Editing NCLEX-PN Exam Blueprint (section)

== How the Exam Is Organized ==

The NCLEX-PN is not organized by nursing school course such as medical surgical or pediatrics. It is organized around '''Client Needs''', four major categories, two of which are divided into subcategories. Content from all clinical specialties and all patient ages is distributed across these categories.

Integrated throughout every category are the '''integrated processes''': caring, clinical judgment, the clinical problem-solving process (the nursing process as applied at the practical nurse level, comprising data collection, planning, implementation, and evaluation), communication and documentation, culture and spirituality, and teaching and learning (NCSBN, 2026a).

=== Safe and Effective Care Environment ===

'''Coordinated Care.''' The largest single subcategory on the PN exam. It covers collaboration with the interdisciplinary team, assignment and supervision of unlicensed assistive personnel, receiving and clarifying delegated tasks, advance directives, advocacy, informed consent, confidentiality and HIPAA, ethical practice, legal responsibilities and scope of practice, resource management, continuity of care and handoff, quality improvement, and the chain of command. See [[LPN Delegation and Reporting]] and [[LPN Scope of Practice]].

'''Safety and Infection Prevention and Control.''' Accident and injury prevention, fall precautions, standard precautions and transmission based precautions, surgical asepsis, handling hazardous and infectious materials, home safety, emergency response and disaster planning, ergonomic principles, reporting of incidents and errors, restraints and safety devices, and security plans.

=== Health Promotion and Maintenance ===

Growth and development across the lifespan, aging process, antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum care, newborn care, family planning, expected physical findings, health screening and promotion, data collection techniques, self care, immunizations, and lifestyle choices.

=== Psychosocial Integrity ===

Coping mechanisms, crisis intervention, grief and loss, end of life care, mental health concepts, behavioral interventions, therapeutic communication and therapeutic environment, chemical and other dependencies, abuse and neglect, cultural awareness, religious and spiritual influences, sensory and perceptual alterations, stress management, and support systems.

=== Physiological Integrity ===

'''Basic Care and Comfort.''' Assistance with activities of daily living, mobility and immobility, personal hygiene, nutrition and oral hydration, elimination, rest and sleep, nonpharmacological comfort measures, and palliative care.

'''Pharmacological Therapies.''' Expected actions and outcomes, adverse effects and contraindications, medication administration, dosage calculation, pharmacological pain management, and, within PN scope, the monitoring aspects of parenteral and intravenous therapies. Note that the exam tests the PN scope boundary here, so it commonly asks what the LPN may and may not administer. See [[LPN Skills and Practice Limitations]].

'''Reduction of Risk Potential.''' Recognizing changes in vital signs, laboratory values, and diagnostic test results, potential for complications from procedures and health alterations, therapeutic procedures, and monitoring of conscious sedation and other treatments within scope.

'''Physiological Adaptation.''' Alterations in body systems, basic pathophysiology, fluid and electrolyte imbalances, care of the patient with a medical emergency, unexpected responses to therapies, and radiation therapy.