NMC Test of Competence — CBT · United Kingdom · Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), United Kingdom
Original practice questions written to the published syllabus · not past papersThe procedures, and the reasoning underneath them
In the exams: NORCET: Mains — nursing practice, case-scenario based (100 questions); NMC Test of Competence — CBT: Part B — Clinical (100 marks, 68% to pass); NMC Test of Competence — OSCE: APIE — assessment, planning, implementation, evaluation (4 linked stations); Philippine Nurse Licensure Examination: Foundations and community health (Paper 1); Japan National Nursing Examination: Foundations of nursing and professional practice (Core across both sections); NMCN Professional Examination: Foundations and fundamentals of nursing (Core paper); Nursing Council of Kenya Licensure Examination: Fundamentals and clinical skills (Core); NMBA Outcomes-Based Assessment: Assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation (The structure of the practical stations)
How our questions for NMC Test of Competence spread across the units of Nursing Foundations II. Difficulty: 24 easy, 50 medium, 17 hard.
| End-of-manual check | 12 | |
| What Changes When Equipment Arrives | 5 | |
| Asepsis in Practice | 5 | |
| Oxygen | 5 | |
| Suction and Airway Care | 5 | |
| Wounds and Dressings | 5 | |
| Injections and Sharps | 5 | |
| Intravenous Access and Infusions | 5 | |
| Tubes, Drains and What They Empty | 5 | |
| Specimens and Assisting with Procedures | 5 | |
| The Unconscious Patient | 5 | |
| Bandages, Splints and Immobilisation | 5 | |
| The End of Life, and After | 4 | |
| Teaching the Patient | 4 | |
| Heat, Cold and the Simple Measures | 4 | |
| When the Supplies Are Not There | 4 | |
| Recording What You Did | 4 | |
| Being Examined On This | 4 |
Choose an answer, then open the working. Each explanation says why the right answer is right and why the others are not.
A patient's cannula site is swollen and cool, and the infusion is still running. What comes first?
D. Stop the infusion and assess the site
Swelling and coolness suggest fluid escaping into tissue rather than the vein, and with some substances that causes serious tissue damage. Stopping removes the cause before anything else is decided, which is why continuing at any rate is wrong.
Further reading: SUNYRA nursing manual: Nursing Foundations II
Why do wounds heal better moist than dry?
B. A wound allowed to dry forms a scab that repair must work beneath
Maintaining a moist wound environment supports tissue repair, whereas drying out produces a scab over tissue that then has to heal underneath it. The dressing is chosen for what the wound is doing, which is why assessing the wound is the part that matters.
Further reading: SUNYRA nursing manual: Nursing Foundations II
When do most breaches of asepsis happen?
B. Before the procedure begins, during preparation
Most breaches happen in preparation: an undecontaminated trolley, missing equipment fetched mid-procedure, a pack opened carelessly. Preparation is most of the skill.
Further reading: Laisha original question, written to the SUNYRA nursing manual: Nursing Foundations II
An unresponsive patient is breathing. How should they be positioned?
B. In the recovery position
The recovery position lets the tongue fall forward and vomit drain out of the mouth rather than into the airway.
Further reading: Laisha original question, written to the SUNYRA nursing manual: Nursing Foundations II
Why does mouth care belong with airway care?
D. A dirty mouth seeds the lungs with organisms
In patients not eating, drinking or breathing through the nose, the mouth deteriorates within hours, and its organisms reach the lungs when aspirated.
Further reading: Laisha original question, written to the SUNYRA nursing manual: Nursing Foundations II
Why should a peripheral cannula not be treated casually?
A. It is a direct route for organisms into the bloodstream
A cannula sits in a vein and is a direct route into the blood. Bloodstream infection is among the most serious healthcare-associated infections.
Further reading: Laisha original question, written to the SUNYRA nursing manual: Nursing Foundations II
What is the most serious avoidable harm from a displaced feeding tube?
B. Feed delivered into a lung
A feeding tube that has moved into the airway delivers feed into the lung, one of the most serious avoidable harms in ward nursing.
Further reading: Laisha original question, written to the SUNYRA nursing manual: Nursing Foundations II
Why does the right container matter for a specimen?
D. The container and preservative are part of the test
The wrong container or preservative may lead to rejection or, worse, a misleading result that is processed and reported.
Further reading: Laisha original question, written to the SUNYRA nursing manual: Nursing Foundations II
A patient's arm is in a sling. What else does it need?
B. Regular shoulder movement unless told otherwise
A limb in a sling still needs the shoulder moved to prevent stiffness, unless movement is specifically restricted.
Further reading: Laisha original question, written to the SUNYRA nursing manual: Nursing Foundations II
What must be recorded about consent for a procedure?
C. That it was explained, agreed to, and the patient was competent
The record shows explanation, agreement and capacity. Refusals are recorded too, with what was explained and offered.
Further reading: Laisha original question, written to the SUNYRA nursing manual: Nursing Foundations II
Ten here, 91 in the app. The Laisha app has every practice question we have written to NMC Test of Competence in this subject, marked as you go, with timed papers, a jump-to-unanswered list and a certificate when you pass at 70 per cent.
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