NMCN Nursing Exam cheat sheet

Nursing education programs must be accredited by the national nursing council; accreditation is a prerequisite for graduates to sit the licensure examination.

Curriculum standards specify minimum theory hours, supervised clinical practice hours, and the ratio of clinical instructors to students during direct patient care.

Clinical instructors must hold a current practicing license in the same cadre they supervise plus defined teaching qualification and post-registration experience.

Assessment standards require both formative and summative evaluation, with clinical competence verified by direct observation using validated tools.

Programs must include supervised practice in medical-surgical, maternal-child, community, and mental health settings before graduation.

Faculty qualifications: a nurse educator must hold at least a bachelor's degree in nursing (or equivalent) plus a teaching certificate recognized by the council.

Student records, clinical logbooks, and examination scripts must be retained for the period stated in the regulations for audit and verification.

Curriculum revisions require council approval before implementation; unapproved changes can invalidate a cohort's examination eligibility.

Scope of practice is defined by cadre (enrolled nurse, registered nurse, registered midwife); practicing outside that scope is a disciplinary offence.

The nursing process (assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, evaluation) is the required framework for documented care delivery.

Informed consent must be obtained before any procedure; consent is valid only if voluntary, informed, and given by a person with capacity.

Medication administration follows the rights: right patient, drug, dose, route, time, documentation, and reason; errors are reported through the incident system.

Documentation must be contemporaneous, factual, legible, signed, dated, and never altered retrospectively; corrections are made by single line, initial, and date.

Infection prevention and control standards require hand hygiene at the WHO five moments and adherence to standard precautions for all patients.

Midwifery standards require partograph use in labor monitoring, active management of the third stage, and immediate newborn assessment and resuscitation readiness.

Mandatory reporting duties apply to suspected abuse, notifiable diseases, and unsafe practice by colleagues; failure to report is itself a breach.

The code of ethics obliges confidentiality: disclosure without patient consent is permitted only where law requires or where there is serious risk to life.

Advocacy duty: a nurse must act in the patient's interest, including escalating unsafe staffing or orders through the chain of authority.

Professional boundaries prohibit intimate or financial relationships with current patients; boundary crossings must be documented and reported.

Disciplinary process stages: complaint or report, investigation, notice to the practitioner, hearing before the disciplinary committee, determination, and sanction.

Sanctions range from caution and conditions on practice to suspension or removal from the register; the most serious is permanent deregistration.

Impaired practice (substance misuse or mental incapacity) is handled with referral to a health committee where available, but patient safety takes precedence.

Falsifying records, practicing while suspended, and practicing without a license are categories of professional misconduct subject to the maximum penalty.

Reporting obligations: employers must notify the council when a nurse is dismissed or resigns for reasons of professional misconduct.

The regulatory body maintains the register, sets entry requirements, issues licenses, and investigates complaints; it is accountable to the public, not to members.

Initial licensure requires graduation from an accredited program, passing the national licensure examination, and evidence of good character and fitness.

Licenses are time-limited; renewal requires evidence of continuing professional development (CPD) credits and payment of the prescribed fee.

CPD requirements are expressed as a minimum number of credits or points per renewal cycle, with a defined proportion in ethics or specialty areas.

Practicing on an expired license is unlawful; reinstatement after lapse may require a late fee, additional CPD, or a return-to-practice assessment.

Temporary or provisional licenses permit supervised practice only, with defined duration and supervision conditions set by the council.

Reciprocity or endorsement allows registration of nurses licensed elsewhere, subject to verification of credentials and, where required, a competency examination.

The council publishes a public register; employers must verify current registration before employment and at each renewal.