NCLEX-RN (National Council Licensure Examination-Registered Nurse). All Nursing Boards in states and territories of the United States require candidates to pass this exam for licensure as a registered nurse (RN). The NCLEX-RN uses the five-step nursing process. Each of the questions will fall into one of the five steps: assessment, analysis, planning, intervention and implementation, and evaluation.After graduation from a school of nursing, one takes the NCLEX exam to receive his or her nursing license. A nursing license gives an individual the permission to practice nursing, granted by the state where he or she met the requirements.