The Registered Nurse State Licensure Examination Content and Format
The content and the format of the registered nurse state licensure examination
The format of the registered nurse state licensure examination, the steps of the exam, mandatory bibliography, and important notes regarding answering the questions
The state licensure examination for registered nurses will be adaptive starting April 2024.
There are two exam sessions every year:
- A spring session in April
- A fall session in September
The exam is written in Hebrew.
If you are an internationally graduated nurse, there is an option to take the examination in one of the following languages: Arabic, Russian, English, Spanish, or French.
To issue a work permit in Israel, internationally graduated nurses need to pass a Hebrew proficiency test within three years from the time that they took the exam in one of the foreign languages specified above.
The state licensure examination for registered nurses will be adaptive starting April 2024.
The adaptive exam is a computerized test with 85 to 145 multiple choice questions, of which 15 are unscored practice questions. Each question has only one correct answer.
Each candidate receives a test tailored to the level of knowledge they demonstrate during the exam.
Different candidates will see different questions.
When a candidate selects an answer for the first question, the algorithm starts working based on the chosen answer, determining the difficulty level of the next question.
As the exam progresses, the algorithm refines its evaluation of the knowledge level. Sometimes answering to 85 questions is enough, and sometimes more questions are needed to arrive at the most accurate evaluation of knowledge.
The exam ends in one of the following cases:
- When there is an accurate evaluation of the candidate's knowledge after 85 or more questions, and it can be determined if they passed or failed.
- After answering all 145 questions.
- After 4 hours (or 5 hours for those with extra time).
In any case, the computer will tell you the exam has ended. Ending the exam does not mean you passed or failed the exam.
After the exam has ended, you must leave the exam hall.
This exam assesses the knowledge, abilities, and aptitudes that are essential for ensuring the level of safety and skills required from a registered nurse.
The questions describe clinical scenarios in order to test the knowledge, cognitive abilities, and implementation of knowledge in actual practice; these scenarios reflect the professional practice of registered nurses in acute and chronic situations, including but not limited to prevention, evaluation, intervention, and instruction.
Questions are chosen from the following topics for each exam:
- Nursing care for older adults (surgical and conservative, including community and rehabilitative care).
- Surgical and conservative elderly care.
- Nursing care of older adults and gerontology
- Pediatric nursing care.
- Nursing gynecology and midwifery.
- Mental health nursing care.
- Urgent care, trauma and first aid.
- Pharmacy dosage calculations (medical calculations).
- Israeli laws and regulatory professional standards (from mandatory bibliography of the licensure exam).
- Clinical pharmacology.
Notes
- Professional terms and concepts —professional terms will be written in Latin or Hebrew with Latin in parentheses. For example: דלקת קרום הלב (Pericarditis).
- Acronyms —acronyms used will be put in parentheses, for example COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease).
- Medications —medications referred to will use the generic term and brand name in parentheses, for example Salicylic acid (Aspirin).
- Laboratory values —laboratory values will be given with the units. Note: the units are metric (g, mg, mg% ,mg/dl).
- Laws and regulatory professional standards —the law or the regulatory professional standards will be referred to in the question. In a foreign language exam, the title of the law or the standard appears both in Hebrew and in the foreign language.
Answering questions in a computerized examination
To login to the computerized examination file, enter a username and password given on a paper on your desk. After the exam supervisor gives approval, you will be allowed to login to the examination file.
How to answer questions and navigate the exam file
Logging into the exam file
A sheet of paper with your username and password will be on the desk. Use them to log in and get further instructions.
After the proctor gives permission, the password that should be used to open the exam file will be announced, and then answering will be enabled.
You can use the sheet of paper with your username and password as a draft. You can use both sides.
Taking this sheet out of the hall is forbidden. It is against the rules to take it outside of the exam hall.
How to Answer Questions on the Adaptive Exam
You can move to the next question using the navigation buttons only.
You cannot skip a question, and you cannot go back to previous questions. Answering each question is final and cannot be changed.
- You can change screens by using the navigation buttons located in the upper left corner of the screen. Press "Next" to move on to the next screen.
- If you are granted permission to take a break, do not click "Next"; instead, leave the screen as it is.
Answering Screen
- Each screen will display one question only, with four possible answers. Choose the answer you think is most accurate.
- The amount of time left is displayed by a timer on the left side of the screen.
Draft sheets and a calculator
Draft sheets and a calculator will appear on the right side of the screen. Click on them and type directly to write or make a calculation.
If you have any technical issues, raise your hand and ask the monitors/technicians for help.
When you reach the end of a section or the end of the exam, you will need to click the "Next" button and then the "End" button. Clicking the "End" button will lock the section or the exam.