Northern Marianas College nursing graduate Paulaine Sasamoto joins the long list of NMC students who have passed the National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses or NCLEX-RN.
Nursing graduates must pass the NCLEX-RN to be able to practice nursing in the United States. The exam tests the knowledge, skills, and abilities of nursing graduates in order to certify that they are capable of applying entry-level nursing practices correctly.
“It’s great to see more and more NMC nursing graduates pass the challenging NCLEX-RN,” NMC President Galvin Deleon Guerrero, EdD said. “I congratulate Paulaine on this accomplishment.”
NMC Nursing Department Chair Rosa Aldan likewise congratulated Sasamoto on her achievement.
“The Nursing team and I are very proud of Paulaine’s accomplishment,” Aldan said. “We are excited for her to begin her career as a registered nurse and give back to the CNMI community through her service.”
Paulaine Sasamoto, a 2022 NMC nursing graduate, pursued nursing as a gateway to more opportunities.
“I decided to pursue nursing because I was intrigued that it was a degree that allows me to explore different career pathways beyond bedside care,” Sasamoto said.
When asked about what contributed to her succeeding in passing the NCLEX, she discovered she retains information better through practice questions, preparing herself on top of working a full-time job.
“I found out that I retain information better by working through practice questions to gauge what concepts I understand or highlight aspects that I lack knowledge on instead of reading through notes. Since I was working full-time, I tried to do at least 20-30 questions per day and remediate before going to bed.”
Sasamoto also mentions NMC in her preparations for the NCLEX, “NMC prepared me for NCLEX by exposing me to the test experience through weekly practice exams and helping me understand how NCLEX determines if an examiner has the critical thinking skills and understanding of fundamental concepts.”
She also shares advice to her fellow NMC Nursing students who are planning to take the NCLEX.
“My advice to future NCLEX examiners is to continue to take practice exams to build your testing endurance, always read through the questions to understand what it is asking you, rationalize the answer options to recognize why one answer is more correct than the others and don't spend too much time on a question because you might second guess your answer,” Sasamoto said.
Sasamoto is now a registered nurse at the Marianas Reproductive Institute.
For more information about NMC's nursing program, email NMC Nursing Department Chair Rosa T. Aldan at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call (670) 237-6744.