What's new
What's new in October 2026
Everything we shipped to BoardPal in October 2026.
Oct 15 to 21 · 39 improvements
21Oct · Wed
Faster servers after tonight's slowdown
Improved- Improved
BoardPal now runs on bigger servers with 4 times the memory. more ▾less ▴
So many students now study with BoardPal that we moved it to bigger servers with 4 times the memory, so it can keep up as more of you join. The heaviest background work now also runs outside the busy evening study hours.
Shorter explanations on 300 more questions
Improved- Improved
Explanations on 300 more questions shortened, every reason and definition kept. more ▾less ▴
The explanations on 300 more of the most-answered one-answer questions were shortened to 150 words or fewer, down from about 234 words for a typical one. Each still gives every reason the answer is right and every reason each other option is wrong, keeps a plain definition of every term it relies on, and opens with the answer. Each was checked by two reviewers. The question itself was also shortened on 22 of them, without removing anything the answer needs. The answers are unchanged.
Eye injuries, pink eye and eye surgery topic revised
Improved- Improved
39 eye questions rebuilt: shorter, harder choices, clearer explanations. more ▾less ▴
39 eye questions were rebuilt: chemical splashes, hyphema, eye injuries, pink eye, corneal problems, retinoblastoma and care before and after eye surgery. Stems are shorter, all four choices are closer, and every explanation is in plain words.
Ear and hearing loss topic revised
Improved- Improved
33 ear and hearing loss questions rebuilt: shorter, harder choices, clearer explanations. more ▾less ▴
33 questions on ear anatomy, ear assessment and hearing loss were rebuilt: the Rinne and Weber tuning-fork tests, otoscopy, conductive and sensorineural loss, presbycusis, hearing aids and talking with a client who has hearing loss. Stems are shorter, all four choices are closer, and every explanation is in plain words.
Metabolic bone disorders topic revised
Improved- Improved
36 bone disorder questions rebuilt: shorter, harder choices, clearer explanations. more ▾less ▴
36 metabolic bone disorder questions were rebuilt: osteoporosis, osteomalacia, Paget disease and rickets. Stems are shorter, all four choices are closer, and every explanation is in plain words.
Clearer word on what redoing a question counts for
Improved- Improved
Redos and the Vault now say they never change your rating. more ▾less ▴
Retry your misses, the Vault and the Help page now say plainly that your rating counts only your first try on each question, so redoing a question or clearing your Vault never raises or lowers it. A redo made at least 3 days later still counts toward the topic's Now score. In the cram sheet reader, the top-left link now reads Back to Resources.
- Improved
20Oct · Tue
Turn on the reading step from Home
Improved- Improved
Older plans can turn on the reading step from Home. more ▾less ▴
If your Study Plan was made before the reading step existed, Home now shows a card to turn it on, right above Today's Plan. Tap Turn on, or Not now to hide it.
Getting into your new account is easier
Improved- Improved
Easier to get a fresh confirmation link. more ▾less ▴
Didn't get the confirmation email? The log-in page now has a Resend confirmation email button, and if you haven't confirmed after an hour we send the link once more. Spotted a typo in your email after signing up? There's now a Fix it button on the check-your-email screen.
Study Plan setup: long plans and a sample week on Home
Improved- Improved
Home shows a sample week before your plan is set up. more ▾less ▴
Before you set up a plan, the Today's Plan card on Home now shows a sample week, so you can see what your days will look like.
A shorter, simpler Study Plan setup
Improved- Improved
Plan setup now fits on one screen, with the build button always in reach. more ▾less ▴
Setting up your Study Plan now fits on one screen: your two dates, how long until your exam, your daily time and rest days. The build button stays at the bottom of the screen, so you never have to scroll to find it.
- Improved
Sections and flashcards live in More options, with full section names. more ▾less ▴
Exam sections and daily flashcards moved into More options, and each section now shows its full name and topic count on phones too. One Your plan box shows your typical day, questions and mock boards.
Study Plan: read the topic's cram sheet pages before its questions
Improved- Improved
Reading fits inside your daily time; switch it in Study steps. more ▾less ▴
Reading time comes out of your daily study time, never on top of it. If your days are already full of questions, only some topics get a reading step, and the Study steps setting shows how many. Turn reading on or off there, next to flashcards.
- Improved
Older plans: tap Turn on in your Study Plan to add reading. more ▾less ▴
Plans made before this update start with reading off. To add it, open your Study Plan and tap Turn on in the "New: read before each topic" card, or open Plan settings, then Study steps, and set Read before each new topic to On. Your finished work stays where it is.
- Improved
19Oct · Mon
Endocrine emergencies topic revised
Improved- Improved
35 endocrine emergency questions rebuilt: shorter, harder choices, clearer explanations. more ▾less ▴
35 endocrine emergency questions were rebuilt: diabetic ketoacidosis, hyperosmolar hyperglycemic state, low blood sugar, thyroid storm, myxedema coma, adrenal crisis and pheochromocytoma. Stems are shorter, all four choices are closer, and every explanation is in plain words.
Pediatric legal principles and teamwork topic revised
Improved- Improved
34 pediatric legal and teamwork questions rebuilt: shorter, harder choices, clearer explanations. more ▾less ▴
34 pediatric legal and teamwork questions were rebuilt: consent and a child's own agreement, privacy, reporting child abuse, charting, medication safety, delegation, restraints, and handoffs. Stems are shorter, all four choices are closer, and every explanation is in plain words.
Autonomic dysreflexia topic revised
Improved- Improved
31 autonomic dysreflexia questions rebuilt: shorter, harder choices, clearer explanations. more ▾less ▴
31 autonomic dysreflexia questions were rebuilt: recognizing an episode, positioning, finding the trigger in the bladder, bowel or skin, medicines, and teaching the client. Stems are shorter, all four choices are closer, and every explanation is in plain words.
Clearer password rules when you sign up
Improved- Improved
A password from a known data leak now gets its own clear message. more ▾less ▴
If a password has appeared in a data leak on another website, sign-up and password reset now say so plainly and ask for a different one, instead of repeating the general rules.
Cram sheet pictures now name their parts
Improved- Improved
Pictures on six cram sheets now show numbers and names on the picture itself. more ▾less ▴
Pictures of body parts and equipment on six cram sheets now show a number and a short name right on the picture, so you can tell which shape is the lens or the drain bag without searching the text. The numbers match the list beside each picture. The sheets are Anatomy and Physiology, Nutrition & Gastrointestinal, Neuro B, Neuro C, Renal & Urinary Elimination, and Sensory. Your notes and highlights stay where you left them.
Partner milestones and a day-by-day earnings view
Improved- Improved
Partners can see their earnings day by day for the last 30 days. more ▾less ▴
The Partner Portal's earnings chart can now show the last 30 days, day by day, with the best day marked, so partners can see which days their posts brought in sales.
Clearer topic scores on Home
Improved- Improved
Home's weak spots now show when a score is your Now score. more ▾less ▴
Your weak spots on Home now say when a topic's number is its Now score, with your first try beside it, the same as Topic Mastery and Performance. Topic lines that wrap on a phone also read more cleanly.
- Improved
18Oct · Sun
Review sets put the right questions first
Improved- Improved
Review sets in a finished topic now start with questions you have not seen for 3 days. more ▾less ▴
When you have answered every question in a topic, its practice sets now start with the questions you have not seen for at least 3 days, the ones you last got wrong first. Those are the answers that move your Now score, so review time goes where it counts. Questions you saw in the last few days come last.
Smoother mock exams and faster flashcards
Improved- Improved
The next flashcard shows the moment you rate one. more ▾less ▴
The next flashcard now shows the moment you tap a rating. Your rating saves in the background, and if your connection drops, a note says so and the rating saves once you are back online.
- Improved
Highlighting and the pen respond faster, most of all on slower tablets. more ▾less ▴
Highlighting and the pen respond faster in mock exams, practice and the diagnostic, most of all on slower tablets. The mock exam clock and the practice timers no longer make the whole page redraw every second.
Nose and throat questions revised
Improved- Improved
31 nose and throat questions rebuilt: shorter, harder choices, clearer explanations. more ▾less ▴
31 nose and throat questions were rebuilt: nosebleeds and nasal packing, tonsillectomy and adenoidectomy care, sinusitis and allergy sprays, sleep apnea, strep throat and throat abscess, laryngitis and laryngectomy. Stems are shorter, all four choices are closer, and every explanation is in plain words.
Ethics and law in maternal care revised
Improved- Improved
38 maternal ethics and law questions rebuilt: shorter, harder choices, clearer explanations. more ▾less ▴
38 questions on ethics and the law in maternal care were rebuilt: consent, a woman's right to refuse, confidentiality, honest charting, reporting abuse, the breastfeeding and rooming-in law, family planning rights, and fair use of scarce resources. Stems are shorter, all four choices are closer, and every explanation is in plain words.
Infectious diseases topic revised
Improved- Improved
57 infectious disease questions rebuilt: shorter, harder choices, clearer explanations. more ▾less ▴
57 infectious disease questions were rebuilt: hepatitis A to E, HIV and AIDS, sexually transmitted infections, COVID-19, and infection control and protective equipment. Stems are shorter, all four choices are closer, and every explanation is in plain words.
- Improved
17Oct · Sat
Choose how many questions come from each topic
Improved- Improved
The set builder remembers your last choices. more ▾less ▴
The set builder now remembers your last number of questions, mode and question choice on this device, so you don't have to set them again each time.
Acid-base and ABG questions revised
Improved- Improved
61 acid-base questions rebuilt: shorter, harder choices, clearer explanations. more ▾less ▴
61 acid-base questions were rebuilt: reading an arterial blood gas, how the lungs and kidneys compensate, and the nursing care behind each result. Stems are shorter, all four choices are closer, fewer questions ask the same thing, and every explanation is in plain words.
Childhood brain and nerve topic revised
Improved- Improved
59 childhood brain and nerve questions rebuilt: shorter, harder choices, clearer explanations. more ▾less ▴
59 questions on childhood brain and nerve problems were rebuilt: pressure inside a child's skull and head injury, seizures, meningitis, cerebral palsy, water on the brain and shunts, spina bifida, and Reye syndrome. Stems are shorter, all four choices are closer, and every explanation is in plain words. Every answer letter is unchanged.
Emergency care topic revised
Improved- Improved
68 emergency care questions rebuilt: shorter, harder choices, clearer explanations. more ▾less ▴
68 emergency care questions were rebuilt: CPR and cardiac arrest, the first checks after an injury, bleeding control, chest injuries, burns, poisoning and antidotes, heat and cold injuries, bites and allergic reactions, and disaster triage. Stems are shorter, all four choices are closer, and every explanation is in plain words.
Smoother Pencil writing and clearer calendar steps
Improved- Improved
Clearer Google Calendar steps for Android phones. more ▾less ▴
Adding your study plan to Google Calendar on an Android phone now shows both steps: add it from a computer, then switch on Sync for BoardPal Study Plan in the Google Calendar app. The Help page answers this too.
- Improved
16Oct · Fri
A tidier topnotcher row on the home page
Improved- Improved
Evener topnotcher cards and a clearer count on the home page. more ▾less ▴
The topnotcher cards on the home page are now closer in length, so the row reads evenly, and the count above them now says which exam the 17 topnotchers came from: the August 2026 PNLE.
A daily maximum for new flashcards
Improved- Improved
A generous daily maximum for new flashcards protects the decks. more ▾less ▴
Full access now has a daily maximum for new flashcards, set far above any real study day, to protect the decks from bulk copying. Cards you have already reviewed and your own decks are never limited.
Today's free questions stay the same when you reload
Improved- Improved
A generous daily practice maximum protects the question bank. more ▾less ▴
Full access now has a daily practice maximum, set far above any real study day, to protect the question bank from bulk copying.
Easier to find the review guide and cram sheet previews
Improved- Improved
The review guide and cram sheet previews are linked across the site. more ▾less ▴
The home page, the free topics list and every topic page now link to the PNLE review guide and the cram sheet previews, and each topic page shows the cram sheets that cover it.
- Improved
Home page cram sheet section rebalanced on tablets and laptops. more ▾less ▴
On the home page, the cram sheet section now shows its pages on the right, opposite the feature preview above it, and the sheets no longer run past the edge of the screen on tablets.
- Improved
15Oct · Thu
Topic pages: tap a choice to check it
Improved- Improved
Tap a choice on the free topic pages to check it instantly. more ▾less ▴
On the free topic pages, tap a choice to check it: the right answer turns green, a wrong pick turns red, and the full explanation opens. The list of topics is now grouped by Nursing Practice area.
Page share titles and site name for Google
Improved- Improved
Shared links to About, Stories and other pages show their own titles. more ▾less ▴
A shared link to a page such as About, Student stories or the Partner Program now shows that page's own title and description in the preview, instead of the main site title.
- Improved
Google can now read our official name, logo and pages. more ▾less ▴
The home page now tells Google that this site is NLE BoardPal, also known as BoardPal, along with our logo and official Facebook, Instagram and Telegram pages, so searches for the name can find us more easily over time.
Shared links now show a preview picture
Improved- Improved
Shared BoardPal links now show a picture and a short description. more ▾less ▴
When you share an nleboardpal.com link on Facebook, Messenger, TikTok or X, it now shows a BoardPal picture with the site's name and a short description, instead of a bare link.
Stroke topic revised
Improved- Improved
68 stroke questions rebuilt: shorter, harder choices, clearer explanations. more ▾less ▴
68 stroke questions were rebuilt: recognizing a stroke and the first hour of care, clot-dissolving treatment, bleeding in the brain, blood thinners, and recovery care such as speech and swallowing problems, safe transfers and preventing a second stroke. Stems are shorter, all four choices are closer, and every explanation is in plain words.
Pharmacology core principles topic revised
Improved- Improved
161 core pharmacology questions rebuilt: shorter, harder choices, clearer explanations. more ▾less ▴
161 pharmacology questions were rebuilt across the core principles topic: how drugs move through the body and how doses change for children, older adults and pregnancy; side effects, drug interactions and antidotes; teaching and monitoring for specific drugs; and giving medicines safely. Stems are shorter, all four choices are closer, and every explanation is in plain words.
PALMER and ALS questions now link to their cram sheets
Improved- Improved
Search now understands PALMER. more ▾less ▴
Searching "PALMER" in Resources or Practice now finds Professional Adjustment and Jurisprudence, Leadership and Management, and Nursing Research.
Sign-up catches a misspelled email
Improved- Improved
Sign-up spots a misspelled email address. more ▾less ▴
If your email ends in a common misspelling, like gmail.con or gmai.com, the sign-up page now asks if you meant the right address. One tap fixes it, so your confirmation email can actually reach you.
- Improved