Prometric Exam Questions for Nurses 2026: 15 Practice MCQs with Answers and Rationale

Every GCC regulator delivers its nursing licence exam through Prometric as a computer-based, single-best-answer MCQ paper. DHA, MOHAP, SHA and DOH in the UAE, SCFHS in Saudi Arabia, QCHP in Qatar, NHRA in Bahrain and OMSB in Oman all draw from the same core: medical-surgical nursing, fundamentals and patient safety, pharmacology and drug calculation, paediatrics, obstetrics and community health. The pass mark is around 60% almost everywhere.

The fifteen questions below are written in the style and difficulty of the real paper. Work through them under time pressure (about 70 seconds per question is what the exam allows), then read the rationale even for the ones you got right. The rationale is where the marks are: the exam tests reasoning about a scenario, not recall of a fact.

If you want a full-length timed paper, the practice exam banks are built per authority and per title, and the high-yield topics list for nurses tells you where to spend your revision hours.

Medical-surgical nursing

Question 1

A 58-year-old man is admitted with an acute anterior myocardial infarction. Two hours after thrombolysis he develops frequent premature ventricular contractions. Which finding requires the nurse to notify the physician immediately?

1. Heart rate of 88 beats per minute
2. Occasional PVCs fewer than 6 per minute
3. A run of ventricular tachycardia lasting 10 seconds
4. Blood pressure of 128/82 mmHg

Answer: C. A run of ventricular tachycardia after thrombolysis is a reperfusion arrhythmia that can degenerate into ventricular fibrillation and must be reported at once. Isolated PVCs below 6 per minute are usually monitored, and the vital signs in the other options are within normal limits.

Question 2

A patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is receiving oxygen at 2 L/min by nasal cannula. The nurse notes the patient is drowsy and difficult to rouse. The most likely explanation is:

1. Hypoglycaemia
2. Carbon dioxide retention
3. Anxiety
4. Fluid overload

Answer: B. In COPD patients with chronic hypercapnia, higher oxygen concentrations can blunt the hypoxic respiratory drive and cause carbon dioxide narcosis, which presents as drowsiness and confusion. The nurse should assess respiratory rate and arterial blood gases and titrate oxygen to a target saturation of 88 to 92%.

Question 3

Which assessment finding in a postoperative patient most strongly suggests a wound dehiscence?

1. Serosanguineous drainage increasing on day 5
2. Mild redness at the suture line on day 2
3. Pain rated 4 out of 10 on movement
4. Temperature of 37.6 °C on the first evening

Answer: A. A sudden increase in serosanguineous drainage around day 4 to 6, sometimes with the patient reporting that something gave way, is the classic sign of dehiscence. The other findings are expected in the early postoperative period.

Question 4

A patient with type 1 diabetes has a blood glucose of 3.2 mmol/L (58 mg/dL) and is conscious and able to swallow. The first nursing action is to:

1. Administer 1 mg glucagon intramuscularly
2. Give 15 g of fast-acting carbohydrate orally
3. Start an intravenous infusion of 10% dextrose
4. Recheck the glucose in 30 minutes

Answer: B. A conscious patient who can swallow should receive 15 g of fast-acting carbohydrate by mouth, with the glucose rechecked after 15 minutes. Glucagon and intravenous dextrose are reserved for patients who cannot safely swallow.

Pharmacology and drug calculation

Question 5

A doctor prescribes 750 mg of an antibiotic. The vial contains 1 g in 4 mL after reconstitution. How many millilitres should the nurse draw up?

1. 1.5 mL
2. 2 mL
3. 3 mL
4. 3.75 mL

Answer: C. 1 g is 1000 mg in 4 mL, so 250 mg per mL. 750 mg divided by 250 mg per mL is 3 mL.

Question 6

An intravenous infusion of 1000 mL is to run over 8 hours through a set that delivers 20 drops per mL. The drip rate is approximately:

1. 21 drops per minute
2. 42 drops per minute
3. 63 drops per minute
4. 125 drops per minute

Answer: B. 1000 mL over 8 hours is 125 mL per hour. 125 mL multiplied by 20 drops per mL is 2500 drops per hour, divided by 60 minutes is about 42 drops per minute.

Question 7

Before administering digoxin, the nurse should withhold the dose and notify the physician if the adult apical pulse is below:

1. 50 beats per minute
2. 60 beats per minute
3. 70 beats per minute
4. 80 beats per minute

Answer: B. Digoxin slows conduction through the atrioventricular node. The standard adult threshold for withholding a dose is an apical pulse below 60 beats per minute, counted for a full minute. Signs of toxicity such as nausea, visual disturbance and new arrhythmias should also be reported.

Question 8

A patient on warfarin has an INR of 5.8 with no bleeding. The nurse anticipates which order?

1. Increase the warfarin dose
2. Administer protamine sulfate
3. Withhold warfarin and give oral vitamin K
4. Transfuse fresh frozen plasma immediately

Answer: C. An INR above 5 without bleeding is managed by omitting warfarin and giving a small oral dose of vitamin K. Protamine reverses heparin, not warfarin, and fresh frozen plasma is reserved for active or major bleeding.

Paediatrics and obstetrics

Question 9

A 2-year-old is brought in with a barking cough, inspiratory stridor at rest and mild chest indrawing. The most appropriate initial nursing action is to:

1. Perform a throat examination with a tongue depressor
2. Keep the child calm on the parent's lap and prepare nebulised adrenaline as ordered
3. Lay the child flat and apply a face mask at 15 L/min
4. Encourage oral fluids and discharge with advice

Answer: B. The picture is moderate croup. Agitation worsens airway obstruction, so the child is kept calm and upright with the parent while nebulised adrenaline and oral steroid are given. Throat examination is avoided because it can precipitate complete obstruction, particularly if epiglottitis has not been excluded.

Question 10

Which sign in a newborn requires immediate intervention?

1. Acrocyanosis at 10 minutes of life
2. Respiratory rate of 50 breaths per minute
3. Central cyanosis of the lips and tongue
4. Milia across the nose

Answer: C. Central cyanosis indicates hypoxaemia and needs immediate assessment and oxygen. Acrocyanosis of the hands and feet in the first hours, a respiratory rate of 30 to 60, and milia are all normal newborn findings.

Question 11

A woman at 34 weeks of gestation presents with a blood pressure of 162/112 mmHg, headache and proteinuria. While awaiting the physician, the nurse should first:

1. Place the woman in a quiet, dimly lit room and prepare magnesium sulfate as ordered
2. Encourage ambulation to lower blood pressure
3. Administer oral iron
4. Perform a vaginal examination

Answer: A. Severe pre-eclampsia carries a risk of eclamptic seizure. Reducing stimulation and preparing seizure prophylaxis with magnesium sulfate are the priority nursing actions, alongside monitoring blood pressure, reflexes, urine output and fetal heart rate.

Question 12

In the fourth stage of labour, the nurse finds the uterine fundus soft and displaced to the right with heavy lochia. The first action is to:

1. Massage the fundus and assist the woman to empty her bladder
2. Administer an analgesic
3. Place the woman in Trendelenburg position
4. Apply a cold pack to the perineum

Answer: A. A boggy, deviated fundus with heavy bleeding suggests uterine atony, often from a full bladder. Fundal massage and bladder emptying are the immediate steps, followed by uterotonics as ordered if bleeding continues.

Infection control, safety and ethics

Question 13

Which patient requires airborne precautions?

1. A patient with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in a wound
2. A patient with pulmonary tuberculosis awaiting sputum results
3. A patient with influenza
4. A patient with Clostridioides difficile diarrhoea

Answer: B. Suspected or confirmed pulmonary tuberculosis requires a negative-pressure room and N95 respirators. MRSA and C. difficile call for contact precautions, and influenza for droplet precautions.

Question 14

The single most effective measure to prevent healthcare-associated infection is:

1. Routine use of antibiotic prophylaxis
2. Hand hygiene before and after every patient contact
3. Wearing gloves for all patient contact
4. Daily disinfection of ward floors

Answer: B. Hand hygiene at the WHO five moments is the intervention with the strongest evidence for reducing cross-infection. Gloves do not replace hand hygiene and must be changed between patients.

Question 15

A competent adult patient refuses a blood transfusion that the team considers life-saving. The nurse's most appropriate response is to:

1. Administer the transfusion when the patient is asleep
2. Ask a relative to sign the consent instead
3. Document the refusal, ensure the patient understands the consequences and inform the physician
4. Tell the patient that refusal is not permitted in the hospital

Answer: C. A competent adult has the right to refuse treatment after being informed of the risks. The nurse documents the informed refusal, confirms understanding and escalates to the physician. Overriding the patient or substituting a relative's consent violates autonomy and the law in every GCC jurisdiction.

How to use these questions

• Score honestly. Below 9 out of 15 means the fundamentals need another pass before you attempt timed papers. The 30-day study plan is built for exactly that situation.
• Notice the pattern. Almost every question asks for the first, best or most appropriate action. The exam rewards prioritisation (airway, breathing, circulation, safety) over knowledge dumps.
• Practise calculations until they are automatic. Two or three drug-calculation items appear on every nursing paper, and they are the easiest marks to secure.
• Do full-length timed mocks. Fatigue in the third hour is where candidates lose marks they knew. The authority-specific banks mirror the real length and timing.

Practice with authority-specific question banks on our Prometric practice exams page, and run the free eligibility check to see which licences you qualify for before you spend anything.

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Frequently asked questions

How many questions are on the Prometric exam for nurses?

Between 100 and 150 depending on the authority, in 2 to 3 hours. DHA and SCFHS papers sit at the upper end; QCHP, NHRA and OMSB typically run 100 to 120 questions. See the Prometric exam guides for the exact figure per regulator.

What is the passing score for the nursing Prometric exam?

Around 60% for every GCC authority, with some variation by title. The score is scaled, so the raw number of correct answers needed can differ slightly between paper versions.

Are these the actual exam questions?

No. Prometric papers are confidential and anyone selling "real leaked questions" is selling a recall list of uncertain accuracy. These items are written to the published blueprints and test the same reasoning. A recall list will not save a candidate who cannot prioritise.

Which topics carry the most marks?

Medical-surgical nursing is the largest section on every GCC nursing paper, followed by fundamentals and safety, pharmacology and calculation, then paediatrics, obstetrics and community health. Infection control and professional ethics appear on every paper.

Can I take the exam before my Dataflow verification is complete?

Not for most authorities. DHA, MOHAP, SCFHS and QCHP issue exam eligibility only after primary source verification clears. Start Dataflow first, then prepare while it runs; the Dataflow guide explains the timeline.