NCLEX is a nationwide examination for the licensing of nurses in the United States and Canada since 1982 and 2015, respectively. The NCLEX-RN exam is organized according to the Client Needs framework. There are four major categories and eight subcategories: Management of Care, Safety and Infection Control, Health Promotion and Maintenance, Psychosocial Integrity, Basic Care and Comfort, Pharmacological and Parenteral Therapies, Reduction of Risk Potential and Physiological Adaptation.

The NCLEX is designed to test knowledge, skills and abilities essential to the safe and effective practice of nursing at the entry level. The NCLEX-RN is a variable length, computerized, adaptive test. The NCLEX is not offered in paper-and-pencil or oral examination formats. The NCLEX-RN examination can be anywhere from 75 to 265 items. Of these items, 15 are pretest items that are not scored. Regardless of the number of items administered, the time limit for this examination is six hours.