RCSI publishes ten sample MCQs on its theory test page, with the note that they “may or may not appear in a test”. It does not publish the answers. Here they are, answered and explained, with a link to the practice topic each one belongs to. The wording of the questions and options is RCSI’s; the answers and explanations are ours.

Notice the shape. Ten questions, and they range from physiology (cardiac output) to professional regulation (the NMBI Code) to a guideline number (the 12-hour rule for blood sets). That spread is the paper. You will not pass on clinical knowledge alone.

Sample 1 · Cardiovascular

Cardiac output is defined as which of the following?

  1. AThe total amount of blood ejected by one of the ventricles in litres per minute ✓
  2. BThe degree of stretch of the ventricular cardiac muscle fibers
  3. CThe resistance to ejection of blood from the ventricle
  4. DThe force generated by the contracting myocardium

Cardiac output = stroke volume x heart rate, expressed in litres per minute. The other three describe preload, afterload and contractility, the factors that change it.

Practise cardiovascular →

Sample 2 · NMBI Code and professional matters

When engaging in decision making regarding patient care, nurses follow which principle?

  1. ABest practice
  2. BEvidence-based practice ✓
  3. CBenchmarked practice
  4. DStandard-based practice

The NMBI Code and Standards ask for care informed by the best available evidence, combined with clinical judgement and the person’s preferences. That is evidence-based practice.

Practise nmbi code and professional matters →

Sample 3 · Death and dying

In the stages of death and dying as defined by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, anger is manifested by which one of the following?

  1. ARefusal to admit the truth
  2. BAgitation
  3. CRage and resentment ✓
  4. DSadness and crying

Kubler-Ross: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance. Anger shows as rage and resentment, often aimed at staff or family. Refusal to admit the truth is denial; sadness and crying belong to depression.

Practise death and dying →

Sample 4 · Gastrointestinal

Peptic ulcers are thought to be the result of which one of the following?

  1. AGenetic defect
  2. BFatty diet
  3. CStress
  4. DHelicobacter Pylori infection ✓

H. pylori infection and NSAID use are the two main causes of peptic ulcer disease. Stress and diet were the old explanation and are now considered contributing factors at most.

Practise gastrointestinal →

Sample 5 · Respiratory

Pneumonia occurring 48 hours or longer after hospital admission that did not appear to be incubating at the time of admission is referred to as which of the following?

  1. ACommunity-acquired pneumonia (CAP)
  2. BHospital-acquired pneumonia (HAP) ✓
  3. CHealthcare-associated pneumonia (HCAP)
  4. DAspiration pneumonia

The 48-hour cut-off is the definition of hospital-acquired pneumonia. CAP starts before or within 48 hours of admission.

Practise respiratory →

Sample 6 · Neurological

A patient who sustained a head injury reacts to supraorbital pressure by moving their hand up to the face. How would you record this response?

  1. AFlexion
  2. BDecerebration
  3. CExtension
  4. DLocalising ✓

On the Glasgow Coma Scale motor scale, moving a hand towards the site of a painful stimulus is localising (score 5). Flexion (4) is bending the arm without reaching the stimulus; extension (2) is the abnormal straightening seen in decerebrate posturing.

Practise neurological →

Sample 7 · NMBI Code and professional matters

Nurses and midwives are professionally responsible and accountable for which of the following?

  1. ATheir practice, attitudes and actions including inactions and omissions
  2. BShowing high standards of professional behaviour
  3. CAdvocating for patients’ rights
  4. DAll of these ✓

All three come straight from the NMBI Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics. When every option is a Code principle, "all of these" is the answer.

Practise nmbi code and professional matters →

Sample 8 · Respiratory

The closure or collapse of alveoli is referred to as which of the following?

  1. AAtelectasis ✓
  2. BHaemothorax
  3. CPleural effusion
  4. DPneumothorax

Atelectasis is alveolar collapse, common after surgery and the reason for deep breathing exercises and the incentive spirometer. Haemothorax and pleural effusion are blood or fluid in the pleural space; pneumothorax is air there.

Practise respiratory →

Sample 9 · Peripheral venous catheter and IV therapy

As per British Society of Haematology guidelines, blood administration sets must be changed at least?

  1. Aevery 4 hours
  2. Bevery 8 hours
  3. Cevery 12 hours ✓
  4. Devery 16 hours

BSH guidance on the administration of blood components: change the administration set at least every 12 hours, and always when a different component is started. Each unit itself should be transfused within 4 hours of leaving controlled storage, which is the distractor.

Practise peripheral venous catheter and iv therapy →

Sample 10 · Skin and pressure injury

During which one of the following stages of wound healing does granulation tissue form?

  1. AMaturation phase
  2. BProliferation phase ✓
  3. CEpithelial closure phase
  4. DInflammatory phase

Haemostasis and inflammation come first, then proliferation, when fibroblasts lay down collagen and new capillaries form granulation tissue. Maturation (remodelling) follows and can last months.

Practise skin and pressure injury →

What this tells you about the real paper

  • One answer per question, four options. No “choose two”.
  • Definitions matter: cardiac output, atelectasis, HAP. Learn the exact wording.
  • Numbers matter: 48 hours, 12 hours, GCS scores. Our questions flag every number worth memorising.
  • The NMBI Code is examinable. Two of ten samples are about professional practice, not a body system.

Source: RCSI Overseas Aptitude Test (General Nurse), theory test page, checked 9 September 2026.