Written and checked against the NMC’s published sources by The NMCMATE editorial team.Last checked .
17 marks of the 100 in Part B, which runs for 150 minutes.
Platform 1 is the largest single category in Part B, and it is the one where clinical knowledge does not help you. The questions describe a situation and ask what a registered nurse is required to do, and the answer comes from the Code and the law rather than from what would keep the peace.
What this section asks about
The Code: prioritise people, practise effectively, preserve safety, promote professionalism
Accountability, including what stays with you when you delegate a task
Consent, mental capacity and the Mental Capacity Act two-stage test
Record keeping, including how to correct an entry you have already made
The professional duty of candour, raising concerns and whistleblowing protection
Professional boundaries and social media
Where the marks go
17 marks of the 100 in Part B, which runs for 150 minutes. The NMC splits this section across the levels of Bloom's taxonomy:
Remember and understand: 6
Apply and analyse: 6
Evaluate and create: 5
Where candidates lose marks
Picking the option that avoids conflict. The Code often requires the more uncomfortable action.
Handing accountability to the person you delegated to. It stays with the registered nurse who delegated.
Treating capacity as a diagnosis. Capacity is decision-specific and time-specific.
Sample questions
From our bank, with the explanation as a student sees it. These particular questions are kept out of the mock papers, so reading them here does not use anything up.
Sample 1 of 2
A staff nurse recovering from a fractured distal radius is capable of clinical triage, patient education, and computer documentation, but is temporarily prohibited from manual handling and bedside hoisting. Which formal adjustment to working arrangements does this represent?
Select one answer.
AA phased return to work
BAltered hours of work
CWorkplace adaptations
DAmended dutiesAnswer
Why
Temporarily removing high-risk tasks such as manual handling while retaining other clinical responsibilities constitutes amended duties. Workplace adaptations would instead involve physical alterations to the working environment or providing ergonomic equipment to enable existing duties to continue.
NMC Standards of Proficiency Platform 1
Sample 2 of 2
In the emergency department, a nurse relies disproportionately on an initial triage handover of alcohol intoxication, failing to revise the working diagnosis when new focal neurological deficits emerge during observation. Which cognitive bias is demonstrated in this clinical assessment?
Select one answer.
AAnchoring biasAnswer
BConfirmation bias
CAvailability bias
DPremature closure
Why
The decisive fact is the failure to adjust initial impressions despite subsequent conflicting clinical findings, which constitutes anchoring bias. Availability bias would involve estimating diagnostic probability based on memorable recent encounters.
NMC Standards of Proficiency Platform 1; NMC Code (2018)
The proficiency statements behind this section
Questions in this section are written against the NMC's Future Nurse standards. These are the 20 statements it draws from. You are not expected to memorise them, and they are worth reading once so the language on the paper is familiar. The ones marked are patient safety proficiencies, which every paper has to reach a minimum of.
1.1Understand and act in accordance with the Code: Professional standards of practice and behaviour for nurses, midwives and nursing associates, and fulfil all registration requirementssafety
1.2Understand and apply relevant legal, regulatory and governance requirements, policies and ethical frameworks, including any mandatory reporting duties, to all areas of practicesafety
1.3Understand and apply the principles of courage, transparency and the professional duty of candour, recognising and reporting any situations, behaviours or errors that could result in poor care outcomessafety
1.4Demonstrate an understanding of, and the ability to, challenge discriminatory behaviour
1.5Understand the demands of professional practice and demonstrate how to recognise signs of vulnerability in themselves or colleagues and the action required to minimise risks to health
1.6Understand the professional responsibility to adopt a healthy lifestyle to maintain the level of personal fitness and wellbeing required to meet people's needs for mental and physical care
1.7Demonstrate an understanding of research methods, ethics and governance in order to critically analyse, safely use, share and apply research findings to promote and inform best nursing practice
1.8Demonstrate the knowledge, skills and ability to think critically when applying evidence and drawing on experience to make evidence informed decisions in all situations
1.9Understand the need to base all decisions regarding care and interventions on people’s needs and preferences, recognising and addressing any personal and external factors that may unduly influence their decisions
1.10Demonstrate resilience and emotional intelligence and be capable of explaining the rationale that influences their judgments and decisions in routine, complex and challenging situations
1.11Communicate effectively using a range of skills and strategies with colleagues and people at all stages of life and with a range of mental, physical, cognitive and behavioural health challengessafety
1.12Demonstrate the skills and abilities required to support people at all stages of life who are emotionally or physically vulnerablesafety
1.13Demonstrate the skills and abilities required to develop, manage and maintain appropriate relationships with people, their families, carers and colleagues
1.14Provide and promote non-discriminatory, person centred and sensitive care at all times, reflecting on people’s values and beliefs, diverse backgrounds, cultural characteristics, language requirements, needs and preferences, taking account of any need for adjustments
1.15Demonstrate the numeracy, literacy, digital and technological skills required to meet the needs of people in their care to ensure safe and effective nursing practicesafety
1.16Demonstrate the ability to keep complete, clear, accurate and timely recordssafety
1.17Take responsibility for continuous self- reflection, seeking and responding to support and feedback to develop their professional knowledge and skills
1.18Demonstrate the knowledge and confidence to contribute effectively and proactively in an interdisciplinary team
1.19Act as an ambassador, upholding the reputation of their profession and promoting public confidence in nursing, health and care services
1.20Safely demonstrate evidence based practice in all skills and procedures stated in Annexes A and B. These have been mapped to the proficiencies and integrated across the platforms. See individual platforms for full details.
Questions people ask
Why does Platform 1 carry the most marks?
The published test specification draws more Part B questions from Platform 1 than from any other platform, which reflects that accountability underpins everything else on the register.
Do I need to memorise the Code?
You need to be able to apply it. Questions rarely ask what a clause says; they describe a situation where two reasonable-sounding actions conflict and ask which one the Code requires.
Practise this section
Practice is filtered by section, so you can work on this one on its own. Every account gets 10 new questions a day without a card.