NUMERACY TEST FOR NURSES
Are you planning to start job in the UK or
Ireland or maybe in another Englishspeaking country? Get well prepared firstfor Your confidence, passing induction well
and Your patients’ safety.
Numeracy-related tasks are common
in nursing profession and include understanding
nutrition information, interpreting blood sugar
readings and other clinical data, adjusting
medications, and understanding probability in
risk communication. Proper numeracy is core
ability for clinical effectiveness as patient safety
are at risk if inaccurate drug doses are
administered. Calculations are still a significant source
of drug errors !
Most of the employers particularly NHS and
reputable Nursing Homes would perform
numeracy and literacy written tests as a part of
interview assessment for overseas nurses.
Check what to expect !
●Check your abilities in below test in order to selfevaluate your skills and decide where you should
improve.
●Don’t spend more than 30 minutes doing the test.
●You may use a calculator when/if necessary.
●Don’t use any other help to obtain a reliable test result
LEVEL 1:
1. Lucy works in District Hospital which is located in a distance of
2,5 km from her house. How many meters does she walk from
home to the hospital ?
ANSWER:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
2. 30% of a group of 80 patients take medications orally. How many
patients take medications orally?
ANSWER:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
3. 1gram (g) = 1,000 milligrams (mg). Convert 325 mg to grams.
ANSWER:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
4. Two thirds of a group of 72 patients have been visited by their
families today. How many patients met their relatives today ?
ANSWER:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
5. What is the total weight of 3 parcels weighing respectively 2.3kg,
750 grams and 3 ¼ kg?
ANSWER:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
6. Mr. Fox drinks 85ml of juice out of a half a litre carton. How
much juice is left?
ANSWER:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
7. Ms Farrow is prescribed 1g of Paracetamol. The strength
available is 500 mg tablets. How many tablets will you administer
?
ANSWER:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
8. If 1598 of the 9400 Nurses are married, what percentage of the
total is this?
ANSWER:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
9. If 1598 of the 9400 Nurses are married, how many of them are
single?
ANSWER:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
10. From patient’s liquid balance:.. 280 milliliters – convert to
litres:
ANSWER:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
11. 7.5 mg of Enalapril is prescribed and the dose in each tablet is
1.25 mg. How many tablets should be given?
ANSWER:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
12. A child weighing 24 kg requires Epilim at a dose of 20 mg per
kg. How much should be given?
ANSWER:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
13.
How many milligrams is 646 micrograms?
ANSWER:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
14. Karen has to perform an injection to the patient who is
prescribed Phenytoin IV 350 mg. The injection she has is 20mg in
5ml. What volume will she draw up?
ANSWER:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
15. Mr Steward is prescribed 3 tablets to be taken 4 times daily for
a week. How many tablets should he been dispensed in total ?
ANSWER:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
16. The changes of Mr Kelly’s temperature over four days were
registered as 1.2 o C, 2.5oC, 1.1oC, and 2.4oC. Find the mean
( average) change in his temperature over the four days ?
ANSWER:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
17. George Clarks 72-year-old patient is prescribed Aminophylline
170mg I.V. The ampoules available contain 250mg in 10mL. What
volume of the drug do you need to administer ?
ANSWER:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
18. There are 940 nurses employed by NHS Trust. The employment
of nurses is planned to be increased by 12 % next year. How
many new nurses will be hired by the NHS Trust next year?
ANSWER:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
19. Last Monday there were 43 patients at the oncology ward, 14
new patients have been admitted since then, 3 patients have been
transferred to other wards, one of the patients passed away and 8
patients have been released home since then. How many patients
are there currently at the oncology ward?
ANSWER:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
20.
Calculate 7/8 out of 320 millilitres.
ANSWER:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
21. The Nursing Home of 88 beds records mortality ratio of 12.5 %
annually. How many residents passes away annually ?
ANSWER:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
22. A patient’s weight ‘s 55 kg and he’s prescribed 5 mg/kg of
drug XXX. How many mgs will you administer ?
ANSWER:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
23. 42 % of 69 residents dislike porridge for breakfast. How many
of them would you serve toasts or scrambled eggs?
ANSWER:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
24. A patient is prescribed 20000 units of Heparin subcutaneously.
How many mls will you administer if the strength available is
25000 units/1ml.
ANSWER:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
25. A salt solution in made of 6.5 grams of table salt in 500
milliliters of water. How much salt is needed to make a salt
solution with 200 ml of water?
ANSWER:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
26. A patient prescribed Codeine Phosphate 40 mgs, the strength
available is 25mgs in 5 mls. How many mls will you administer ?
ANSWER:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
27. A patient is administered eye drops every 300 minutes. How
many hours does it mean?
ANSWER:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
28.
Patient’s weight is 150 lb. What is his weight in kilograms?
ANSWER:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
29.
5,000 mcg -convert to mg.
ANSWER:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
30. A patient is prescribed 120mg of lignocaine. How many mls are
required if 2% lignocaine is used?
ANSWER:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
NUMERACY TEST RESULTS
HAVE YOU DONE “ NUMERACY TEST FOR NURSES”?
CHECK THE RESULTS:
1.
2500m
7.
2.
24 patients
8.
2
tablets
17%
3.
0.325 g
9.
7 802
4.
48 patients
10.
0,28 l
5.
6.3 kg
11.
6.
415 ml
12.
6
tablets
480 mg
13
.
14
.
15
.
16
.
17
.
18
.
0,646m
g
87,5 ml
19.
45
25.
2,6 g
20.
280 ml
26.
8 ml
84
21.
11
27.
5h
1.8oC
22.
275 mg
28.
67,95 kg
6,8 ml
23.
29
29.
5 mg
113
24.
0,8 ml
30.
6000 ml