RCSI Overseas Aptitude Test · General Nurse
Pass the aptitude test: theory paper and the OSCE.
150 questions in three hours, then 14 stations of 10 minutes, with a €2,800 fee riding on both. Practise each part on your phone, with the HSE or NMBI source under every answer. Free to start, no account needed; the full 6 months pass is €59 once.
The route
How the real test works
- 1NMBI decision letterYou apply to the NMBI first. If the letter names the RCSI aptitude test as your compensation measure, you register for a date with RCSI.
- 2Theory: 150 MCQs, 180 minutesSupervised paper, four options, one answer each, pass mark 50%. Fail it and the whole paper is repeated; a second fail ends the route.Practise the theory →
- 3OSCE: 14 stations, 10 minutes eachSimulated ward stations with assessors: observations, medication round, wound dressing, sepsis screening, safeguarding. Competent at every station, or that station is resat.Rehearse the OSCE →
Next theory dates: 7 November 2026, 8 November 2026, 14 November 2026, at the Smurfit Building, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin 9. Fee €2,800 for both parts, two attempts each. RCSI schedule · The complete guide to the test · All guides
The pass: theory and OSCE
Free to start. One payment opens both parts.
€59once, 6 months of access. Not a subscription.
- Theory: every question in every topic, the source named on each answer
- Mock exams: the full 150-question paper on the real clock, as many sittings as you like, plus short mocks
- OSCE: every station rehearsal with its debrief, every case in the eleven paperwork trainers, all seven teaching talks
- Mistakes deck, saved questions, progress saved to your account on any device
- Pass guarantee: fail the real theory test, get another 6 months free
- Every answer names its official source. Found a mistake? We check every report within 48 hours, and if you are right we add a month to your pass.
Card payment by Stripe. Full refund within 14 days if you have answered fewer than 100 questions, checked fewer than 20 OSCE exercises and sat no full mock since paying. You get two attempts at the real paper; a fail means sitting all 150 questions again. Refunds and guarantee. Given an access code by your agency? Enter it in your account.
Questions people ask
What is the RCSI aptitude test?
The RCSI FNM Aptitude Test for Overseas General Nurses is one of the compensation measures the NMBI can ask for before it registers a nurse trained outside Ireland. It has two parts. Part 1 is a theory test: 150 multiple-choice questions in 180 minutes, four options, one answer, pass mark 50%. Part 2 is a practical OSCE of 14 stations, 10 minutes each, and you must pass the theory before you can sit it. Both are held at the Smurfit Building, Beaumont Hospital, Dublin 9.
Is this the NMBI aptitude test?
Same exam, two names. The NMBI decides in your decision letter that you need a compensation measure and accepts the result; RCSI writes and runs the test. Nurses call it the NMBI aptitude test, RCSI calls it the FNM Overseas Aptitude Test for General Nurses. Either way it is this paper and this OSCE.
Are these the actual RCSI questions?
No. RCSI does not publish its bank, and we would not copy it if it did. Every question here is written from the public documents on the RCSI reading list and the NMBI standards, and each answer names the document it was checked against so you can read the source yourself. The ten sample MCQs RCSI does publish are covered in the guides.
What is free, and what does the pass open?
Free, with no account: the Observations and INEWS topic in full, 3 questions with answers and sources in every other topic, one short mock exam, all the guides, and in the OSCE section the first 2 cases of every paperwork trainer, two station rehearsals and two teaching talks. The pass is €59, paid once for 6 months, not a subscription, and it opens both parts: the whole theory bank, unlimited mocks, every case, station and talk. If you fail the real theory test while your pass is active, we extend it by another 6 months for free.
How many attempts do I get?
Two attempts at each part, including one repeat. A failed theory test is repeated in full; a failed OSCE means resitting only the stations you failed. Both attempts are covered by the €2,800 fee, but a second fail at the theory ends the route and only the OSCE portion of the fee comes back. RCSI reports that about 60% pass the OSCE at the first attempt and names lack of preparation and rote learning as the usual causes of failure.