Sources and references
Our sources policy
We only rely on sources that are official or authoritative for the claim being made:
| Kind of claim | Sources we use | Sources we do not use as evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Exam rules, fees, test centres, pass rates | NCSBN and nclex.com, Pearson VUE | Coaching-institute blogs, forums, social media |
| Eligibility and licensure | The specific board of nursing, TruMerit, the Indian Nursing Council and State Nursing Councils | Agencies' summaries |
| Visa-related requirements | TruMerit VisaScreen, US HRSA | Immigration forums |
| Clinical explanations | Official drug labels (DailyMed), CDC and NIH guidance, open-licence nursing textbooks, professional guidelines | Commercial question banks, review books, recalled exam questions |
How facts are tracked: every regulatory statement on our guides is recorded in a fact ledger with its source, the source's publication or revision date, the date we verified it, its status and its re-check date. Unverified statements are labelled as not confirmed, never presented as fact.
How we use material: we cite and link. We do not reproduce protected documents or copy competitor content.
Reference sources
| Source | Type | How we use it | Last checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Head-of-bed elevation literature review (MVP toolkit) AHRQ | government | US government work (public domain). | 2026-09-15 |
| AHRQ PSNet WebM&M case commentary: post-thyroidectomy hematoma and airway AHRQ Patient Safety Network (NCBI Bookshelf) | government | US government-funded; facts only. | 2026-09-15 |
| Standards of Care in Diabetes 2024: glycemic goals and hypoglycemia American Diabetes Association (PubMed Central) | guideline | Class C: facts only. | 2026-09-15 |
| Lifestyle changes for heart failure American Heart Association | guideline | Class C: facts only. | 2026-09-15 |
| Managing heart failure symptoms American Heart Association | guideline | Class C: facts only. | 2026-09-15 |
| Clinical guidance for C. difficile CDC | guideline | US government work (public domain). | 2026-09-15 |
| Transmission-based precautions CDC | guideline | US government work (public domain). | 2026-09-15 |
| Treatment of low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) CDC | government | US government work (public domain). | 2026-09-15 |
| Signs and symptoms of stroke CDC | government | US government work (public domain). | 2026-09-15 |
| Helping babies sleep safely CDC | government | US government work (public domain). | 2026-09-15 |
| Guidelines for Preventing the Transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in Health-Care Settings, 2005 CDC (MMWR Recommendations and Reports 54(RR-17)) | guideline | US government work (public domain). | 2026-09-16 |
| Guideline for Isolation Precautions (2007): recommendations CDC / HICPAC | guideline | US government work (public domain). | 2026-09-15 |
| Isolation Precautions Appendix A: type and duration of precautions CDC / HICPAC | guideline | US government work (public domain). | 2026-09-15 |
| 2007 Guideline for Isolation Precautions (full document) CDC / HICPAC | guideline | US government work (public domain). | 2026-09-16 |
| Guidelines for Preventing Health-Care-Associated Pneumonia, 2003 CDC / HICPAC (MMWR Recommendations and Reports) | guideline | US government work (public domain). | 2026-09-16 |
| CGFNS International CGFNS International | regulator | Cited and linked. | Not yet checked |
| Warfarin sodium tablets: prescribing information and Medication Guide DailyMed (NLM), FDA-approved labeling | drug label | FDA labeling; facts restated. | 2026-09-15 |
| Epinephrine auto-injector: prescribing information DailyMed (NLM), FDA-approved labeling | drug label | FDA labeling; facts restated. | 2026-09-15 |
| Furosemide tablets: prescribing information DailyMed (NLM), FDA-approved labeling | drug label | FDA labeling; facts restated. | 2026-09-15 |
| Morphine sulfate injection: prescribing information DailyMed (NLM), FDA-approved labeling | drug label | FDA labeling; facts restated. | 2026-09-15 |
| Indian Nursing Council Indian Nursing Council | regulator | Cited and linked. | Not yet checked |
| ISMP list of high-alert medications (acute care) Institute for Safe Medication Practices | guideline | Cite only; do not reproduce the list. | Not yet checked |
| Targeted Medication Safety Best Practices for Hospitals 2024–2025 Institute for Safe Medication Practices | guideline | Class C: facts only. | 2026-09-15 |
| Accuracy of first recorded 'last known normal' times of stroke code patients Journal of Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases (2015); NIH public-access author manuscript on PubMed Central | journal | Copyright retained by the publisher/authors. No Creative Commons licence is stated; availability on PubMed Central under the NIH public access policy is not a licence to reproduce. Facts cited only; no wording reproduced. | 2026-09-16 |
| KDIGO Clinical Practice Guideline for Acute Kidney Injury (2012) KDIGO | guideline | Class C: facts only. | 2026-09-15 |
| Potassium blood test MedlinePlus (NLM) | government | NLM-authored lab test page (public domain). | 2026-09-15 |
| After Surgery (health topic summary) MedlinePlus (NLM) | government | NLM summary (public domain). | 2026-09-15 |
| Postsurgical pain treatment in adults MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia (NLM) | government | Class D (A.D.A.M. content on MedlinePlus): corroboration only. MedlinePlus encyclopedia text is licensed from A.D.A.M.; cite and link only, reproduce no wording. | 2026-09-16 |
| Warning Signs of Suicide National Institute of Mental Health | government | US government work (public domain). | 2026-09-15 |
| 5 Action Steps to Help Someone Having Thoughts of Suicide National Institute of Mental Health | government | US government work (public domain). | 2026-09-15 |
| Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ) Toolkit National Institute of Mental Health | government | US government work (public domain). | 2026-09-15 |
| NIMH Toolkit: Suicide Risk Screening Tool (ASQ) National Institute of Mental Health | government | NIMH states its website information and materials are in the public domain (images excepted); cite NIMH. | 2026-09-16 |
| NIST Handbook 44, Appendix C: General tables of units of measurement National Institute of Standards and Technology | government | US government work (public domain). | 2026-09-15 |
| NCLEX official candidate website NCSBN | exam body | Cite and link; do not reproduce test plan or candidate bulletin text. | Not yet checked |
| National Council of State Boards of Nursing NCSBN | exam body | Cite statistics with document name and year. | Not yet checked |
| NCLEX-RN Test Plan (effective April 2026), front matter only NCSBN | exam body | Class B: activity statements cited as facts only; sample items never used. | 2026-09-15 |
| National Guidelines for Nursing Delegation (joint statement) NCSBN and ANA | regulator | Class B: facts paraphrased; not reproduced. | 2026-09-15 |
| NYSED Office of the Professions New York State Education Department | regulator | Cited and linked. | Not yet checked |
| Living with heart failure NHLBI, National Institutes of Health | government | US government work (public domain). | 2026-09-15 |
| Ways to reduce the risk of SIDS and other sleep-related causes of infant death NICHD Safe to Sleep, National Institutes of Health | government | US government work (public domain). | 2026-09-15 |
| Safe to Sleep campaign NICHD, National Institutes of Health | government | US government work (public domain). | Not yet checked |
| NIDDK publication on NCBI Bookshelf: glucose unit conversion NIDDK, National Institutes of Health | government | NIH publication (public domain unless noted). | 2026-09-15 |
| Stroke: signs and symptoms NINDS, National Institutes of Health | government | US government work (public domain). | 2026-09-15 |
| Nursing Management and Professional Concepts (Open RN) Open Resources for Nursing, Chippewa Valley Technical College (NCBI Bookshelf) | open textbook | CC BY 4.0 (permissive): attribution required. | 2026-09-15 |
| Nursing Skills (Open RN) Open Resources for Nursing, Chippewa Valley Technical College (NCBI Bookshelf) | open textbook | CC BY 4.0 (permissive): attribution required. | 2026-09-15 |
| OpenStax nursing textbooks OpenStax, Rice University | open textbook | CC BY-NC-SA 4.0; OpenStax states its books may not be ingested into LLMs/generative AI without permission. RESTRICTED: not an input to AI-assisted drafting; human cite-and-verify only, pending licensing review. | Not yet checked |
| Pearson VUE NCLEX registration Pearson VUE | exam body | Cited and linked. | Not yet checked |
| International consensus on anaphylaxis (World Allergy Organization Journal, 2014) Simons et al., via PubMed Central | journal | Open access; facts only. | 2026-09-15 |
| StatPearls (NCBI Bookshelf) StatPearls Publishing / NCBI | journal | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. RESTRICTED: cite and verify only; not an input to AI-assisted drafting of commercial content. | Not yet checked |
| National Performance Goals (hospital program), effective January 2026 The Joint Commission | guideline | Class C: facts only. | 2026-09-15 |
| R3 Report Issue 11: Pain assessment and management standards for hospitals The Joint Commission | guideline | The Joint Commission permits reproduction of the R3 Report if credited; facts cited only. | 2026-09-16 |
| CDC infection control guidance for healthcare personnel US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention | guideline | Cited and linked. | Not yet checked |
| DailyMed drug labels US National Library of Medicine | drug label | FDA labelling: cite the specific label and date. | Not yet checked |
| MedlinePlus US National Library of Medicine | government | NLM-authored pages are public domain; A.D.A.M. encyclopedia pages are copyrighted. RESTRICTED for A.D.A.M. content: cite only. | Not yet checked |
| Patient Safety Solutions: Patient Identification (2007) WHO Collaborating Centre for Patient Safety Solutions | guideline | Class C: facts only. | 2026-09-15 |