0/1 scoring · 27 questions in 6 sets
NCLEX Drop-Down Cloze Practice Questions
Practice NCLEX drop-down cloze questions: complete the nurse's sentence from drop-down menus, with full rationales. Sets 1 and 2 are free, with no sign-up.
The format
What is a Drop-Down Cloze question on the NCLEX?
Drop-down cloze items embed one or more drop-down menus in a sentence or short paragraph. You complete it by choosing the best option in each menu.
They often test whether you can connect chart data to what the nurse should anticipate or do next.
Practice sets
27 Drop‑Down Cloze questions in 6 sets
Each set covers one clinical topic and opens in the NCLEX-style test interface. Submit each answer to see the correct answer and a rationale for every option. Your progress and score are saved in this browser.
Neuro
Maternity
Pediatrics
Mental Health
Sample question
Try a Drop-Down Cloze question
Open the sample to see the format on the exam screen, with the correct answer marked and the reason each option is right or wrong. To answer questions yourself, start a set above.
Sample question: answer and rationaleComplete the following sentences by choosing from the lists of options.
The nurse in the surgical unit is caring for a 79-year-old male client.
Complete the following sentences by choosing from the lists of options.
The nurse should fasten the restraint straps with .
While the restraints are on, best practice is a visual check of the client at least every .
If the restraints are removed because the behavior has stopped and the client later pulls at the lines again, the nurse needs to reapply them.
Correct answer and rationale
Drop-Down Cloze · 0/1 scoring
Less restrictive measures did not stop the behavior, so a restraint order is in place. A physical restraint is secured only with a quick-release knot, so it can be freed at once in an emergency, and the straps go on the bed frame, not the side rails. Best practice is continuous visual monitoring or a visual check at least every 15 minutes; agency policy sets the exact interval. Physical restraints are also removed every 1 to 2 hours for range of motion and skin checks. A brief, directly supervised release like this, or for toileting or feeding, does not end the restraint or need a new order. The restraint is stopped at the earliest possible time. Once staff end it because the behavior has stopped, they cannot restart it under the same order: each new episode needs its own order, and an as-needed order is not allowed for this restraint.
Takeaway: use a quick-release knot, make a visual check at least every 15 minutes as best practice (agency policy sets the interval), and obtain a new order for every new episode of restraint, but not for a brief, directly supervised release for care.
Why each option is right or wrong
- Blank knot: Key: a quick-release knot. A physical restraint is secured only with a knot that staff can free at once in an emergency.
- a square knot: Incorrect. A restraint is secured only with a quick-release knot, so that it can be freed at once in an emergency.
- a quick-release knot: Correct. A quick-release knot lets staff free the client at once in an emergency.
- a tightly doubled knot: Incorrect. The strap must come free at once in an emergency, so only a quick-release knot is used.
- Blank checks: Key: 15 minutes. Best practice is a visual check at least every 15 minutes; agency policy sets the exact interval.
- 15 minutes: Correct. Best practice for a physical restraint is continuous visual monitoring or a visual check at least every 15 minutes, with the exact interval set by agency policy.
- 4 hours: Incorrect. Best practice is a visual check at least every 15 minutes. Four hours is longer even than the 1 to 2 hours between the brief, directly supervised releases for range of motion and skin checks.
- 8 hours: Incorrect. A check once in a shift leaves the client unobserved; best practice is a visual check at least every 15 minutes.
- Blank order: Key: a new order. Every episode of restraint starts under its own order.
- the same order: Incorrect. Once staff end an ordered restraint, they have no authority to restart it under the same order; doing so would turn it into an as-needed order. A brief, directly supervised release for care, such as range of motion or toileting, is different: it does not end the restraint.
- a new order: Correct. These restraints were ended because the behavior stopped, so a new order is required to reapply them when the behavior returns.
- an as-needed order: Incorrect. An as-needed (PRN) order is not allowed for wrist restraints.
Sources
- Open RN Nursing Assistant, 8.7 Restraints and Restraint Alternatives
- Open RN Nursing Assistant, 8.7 Restraints and Restraint Alternatives (LibreTexts mirror)
- CMS State Operations Manual, Appendix A (hospitals): interpretive guidelines for restraint and seclusion
- 42 CFR 482.13 Condition of participation: Patient's rights (restraint and seclusion)
- Open RN Nursing Fundamentals 2e, 5.7 Restraints
- Open RN Nursing: Mental Health and Community Concepts, 15.6 Workplace Violence (LibreTexts mirror)
Scoring
How Drop-Down Cloze questions are scored
Each drop-down is worth 1 point (0/1), and the item score is the total across its drop-downs.
Scoring rules: NCSBN, Next Generation NCLEX. Last reviewed October 13, 2026.
How to answer Drop-Down Cloze questions
- Read the whole sentence before choosing, because later blanks often depend on earlier ones.
- Check each option against the client's actual data, not the textbook picture of the disease.
FAQ
Drop-Down Cloze questions: FAQ
How are drop-down cloze questions scored?
What is a drop-down cloze question on the NCLEX?
How do you answer a drop-down cloze question?
Keep practicing
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Drop-Down Rationale set 1 · Prioritization & Safety