Mixed Deck — All NMC CBT Topics Flashcards
100 cards from real NMC CBT practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 20 Mixed Deck — All NMC CBT Topics flashcards as text
A 78-year-old patient is admitted to the ward. When is the most appropriate time to complete a falls risk assessment?
Answer: On admission and repeated regularly or after any change in condition
A falls risk assessment should be completed on admission to establish a baseline and identify immediate risks. This assessment should then be repeated regularly, especially after a fall or a change in the patient's condition, to ensure ongoing safety.
A nurse makes a safeguarding referral in good faith but it turns out no abuse had occurred. What protection does the nurse have?
Answer: Protection under whistleblowing and safeguarding legislation provided the referral was made honestly and in good faith
Professionals who raise safeguarding concerns in good faith are protected by the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998 and relevant safeguarding frameworks, even if concerns are not substantiated.
Which of the following best describes the AVPU scale used in neurological assessment?
Answer: Alert, Verbal, Pain, Unresponsive
AVPU assesses consciousness level as Alert, responding to Voice, responding to Pain, or Unresponsive.
Which colour-coded wristband is used to alert staff to a patient's known allergy in most UK NHS hospitals?
Answer: Red
A red wristband is the national NHS standard for indicating a known allergy or adverse drug reaction.
What are the six principles of adult safeguarding under the Care Act 2014?
Answer: Prevention, Protection, Proportionality, Partnership, Accountability, Empowerment
The six principles: Empowerment, Prevention, Proportionality, Protection, Partnership, Accountability.
Using qSOFA, a patient has RR 25, BP 95/60, HR 110, temp 38.5, and is newly confused. How many criteria are met?
Answer: 3
qSOFA has three criteria: RR >=22, SBP <=100, altered mental status. This patient meets all three.
A patient is receiving a continuous IV infusion of heparin. Which laboratory test is used to monitor its therapeutic effect?
Answer: APTT (Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time)
APTT is the standard monitoring test for unfractionated heparin therapy, with a therapeutic target typically 1.5–2.5 times the control value.
A patient in your care develops a tension pneumothorax during resuscitation. Which clinical sign would most strongly suggest this diagnosis?
Answer: Tracheal deviation away from the affected side with absent breath sounds
Tension pneumothorax causes increasing pressure in the pleural space, collapsing the affected lung and shifting the mediastinum. Classic signs include absent breath sounds on the affected side, tracheal deviation away from the affected side, hypotension, and distended neck veins. It is a reversible cause of cardiac arrest (a 4H and 4T cause).
A patient has a penicillin allergy documented. The prescriber orders co-amoxiclav. What should the nurse do?
Answer: Withhold the drug and contact the prescriber immediately
Co-amoxiclav contains amoxicillin (a penicillin), so administering it to a penicillin-allergic patient is unsafe; the nurse must withhold it and contact the prescriber.
You need to administer 30 mg of a drug that is available as a 50 mg/2 mL solution. What volume in mL do you need to draw up?
Answer: 1.2 mL
Using the formula (Dose required / Stock strength) x Stock volume, the calculation is (30 mg / 50 mg) x 2 mL. This simplifies to 0.6 x 2 mL, which equals 1.2 mL. This ensures the correct dose is administered from the available solution.
Which of the following is a reversible cause of cardiac arrest represented by the '4 Hs and 4 Ts'?
Answer: Thrombosis
Thrombosis (pulmonary embolism or coronary) is one of the 4 Ts — reversible causes of cardiac arrest that must be considered during resuscitation.
Warfarin 3.5 mg is prescribed. Tablets come in 0.5 mg and 5 mg strengths. What is the most appropriate combination?
Answer: Seven 0.5 mg tablets
3.5 mg ÷ 0.5 mg = 7 tablets of 0.5 mg is the safest single-strength approach.
Under what circumstances can a nurse use Section 5(4) of the Mental Health Act to detain a patient?
Answer: When a voluntary inpatient receiving mental health treatment appears to be leaving and detention is necessary for safety
Section 5(4) allows a registered mental health or learning disability nurse to detain an informal inpatient for up to 6 hours.
According to the WHO '5 Moments for Hand Hygiene', which is NOT one of the five moments?
Answer: Before putting on personal protective equipment
The 5 Moments are: before touching a patient, before clean/aseptic procedure, after body fluid exposure, after touching a patient, after touching patient surroundings. PPE donning is not one of the five.
A child weighing 22 kg is prescribed paracetamol at 15 mg/kg. The oral suspension contains 250 mg in 5 mL. What volume should be administered?
Answer: 6.6 mL
Dose = 15 x 22 = 330 mg. Volume = (330/250) x 5 = 6.6 mL.
For consent to be considered valid, it must be voluntary, informed, and which other key element?
Answer: Given by a person with capacity
The three pillars of valid consent are that it must be voluntary (given freely), informed (the person has all necessary information), and the person must have the mental capacity to make the decision at that time. While written consent is good practice for major procedures, it is not a universal requirement for validity.
Which of the following best describes the 'chain of infection' concept?
Answer: A sequential model of six links required for infection to spread from a source to a susceptible host
The chain of infection is a six-link sequential model: infectious agent, reservoir, portal of exit, mode of transmission, portal of entry, and susceptible host.
In line with NICE guidelines, when must a patient be assessed for their risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE)?
Answer: On admission to hospital
NICE guidelines mandate that all patients must have a VTE risk assessment performed on admission to hospital. This is crucial as hospitalisation is a major risk factor for developing blood clots, and early assessment allows for timely implementation of preventative measures.
A nurse is administering IV gentamicin. What is the most important pre-administration check specific to aminoglycosides?
Answer: Serum creatinine and renal function
Aminoglycosides like gentamicin are nephrotoxic and require renal function assessment before each dose to adjust dosing and prevent toxicity.
A post-operative patient reports increasing pain at the surgical site with swelling and warmth. Which risk does this presentation most suggest?
Answer: Wound infection or abscess formation
Localised warmth, swelling, and increasing pain at a wound site are classic signs of wound infection requiring assessment and intervention.