All or nothing scoring · 29 questions in 6 sets
NCLEX Ordered Response Practice Questions
Practice NCLEX ordered response questions: drag nursing actions into the right order, with a rationale for every step. Sets 1 and 2 are free, with no sign-up.
The format
What is an Ordered Response question on the NCLEX?
Ordered-response items ask you to put four to six steps in the right order, such as the steps of a procedure or the sequence of actions in an emergency.
Practice sets
29 Ordered Response 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 an Ordered Response 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 rationaleA home health nurse finds a change in the incision of a 62-year-old client who had a colon resection 5 days ago. After assessing the client, the nurse telephones the primary health care provider (PHCP) and organizes the call with ISBARR (Introduction, Situation, Background, Assessment, Request, Repeat back). Place the steps in the order the nurse should perform them.
A home health nurse finds a change in the incision of a 62-year-old client who had a colon resection 5 days ago. After assessing the client, the nurse telephones the primary health care provider (PHCP) and organizes the call with ISBARR (Introduction, Situation, Background, Assessment, Request, Repeat back). Place the steps in the order the nurse should perform them.
Unordered Options
Ordered Response
- 1.Give own name and role and state that the call is from the client's home.✓
- 2.Identify the client and state that the incision has new drainage.✓
- 3.Report that the client had a colon resection 5 days ago and is allergic to penicillin.✓
- 4.Describe the redness, tenderness and thick yellow drainage, and state the concern that the incision is infected.✓
- 5.Ask the PHCP to see the client today and to order a wound culture.✓
- 6.Read the new orders back to the PHCP.✓
Correct order: 1. Give own name and role and state that the call is from the client's home. 2. Identify the client and state that the incision has new drainage. 3. Report that the client had a colon resection 5 days ago and is allergic to penicillin. 4. Describe the redness, tenderness and thick yellow drainage, and state the concern that the incision is infected. 5. Ask the PHCP to see the client today and to order a wound culture. 6. Read the new orders back to the PHCP.
Correct answer and rationale
Ordered Response · All or nothing scoring
ISBARR gives a telephone report a fixed order. The introduction comes first: the nurse's name and role and where the call is from. The situation names the client and the reason for the call, here the new drainage. The background gives the history the provider needs, such as diagnoses, code status, relevant laboratory results and allergies: here, the surgery 5 days ago and the penicillin allergy. The assessment gives the abnormal findings and the nurse's own evaluation: redness, tenderness and thick yellow drainage, which point to an infected incision. The request states what the nurse wants done; a wound culture helps guide the choice of antibiotic. Last, the nurse repeats the new orders back to the provider.
Takeaway: ISBARR runs introduction, situation, background, assessment, request, then a read-back of the new orders.
Why each option is right or wrong
- Give own name and role and state that the call is from the client's home.: Step 1. The introduction gives the nurse's name and role and where the call is from.
- Identify the client and state that the incision has new drainage.: Step 2. The situation names the client and the reason for the call.
- Report that the client had a colon resection 5 days ago and is allergic to penicillin.: Step 3. The background supplies the history the provider needs, here the surgery and the allergy.
- Describe the redness, tenderness and thick yellow drainage, and state the concern that the incision is infected.: Step 4. The assessment gives the abnormal findings and the nurse's own evaluation of them.
- Ask the PHCP to see the client today and to order a wound culture.: Step 5. The request states what the nurse wants the provider to do.
- Read the new orders back to the PHCP.: Step 6. Repeating the new orders back to the provider closes the call.
Sources
Scoring
How Ordered Response questions are scored
Scored all or nothing: the whole order must be correct to earn the point.
Scoring rules: NCSBN, Next Generation NCLEX. Last reviewed October 13, 2026.
How to answer Ordered Response questions
- Find the first and last steps first, then fill in the middle.
- Safety steps (identification, hand hygiene, checking the prescription) come before the procedure itself.
FAQ
Ordered Response questions: FAQ
Is there partial credit for ordered-response questions?
What is an ordered response question on the NCLEX?
How do you answer an ordered response question?
Keep practicing
Other NCLEX question types
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