NMCMATE

How to plan your NMC CBT revision

Written and checked against the NMC’s published sources by The NMCMATE editorial team.Last checked .

Nobody can honestly tell you how many questions to do or how many weeks to allow, because it depends on how far UK practice sits from where you trained. What you can do is plan by method instead of by number: measure where you are, spend time where the marks are, and work backwards from the date you have booked. The paper is 115 questions, and its shape is published.

A plan that does not depend on a number

  • Measure before you plan. Do a mixed set across both parts first and let the result tell you how much time you need. Picking a number of weeks before you know your starting point is the usual way to plan too little or too much.
  • Plan the two parts separately. Part A is 15 questions and Part B is 100, they are passed separately, and numeracy improves with short, frequent sessions in a way that clinical reasoning does not.
  • Weight your time by the blueprint. Platform 1: Being an accountable professional carries 17 of the 100 clinical questions, while the smallest category carries 7. A category worth more marks deserves more time, all else being equal, and your weakest ones come first.
  • Judge progress by what you have learnt rather than how many questions you have done. A smaller set with every miss understood is worth more than a large one skimmed. Track your accuracy in each category over time instead of a running total.
  • Bring timed practice in later. Early on, untimed sets with explanations build knowledge. Closer to the date, practise to the pace the NMC advises, a maximum of 2 minutes a question in Part A and 1.5 in Part B, and sit at least one full paper in both parts so the stamina is familiar.
  • Work backwards from your booking. Fix the date first, then place a first measurement, the weak-category work and your timed papers before it. If you need a resit, the NMC requires at least 10 days between sittings, and the same preparation tends to give the same result.

Where candidates come unstuck

  • Starting with a full mock before you have covered the content. It tells you that you are not ready and little else.
  • Spreading your time evenly across every category. The blueprint is not even, and neither is your knowledge.
  • Doing numeracy in one long session each week. Short daily practice on calculations holds better than a long session with gaps.
  • Revising only by reading. The exam asks you to choose and to calculate, so most of your time should be spent doing both.

Common questions

How many practice questions should I do for the NMC CBT?
There is no published or reliable number, and a site that gives one is guessing. A better test is whether your accuracy in each category has stopped moving and whether you can explain, not only recognise, the answers you got right. If you can, you have done enough.
How many weeks do I need to prepare?
It depends on your starting point, which is why the first step is to measure it. Someone whose training is close to UK practice may need less than someone whose is not, and years of experience are a poor predictor either way.
Can I start with free questions?
Yes. Every account here gets 10 new questions a day without a card, which is enough to measure where you stand in a few days and to see how explanations work. Full mocks need paid access.
How many full mock tests should I sit?
Enough that the format and the clock stop being a surprise. Each paper is also a measurement, so the useful number is how many you have time to review properly afterwards, since an unreviewed mock teaches little.

Where these figures come from

Practise for it

Questions weighted the way the NMC weights the real paper, with a worked explanation on every one. Ten free a day, no card needed.

Start free See the question bank

This page is one part of the exam. Work through the whole thing with the NMC CBT study guide.