Do you think physicians could pass the NCLEX-RN?

Nursing Students NCLEX

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I think they would fail at the psychosocial, prioritization, and delegation questions.

Of course. Anybody with very basic RN/MD education should be able to pass the NCLEX, if they have reviewed a NCLEX test taking strategy book.

The NCLEX test has nothing to do with finding out if a person has knowlege of anything really - other than how to play the game of taking the NCLEX.

It's a rather dumbed-down and insulting excuse for a board exam.

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Specializes in Medical Oncology, Alzheimer/dementia.

Since the NCLEX tests your nursing knowledge, and not your intelligence, I think with a good amount of preparation (since it's specific to a completely different scope of practice) an MD could pass.

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Specializes in FNP, ONP.

I am sure a physician or medical student could correctly answer any questions about disease processes and intervention. They may not get all the questions about Nursing process and psychosocial issues correct, but probably most of them.

Let's put it this way, they would do a lot better on NCLEX than nurses would on the step exams.

The question is rude and belittles Nursing for attempting a backhanded insult to our colleagues. I'm ashamed of us.

I also agree with Netglow that the NCLEX is ridiculously easy and an embarrassment. I also think all nurses and APN should be required to reboard at least every 10 years.

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My answer is maybe, but I don't say that believing physicians are ignorant. Rather, nursing, EMS, and a variety of other healthcare roles have unique nuances that guide and or limit their practice. I know an ER doc that failed the National Registry exam for basic EMT because her greater knowledge base precluded her from making choices that one with more limited or focused training might readily make.

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Specializes in Anesthesia, ICU, PCU.

They would probably kill the NCLEX, unless of course some wording gimmicks caught them up. The MCAT, and moreso the USMLE, are much more technical and scientifically-demanding exams. Putting these two professions, or any two healthcare professions, across from each other in this kind of comparative, adversarial manner only serves to damage the team-centered attitude that has been proven to deliver best patient outcomes.

TU RN

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Most nurses probably could do well on the MCAT, as it's the pre-test to apply for medical school. The various USMLE step tests are the licensure tests. I also think most nurses could pass NCLEX again. NCLEX tests minimum requirments to be a safe beginning nurse. That's it. I was helping a friend study for it recently and was surprised at how much easier the questions, particularly prioritization, seemed now than then.

I disagree. See blow.

You'll find he content outlines for both physical sciences and biological sciences tested on the MCAT. Sadly, most nurses I've worked with or supervised failed to have a basic grasp of physiology much less any sciences tested on the MCAT. I've never taken physics or organic chemistry, and I honestly don't want to. I did take a couple of geology classes, and, if I recall right, general chemistry I and II, cellular biology and introductory genetics, botany, zoology, microbiology, field biology, and environmental biology. After graduating I took A&P I and II one summer which I later ended up needing for nursing school. I feel like I could compete on the bio section after some review but definitely not the physical sciences. I don't know of a single BSN program that requires the full complement of organic chemistry and none that require physics.

https://www.aamc.org/students/download/345244/data/pstopics.pdf

https://www.aamc.org/students/download/85566/data/bstopics.pdf

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Specializes in Med-Surg, NICU.

Nursing is worlds away from medicine and vice versa. Let's face it: doctors are not trained to think holistically about the patient. They are trained to think in problem-solving mode. If a physician could get him/herself out of that mindset and "think like a nurse", I think he/she could pass the NCLEX with flying colors.

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.
I am sure a physician or medical student could correctly answer any questions about disease processes and intervention. They may not get all the questions about Nursing process and psychosocial issues correct, but probably most of them.

Let's put it this way, they would do a lot better on NCLEX than nurses would on the step exams.

The question is rude and belittles Nursing for attempting a backhanded insult to our colleagues. I'm ashamed of us.

I also agree with Netglow that the NCLEX is ridiculously easy and an embarrassment. I also think all nurses and APN should be required to reboard at least every 10 years.

I agree about re-boarding, but can you imagine the level of angst here if that were true? People are failing the test on the first go round.

I agree that it was a back-handed attempt to denigrate our colleagues.

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Halloween question, right?:banghead:

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Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.

I don't think a physician could pass the NCLEX without preparation and a nurse could not pass physician boards without preparation. We are two distinct professions with unique positive qualities. We work together as professionals. The knowledge of nurses is unique and the knowledge of physicians is unique. If we each tried to do each others' job for a day, we would be unsuccessful.

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For what it's worth physicians are increasingly excluded by the courts as experts on nursing care in legal cases. They have no education in nursing, no licensure in nursing, and no experience performing in the nursing role supervised and evaluated by nurses. Ergo ... they have no standing in such matters. Sure, there's overlap in what we all know and in an increasingly-large number of tasks (BTW, did you know that up to 1959 in CA, it was illegal for nurses to give injections or start IVs, because the extant practice acts limited broaching the skin to physicians? Our practice acts tend to follow, not lead, practice). But as we are not held to physician standard of practice due to lack of education and training in physician work, they cannot be held to nursing standard of practice due to lack of education and training in our work. The sooner everybody understands and embraces that -- and judging by the above comments, that includes nurses-- the better off we will all be.[/quote']

This. This completely.

I feel I have enough mechanical aptitude to pass a test for obtaining an auto mechanic certification, but only if I actually learned auto mechanics.

Certainly a physician has the aptitude for it, but without actually training as a nurse there is no point in speculating whether or not they could pass, because it doesn't really matter. Nursing is our role, physician is theirs.

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Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.

Back when I took my NCLEX the review instructor claimed she taught her 12 year old to follow a set of guidelines for answering NCLEX questions and he was able to score approx. 70% on practice exams give or take a few percent, with no content knowledge.

The NCLEX is a basic competence exam. It is not challenging. The same for the APN boards. Basic competence.

I would bet a paycheck the PA and the MD I work with could pass the NCLEX with three days of prep.

Should they be able to? No.

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