-
1. What is the normal resting heart rate range for a healthy adult?
- A. 40–60 beats per minute
- B. 60–100 beats per minute
- C. 100–140 beats per minute
- D. 140–180 beats per minute
Answer: B. 60–100 beats per minute
The textbook normal adult resting pulse is 60–100 beats per minute. Below 60 is bradycardia (normal in some fit athletes) and above 100 is tachycardia, which needs assessment for causes such as fever, pain, dehydration or bleeding.
-
2. What is the normal resting respiratory rate for a healthy adult?
- A. 6–10 breaths per minute
- B. 20–30 breaths per minute
- C. 30–40 breaths per minute
- D. 12–20 breaths per minute
Answer: D. 12–20 breaths per minute
A normal adult breathes 12–20 times a minute at rest. A rate above 20 (tachypnoea) or below 12 (bradypnoea) is an early warning sign. Count for a full 30–60 seconds without telling the patient, so they do not change their breathing.
-
3. Which oral temperature reading is within the normal range for an adult?
- A. 36.8 °C
- B. 34.5 °C
- C. 38.9 °C
- D. 40.1 °C
Answer: A. 36.8 °C
Normal adult oral temperature is roughly 36.5–37.5 °C, so 36.8 °C is normal. 34.5 °C is below 35 °C, which is hypothermia. 38.9 °C is a fever and 40.1 °C is a high fever that needs urgent attention.
-
4. In a healthy adult breathing room air, what is the normal oxygen saturation (SpO2) range on pulse oximetry?
- A. 80–84%
- B. 85–89%
- C. 95–100%
- D. 70–79%
Answer: C. 95–100%
A healthy adult on room air normally reads 95–100%. Readings below this need assessment. Some patients with chronic lung disease have a lower target set by the doctor, but that is an individual prescription, not the normal range.
-
5. Which blood pressure reading is classified as normal for an adult at rest?
- A. 142/92 mmHg
- B. 158/98 mmHg
- C. 176/108 mmHg
- D. 116/76 mmHg
Answer: D. 116/76 mmHg
Normal adult blood pressure is below 120/80 mmHg, so 116/76 is normal. The other three readings are all in the hypertensive range, and 176/108 is markedly raised and should be reported promptly.
-
6. Which of these is one of the WHO “5 Moments for Hand Hygiene”?
- A. Only at the start and end of each shift
- B. Only when hands look visibly dirty
- C. After touching a patient’s surroundings, even if the patient was not touched
- D. Only after removing gloves at the end of the shift
Answer: C. After touching a patient’s surroundings, even if the patient was not touched
The five moments are: before touching a patient, before a clean or aseptic procedure, after body fluid exposure risk, after touching a patient, and after touching patient surroundings. Bed rails and tables carry germs, so hand hygiene is needed even without patient contact.
-
7. When should you wash hands with soap and water instead of using an alcohol-based hand rub?
- A. Never; alcohol rub is always better
- B. When hands are visibly soiled or contaminated with blood or body fluids
- C. Only after typing on a ward computer
- D. Only before putting on sterile gloves
Answer: B. When hands are visibly soiled or contaminated with blood or body fluids
Alcohol rub is the routine choice for clean-looking hands, but it does not remove visible dirt or organic matter. Use soap and water when hands are visibly soiled or exposed to body fluids, and when spore-forming organisms such as C. difficile are suspected, because alcohol does not kill spores.
-
8. According to WHO guidance, how long should a complete handwash with soap and water take?
- A. 5–10 seconds
- B. 3–5 minutes
- C. 40–60 seconds
- D. 10 minutes
Answer: C. 40–60 seconds
WHO guidance gives 40–60 seconds for the whole handwashing procedure, including wetting, lathering all surfaces, rinsing and drying. An alcohol hand rub takes about 20–30 seconds. A few seconds misses fingertips, thumbs and between fingers.
-
9. When putting on PPE for a patient in isolation (gown, mask, eye protection, gloves), which item is put on last?
- A. Gown
- B. Mask
- C. Eye protection
- D. Gloves
Answer: D. Gloves
Gloves go on last so their cuffs can cover the gown cuffs and so the gloves stay clean until patient care starts. The usual order is gown, then mask or respirator, then goggles or face shield, then gloves.
-
10. You have just given an injection. What should you do with the used needle?
- A. Discard it straight into a puncture-resistant sharps container at the point of use, without recapping
- B. Recap it with both hands, then dispose of it later
- C. Put it in the general waste bin
- D. Bend or break it so it cannot be reused
Answer: A. Discard it straight into a puncture-resistant sharps container at the point of use, without recapping
Used needles go directly into a sharps container kept close to the point of use. Recapping with two hands, bending or breaking needles are common causes of needle-stick injuries, and general waste bins put cleaners and waste handlers at risk.
-
11. Which patient needs airborne precautions (a respirator such as an N95 and, where available, a negative-pressure room)?
- A. A patient with an MRSA wound infection
- B. A patient with suspected pulmonary tuberculosis
- C. A patient with C. difficile diarrhoea
- D. A patient with a urinary tract infection
Answer: B. A patient with suspected pulmonary tuberculosis
Pulmonary TB spreads through tiny airborne particles that stay suspended in the air, so it needs airborne precautions. MRSA wounds and C. difficile need contact precautions, and a routine urinary tract infection needs standard precautions only.
-
12. What is the safest way to confirm a patient’s identity before giving a medicine?
- A. Check the bed number and diagnosis
- B. Ask “Are you Mr Sharma?” and wait for a yes
- C. Check the room number only
- D. Ask the patient to state their full name and date of birth, and match both against the wristband and chart
Answer: D. Ask the patient to state their full name and date of birth, and match both against the wristband and chart
Use at least two patient identifiers, such as full name and date of birth or hospital number, and check them against the wristband and prescription. Bed and room numbers change, and a leading question invites a confused or hard-of-hearing patient to simply say yes.
-
13. Which list gives the classic “five rights” of medication administration?
- A. Right patient, right drug, right dose, right route, right time
- B. Right patient, right doctor, right ward, right bed, right time
- C. Right drug, right brand, right price, right pharmacy, right dose
- D. Right route, right nurse, right shift, right room, right diagnosis
Answer: A. Right patient, right drug, right dose, right route, right time
The five rights are right patient, right drug, right dose, right route and right time. Many hospitals add more, such as right documentation, right reason and right response, but the core five are always included.
-
14. An adult collapses on the ward. The scene is safe, he is unresponsive, not breathing normally, has no pulse, and help and an AED have been called for. What should you do next?
- A. Give five rescue breaths before anything else
- B. Keep checking the pulse for a full minute to be sure
- C. Start chest compressions immediately
- D. Wait for the doctor to arrive before touching him
Answer: C. Start chest compressions immediately
Adult basic life support follows C-A-B: once cardiac arrest is recognised and help is on the way, start high-quality chest compressions straight away. The pulse check should take no more than 10 seconds, and delaying compressions reduces the chance of survival.
-
15. What chest compression rate is recommended for adult CPR?
- A. 100–120 compressions per minute
- B. 60–80 compressions per minute
- C. 80–90 compressions per minute
- D. 150–180 compressions per minute
Answer: A. 100–120 compressions per minute
Current resuscitation guidelines recommend 100–120 compressions per minute. Slower compressions produce too little blood flow, and very fast compressions do not allow the heart to refill between pushes.
-
16. How deep should chest compressions be for an average adult?
- A. 1–2 cm
- B. At least 5 cm but not more than 6 cm
- C. About 2–3 cm
- D. 8–10 cm
Answer: B. At least 5 cm but not more than 6 cm
Compress the adult chest at least 5 cm (about 2 inches) but not more than 6 cm, and let the chest recoil fully after each compression. Shallow compressions are the commonest error, while excessive depth increases injury.
-
17. For adult CPR without an advanced airway, what is the compression-to-ventilation ratio?
- A. 15:1
- B. 5:1
- C. 10:5
- D. 30:2
Answer: D. 30:2
For adults, give 30 compressions followed by 2 breaths, whether there are one or two rescuers. Once an advanced airway is in place, compressions become continuous with breaths given at a set rate.
-
18. You made a wrong entry in a patient’s paper record. What is the correct way to correct it?
- A. Cover it with correction fluid and write over it
- B. Tear out the page and rewrite it
- C. Draw a single line through the error so it stays readable, then write the correct entry with your signature, date and time
- D. Scribble over it until it cannot be read
Answer: C. Draw a single line through the error so it stays readable, then write the correct entry with your signature, date and time
Records are legal documents. A single line keeps the original visible, and signing, dating and timing the correction shows who changed what and when. Correction fluid, torn pages and scribbling look like tampering.
-
19. When should a nurse document that a medicine has been given?
- A. At the end of the shift for all patients together
- B. Immediately after giving it, by the nurse who gave it
- C. Before giving it, to save time
- D. Only if the patient has a reaction
Answer: B. Immediately after giving it, by the nurse who gave it
Record a medicine straight after giving it, and only for a dose you gave yourself. Charting before giving risks a recorded dose that was never given; charting at the end of the shift risks a colleague giving a double dose.
-
20. Which tool is widely used to assess a patient’s risk of developing a pressure injury?
- A. Glasgow Coma Scale
- B. Apgar score
- C. Morse Fall Scale
- D. Braden Scale
Answer: D. Braden Scale
The Braden Scale scores sensory perception, moisture, activity, mobility, nutrition, and friction and shear; a lower score means higher risk. The Glasgow Coma Scale measures consciousness, Apgar assesses newborns, and Morse assesses falls risk.
-
21. A patient spends most of the day lying on their back. Which area is at high risk of a pressure injury?
- A. Sacrum
- B. Forehead
- C. Palms of the hands
- D. Front of the knees
Answer: A. Sacrum
In the supine position, weight rests on bony prominences at the back of the body, mainly the sacrum and coccyx, heels, shoulder blades and back of the head. The front of the knees is at risk when lying face down, not on the back.
-
22. Which finding describes a Stage 1 pressure injury?
- A. A shallow open wound with a pink wound bed
- B. Full-thickness skin loss with visible fat
- C. Intact skin with a localised area of redness that does not blanch when pressed
- D. Tissue loss with exposed bone or tendon
Answer: C. Intact skin with a localised area of redness that does not blanch when pressed
Stage 1 is intact skin with non-blanchable redness over a localised area. A shallow open wound is Stage 2, full-thickness loss with visible fat is Stage 3, and exposed bone or tendon is Stage 4.
-
23. An elderly patient has a high falls-risk score. Which action best reduces the risk of a fall?
- A. Keep the bed at its lowest height with brakes on, and place the call bell and personal items within reach
- B. Raise the bed to its highest position so the patient cannot climb out
- C. Tell the patient not to call at night so they rest
- D. Switch off all lights at night so the patient sleeps
Answer: A. Keep the bed at its lowest height with brakes on, and place the call bell and personal items within reach
A low bed with locked brakes reduces injury if the patient gets up, and items within reach stop them stretching or walking unaided. A high bed makes falls worse, discouraging calls leads to unassisted walking, and darkness increases trips.
-
24. In the SBAR tool used for handovers and calling a doctor, what does SBAR stand for?
- A. Symptoms, Blood pressure, Airway, Response
- B. Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation
- C. Safety, Behaviour, Allergies, Review
- D. Summary, Baseline, Action, Result
Answer: B. Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation
SBAR is Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation. It gives a clear, structured way to pass on urgent information, so the listener hears what is happening, the relevant history, your findings and what you need from them.
-
25. A patient’s blood pressure is 120/78 mmHg. Using MAP = (systolic + 2 × diastolic) ÷ 3, what is the mean arterial pressure?
- A. 99 mmHg
- B. 84 mmHg
- C. 42 mmHg
- D. 92 mmHg
Answer: D. 92 mmHg
MAP = (120 + 2 × 78) ÷ 3 = (120 + 156) ÷ 3 = 276 ÷ 3 = 92 mmHg. 42 mmHg is the pulse pressure (120 − 78), not the MAP.