CBT Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield CBT facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. What does 'adaptive testing' mean from a candidate's perspective during a CBT exam? → The difficulty of subsequent questions changes based on the candidate's responses
2. What is the definition of primary care? → GP practices, dental practices, community pharmacies and high street optometrists.
3. Which of the following do not indicate a speed shock? → Peripheral oedema
4. A patient's hospital discharge planning should begin with: → During the admissions process
5. When authoring multiple-choice questions for a professional certification exam, what is the primary purpose of a well-written distractor? → To be plausible to uninformed candidates but incorrect to knowledgeable ones.
6. What is the term for the period during which a candidate must schedule and complete their CBT exam after registering? → Eligibility window
7. Item exposure control in CAT is implemented primarily to: → Prevent overuse of items that could compromise test security
8. What sort of wound requires a wound care management plan? → Any type of wound
9. Which emerging technology is being explored to further secure CBT item delivery and prevent content theft? → Blockchain-based item provenance tracking
10. What is The NMC Code's purpose? → It is a teaching tool for aspiring nurses and midwives.
11. Compared to a traditional paper-and-pencil fixed-form test, a well-designed CAT of equivalent precision typically requires: → Fewer items to achieve the same reliability
12. Which strategy is recommended for candidates who encounter a difficult question on a linear CBT exam? → Flag it for review and continue, then return before time expires
13. When do you regard a patient's consent to be valid? → Only if a patient has the mental capacity to consent.
14. What happens if a CBT candidate's allotted exam time expires before they submit their answers? → The exam is automatically submitted with answers recorded up to that point
15. What should you not do when caring for a C.diff patient? → The use of hand gel and alcohol rub
16. What drugs are most likely to increase the risk of falling? → Hypnotics
17. It is critical that patients fast effectively before to surgery in order to: → Reduce the possibility of reflux and gastric inhalation.
18. Polytomous IRT models (e.g., Graded Response Model) are used in CAT when: → Items have multiple ordered score categories (partial credit)
19. The ability estimate (theta) in a CAT is updated after each item response using: → Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) or Bayesian estimation
20. What is the primary security benefit of having a large and robust item bank for a high-stakes computer-based testing program? → It minimizes item exposure, reducing the risk of questions being shared.
21. Which feature of modern CBT platforms allows exam sponsors to update question pools without rescheduling existing candidates? → Dynamic item bank versioning with live pool updates
22. The conditional standard error of measurement (CSEM) in IRT-based CAT is best described as: → The precision of the ability estimate at a specific theta value
23. When will you consider releasing the patient's details to a police officer? → If the public's safety is jeopardized.
24. In CAT, the concept of 'theta initialization' refers to: → Choosing the starting ability estimate for the first item selection
25. What symptoms do you anticipate from a fluid volume deficit? → High Pulse, low BP
26. Which cognitive strategy is most effective for handling exam anxiety during a high-stakes CBT? → Controlled breathing and refocusing on one question at a time
27. In the context of Computerized Adaptive Testing (CAT), which psychometric theory is most essential for the item selection algorithm? → Item Response Theory (IRT)
28. Which of the following metrics provides an estimate of the consistency of a test's results if a person were to take the same test multiple times? → Standard Error of Measurement (SEM)
29. What is the primary advantage of a CAT over a fixed-form test of the same length? → Greater measurement precision across all ability levels
30. What roles should a dressing do in order for wound healing to be effective? → High humidity, insulation, gaseous exchange, absorbent.