Does your field of practice change the NMC CBT?
Barely, and that is worth knowing before you spend money on something sold as field specific. Around 10 of the 100 clinical questions are written for your field. The other 90 are common to all four, and none of the 15 numeracy questions vary by field at all.
So 90 per cent of what you are being tested on is the same whichever part of the register you are joining. Your field decides which blueprint the paper is drawn from, not what kind of exam you are sitting.
15
numeracy questions, identical for every field
90
clinical questions common to all fields
10
clinical questions specific to yours
You do not pick it, your application does
The field follows the part of the register you applied to join. By the time the NMC invites you to sit the test, the field is already set, and it is not something you choose at the test centre or switch between attempts.
That matters most if your own experience does not map neatly onto a UK field. Specialities that are separate registrations in other countries frequently sit inside adult nursing here, so the label you are given may not be the one you would use for yourself.
The four fields
Each has its own blueprint and its own register code. What follows is what the field covers, not what its questions ask: we do not hold the paper and cannot tell you what is on it.
Adult nursing RN1
The largest field by registrant numbers, and the one most overseas nurses join. It spans acute and long-term physical health across the adult lifespan, from surgical and medical wards to community and end of life care.
Mental health nursing RN3
Therapeutic relationships, risk assessment and the legal frameworks around detention and consent. Candidates from systems where mental health nursing is not a separate registration often find this the least familiar of the four.
Learning disabilities nursing RN5
Supporting people with a learning disability to live well and access ordinary healthcare, with reasonable adjustments, capacity and communication running through it. It is a distinct UK registration and has no direct equivalent in many countries.
Children's nursing RN8
Care of infants, children and young people, alongside their families. Consent, safeguarding and weight-based prescribing all work differently from adult practice.
Midwifery is registered and blueprinted separately again, and is not one of the four nursing fields.
What this means for your revision
Work the whole blueprint. Building a revision plan around your field aims 10 per cent of your effort at 10 per cent of the paper, and it is a mistake the market encourages because field-specific courses are easier to sell than honest ones.
Read your own field's standards once so the language is familiar, then spend the time where the marks are: the seven platforms and two annexes that every candidate sits, and the numeracy that does not change at all.
Common questions
Is the NMC CBT different for adult nursing and mental health nursing?
Only slightly. Around 10 of the 100 clinical questions are written for your field and the rest are common to all four. The 15 numeracy questions do not vary by field at all.
Do I choose my field when I book the test?
No. It follows the registration you applied for with the NMC, and the test you are invited to sit is the one for that field. It is not a decision you make at the test centre.
Should I revise differently because of my field?
Not really, and building your revision around it is a common way to spend time badly. About 90 per cent of the clinical paper is common content, so that is where the marks are. Read your own field's standards once, then work the whole blueprint.
What if I trained in a speciality that is not one of the four?
The NMC maps your application onto one of its registration parts. Many specialities that are separate qualifications elsewhere sit inside adult nursing here, which is why the field you are given may not be the word you would use for your own experience.
Your field is a small part of the picture. Work through the whole thing with the NMC CBT study guide.