One of the most common mistakes I see people making daily is reading questions too fast and misunderstanding what is being asked. It is important to read each question slowly and thoroughly.

The presence or absence of this skill can make or break you on your actual NCLEX test. There are a few practice questions in particular that our users miss on a daily basis, and it is because they read the question incorrectly.

It is important to carefully take notice of words and phrases such as "follow up" and “needs further teaching” to name a few. These are not difficult questions, but users consistently miss them.

The One Rule: Read every NCLEX question twice before looking at the answer options. The first read tells you the scenario. The second read tells you what is actually being asked. Most mistakes happen because students answer the question they assumed, not the question that was written.

Here are some examples:

1. A patient is admitted to the hospital with an INR of 3.9, history of a GI bleed, and osteomyelitis. The patient reports bone pain, so the nurse prepares to administer morphine. Which ordered route does the nurse question?

1. PO

2. IV

3. IM

4. SQ

With an elevated INR of 3.9, the patient is at risk for bleeding. Muscles are highly vascular and intramuscular injections should be avoided due to the bleeding risk.

2. A client is scheduled to undergo insertion of a chest tube. Which statement shows that the client needs further teaching?

1. “The procedure will remove excess fluid around my lungs.”

2. “Local anesthetic will decrease the pain during the procedure.”

3. “I need to limit my movement to avoid dislodging the tube.”

4. “This tube will help improve my breathing.”

Though the patient should be cautious not to pull at the tubing, the patient should be encouraged to reposition and move to help facilitate drainage and re-expansion.

Now, these are just two examples, but many more questions come in daily that are marked incorrect simply because the question was read too fast.

Don’t let this simple mistake get in the way of passing your NCLEX exam! Just breathe, read each question slowly, and be alert for words and phrases that might change or even reverse the meaning of the question.

Keep Reading

• Your 8-Week NCLEX-RN Study Plan

• What the Exam Is Really Testing

• 7 Things Changed on the 2026 NCLEX

Practice reading questions carefully with NCLEX RN Mastery — every question includes a detailed rationale that breaks down exactly what the question was testing and why the correct answer is correct. Ten free questions daily.