DSSSB Nursing Officer Exam Pattern 2026: Marks and Time

One exam, one sitting, 200 questions: that is the whole written stage of Nursing Officer recruitment in Delhi. The DSSSB Nursing Officer exam pattern is a one-tier (technical) computer-based test set by the Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board, with 100 marks of general subjects and 100 marks of nursing, all to be finished in 2 hours.

The pattern on this page comes from Advertisement No. 04/2024 (Post Code 02/24), the latest Nursing Officer cycle. DSSSB has not released a new Nursing Officer advertisement in 2026 so far. Below you will find the section-wise structure, the negative marking rule, the Section B qualifying marks that many pages skip, a worked merit example and a time plan for the 120 minutes.

Table of Contents

Exam Pattern at a Glance

Section A Pattern: General Subjects

All five tests are compulsory. Section A is the same for most DSSSB one-tier technical posts, so the general-subject preparation you do here also helps with other Delhi government exams.

Section B Pattern: Nursing

Section B tests nursing at the level of B.Sc Nursing and GNM. It covers subjects such as fundamentals, anatomy and physiology, medical-surgical nursing, midwifery, paediatrics, community health, mental health and pharmacology.

Marking Scheme and Negative Marking

The deduction applies in both sections. Four wrong answers cancel one correct answer, so a careless attempt pattern can cost you several marks across 200 questions.

How Negative Marks Add Up

In the last cycle, the UR and EWS shortlisting cut-offs were reported about 12.5 marks apart. Ten extra wrong answers cost 2.5 marks, enough to drop a candidate many places in a close merit list.

Should You Guess?

With four options and a 0.25 penalty, the numbers are simple:

• Pure blind guess: On average you gain about 0.06 mark per question, which is close to nothing and adds risk.

• One option ruled out: The average gain rises to about 0.17 mark per question.

• Two options ruled out: The average gain is about 0.38 mark per question, which is worth taking.

The practical rule: attempt a question when you can rule out at least one option with confidence, and skip pure guesses unless you are short of the Section B minimum.

Minimum Qualifying Marks

For technical posts, DSSSB applies the minimum qualifying marks to Section B only. Section A has no minimum, but its marks are added to Section B for the merit list. The table shows the last notified percentages and what they mean out of Section B's 100 marks.

Ex-servicemen get a 5 percent relaxation within their category, subject to a minimum of 30 percent, where the post is reserved for them. Clearing these marks only makes you eligible for the merit list; actual selection depends on the cut-off, which has been far higher.

What the Pattern Means for You

• Nursing is your safety line: A weak Section B removes you from merit no matter how well you do in Section A. Build a comfortable margin above 40 before chasing extra marks elsewhere.

• Section A decides your rank: Many candidates score in a similar band in nursing. The difference often comes from arithmetic, Hindi and general awareness.

• Each subject in Section A is worth the same: Twenty marks of Hindi count exactly as much as twenty marks of reasoning, so do not drop any test.

• Speed matters: 200 questions in 120 minutes gives you 36 seconds per question on average. Recall questions must go fast to leave time for clinical-situation questions and arithmetic.

Section-Wise Difficulty Reported in the Last Cycle

DSSSB does not publish difficulty ratings. The table below summarises candidate feedback reported after the 2024 exam, which was held in several shifts. Treat it as indicative, since difficulty varied between shifts.

Preparing Section by Section

Section A

• Arithmetic: Master percentage, ratio and average first, since most other chapters build on them. Time yourself on sets of 20 questions.

• Reasoning: Rotate verbal and non-verbal topics so neither gets ignored.

• Languages: Keep one notebook of grammar rules for English and one for Hindi, and revise them weekly.

• General awareness: Read news daily and make short monthly notes, with extra attention to Delhi and health schemes.

Section B

• Start with high-weight subjects: Medical-surgical nursing, fundamentals and midwifery cover the largest part of the curriculum.

• Practise application: For every condition you revise, ask what the first nursing action would be.

• Make quick-reference sheets: Drugs and antidotes, normal values, milestones and immunisation schedules are easy marks when revised often.

After the CBT: Selection Stages

The written test is the only scored stage in the last notified scheme. After it, the process is administrative but still important:

1. E-dossier: Shortlisted candidates upload documents on the OARS portal within the notified window.

2. Nomination: DSSSB sends the dossiers of selected candidates to the Health and Family Welfare Department.

3. Document check and medical examination: The allotted hospital verifies documents and holds a medical examination before the offer of appointment.

Missing an e-dossier deadline or a medical examination date can cost you the post, so keep your OARS login, email and phone active after the exam.

How the Merit List Works: A Worked Example

Take a UR candidate who attempts 143 of the 200 questions:

This candidate clears the Section B minimum of 40 comfortably and has a total of 110.5. That is just above the indicative UR shortlisting cut-off of 109.27 reported for the 2024 cycle, which shows how thin the margin can be. Cutting just six wrong answers would add 1.5 marks.

Time Management and Exam-Day Strategy

The notification gives one 2-hour duration for the paper, not fixed time per section. A plan that works for many candidates:

• Learn the interface early: DSSSB provides a link for an online exam mock test on its homepage, https://dsssb.delhi.gov.in/. Use it to check how question navigation and marking for review work.

• Read the stem fully: Words such as "first", "most appropriate" and "except" change the answer in nursing questions.

• Keep a skip rule: If an arithmetic question needs more than about a minute, mark it and move on.

Eligible PwBD candidates get compensatory time as per government rules; check the admit card and exam notice for the exact time allowed.

Older Pages and Common Mix-Ups

• Fixed one-hour blocks: Some pages say Section A and Section B have one hour each. The notification gives a single 2-hour duration, so you can plan your own split.

• Two-tier claims: The Nursing Officer post was notified under the one-tier technical scheme. Other DSSSB posts use two-tier schemes, which is a common source of confusion.

• Sectional cut-offs in Section A: There is no minimum mark for Section A; the qualifying rule applies to Section B.

When the next advertisement is released, read its scheme of examination first, because DSSSB can change the pattern for a new cycle. All official notices are posted on the DSSSB website.