Post Basic B.Sc Nursing - Diploma-Level Nursing Applied at Degree Depth
What this domain tests
Post Basic B.Sc Nursing (2 years) is for GNM nurses holding RN/RM registration. The paper checks whether diploma-level nursing is solid and current: fundamentals, medical-surgical, maternal-child, community health, mental health and nutrition, with basic sciences and English as supporting areas. Expect clinical scenarios more than isolated definitions.
Core rules and concepts
- Fundamentals: asepsis, normal vital-sign ranges, positioning, oxygen therapy, fluid and electrolyte balance, the rights of drug administration.
- Medical-surgical: prioritisation by ABC (airway–breathing–circulation), postoperative complications, insulin onset/peak, cardiac and respiratory emergencies.
- Maternal-child: antenatal schedule, partograph use, Apgar scoring, growth monitoring, immunisation under India's Universal Immunisation Programme.
- Community health: standard formulas - infant mortality rate, maternal mortality ratio; incidence vs prevalence; levels of prevention (primary, secondary, tertiary).
- Mental health: therapeutic communication, side effects of psychotropic drugs, core provisions of mental health legislation.
Worked example
1000 mL Ringer lactate is to run over 8 hours with a drop factor of 15 gtt/mL. Find the drip rate. Reasoning: drops/min = (volume × drop factor) ÷ time in minutes. Time = 8 × 60 = 480 min. So (1000 × 15) ÷ 480 = 15000 ÷ 480 = 31.25. Answer: about 31 gtt/min. The unit is drops per minute, not mL/hour; converting hours to minutes first is the step most candidates skip.
Traps that cost marks
- Leaving time in hours inside the drip-rate formula.
- Choosing a medical or surgical intervention when the question asks what the nurse does first.
- Confusing incidence (new cases in a period) with prevalence (all existing cases).
- Miscounting Apgar (five signs, each scored 0–2) or immunisation ages.