DOH School Nurse exam questions

The School Nurse exam in every GCC country

From each regulator's own exam pages; anything a regulator does not publish says so. Assessment mode also depends on your licence title, so confirm your route on your eligibility notice.

12 worked School Nurse practice questions

Original exam-style questions from the bank, spread across the blueprint domains. They are not real or recalled exam questions. Try each one, then open the answer for the rationale and reference. None of them appear in the free mock exam, so reading them will not spoil it.

1. Question 1 · Child and Adolescent Growth and Development

   During a school screening, a 13-year-old girl has a visible rib hump on the Adams forward bend test, and the scoliometer reads 9 degrees of trunk rotation. What is the most appropriate action?

   1. AFitting a back brace from the school stock room right now
   2. BReferral to a physician for review and a spine radiograph
   3. CReassurance that it is poor posture, with a recheck next year
   4. DCore exercises for six months, then a repeat screening test
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: B. Referral to a physician for review and a spine radiograph

   A rib hump with trunk rotation of 7 degrees or more is a positive screen, and the next step is clinical review with a standing radiograph to measure the Cobb angle. Bracing is prescribed only after that measurement, and posture advice or delayed rescreening risks missing curve progression in the growth spurt.

   Reference: Weinstein SL et al., Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis, Lancet (2008)

2. Question 2 · Chronic Conditions and Allergies at School

   A student with asthma has a cough and wheeze after running. Which medication is the first-line reliever?

   1. ASalbutamol by metered-dose inhaler with a spacer
   2. BBudesonide preventer inhaler, two puffs from the school supply
   3. COral montelukast tablet taken with a drink of water
   4. DSodium cromoglicate inhaler taken as a single puff
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: A. Salbutamol by metered-dose inhaler with a spacer

   Salbutamol is a short-acting beta-2 agonist that relaxes bronchial smooth muscle within minutes and is the standard reliever. Inhaled corticosteroids and montelukast are preventers with no rapid effect, and cromoglicate is a preventer rather than a reliever.

   Reference: Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) Report (2025 update)

3. Question 3 · Communicable Disease Prevention and Control

   A student has chickenpox. When may the student return to school?

   1. AAfter 14 days regardless of how the rash looks
   2. BWhen every lesion has crusted over and no new ones form
   3. CAs soon as the fever has settled for a day
   4. DWhen the first few spots begin to look as if they are drying
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: B. When every lesion has crusted over and no new ones form

   Children with varicella are contagious until all lesions are crusted, so that is the usual return criterion. A fixed 14 days is unnecessarily long, fever resolution alone does not mean the lesions are crusted, and early drying of a few spots leaves new vesicles still infectious.

   Reference: AAP, Red Book: Report of the Committee on Infectious Diseases, 33rd ed. (2024)

4. Question 4 · Communicable Disease Prevention and Control

   Several students in a class have vomiting and diarrhoea, and norovirus is suspected. Which control measures are most appropriate?

   1. ASoap and water handwashing, chlorine-based cleaning of surfaces and exclusion until 48 hours symptom-free
   2. BAlcohol hand rub, and a quaternary ammonium wipe of desks
   3. CReturn to class once vomiting has stopped for six hours
   4. DIsolation of the class and oral antibiotics for the contacts
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: A. Soap and water handwashing, chlorine-based cleaning of surfaces and exclusion until 48 hours symptom-free

   Norovirus is hardy, alcohol rubs and many common disinfectants are less reliable against it, and children should stay away until 48 hours after symptoms end. Early return risks continued shedding, and antibiotics have no action on a virus.

   Reference: CDC, Updated Norovirus Outbreak Management and Disease Prevention Guidelines, MMWR (2011)

5. Question 5 · Communicable Disease Prevention and Control

   A student is diagnosed with invasive meningococcal disease. Who is generally offered antibiotic chemoprophylaxis?

   1. AHousehold members and others exposed to the student's oral secretions, as directed by public health
   2. BStudents and teachers across the whole school
   3. CStudents seated within two metres in class
   4. DOnly contacts who already have a fever
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: A. Household members and others exposed to the student's oral secretions, as directed by public health

   Prophylaxis targets those with close, direct contact such as household members and people with exposure to respiratory secretions, selected with the public health team. Whole-school treatment is excessive, seating distance is not the criterion, and prophylaxis is given before symptoms.

   Reference: AAP, Red Book: Report of the Committee on Infectious Diseases, 33rd ed. (2024)

6. Question 6 · First Aid and Emergency Care

   Two trained rescuers are performing CPR on a collapsed 8-year-old after the initial rescue breaths. Which compression to ventilation ratio should they use?

   1. A30 compressions to 2 breaths
   2. BContinuous compressions with no breaths
   3. C5 compressions to 1 breath
   4. D15 compressions to 2 breaths
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: D. 15 compressions to 2 breaths

   For children, two trained rescuers use 15:2 after five initial rescue breaths, because hypoxic arrest is common. 30:2 is used by a single rescuer, and compression-only or 5:1 are not recommended ratios.

   Reference: European Resuscitation Council Guidelines 2021: Paediatric Life Support, Resuscitation (2021)

7. Question 7 · School Health Programmes and Screening

   A school screening test has high sensitivity but low specificity. What is the expected result?

   1. AMany cases missed and many healthy children referred for assessment
   2. BMany cases missed, but very few healthy children are wrongly referred onward
   3. CFew cases missed and few healthy children referred for assessment
   4. DFew cases missed, but many healthy children wrongly referred for assessment
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: D. Few cases missed, but many healthy children wrongly referred for assessment

   High sensitivity means true cases are rarely missed, and low specificity means many unaffected children also test positive. These false positives raise referrals, cost and anxiety. The other pairings describe different combinations of sensitivity and specificity.

   Reference: Porta M (ed.), A Dictionary of Epidemiology, 6th edition (2014)

8. Question 8 · Communicable Disease Prevention and Control

   A student has had diarrhoea and vomiting. When can the student return to school?

   1. ASeven days after the illness began
   2. BAfter one negative stool culture result
   3. C48 hours after the last episode of diarrhoea or vomiting
   4. DAs soon as the appetite returns and the fever has settled for a day
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: C. 48 hours after the last episode of diarrhoea or vomiting

   The usual rule is exclusion until 48 hours after the last loose stool or vomiting, as people stay infectious while symptomatic and shortly afterwards. Stool cultures are not routinely required, and a fixed seven days or return of appetite does not track infectiousness.

   Reference: UK Health Security Agency, Guidance on infection control in schools and other childcare settings (2023)

9. Question 9 · Chronic Conditions and Allergies at School

   A student having anaphylaxis feels faint and looks pale. Which position is correct while waiting for the ambulance?

   1. AStanding against the wall so the airway stays open
   2. BLying on the side with the head lowered
   3. CSitting upright in a chair with the legs down until the ambulance arrives
   4. DLying flat with the legs raised, and not allowed to stand or walk
   Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: D. Lying flat with the legs raised, and not allowed to stand or walk

   Lying flat with legs raised supports blood pressure in anaphylactic shock, and standing or walking can cause sudden collapse. A child whose main problem is breathing may sit up, and an unconscious child goes into the recovery position.

   Reference: Muraro A et al., EAACI guidelines: Anaphylaxis (2021 update), Allergy (2022)

10. Question 10 · First Aid and Emergency Care

    A student splashes a cleaning chemical into one eye during a science lesson. What is the first action?

    1. AIrrigate with copious clean water for at least 15 minutes, then refer
    2. BNeutralise it with a mild acid or alkali taken from the school laboratory
    3. CIrrigate for two minutes and then check the vision
    4. DCover the eye with a pad and arrange transport at once
    Show answer and explanation

    Correct answer: A. Irrigate with copious clean water for at least 15 minutes, then refer

    Immediate, prolonged irrigation dilutes and removes the chemical and takes priority over every other step. Neutralising agents can cause a second chemical injury, padding delays irrigation, and two minutes is too short.

    Reference: European Resuscitation Council Guidelines 2021: First aid

11. Question 11 · Nutrition, Hygiene and Physical Activity

    Which routine best prevents dental caries in school-age children?

    1. ARinsing the mouth with fruit juice after each meal and before bed
    2. BBrushing once a week with a hard brush and plain water for two minutes
    3. CBrushing twice daily with fluoride toothpaste and fewer sugary snacks
    4. DUsing fluoride-free toothpaste and brushing straight after every sweet snack
    Show answer and explanation

    Correct answer: C. Brushing twice daily with fluoride toothpaste and fewer sugary snacks

    Fluoride toothpaste twice daily and reducing how often sugars are eaten are the core caries-prevention measures. Infrequent brushing, juice rinses and fluoride-free paste do not give the same protection.

    Reference: WHO, Ending childhood dental caries: WHO implementation manual (2019)

12. Question 12 · Professional Practice, Ethics and UAE Law

    A principal asks the nurse to let office staff give a student's daily insulin dose when the nurse is off site. Which response is correct?

    1. AAgree after a short verbal briefing on the day by the office manager
    2. BDelegate only to trained, named staff with a written plan and supervision
    3. CAgree, since an adult who is on site may give a medicine to a student
    4. DDecline, and leave the young student to manage the dose alone
    Show answer and explanation

    Correct answer: B. Delegate only to trained, named staff with a written plan and supervision

    Delegation needs demonstrated competence, a written plan and supervision, and the nurse remains accountable for safe care. Letting any adult act or giving only a brief verbal briefing is unsafe, and leaving a young student unsupported ignores the duty of care.

    Reference: National Council of State Boards of Nursing and American Nurses Association, National Guidelines for Nursing Delegation (2016)

School Nurse reference books and guidelines

Every question in this bank names the textbook or guideline its answer rests on. These are the sources our School Nurse questions cite most often - the reading list to revise from alongside the bank.

Where your regulator publishes a reading list, use the editions it names. Exam questions are not taken from any one book.