The NCLEX-PN (National Council Licensure Examination for Practical Nurses) is a nursing certification awarded by NCSBN.
NCSBN publishes the official exam outline, eligibility rules and fees — see NCSBN's official page before you book.
In our 1019-card NCLEX-PN deck the heaviest topics are Pathology (41%), Management (17%), Procedures (11%) — that is how this deck is weighted, not the official blueprint, so use it to plan practice and check NCSBN's exam outline for the real weighting. This guide shows where the material gets hardest, which topics to practise first, and a 5-step plan built on active recall.
Start with the free NCLEX-PN practice test
20 mixed questions with answers — find your weak topics before you plan around them →
Based on the 1019 flashcards in our NCLEX-PN deck. Use it to budget study time, then confirm the official blueprint with the certifying body below.
| Topic | Cards | Share of deck | Practice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pathology | 420 | 41% | Free questions → |
| Management | 170 | 17% | Free questions → |
| Procedures | 110 | 11% | Free questions → |
| Pharmacology | 109 | 11% | Free questions → |
| Basics | 90 | 9% | Free questions → |
| Assessment | 50 | 5% | Free questions → |
| Diagnostics | 40 | 4% | Free questions → |
| Safety | 10 | 1% | in the full deck |
Our NCLEX-PN cards carry difficulty ratings. The spread tells you how much of the deck is quick recall versus genuinely demanding:
0
Easy cards
0% of deck
510
Medium cards
50% of deck
508
Hard cards
50% of deck
These are genuine cards from the heaviest-weighted topics above. Answer each one before you reveal it — that is what active recall means in practice.
A patient with a valid Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order tells the LPN\, I've changed my mind. I want to live if my heart stops. What is the LPN's priority action?
Show answer →Immediately honor the patient's verbal request to revoke the DNR and notify the healthcare provider to update the medical orders. Patients have the legal right to revoke or change Advance Directives at any time\, regardless of written status. Strategy: Verbal revocation is legally binding in the clinical setting; the LPN must ensure the entire team is notified immediately.
An RN has just completed initial teaching for a patient with a new colostomy. What is the appropriate role for the LPN? A) Modifying the teaching plan. B) Reinforcing the steps of bag changes. C) Evaluating the patient's readiness to learn. D) Choosing the educational materials.
Show answer →B is correct. LPNs reinforce teaching that has already been established by the RN. They cannot create the plan, choose the materials, or perform the initial evaluation of learning readiness. Strategy: LPN = Reinforcement; RN = Initial Teaching/Evaluation.
During the nursing process, which step is the LPN primarily responsible for contributing to, rather than initiating independently? A) Evaluation of the entire care plan. B) Formulating the initial nursing diagnosis. C) Data collection and reporting. D) Developing the original goals.
Show answer →C is correct. The LPN scope focuses on data collection (vitals, physical findings) and reporting to the RN. The RN is responsible for the ANA steps: Assessment (initial/comprehensive), Nursing Diagnosis, and Analysis. The LPN contributes to the plan but does not create the framework.
Eligibility, fees, question counts and the current blueprint live on the official NCSBN site (linked below). Print the outline — it is the map for everything that follows.
These 3 topics alone account for roughly 69% of our 1019-card NCLEX-PN deck. Time spent here pays off more than anywhere else.
Answer questions before flipping to the answer — that struggle is what builds retention. Start with the 30 free NCLEX-PN cards, then work through the full deck one category at a time.
After a full pass, re-drill only the cards you missed. Small categories are quick wins — closing a weak topic can be an afternoon's work.
Our deck rates 508 cards as hard. If those feel comfortable in your final two weeks, you are studying above test level.
Put the plan into practice
Every topic in the table above, with progress tracking across devices.
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Try 30 free NCLEX-PN cards firstWeight your time toward the biggest topics: in our 1019-card NCLEX-PN deck, Pathology has 420 cards (41%), Management has 170 cards (17%), Procedures has 110 cards (11%). Always cross-check against the official NCSBN exam outline.
Question counts, time limits and fees change — always confirm them in the official NCSBN handbook (linked on this page). For practice, our NCLEX-PN deck has 1019 question-and-answer flashcards covering the listed topics.
Difficulty is personal, but our deck's ratings give a sense of the spread: 0 easy, 510 medium and 508 hard cards. If the hard cards feel manageable, you are in good shape.
Try the 30 free NCLEX-PN flashcards — no sign-up needed. If the format works for you, the full 1019-card deck is a one-time $7.
Eligibility rules, fees, question counts and passing standards are set by the certifying body and change over time. Always confirm them at the source before you apply or schedule your exam — our flashcards are practice material, not the official handbook.