Hi, I'm Haley, a registered nurse from South Korea.
I passed the NCLEX-RN as a Korean nurse and took my exam in Hong Kong in 2023.
When I first started preparing for the NCLEX, one of the hardest parts wasn't just studying nursing content.
It was figuring out the entire process as an internationally educated nurse: where to apply, how to prepare, what the actual exam would feel like, and whether my clinical experience in Korea would really help.
So in this post, I'm sharing my experience from the perspective of a Korean RN who actually went through the process.
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NCLEX-RN preparation
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Took the exam in Hong Kong
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Passed the NCLEX-RN in 2023
Why I Decided to Take the NCLEX
I had already been working as a nurse in South Korea, including in acute-care and ICU settings.
But I wanted to keep the option of working as a nurse in the United States open. For an internationally educated nurse, passing the NCLEX is one of the biggest milestones on that path.
At first, the whole process looked overwhelming.
There were state Boards of Nursing, credential evaluations, English requirements, exam registration, Pearson VUE, ATT, and international test centers to think about.
If you're an international nurse looking at all of this for the first time, feeling confused is completely understandable.
What helped me was treating the process as several smaller steps instead of one huge project.
Does Being an Experienced Nurse Make the NCLEX Easier?
This was something I wondered about before studying.
Clinical experience definitely helped me understand diseases, medications, patient deterioration, and basic nursing priorities.
But I quickly realized that being a good bedside nurse and being good at NCLEX questions are not exactly the same thing.
"Do you know this disease?"
It is often asking:
"Which patient needs you first?"
"What is the safest action?"
"What should the nurse do before anything else?"
"Which finding is unexpected?" ```
That difference matters, especially for nurses who have already developed their own routines in clinical practice.
What I Focused on While Studying
My goal wasn't to memorize every disease in every nursing textbook.
I tried to understand the patterns behind NCLEX questions.
✔ ABCs: Airway, Breathing, Circulation
✔ Safety and infection control
✔ Expected vs. unexpected findings
✔ Stable vs. unstable patients
✔ Acute vs. chronic conditions
✔ Nursing interventions
✔ Medication safety
✔ Delegation and assignment
✔ Recognizing signs of deterioration
For international nurses, I think this is especially important.
You may already know a lot of nursing content from school and clinical practice, but the way the NCLEX expects you to prioritize and choose the safest answer can feel different.
My NCLEX Study Resources
I recommend keeping your resources relatively simple.
Using five different question banks at the same time can easily turn into spending more time comparing resources than actually studying.
| Study Area | What I Used |
|---|---|
| Main Question Bank | [EDIT: QBank name] |
| Content Review | [EDIT: resource used] |
| Study Period | [EDIT: study period] |
| Questions Per Day | [EDIT: average questions] |
More important than the specific resource was reviewing why I got a question wrong.
When I missed a question, I tried not to stop at, "I didn't know this disease."
Instead, I asked:
Did I miss a keyword?
Did I choose an intervention before assessing?
Did I prioritize a chronic problem over an acute one?
Did I miss a safety issue?
Was I adding information that wasn't actually in the question? ```
That kind of review helped me much more than simply trying to complete as many questions as possible.
The Biggest Challenge as a Korean Nurse
For me, one major adjustment was learning to answer the question the way the NCLEX wants you to answer it.
In real clinical practice, nurses often consider the entire patient situation, hospital policy, physician preferences, staffing, available resources, and many other factors.
NCLEX questions are different.
You have to work with the information given in the question and identify the safest and most appropriate nursing action within that scenario.
Overthinking can actually make questions harder.
Taking the NCLEX in Hong Kong
I took my NCLEX-RN in Hong Kong.
For Korean nurses, taking the exam internationally means there is another layer of planning beyond studying.
□ Pearson VUE reservation
□ International test center availability
□ Passport and identification
□ Flight schedule
□ Accommodation
□ Getting to the test center
□ Arriving early enough to avoid unnecessary stress
My advice is simple: don't plan an international NCLEX trip too tightly.
You already have enough stress from the exam itself. Giving yourself enough time for transportation, check-in, and unexpected travel issues makes the experience much easier.
What the Actual NCLEX Felt Like
One thing I would tell anyone preparing for the exam is that the real NCLEX may not feel exactly like your practice questions.
That doesn't necessarily mean you're doing badly.
During preparation, you become familiar with the style of your question bank. On the actual exam, the wording and uncertainty can feel different.
That's why learning how to reason through unfamiliar questions is more useful than trying to memorize every possible answer.
Focus on the question in front of you, choose the safest answer, and move on. ```
Things I Would Do Differently
Looking back, I would spend less time worrying about whether I knew "enough" content.
Nursing is enormous.
No one walks into the NCLEX knowing every medication, every disease, and every possible complication.
I would focus earlier on:
② Identifying patient safety risks
③ Reviewing rationales carefully
④ Finding patterns in my mistakes
⑤ Practicing questions consistently
⑥ Avoiding unnecessary overthinking
Advice for International Nurses Taking the NCLEX
If English is not your first language, don't assume that every difficult question is difficult because of your English.
NCLEX questions are designed to make you distinguish between several answers that can all sound reasonable.
Instead of translating every sentence word-for-word, practice identifying the key information.
| Look For | Why It Matters |
|---|---|
| First / Priority / Immediate | Identifies prioritization questions |
| New / Sudden / Acute | May indicate deterioration |
| Unexpected | Helps identify complications |
| Needs Follow-Up | Usually points toward unsafe or incorrect findings |
After Passing the NCLEX
Passing the NCLEX felt like a huge milestone, but for an international nurse, it is not necessarily the end of the process.
Depending on your goal, there may still be additional steps involving nursing licensure, credential verification, VisaScreen, employment, and U.S. immigration.
This is something I didn't fully appreciate when I first started preparing.
The NCLEX is an important step, but it is part of a much larger journey if your goal is to actually work in the United States.
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NCLEX-RN
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U.S. RN Licensure
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VisaScreen / Credential Process
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Employment & Immigration Process
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Working as a Nurse in the U.S.
My NCLEX Experience — Final Thoughts
✔ I took my exam in Hong Kong
✔ I passed the NCLEX-RN in 2023
✔ Clinical experience helped, but NCLEX-style reasoning still required practice
✔ Prioritization and patient safety were more important than memorizing everything
✔ Reviewing rationales was more useful than simply counting completed questions
✔ International nurses also need to plan the licensing and immigration steps after the NCLEX ```
If you're a Korean nurse, Filipino nurse, Indian nurse, or any other internationally educated nurse preparing for the NCLEX, I hope my experience makes the process feel a little more manageable.
I know how confusing it can be when you're trying to understand the U.S. nursing system from outside the United States.
I'll continue sharing what I've learned about NCLEX preparation, U.S. RN licensure, VisaScreen, EB-3 immigration, DS-260, NVC, and the process of becoming a U.S. nurse as an international RN.
If you're currently preparing for the NCLEX, save this post and come back whenever the process starts to feel overwhelming.
Haley is a registered nurse from South Korea who passed the NCLEX-RN in 2023. She shares practical information for internationally educated nurses preparing for the NCLEX and the process of becoming a nurse in the United States.