NCLEX-RN Safety and Infection Prevention and Control
10–16% of the NCLEX-RN · Safe and Effective Care Environment
85 questions weighted to every client-needs category, three case studies, and a score for Safety and Infection Control so you know where you stand.
Free Safety and Infection Control drillA nurse is reviewing evidence-based measures to prevent central line-associated bloodstream infection. Which measures are part of a central line insertion and maintenance bundle? Select all that apply.
Safety and Infection Prevention and Control on the 2026 test plan
Safety and Infection Prevention and Control is 10–16% of the exam. The 2026 test plan renamed it from Safety and Infection Control; the content did not change. Questions test the rules that protect clients and staff: precautions, identification, falls, restraints, hazards and emergency plans.
- Share of the exam
- 10–16% of scored stand-alone items (we weight our mock exams at 13%)
- Client Needs category
- Safe and Effective Care Environment
- Our drill
- 10 questions, untimed, a rationale for every option; one free attempt, unlimited with a pass
What Safety and Infection Control questions test
- Hand hygiene, aseptic and sterile technique, and standard, contact, droplet and airborne precautions and the conditions that need each
- Donning and doffing personal protective equipment in the right order; negative-pressure rooms for airborne infections
- Client identification with two identifiers, including before blood products and procedures
- Fall, injury and burn prevention across ages, from car seats and home safety to bed alarms and non-slip socks
- Restraints: the order, the least restrictive choice, time limits and monitoring
- Hazardous and biohazardous materials: sharps, chemotherapy, oxygen safety and spills
- Security plans: newborn security, violence prevention and controlled access
- Emergency planning: fire response (RACE and PASS), disaster triage and evacuation order
- Allergy assessment, including latex, and intervention when a reaction starts
- Practice errors, near misses, unsafe practice by staff and the care environment
Sit the full exam under the real clock
85 questions weighted to every client-needs category, three case studies, and a score for Safety and Infection Control so you know where you stand.
Free Safety and Infection Control drillHow to study it
- Learn precautions by transmission route, not by disease list: airborne for tuberculosis, measles and varicella; droplet for influenza, pertussis and meningococcal disease; contact for C. difficile, MRSA and scabies.
- Safety questions usually have one option that removes the hazard right now; choose it over documenting, reporting or teaching.
- Restraints are a last resort and need a time-limited order, regular checks and release; a PRN restraint order is never acceptable.
- Take the drill twice and read the option notes: most misses here come from one half-remembered rule.
Common questions
Which conditions need airborne precautions?
Tuberculosis, measles, varicella (chickenpox) and disseminated herpes zoster. The client needs a negative-pressure room and staff wear a fitted N95 respirator. Droplet precautions (surgical mask within close range) cover influenza, pertussis, mumps, rubella and meningococcal disease.
What does the fire response sequence RACE stand for?
Rescue anyone in immediate danger, Activate the alarm, Confine the fire by closing doors, and Extinguish or Evacuate. PASS describes the extinguisher: Pull, Aim at the base, Squeeze, Sweep.
What are the two client identifiers?
Two pieces of information that identify the person, such as the full name and date of birth or medical record number, checked against the wristband and the order. A room number or bed is never an identifier.
85 questions weighted to every client-needs category, three case studies, and a score for Safety and Infection Control so you know where you stand.
Free Safety and Infection Control drillMore NCLEX-RN guides
- NCLEX-RN Management of Care
- NCLEX-RN Health Promotion and Maintenance
- NCLEX-RN Psychosocial Integrity
- NCLEX-RN Basic Care and Comfort
- NCLEX-RN Pharmacological and Parenteral Therapies
- NCLEX-RN Reduction of Risk Potential
- NCLEX-RN Physiological Adaptation
- NCLEX-RN for internationally educated nurses
- Retaking the NCLEX-RN
- NCLEX-RN practice exam (85 items)
Sources
- NCSBN: 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan (effective April 1, 2026)
- NCLEX.com: Test plans
- NCSBN: NCLEX Candidate Bulletin (October 2025): fees, retake policy, exam length and time
- NCSBN: NCLEX registration fee change effective February 1, 2027
- NCSBN: 2025 NCLEX Examination Statistics (volumes and pass rates)
- NCLEX.com FAQs: partial-credit scoring (plus/minus, zero/one, rationale)
- NCSBN: Candidate Performance Report
Original practice questions for exam preparation, written to the 2026 NCLEX-RN Test Plan. Independent practice, not affiliated with or endorsed by the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) or Pearson VUE. NCLEX and NCLEX-RN are registered trademarks of NCSBN.