NMC CBT numeracy practice: drug calculations
These are Part A questions, and they work the way Part A works: no options to pick from, a number you have to arrive at and type. Part A is fifteen questions in thirty minutes with a calculator on screen, and it is passed separately from the clinical part, which is why it is worth practising on its own rather than mixed in with everything else.
- All six numeracy categories the NMC lists for Part A
- Answers typed as a number, not chosen from options
- A worked explanation showing the steps, not just the total
- Free, with no account needed
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Questions people ask
- How long do I get for the numeracy part?
- Thirty minutes for fifteen questions, which is two minutes each. There is a calculator on screen and an erasable note board on the desk, though you must not write on the board until the tutorial has finished.
- Do I have to type the unit as well as the number?
- Read the lead-in and give the answer in the form it asks for. The commonest way to lose a mark here is arriving at the right quantity and then writing it in the wrong unit, or rounding when the question did not ask you to.
- What kinds of calculation come up?
- Converting between micrograms, milligrams and grams, working out how many tablets or what volume of a liquid gives a prescribed dose, injection volumes, infusion and drip rates, and reading a fluid balance chart. The NMC lists these six areas and sets how many questions come from each.
- Is the numeracy part harder than the clinical part?
- It is a different skill rather than a harder one, and most candidates are noticeably weaker at one of the two. Thirty minutes is the pressure people underestimate, which is the argument for practising it timed rather than untimed.