NGN item type
Bow-Tie practice
The NCSBN flagship item. A central condition tile, two tiles for nursing actions, two for parameters to monitor. Each slot is independently scored — pure clinical-judgement bow-tie reasoning.
Try it — sample question
The nurse is caring for an adult client who reports sudden onset crushing chest pain radiating to the left arm, diaphoresis, and shortness of breath. Vital signs: BP 102/68, HR 118, RR 26, O₂ 90%. Complete the diagram by selecting the most likely condition, two priority actions, and two parameters to monitor.
Actions to take (choose 2)
Condition most likely (choose 1)
Parameters to monitor (choose 2)
What is a Bow-Tie question?
Bow-Tie items model how a nurse actually thinks: identify the problem, decide what to do, decide what to watch. Each slot in the bow-tie is scored independently (0 or 1), so partial credit is possible.
Drill Bow-Tie on every nursing course.
NursingSprint includes full NGN Practice — every type, scoped to whichever program you're studying, with rationales for every answer. Free to start; bundled with any of our nursing program subscriptions.
Other NGN item types
Matrix Multiple Response
For each row, select every column that applies. Partial credit awarded.
Matrix Multiple Choice
For each row, pick exactly one column. All-or-nothing per row.
Drop-Down Cloze
Fill in the clinical sentence by picking from drop-down menus.
Drag-and-Drop Cloze
Drag word tiles from a shared bank into the right sentence blanks.
Highlight in Text
Click the words or phrases in a clinical note that warrant follow-up.
Ordered Response
Put the steps of a clinical procedure in the correct sequence.
Trend
Read clinical data across timed exhibits, then answer a findings grid.