Prometric Exam Questions and Answers: 16 Worked Samples
Prometric exam questions and answers for nurses, pharmacists, lab, radiography, physio, dental and more, with the reasoning behind every answer.
Candidates who have never seen Prometric phrasing lose easy marks in the first half hour of the exam, and it is rarely because they do not know the medicine. It is because they have not trained the format. Below are sixteen worked Prometric exam questions and answers in the real style: seven core patterns that turn up in every paper, then nine more written for specific professions. Each comes with the reasoning behind the answer, followed by the practice method that turns those patterns into marks.
The format: single best answer
Every GCC authority uses single best answer multiple choice questions. You get four options, sometimes five, and more than one of them may be defensible. Your job is not to find an answer that is not wrong. It is to find the best one. There is no negative marking, so never leave a blank.
Seven core question patterns
1. The most appropriate next step pattern
A 58 year old presents with crushing central chest pain for 40 minutes. The ECG shows ST elevation in leads II, III and aVF. What is the most appropriate next step?
- Order a chest X ray
- Administer aspirin and activate primary PCI
- Start IV antibiotics
- Discharge with outpatient follow up
Answer: B. Option A is not wrong in general practice, which is exactly why it is there. The question asks for the most appropriate step in an inferior STEMI. Prometric tests prioritisation at least as often as it tests knowledge.
2. The EXCEPT reversal
All of the following are complications of prolonged immobility EXCEPT:
- Pressure ulcers
- Deep vein thrombosis
- Increased intestinal peristalsis
- Muscle contractures
Answer: C. Peristalsis decreases with immobility, it does not increase. Reversal questions punish skim reading. Mark EXCEPT, NOT and LEAST every time you see them.
3. Nursing prioritisation
A post operative patient suddenly develops dyspnoea, chest pain and oxygen saturation of 88 percent. What should the nurse do first?
Answer: Raise the head of the bed and apply oxygen. Airway and breathing interventions come before calling the physician or preparing medication. This is classic ABC priority logic and it appears in every nursing paper.
4. General practice diagnosis
A 55 year old smoker presents with three weeks of painless hoarseness. What is the most appropriate next step?
Answer: Referral for laryngoscopy. Persistent hoarseness beyond two to three weeks in a smoker needs visualisation to exclude laryngeal carcinoma, not empirical proton pump inhibitors or antibiotics.
5. Pharmacology safety
Which electrolyte must be monitored in a patient taking digoxin and furosemide?
Answer: Potassium. Hypokalaemia caused by a loop diuretic potentiates digoxin toxicity. This is a high yield interaction across every GCC exam, whatever your profession.
6. Paediatric milestones
A healthy infant sits without support and transfers objects between hands, but cannot yet pull to stand. What is the estimated age?
Answer: Seven to eight months. Milestone windows are free marks if you have drilled them, and lost marks if you have not.
7. Infection control
What is the single most effective measure to prevent healthcare associated infections?
Answer: Hand hygiene. When an option this basic appears among more technical choices, it is almost always the intended answer.
Prometric exam questions and answers by profession
Every licence sits its own paper, so the style of question changes with the job. A nurse is tested on who to see first, a pharmacist on what will interact, a lab technologist on which tube and why. The nine questions below are written in the style of each paper. None of them is copied from a real exam, and each one links to the full practice bank for that exam code.
8. Registered nurse (RNT0312): who do you see first?
A nurse receives handover on four patients. Which patient should the nurse assess first?
- A patient two days after hip surgery reporting pain of 6 out of 10
- A patient one day after abdominal surgery with an oxygen saturation of 86% on room air
- A patient with type 2 diabetes whose pre lunch glucose is 11 mmol/L
- A patient awaiting discharge who is asking about medication times
Answer: B. Airway and breathing come before pain, glucose and teaching. A saturation of 86% after abdominal surgery can point to atelectasis, a pulmonary embolism or opioid related hypoventilation, and each of those can get worse within minutes. The pain score matters, but it is not the threat to life in this list. Practise more in the RNT0312 registered nurse bank or read the nurses and midwives Prometric guide.
9. Pharmacist (PHO5481): the interaction question
A patient stable on warfarin with an INR of 2.5 is prescribed a seven day course of an antibiotic. Which antibiotic is most likely to raise the INR significantly?
- Cefalexin
- Nitrofurantoin
- Metronidazole
- Rifampicin
Answer: C. Metronidazole inhibits CYP2C9, the enzyme that clears the more potent S form of warfarin, so the INR can climb within days and should be checked early in the course. Rifampicin is the trap in this list. It is a strong enzyme inducer and does the opposite, pulling the INR down. Putting an inhibitor and an inducer side by side is a favourite pattern in the pharmacist paper. See the PHO5481 pharmacist bank and the pharmacist licence guide.
10. Medical laboratory technologist (LAB5631): the right tube
A sample for prothrombin time and APTT should be collected into which tube?
- EDTA (lavender top)
- Sodium citrate (light blue top)
- Lithium heparin (green top)
- Sodium fluoride (grey top)
Answer: B. Citrate binds calcium in a way that can be reversed, so the analyser restarts clotting by adding calcium back. The tube has to be filled to the line, because the 9 to 1 ratio of blood to citrate is part of the test, and an underfilled tube gives a falsely long result. EDTA is for a full blood count, heparin blocks clotting tests directly, and fluoride is for glucose. Practise in the LAB5631 bank or read the lab technologist guide.
11. Radiographer (RAD5152): the extra projection
A patient fell on an outstretched hand and is tender in the anatomical snuffbox. The routine wrist series looks normal. Which additional projection is most useful?
- Lateral elbow
- PA wrist in ulnar deviation
- Carpal tunnel (tangential) view
- AP forearm
Answer: B. Ulnar deviation lengthens the scaphoid and opens the joint spaces around it, so a waist fracture hidden on the routine views is more likely to show. The carpal tunnel view is for the hook of hamate and the pisiform. A follow up question in the same stem often asks what to do when the films stay normal but suspicion is high: immobilise and image again. See the RAD5152 bank and the radiographer guide.
12. Physiotherapist (PHY5121): acute management
A footballer sprained the outside of his ankle 24 hours ago. Swelling is moderate and he can take some weight. What is the most appropriate initial management?
- Six weeks in a below knee cast
- Protection, ice, compression and elevation with early protected weight bearing
- Deep heat and firm massage over the ligament
- Complete bed rest until the swelling settles
Answer: B. Current practice protects the joint while loading it early within the limits of pain, because long immobilisation slows recovery and leaves more stiffness. Heat and deep massage in the first two to three days increase bleeding and swelling. Physiotherapy papers like to test whether you know the evidence moved away from rest. Practise in the PHY5121 bank or read the physiotherapist guide.
13. General dentist (GEN5301): local anaesthesia
Which injection gives pulpal anaesthesia for the mandibular first molar in most adults?
- Infraorbital nerve block
- Posterior superior alveolar nerve block
- Inferior alveolar nerve block
- Nasopalatine nerve block
Answer: C. The three wrong answers are all upper jaw injections, which is how the question is built: if you know the anatomy, three options remove themselves. Buccal infiltration alone is less reliable for lower molars in adults because the cortical bone is thick. Practise in the GEN5301 general dentist bank.
14. Respiratory therapist (RES5882): blood gas reading
An arterial blood gas shows pH 7.30, PaCO2 58 mmHg and HCO3 25 mmol/L. What is the interpretation?
- Metabolic acidosis with respiratory compensation
- Acute respiratory acidosis
- Fully compensated respiratory acidosis
- Metabolic alkalosis
Answer: B. The pH is low and the PaCO2 is high, so the main problem is respiratory. The bicarbonate is still normal, which means the kidneys have not had time to respond, so the picture is acute. In a patient who has retained CO2 for a long time you would expect a raised bicarbonate and a pH closer to normal. Blood gas questions appear in almost every respiratory paper. See the RES5882 bank and the respiratory therapist guide.
15. Operation theatre technologist (OPE6113): proof of sterility
Which of the following gives the most reliable evidence that a steam sterilisation cycle has killed microorganisms?
- Indicator tape that has changed colour
- A passed Bowie Dick test
- A biological indicator showing no growth after incubation
- A cycle printout showing the correct time and temperature
Answer: C. A biological indicator carries highly resistant spores (Geobacillus stearothermophilus for steam), so no growth is direct proof of kill. Tape only shows the pack was exposed to heat, the Bowie Dick test checks air removal from the chamber, and the printout is the machine reporting on itself. Practise in the OPE6113 bank or, for sterile services roles, the STE5652 CSS technician bank.
16. Emergency medical technician (EMT7004): the number question
During adult CPR, what chest compression rate is recommended?
- 60 to 80 per minute
- 80 to 100 per minute
- 100 to 120 per minute
- 120 to 140 per minute
Answer: C. Pair the rate with a depth of at least 5 cm but not more than 6 cm, full chest recoil and as few pauses as possible. Going faster than 120 shortens filling time and usually makes compressions shallower. Number questions like this are easy marks if you have drilled them. See the EMT7004 bank and the EMT licence guide.
Not listed here? There is a bank for every code, including registered midwife MID5104, dental hygienist DEN5141, lab technician LAB5601, paramedic PMD7003 and general practice GEN5331. The full exam list has all of them.
The distractor patterns to recognise
- The plausible but generic option. Order more tests, refer to a specialist. It sits next to the guideline specific action that the question is actually asking for.
- Right treatment, wrong urgency. The correct drug, but not as the first step.
- Numbers one unit off. Dosage distractors that differ only in milligrams against micrograms.
- Outdated practice. Guidelines that were correct ten years ago make very tempting wrong answers.
The practice system that works
Reading notes does not train best answer selection. Only volume of questions does, and only if the volume is structured. Bingeing questions feels productive and produces a plateau.
Chapter first, then mixed
Master chapters one at a time before you attempt mixed mocks. Our question banks are built this way because it mirrors the real blueprints.
Keep an error log
Every wrong answer gets one line: the topic, why you missed it, and the rule to remember. Re attempt logged questions after 48 hours and again after a week. Spaced repetition is what turns a miss into a permanent mark.
Read the explanation, especially when you were right
Understanding why the correct option wins and why the others lose is what builds the elimination skill the exam rewards. A right answer for the wrong reason will not survive a reworded question.
Finish with timed, full length mocks
Two or three three hour simulations in your final fortnight build pacing and stamina. Book the real exam when your mocks hold above 75 percent.
Where these questions come from
Sample questions only help when they match your own paper. Each bank is built to its exam blueprint with a written explanation after every question, and the first 15 questions of every exam are free to try without a card. For the exam logistics, booking, centres and pass scores, see the Prometric guide.
- General Practice practice bank
- Registered Nurse practice bank
- Specialist Internal Medicine practice bank
Sample MCQs show you the written format. For the spoken side of an assessment, such as a case discussion with an examiner, try our oral exam preparation module, which includes free trial cases.
Frequently asked questions
Are these the real Prometric questions?
No, and you should be wary of anyone claiming otherwise. Live exam questions are confidential. These are written in the same style and to the same blueprints, which is what actually trains the skill.
Is there negative marking in the Prometric exam?
No. Every GCC authority uses single best answer scoring with no penalty for a wrong choice, so an educated guess always beats a blank.
How many practice questions should I do before the exam?
Volume matters less than review. A candidate who works through 1,000 questions and reviews every explanation will outperform one who rushes 3,000 and reviews none.
How do I know when I am ready to book?
When two or three timed full length mocks hold above 75 percent. That margin absorbs a bad day and an unfamiliar topic.
Where can I find Prometric questions and answers for my profession?
Find your exam code in the exam list and open its practice bank. Each bank is built around the blueprint for that code, so a radiographer drills imaging and radiation safety while a pharmacist drills interactions and dosing, rather than one generic set for everyone.
Can I try questions before paying?
Yes. The first 15 questions of every exam bank are free and no card is needed.
Sample questions only take you so far without the blueprint they are drawn from. Each profession sits a different paper with its own code and its own weighting, so the areas worth drilling change completely from one licence to the next. Start with the GCC licensing exam codes directory to find your code, then read the guide for your profession, for example radiographer RAD5152 or dental assistant DAS5111.