RCSI NMBI Aptitude Test study plan

State from memory the normal ranges for the core physiological parameters tested most often (pulse, BP, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, temperature, urine output, blood glucose, sodium, potassium, creatinine, haemoglobin, pH, PaCO2, PaHCO3, base excess)

Interpret 15 short arterial blood gas and electrolyte vignettes and classify each as respiratory or metabolic, acidotic or alkalotic, compensated or uncompensated

Rank 12 mixed clinical findings into an ABCDE priority order and justify each ranking in one sentence

Compile a single-page 'normal values and red-flag thresholds' sheet covering the parameters reviewed this week

Explain aloud, in under two minutes each, the pathophysiology linking 10 common presentations (for example hypovolaemia, sepsis, heart failure, hypoglycaemia, acute kidney injury, respiratory failure) to their observable signs

Construct five written care plans from short scenario descriptions using an assessment-data-needs-planning-evaluation structure

Differentiate three prioritisation frameworks (ABCED, Maslow, acuity-risk) and select the appropriate one for each of eight scenarios with a stated rationale

Identify the missing assessment data in 10 incomplete scenarios and list the three questions you would ask first

Convert between metric units (micrograms, milligrams, grams; millilitres and litres) across 30 conversion items without a calculator error

Calculate tablet and liquid oral doses from stock strength and prescribed dose across 20 items

Calculate weight-based doses for both adult and paediatric weights and confirm each result against a stated safe dose range

Round dose answers correctly to the precision the calculation requires and state when rounding is unsafe

Calculate infusion rates, drip rates and volume-over-time problems across 20 items using a single consistent formula

Work percentage-strength and dilution problems, including reconstitution, across 10 items

Apply the principles of safe checking (right patient, drug, dose, route, time, documentation, plus calculation cross-check) to 10 short medication-order scenarios and flag any that should be queried

Identify the professional and legal consequences of an undetected medication error in three written scenarios

Summarise the core professional obligations of the registered nurse in Ireland covering conduct, scope of practice, accountability and record-keeping in a two-page outline written from memory

Apply consent, capacity, confidentiality and advocacy principles to 20 short ethical scenarios and write the chosen action with a one-sentence rationale for each

Distinguish between negligence, malpractice, professional misconduct and a complaint, and match each term to two worked examples

Explain the correct response to a delegation, unsafe practice or mandatory-reporting situation in three written answers of no more than 100 words each

Write five structured clinical handovers using a recognised situational-briefing format, each under 150 words and containing all required elements

Draft three therapeutic responses to difficult communication scenarios (an anxious patient, a complaint, a disclosure of error) and record yourself delivering each in under three minutes

Identify barriers to effective communication and the corrective action for each across 12 short vignettes

Apply cultural-safety and capacity-aware communication principles to five scenarios involving interpreters, families or cognitive impairment

Complete a full-length timed mock covering all five domains and record the score per domain

Re-work every item answered incorrectly, tag each by root cause (knowledge gap, misread, calculation slip, prioritisation error) and rank the causes by frequency

Re-study the two weakest domains using the error log, then repeat the ten most-missed items and score 100% on the re-test

Recite a one-page medication-calculation formula sheet from memory without reference

Sit two further timed full-length mocks under exam conditions and score each at 75% or higher overall with no single domain below 60%

Close out every item on the week-7 remediation list and confirm each with a written one-line explanation

Rehearse the numeracy formula sheet and normal-values sheet daily until each is reproduced from memory in under five minutes

Draft a one-page exam-day plan covering timing per section, flag-and-return strategy, calculation double-check routine and stress-management steps