NMCMATE

NMC CBT study guide

This is a route through the NMC Test of Competence computer-based test: what is in each part, which order to work through it, and where the marks are usually lost. Every section links to a fuller page, so you can read this once and then work from the parts you need.

The exam is 115 questions in 3 hours, sat in one appointment as two separately timed and separately passed papers. If you are not sure what you are sitting yet, start with what the CBT is .

A six step route

  1. 1

    Learn the shape of the paper

    Before anything else, know what you are sitting. Two parts, timed and passed separately, in one appointment.

    What the NMC CBT is
  2. 2

    Find out where you actually are

    Answer a mixed set before you revise anything. Revising the topics you already know is the commonest way to waste a month.

    Take a free practice test
  3. 3

    Work the numeracy separately

    Part A is passed on its own and is where a strong nurse most often comes unstuck, because it tests UK conventions rather than clinical judgement.

    Practise Part A numeracy
  4. 4

    Work through the clinical sections

    Take the platforms one at a time rather than answering at random. Each one has its own vocabulary and its own recurring traps.

    All fifteen sections
  5. 5

    Sit a full timed mock

    Reading questions and sitting them under a clock are different skills. Do the timed version before the day itself does it to you.

    Sit a mock test
  6. 6

    Then start on the OSCE

    The second half of the Test of Competence, taken in the UK. Worth beginning before you have passed the CBT, because the waiting times are their own problem.

    The NMC OSCE

Part A: numeracy

15 questions in 30 minutes. You type a number rather than choosing an option, and there is a calculator on screen. It is passed on its own, so a strong clinical paper cannot carry it.

Practise Part A numeracy free , with worked steps on every answer.

Part B: clinical

100 questions in 2 hours 30 minutes, four options each and one best answer. It follows the seven Future Nurse platforms plus the two annexes. Around 10 of these are specific to your field of practice and the rest are common to all four fields.

Practise it

Free practice test Both parts, no account and no card. Full timed mock Both parts under their own clocks, marked separately. Questions with answers For reading through rather than sitting. The question bank10 new questions a day on the free plan.

Guides to read alongside this one

Common questions

How long should I study for the NMC CBT?

There is no single answer, and anyone quoting one is guessing. What decides it is how far UK practice sits from the practice you trained in, not how many years you have nursed. The useful move is to sit a mixed practice set first and let the result set the timetable, rather than picking a number of weeks and hoping.

Should I revise Part A and Part B together?

Separately, at least at first. They are passed separately, they test different things, and numeracy improves with short daily practice in a way clinical questions do not. Mixing them from the start tends to mean the numeracy gets the time left over.

Do I need to memorise the Future Nurse proficiency statements?

No. There are 103 of them across the platforms and the annexes, and the exam tests whether you can act on them rather than recite them. They are worth reading once, so the language on the paper is familiar, and worth using as a checklist of what you have not covered.

Is the exam different for my field of practice?

Mostly not. Around 10 of the 100 clinical questions are specific to your field of practice and the rest are common to all four. It is worth knowing which field you registered under, and it is not worth building your revision around it.

What happens if I fail one part?

You resit only the part you did not pass. That is the practical reason the two parts are worth preparing separately.

Once the CBT is behind you, the OSCE is the other half of the Test of Competence and the one with the longer waiting list.

Practise an OSCE station online