Every question below is written in current NCLEX-PN style and mapped to a Client Needs area on the 2026 PN test plan. Nothing is hidden — the answer, the reasoning, and the study tip are all here. Work them the way you would work the exam: read the last sentence of the stem first, predict your answer, then check.
Tap an answer and it tells you right away whether you were right. These are deliberately light — a mind refresh between study sessions, not the full workout.
Precautions, PPE and error prevention — high-yield on every form.
A client has Clostridioides difficile. Which protective equipment and hand hygiene method are correct?
Which client requires airborne precautions?
A nurse sustains a needlestick injury. What is the correct first action?
Rapid-fire med safety checks you should answer without hesitating.
Before giving digoxin, the nurse checks the apical pulse for one full minute. The nurse holds the dose and notifies the provider when the rate is:
Which instruction is priority for a client starting metformin?
A client taking lisinopril develops lip and tongue swelling. What should the nurse do first?
Emergency positions and first actions — the reflexes NCLEX loves.
The best position for a client in hypovolemic shock is:
A client suddenly becomes dyspneic while a central line is infusing. The nurse suspects an air embolism and should:
Priority teaching for a client learning colostomy care:
Prevention and screening facts every candidate should carry in.
Which immunizations should the nurse encourage for a healthy 68-year-old?
Priority home teaching to prevent falls for an older adult:
A teen says exams and sports feel overwhelming. The best first suggestion is:
Therapeutic communication in one breath — answer, then explain.
A client newly diagnosed with cancer says, "I feel fine. The tests must be wrong." The nurse recognizes this as:
A client with schizophrenia says, "The voices tell me to hurt myself." The nurse's priority is to:
The best response to a frightened preoperative client is:
Daily-care essentials — mobility, skin, nutrition, swallowing.
When repositioning an immobile client every two hours, the nurse should:
Which food choice is highest in fiber for a client with constipation?
For a client with dysphagia, the priority during meals is:
The PN-specific rule the exam rewards: collect data, escalate, don't exceed scope.
Which task can the PN delegate to an assistive personnel?
A PN is caring for a client on a continuous heparin infusion. Which action is within PN scope?
The PN receives an order that appears to exceed their scope. The first action is:
These quick drills keep your mind fresh, but exam-day readiness needs full-scale material: complete topic depth, Next Gen case practice, printable workbooks with labeled illustrations and hundreds more questions with full rationales. That lives in the printable 2026 editions and the complete question pack.
The questions above are a free refresher. The full-scale PN material — complete topic depth with labeled illustrations and hundreds more questions with rationales — is in the printable PN 2026 edition on the shop page.
Scope of practice, delegation, dosage calculation, precautions, therapeutic communication and data collection — the areas the PN exam returns to again and again.
The charge nurse is assigning clients on a medical unit. Which client is most appropriate to assign to the LPN/LVN?
Answer: The client with stable COPD receiving scheduled nebulizer treatments.
The LPN/LVN cares for clients whose condition is stable and whose outcomes are predictable. New-onset chest pain and the immediate post-thyroidectomy client are unstable and need registered-nurse assessment; initial teaching about a new device must be initiated by the RN, although the LPN/LVN may reinforce it afterwards.
Study tip: Stable + predictable = LPN. New, unstable, or first-time teaching = RN.
Which tasks may the LPN/LVN assign to unlicensed assistive personnel caring for stable clients? (Select all that apply.)
Answer: Vital signs, assisted ambulation, intake and output, and a bed bath.
Unlicensed assistive personnel may perform standard, unchanging tasks on stable clients. Reinforcing teaching requires a licensed nurse, and evaluating the effect of a medication is nursing judgement that cannot be assigned.
Study tip: If the task needs teaching, judgement, or evaluation, it cannot go to a UAP.
Before administering digoxin 0.125 mg orally to an older adult, which finding requires the LPN/LVN to hold the dose and notify the registered nurse?
Answer: Apical pulse of 52 beats per minute.
Digoxin slows conduction, and an apical rate below 60 beats per minute in an adult is the standard parameter for holding the dose and reporting. The blood pressure and potassium are within expected limits; a different-looking tablet should be verified but is not the priority hold parameter.
Study tip: Count the apical pulse for a full minute before every digoxin dose.
A client is admitted with suspected pulmonary tuberculosis. Which action should the LPN/LVN take first?
Answer: Negative-pressure room with an N95 respirator worn on entry.
Tuberculosis requires airborne precautions: an airborne-infection isolation room with negative pressure, the door kept closed, and a fit-tested N95 respirator for every person entering. A surgical mask on the client is used only for transport.
Study tip: Airborne = private negative-pressure room, door closed, N95 on the nurse.
Which actions should the LPN/LVN take when caring for a client on the second day after a total hip arthroplasty with a posterior approach? (Select all that apply.)
Answer: Abduction pillow, hip flexion kept under 90 degrees, and a raised toilet seat.
Posterior-approach precautions prevent dislocation: keep the legs abducted, avoid flexion beyond 90 degrees, and avoid internal rotation and adduction. Low soft chairs force excessive flexion, crossing the legs adducts the hip, and turning is normally toward the unaffected side unless prescribed otherwise.
Study tip: No bending past 90°, no crossing, no twisting inward.
A client newly diagnosed with heart failure says, "I don't see the point in taking all these pills." Which response by the LPN/LVN is most therapeutic?
Answer: "Tell me more about what is making you feel that way."
An open-ended invitation explores the client's feelings and keeps the conversation going. Warning about rehospitalisation is a threat, false reassurance dismisses the concern, and promising a medication change is outside scope and may not be possible.
Study tip: Therapeutic answers explore feelings; they never advise, reassure, or judge.
The LPN/LVN reviews morning laboratory results for four clients. Which value should be reported to the registered nurse first?
Answer: Serum potassium 2.8 mEq/L.
Potassium of 2.8 mEq/L is critically low and, combined with a loop diuretic, places the client at immediate risk of life-threatening dysrhythmias. The other values are abnormal but expected for the clinical picture and are not immediately dangerous.
Study tip: Potassium outside 3.5–5.0 mEq/L is an escalate-now value every time.
A child weighing 22 kg is prescribed amoxicillin 40 mg/kg/day orally divided into three equal doses. The suspension is supplied as 250 mg/5 mL. How many millilitres should the LPN/LVN administer per dose?
Answer: 5.9 mL per dose.
40 mg/kg × 22 kg = 880 mg per day. Divided into three doses gives 293.3 mg per dose. 293.3 mg ÷ 250 mg × 5 mL = 5.87 mL, rounded to 5.9 mL.
Study tip: Total daily dose first, then divide by frequency, then convert to volume.
Which findings in an older adult receiving insulin should the LPN/LVN recognise as possible hypoglycaemia? (Select all that apply.)
Answer: Confusion, cool clammy skin, tremors with hunger, and tachycardia.
Hypoglycaemia produces adrenergic signs (diaphoresis, tremor, tachycardia, hunger) and neuroglycopenic signs (confusion, slurred speech), and in older adults the neurological picture often comes first. Fruity breath and Kussmaul respirations belong to diabetic ketoacidosis, a hyperglycaemic emergency.
Study tip: Cold and clammy, needs candy. Hot and dry, sugar high.
Which statement by a client scheduled for a colonoscopy indicates that reinforced teaching has been effective?
Answer: "I will finish the whole bowel preparation even if my stools are already clear."
The full preparation is completed as prescribed so the entire bowel is visualised. Solid food is withheld, clear liquids are usually permitted until several hours before, and sedation means the client must have a ride home.
Study tip: Sedation always means arranged transport home — a frequent PN teaching item.
The September 2026 question pack covers every Client Needs category for both the RN and the PN test plan, including Next Gen case studies, bow-tie, matrix, cloze and highlight items, each with the answer, a full rationale, and a study tip. One payment, yours to keep.