An NCLEX-style question generator that only uses your lecture

What “NCLEX-style” means on a course exam

Nursing programs often write their course exams in the NCLEX format, because that is the licensing exam the program is preparing you for. In practice, that means a few things show up again and again:

• Multiple choice with one best answer. Several options can be true. The question asks which is best, first or most important.
• Select all that apply (SATA). Any number of options can be correct, so each one has to be judged on its own.
• Prioritization and delegation stems. “Which client should the nurse see first?” “Which task can the nurse delegate to assistive personnel?” These test judgment, not recall.
• Rationale-driven. Knowing the answer is not enough. You need to know why each option is right or wrong, because the next question will rearrange the same facts.

Why generic question generators fall short

Paste a topic into a general AI tool and you will get questions. The trouble is what comes with them:

• Questions from outside your lecture. A general model answers from everything it has read, so you study material your professor never covered and miss what they stressed.
• Keys that are wrong. A confident answer key that disagrees with your slides is worse than no key at all.
• No rationale per option. “B is correct” teaches one fact. The wrong options are where the learning is.
• Repeats. Ask for more and the same few questions come back reworded.

How Sturse generates questions from your upload

You upload a lecture: PDF, PowerPoint, Word and more, up to 50 MB. Sturse reads text inside images, charts and diagrams too. Then it builds questions from that upload, not a question bank.

• You shape the quiz. Pick 10, 15, 20 or 25 questions, choose how many are SATA, and type a topic focus if you want one, such as a drug class or a body system from the lecture.
• Every choice is explained. Each answer option, right or wrong, gets its own rationale citing your document, plus the nursing concept behind the question and a test-taking tip.
• It points back to the source. The rationale shows which part of your material it came from, and the lecture itself is viewable in the app while you study.
• 100 fresh questions per lecture before anything repeats, with unanswered questions served first.
• Every score is kept. Retake a quiz, or replay just the questions you missed.
• Flag a bad question and it is removed for good.

What a SATA rationale looks like

Here is the shape of one question, from a pharm lecture that covers loop diuretics. A client receiving furosemide for heart failure has these findings. Which should the nurse report to the provider? Select all that apply.

• Serum potassium 2.9 mEq/L. Correct. Furosemide is a loop diuretic and causes potassium loss. 2.9 is below the usual reference range of about 3.5 to 5.0 mEq/L (use your program’s range).
• Muscle weakness and leg cramps. Correct. These are common signs of low potassium in a client on a potassium-wasting diuretic.
• Blood pressure 118/74 mm Hg. Incorrect. This is within normal limits and needs no report.
• Increased urine output after the dose. Incorrect. This is the expected effect of a diuretic, not a problem.

What it does not do

Sturse writes multiple choice and select-all-that-apply. It does not make Next Gen NCLEX item types such as case studies, drag-and-drop or hotspots.

It also does not write questions without a lecture. Every question needs an upload behind it, which is the point: if it is not in your material, it is not on your quiz. Sturse does not train on your uploads.

Getting started

Your first lecture is free, quiz and study guide included, no card needed, and the free plan never expires. Pro is $18.99 a month for every lecture, with an annual option on pricing. Finished a quiz? Share it by link and classmates can take the same questions and rationales without uploading anything. Their scores, and yours, stay private.

For calculation practice, try the free dosage calculation practice page. More answers are in the FAQ.

Questions students ask