The DHA nursing exam 6-week study plan

Fundamentals & infection control

Set your baseline. These two underpin the 'what does the nurse do first / how do you keep the patient safe' stems that appear all through the paper.

Cardiac & circulatory — read

ACS, heart failure, arrhythmias and shock. Learn the priority actions and the drugs before you drill — the exam loves 'which finding do you report first' on cardiac patients.

Cardiac — consolidate

Re-read the sections you got wrong yesterday, then push the count up. Aim to have chest pain, HF and the common arrhythmias fully automatic.

Respiratory — read

COPD, asthma, TB, oxygenation and the start of ABG interpretation. Note the oxygen-target traps and the isolation rules for TB.

Respiratory + ABGs

Drill ABG interpretation until it is fast — respiratory vs metabolic, compensated vs not. This skill also pays off in the renal week.

Pharmacology & medication safety — read

The rights of administration, high-alert drugs, key antidotes and error prevention. This is one of the heaviest single areas on the DHA exam — you will return to it in week 3.

Lighter day — review the week

No new topics. Re-do the questions you flagged this week and re-read the note sections behind your mistakes. A rest day here keeps the six weeks sustainable.

Endocrine — read

Diabetes, DKA and HHS, thyroid, adrenal and pituitary emergencies. Get the DKA priorities and the hypo- vs hyperglycaemia picture crystal clear.

Endocrine — DKA/HHS & insulin

Focus your drilling on insulin types, sick-day rules and the DKA/HHS management sequence. These are classic single-best-answer traps.

Renal, fluid, electrolyte & acid-base — read

AKI/CKD, fluid balance, the key electrolytes and ABG interpretation again. The electrolyte danger values (K+, Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+) are worth memorising cold.

Electrolytes & acid-base — consolidate

Push the count up on electrolytes and ABGs — they cross-appear in cardiac, endocrine and respiratory questions, so strong recall here lifts several topics at once.

Gastrointestinal & hepatobiliary — read

PUD and GI bleed, IBD, obstruction, cirrhosis, hepatitis, pancreatitis, gallbladder and GI tubes. Watch the bleeding and liver-failure priority actions.

First weak-area review

Two weeks in, you have a track record. Run a weak-area session across everything so far and re-read the note sections behind your worst topics.

Lighter day — catch up

Absorb the backlog: finish any note you skimmed and redo flagged questions. If you are ahead, rest — you will need the stamina in weeks 5 and 6.

Neurological — read

Neuro assessment and GCS, raised ICP, stroke, seizures and status epilepticus, meningitis, spinal cord injury and autonomic dysreflexia. Learn the emergencies and their first actions.

Neuro — stroke, ICP & seizures

Drill the stroke pathway, raised-ICP positioning and seizure/status priorities. Autonomic dysreflexia is a favourite 'act first' stem — make it automatic.

Pharmacology — go deep

Return to pharmacology and drill hard: high-alert drugs, antidotes, interactions and adverse reactions. This area rewards repetition more than almost any other.

Dosage calculations — read & practise

Units and conversions, desired-over-have, tablets and liquids. Work every example by hand before you drill — accuracy first, speed later.

Dosage — IV rates & weight-based

IV flow and drip rates, reconstitution, weight-based and paediatric dosing, titrated infusions. These are guaranteed marks if your method is solid.

Mixed medical-surgical review

Interleave everything from weeks 1-3 in one mixed session — cardiac, respiratory, endocrine, renal, GI, neuro, pharmacology. Mixing topics is how the real exam feels.

Lighter day — catch up

Re-read your two weakest notes and rest. Half of the blueprint is now covered; the specialties and professional practice come next.

Maternal & newborn — read

Antenatal assessment, complications of pregnancy, labour and delivery, postpartum care and the healthy neonate. Learn the danger signs and their priority actions.

Maternal — complications

Pre-eclampsia, haemorrhage, and fetal-distress priorities. Focus your drilling on the 'report first / act first' obstetric emergencies.

Paediatric — read

Growth and development, age-specific assessment, respiratory and fluid emergencies, common childhood conditions and immunisation. Tie the weight-based dosing back to week 3's maths.

Paediatric — emergencies & dosing

Drill the paediatric respiratory and dehydration emergencies plus weight-based medication safety — the safe-dose-range checks are frequently tested.

Mental health — read

Therapeutic communication, risk and safety assessment, the common disorders and psychotropic drug safety. The therapeutic-response questions have a clear right answer once you know the rules.

Mental health + weak-area review

Finish with psychotropic safety (lithium, MAOIs, antipsychotic side effects) and delirium vs dementia, then run a weak-area session across the specialties.

Lighter day — catch up

Rest or clear your backlog. Next week is professional practice plus your first full mock, so arrive fresh.

Leadership, delegation & prioritisation

Who to see first, what to delegate and to whom, the five rights of delegation, and the ABC / Maslow / nursing-process hierarchies. This is the framework behind every 'which patient first' question.

Professional ethics, legal & patient rights

The ethical principles, informed consent, confidentiality, advocacy, negligence and the elements of liability, advance directives and DNR. Learn the definitions precisely.

Documentation & communication

The rules of the nursing record, SBAR/ISBAR handover, verbal and telephone orders with read-back, and incident reporting. Expect 'what does the nurse chart/report' stems.

Community & public health

Levels of prevention, the epidemiologic triad and rates, immunisation and the cold chain, health promotion, screening and outbreak control. Think population-focused.

First full timed mock

Sit a complete 150-question, 180-minute mock under exam conditions — no notes, no pauses. Treat it like the real thing so your pacing is honest. Note your score and your slowest sections.

Review the full mock

Go through every wrong and every guessed answer. For each, go back to the relevant note section — do not just read the rationale. This review is worth more than the mock itself.

Lighter day — reset

Short, targeted recall only. Rest properly before the final push — the last week is the most intensive.

Full timed mock #2

Another complete 150-question, 180-minute mock under exam conditions. Compare your pacing and score to mock #1 — you should already see the review paying off.

Deep review + weakest notes

Work through every mistake from mock #2, then re-read the two notes you scored lowest on. Rebuild the weak spots rather than skimming the strong ones.

Weak-area drilling

Spend the day only on your lowest topics — pull them up with focused drilling. Include a fresh set of dosage calculations to keep the maths sharp.

Full timed mock #3

Your final full mock. If you are comfortably clearing the ~60% pass mark with time to spare, you are ready. If not, you know exactly where tomorrow's review goes.

Final review + high-yield recap

Review mock #3, then run a last pass over the perennial high-yield items: high-alert drugs and antidotes, dosage-calc methods, electrolyte danger values and the priority hierarchies.

Taper — light recall only

No new material and no full mock. Redo a handful of flagged questions, skim your one-page numbers sheet, then stop early. Confirm your Prometric booking, ID and test-centre logistics.

Exam eve — rest

Do not cram. Pack your ID and confirmation, sleep well, and plan to arrive early and calm. You have done the work — tomorrow is about executing it.