Answered

Simple Nursing NCLEX

Written and reviewed by Dana Whitfield, RN, MSN · 3 min read · Updated September 2026

Short answer

Simple Nursing is a paid video-based study platform that teaches nursing concepts through short, illustrated lectures aimed at NCLEX-RN and nursing school exams. It is a content and memorisation tool, not a question bank, so most students pair it with a separate NCLEX-style practice question platform rather than using it alone.

Answering it directly

Simple Nursing is a subscription video library, created by nurse educator Mike Linares, that breaks down nursing school and NCLEX-RN topics into short animated lectures, cheat sheets, and mnemonics. It is built around the idea that a five-to-ten-minute video can explain a concept, such as the difference between cardiogenic and hypovolemic shock, faster and more memorably than a textbook chapter.

It is not a question bank in the way UWorld or Kaplan are. Simple Nursing does include practice questions, but its core product is the video content and the accompanying downloadable cheat sheets, which students use to build or repair understanding of a topic before or alongside question practice.

Why the answer is what it is

The NCLEX-RN tests clinical judgment, not recall of isolated facts, and the exam rewards students who can reason through a scenario rather than recite a definition. Simple Nursing's format, short videos with visual analogies and rhymes, is well suited to the recall layer of that problem: getting drug classes, lab values, and pathophysiology to stick.

It is less suited to the judgment layer, because watching a video does not require you to apply a concept under exam-style pressure. That is why students who use Simple Nursing as their only prep resource often describe understanding content in lecture form but struggling when the same content appears inside a multi-step NGN case study or a question that requires prioritisation rather than identification.

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Exceptions and edge cases

For a student who is failing not because of reasoning but because of a genuine content gap, for instance never having grasped acid-base balance, Simple Nursing's targeted videos can close that gap faster than re-reading a textbook. In that specific case it earns its place as a primary resource for the topic, temporarily.

For a student who already has solid content knowledge and is failing practice exams on application-style questions, more video content will not move the needle much, because the deficit is not knowledge but exam-taking judgment under NGN's case-study format. That student needs volume on NCLEX-style questions with rationales, not more lecture time.

What to do next

Use Simple Nursing, or any similar video platform, to shore up specific weak topics you can name, rather than watching the full library end to end as a study plan on its own. Treat it as a reference you dip into when a question bank shows you a recurring gap, not as the spine of your prep.

Pair it with a question bank that includes Next Generation NCLEX (NGN) item types, since that is where clinical judgment is actually assessed and where a purely video-based plan tends to fall short. Track your weak categories from practice questions, then go back to the matching video only for those categories.

The next step on this is the same as on everything else here: answer questions and read the rationales. Our fundamentals practice questions are the closest set to what this page covers.

Common questions

Is Simple Nursing enough to pass the NCLEX on its own?

Most students who pass do not rely on it alone. It is strong for content review and memorisation but does not provide the volume of NGN-style clinical judgment questions the exam actually tests, so it is usually paired with a dedicated question bank.

Is Simple Nursing free?

No, it is a paid subscription service, though it has historically offered limited free preview content. Check the current pricing on its own site, as subscription tiers and trial availability change.

How is Simple Nursing different from UWorld?

Simple Nursing is primarily video lectures and cheat sheets built for learning content; UWorld is primarily a large NCLEX-style question bank with detailed rationales built for practising exam judgment. Many students use both, for different jobs.

Who is Simple Nursing best suited to?

Students who learn well from short visual explanations and mnemonics, and who need to fix specific content gaps quickly, get the most out of it. Students who already know the content but struggle with application-style questions will get more value from question-bank practice.