NPS Study Guide 2026
Everything you need to pass the NPS exam in one place: the exam format, every topic to study, real practice questions with explanations, flashcards, and full-length practice tests. Free, no sign-up needed.
📋 NPS Exam Format at a Glance
📚 NPS Topics to Study (22)
✍️ Sample NPS Questions & Answers
1. A preterm neonate on total parenteral nutrition develops cholestatic jaundice. Which TPN component is most likely responsible?
Intravenous fat emulsions (IVFE), particularly phytosterol-containing soybean-based lipids, are strongly associated with parenteral nutrition-associated liver disease in neonates.
2. What tidal volume range is recommended for lung-protective ventilation in ventilated neonates?
A tidal volume of 4–6 mL/kg is recommended for neonatal lung-protective ventilation to minimize volutrauma while maintaining adequate CO2 clearance.
3. A term neonate has a 5-minute Apgar score of 2. Which therapeutic intervention, if initiated within 6 hours, improves neurological outcomes?
Therapeutic hypothermia (whole-body cooling to 33–34°C for 72 hours) initiated within 6 hours of birth is the standard of care for moderate-severe HIE.
4. During neonatal resuscitation, the initial FiO2 for a term newborn should be:
Current NRP guidelines recommend starting resuscitation of term newborns with room air (21% O2), titrating upward based on pulse oximetry.
5. A term neonate presents with tachypnea, mild hypoxia, and a chest X-ray showing fluid in the horizontal fissure and perihilar streaking. What is the most likely diagnosis?
TTN results from delayed resorption of fetal lung fluid and presents with tachypnea and perihilar streaking/fissure fluid on CXR, typically resolving within 24–72 hours.
6. A nurse reports that a colleague failed to wash hands before touching a NICU patient. What ethical principle requires the reporting nurse to speak up?
Beneficence (duty to benefit the patient) and non-maleficence (duty to avoid harm) require healthcare providers to report unsafe practices that could cause patient harm.