Hurst Total PASS: How to Prepare Students for the Next Generation NCLEX®

Starting April 1, 2023, nursing students will face the Next Generation NCLEX® (NGN), a highly-anticipated revision to the traditional exam that incorporates new question formats to test clinical judgment.

If you think there’s more you can do for your students to ensure they pass the NGN®, you’re not alone. The change is one of the largest in the NCLEX’s storied history, leaving some educators wondering whether they need to change their curriculums.

That’s why we created Hurst Total PASS — to provide a preeminent suite of NGN® mastery for educators to seamlessly integrate into their existing curriculum. Hurst Total PASS combines our already-proven review and Elevate with our brand-new Hurst Next product to reinforce what you are already teaching and ensure your students pass the NGN® on the first attempt.

Here are six ways you can incorporate Hurst Total PASS to transform students into NGN® experts.

1. Set the NGN® Mindset on Day One.

Hurst Next easily integrates into any semester, allowing students to begin building their clinical judgment skills as soon as they start their curriculum. The product is a learning tool for building critical thinking skills that lead to clinical judgment with NGN® case studies and question formats.

Hurst Next opens with a valuable video from founder Marlene Hurst, who explains the Clinical Judgment Measurement Model and the questions students should be asking themselves at every step. Hurst will empower your students to think like safe, skilled nurses from the start of their nursing education.

2. Model the clinical judgment process.

Every part of the Hurst Total PASS package is designed to model the clinical judgment process. Our expert nurse educators go the extra mile to demonstrate critical thinking and how to apply clinical judgment with confidence — both during the exam and as students transition to practice.

Hurst Total PASS guides participants through NGN® questions, core-content material and critical thinking activities to strengthen clinical judgment over time. From the beginning, Hurst Next includes detailed clinical judgment case studies that walk through each client situation, what cues to look for, how to identify trends and more.

3. Focus on must-know core content.

Hurst Total PASS comes with your choice of our Live, N-Stream or Online Classroom review options, providing access to engaging core-content lectures, a student workbook, Readiness exams, Qbank practice questions, a Resource Library and so much more. These resources have already helped more than 400,000 students nationwide pass the NCLEX®.

We often hear from students overwhelmed and stifled by the number of resources offered for NCLEX® preparation. Hurst Total PASS includes guides, tips and checklists to show students which resources and contents to prioritize.

4. Practice the new format and item types.

There’s no better way to reduce NGN® anxiety and improve pass rates than repeatedly exposing students to the new format and item types. The National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) has stated that every student will have three NGN® case studies on the exam, along with the existing “knowledge-level” questions and NGN® standalones if they go beyond the minimum number of questions. Hurst Next similarly presents three case studies per module to mirror this experience early in their curriculum.

Everything from the content to the testing platform of Hurst Total PASS follows NCSBN’s latest guidelines. The products expose students early to the tried-and-true NCLEX® question formats and the new NGN® formats to familiarize them with everything they will see on exam day.

5. Assess student readiness with realistic exams.

The Hurst review options offer a Qbank of 1,500 questions for RN students and 1,000 questions for PN students. Hurst’s NCLEX® review also provides four readiness exams per student, each with 125 questions to mirror the NCLEX® exam.

By the time your students take the NGN®, they will have had many opportunities to build their critical thinking skills, practice clinical judgment and enhance their readiness for success on the NGN®. This will reduce their anxiety and build their confidence when they take the exam.

6. Build an intense guided study into capstone courses.

For RN programs, Hurst Total PASS also includes Elevate, a companion product that integrates into any capstone course. This flexible program gives students an intense study plan for answering difficult alternate-format questions and improving clinical judgment skills, designed to connect and reinforce everything they have learned in school.

Elevate ensures students are ready to tackle the NGN® with confidence after graduation. A three-year study at Stephen F. Austin State University found Elevate to have statistically significant results, including a 10.2-point increase in the first-time pass rate and a 63.83-point increase in standardized exit exam scores.

Together, we can prepare students for success on the Next Generation NCLEX® in 2023 by beginning NOW together. Discover how Hurst Total PASS fits into your program by contacting your regional director.