the best possible evidence-based solutions to deliver safe client care

NGN: Item Types

Candidates who took the NCLEX between July 2017 and December 2018 had the option of taking a special research portion that assessed clinical judgment skills. 85% of test-takers chose to take it, and NCSBN used the information to confirm the necessity for an exam modification and verify the validity of new item types.

The following new item types for the Next Generation NCLEX have been finalized:

1. Extended drag-and-drop: Candidates must pair items from two columns in this extended drag-and-drop item.

For example, you might be given a list of clients and a description of their symptoms and after that, you'll need to match room assignments to customer scenarios.

2. Cloze (dropdown): Candidates are given a narrative case study and asked for six responses about the best course of care.

3. Matrix: Candidates must judge the findings by checking appropriate boxes in a supporting matrix after receiving a scenario and client data.

4. Enhanced hot spot: A scenario and client data are also presented in these items. To answer questions, candidates must highlight certain sections of the scenario.

These new items on the NCLEX Next Generation are designed to simulate the job that nurses do daily by assessing applicants' critical thinking, judgment, and decision-making abilities. Despite the fact that clinical knowledge is not expressly examined in any of these question categories, clinical fluency is assumed and essential for success. Candidates took around one minute to complete each item when the NCSBN tested these new item types in 2017-2018.

NGN: Moving forward

The NCSBN is still researching and evaluating data. Research of the technology required to accommodate new question types is of particular interest. For example, cloze question types contain multiple questions within a single item, while certain other question types may not have just a single correct answer. Because present scoring systems cannot effectively score the new question items, the NCLEX scoring structure is also likely to change. The NCSBN strives to solidify the technology that will allow these types of items to be administered and scored efficiently.

Though detailed research for a Next Generation NCLEX-PN has yet to begin, the NCSBN has stated that a new version of the NCLEX-RN and NCLEX for LPN will be released at the same time.

Suppose you're wondering when does nclex change; you can relax and not worry about what the new version will look like because, for the time being, the NCLEX will not change. If you plan on taking it before 2023, continue to study the current edition of the exam and develop an understanding of its structure and content. A bird in the hand is better than two in the bush, so start your NCLEX Application now and achieve your dream career as USRN the soonest with NEAC, your partner for easy medical exams application.

For further inquiries about the requirements, qualifications, and fees for the NCLEX USA Exam Application, please email us at online@applynclex.com.

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