Three originals from the Nurstride bank. Answer first, then open the rationale.
What makes a practice question useful
A good practice question has one client, one situation and one decision, options that are parallel in form, and a rationale that explains why each option is right or wrong, not only the correct one. Every item in Nurstride is written from the public NCSBN test plan and standard references, never copied from any bank or exam, and every one carries that kind of rationale.
The app goes further than a list: it picks each next question at your level, follows the test plan's category shares, brings back what you missed on a spaced schedule, and lets you ask a tutor about the rationale you just read. The free level includes 75 questions, two case studies and one Readiness Check; nothing to pay and nothing to install.
Three questions to try
Question 1 · Basic Care and Comfort
The nurse is teaching a client with a right ankle fracture who may not bear weight on the right leg how to climb stairs with crutches. Which instruction is correct?
“Step up with your left leg first, then bring the crutches and your right leg up to the same step.”
“Step up with your right leg first, then bring the crutches and your left leg up.”
“Move both crutches up to the step first, then step up with your left leg.”
“Go up the stairs backward to protect your ankle.”
Show the answer and rationale
Answer: A. Going up stairs, the unaffected leg leads because it has to lift the body; the crutches and the affected leg follow. Going down, the crutches and the affected leg go first and the good leg follows. The crutches always stay with the injured leg.
A Correct: good leg up first, then crutches with the bad leg.
B Leading with the non-weight-bearing leg would require bearing weight on it.
C Crutches first on the way up leaves the client leaning forward unsupported.
D Backward stair climbing is unsafe and unnecessary.
Takeaway: Up with the good, down with the bad; the crutches travel with the bad leg.
Question 2 · Health Promotion and Maintenance
The nurse presses a thumb over the client's tibia for 5 seconds and observes a 6 mm indentation that takes about 30 seconds to disappear. How should the nurse document this finding?
3+ pitting edema
1+ pitting edema
Non-pitting edema
4+ pitting edema
Show the answer and rationale
Answer: A. Pitting edema is graded by the depth of the pit and the time it takes to rebound: 1+ is about 2 mm with immediate rebound, 2+ about 4 mm with rebound in a few seconds, 3+ about 6 mm with rebound in 10 to 30 seconds, and 4+ about 8 mm with rebound longer than 30 seconds. A 6 mm pit lasting 30 seconds is 3+. Non-pitting edema leaves no indentation.
A Correct: 6 mm with a 30-second rebound.
B 1+ is a barely perceptible 2 mm pit.
C The indentation makes it pitting.
D 4+ is about 8 mm with a rebound longer than 30 seconds.
Takeaway: Edema grading: 2, 4, 6, 8 mm equals 1+ to 4+, with rebound time rising at each step.
Question 3 · Management of Care
A caller identifying himself as a client's employer asks the nurse for the client's diagnosis and expected discharge date. Which response is appropriate?
“I am not able to share any information about patients. You may contact the client directly.”
“The client has pneumonia and should go home in 2 days.”
“I can confirm the client is here but cannot give the diagnosis.”
“Let me check with the client's family and call you back.”
Show the answer and rationale
Answer: A. Health information is released only with the client's authorization or as the law specifically allows. An employer has no right to any of it, and even confirming admission can be a breach unless the client has agreed to be listed in the facility directory. The nurse declines without confirming or denying.
A Correct: decline, and refer the caller to the client.
B Disclosing diagnosis and plans to an employer is a serious breach.
C Confirming presence may itself violate the client's directory preference.
D Family cannot authorize disclosure for a competent client.
Takeaway: Unknown caller: share nothing, confirm nothing, refer to the client.
Common questions
Are these questions from the real NCLEX?
No. Real exam items are confidential and using them is prohibited. These are original questions written from the public test plan and standard references.
How many free questions does Nurstride include?
75 questions, two case studies and one Readiness Check at the free level. Full access is $20 a month.
Updated 2026-10-18. Written by the Nurstride team from the public NCSBN test plan and candidate materials; not affiliated with NCSBN.