PGIMER Nursing Officer Exam Pattern 2026 Explained

The PGIMER Nursing Officer exam pattern is short and easy to remember: one computer based test (CBT) of 100 multiple-choice questions in 100 minutes. There is no interview and no second written paper, so this one test decides your merit position. This page explains the format for Advertisement No. PGI/RC/055/2026/2276, what negative marking does to your score, and how to use your time.

The details come from the cycle notification. PGIMER has not published a section-wise breakup, so anything beyond the figures below is marked as guidance. Confirm the latest instructions on the official PGIMER website and on your admit card.

Table of Contents

Exam pattern at a glance

CBT pattern in detail

The notification does not state a separate sectional time limit, so the 100 minutes appear to apply to the whole paper. Your admit card and the on-screen instructions are the final word on this. The subject areas the questions may come from are listed on the PGIMER Nursing Officer syllabus page.

Marking scheme and negative marking

• Correct answer: 1 mark is awarded.

• Wrong answer: 0.25 mark is deducted.

• Unanswered question: no mark is awarded and no mark is deducted, under the usual CBT convention. Check your instruction screen to confirm.

A worked example shows how it adds up. Suppose you attempt 90 questions and get 72 right and 18 wrong. Your net score is 72 minus (18 x 0.25), which is 72 minus 4.5, or 67.5 marks. The 10 questions you left blank do not change the score.

Qualifying marks

On a 100-mark paper, 40% means 40 net marks and 35% means 35 net marks. Qualifying does not guarantee selection, because shortlisting for document verification is rank based. Read the cut-off page for how this works.

What the pattern means for you

• One minute per question: with 100 questions in 100 minutes, there is no time for long deliberation. Fact-based questions should take well under a minute so that scenario questions can take longer.

• A wrong answer costs more than a skip: a wrong attempt takes away 0.25 mark and also loses the 1 mark you could have earned. A guess is worth taking only if you believe your chance of being right is better than 1 in 5, which means you have narrowed the options with real knowledge.

• No sectional cut-off is mentioned: the notification gives one overall qualifying percentage, not subject-wise minimums. Even so, since subject-wise questions are not capped, a weak subject can still cost you many marks.

• English only: practise reading clinical terms and drug names quickly in English, even if you studied in another language.

• Accuracy over volume: a score of 75 net marks from 85 careful attempts beats 100 rushed attempts with 30 errors.

Final merit and tie-breaking

There is no weightage across stages. Final merit is built from your CBT marks alone, after your eligibility and documents are cleared. Category-wise shortlisting calls roughly three candidates per post for verification, along with tied candidates.

When candidates have equal marks, the notification uses these tie-breakers in order:

1. Fewer wrong answers or lower negative marks.

2. Earlier date of birth.

3. Higher percentage in 10+2.

4. Higher percentage in Matriculation or 10th.

The first tie-breaker is a good reason to prefer accuracy: of two candidates with the same score, the one with fewer wrong answers ranks higher.

Time management and exam-day strategy

1. Round one (about 55 to 60 minutes): answer every question you are sure about and mark doubtful ones for review.

2. Round two (about 25 to 30 minutes): return to marked questions, eliminate options, and answer only where you can reason to a probable answer.

3. Final 10 minutes: check calculation-based items, such as drug doses, and review flagged answers.

Practise this routine under a timer before the exam. You can attempt PGIMER Nursing Officer mock tests on Testkart in a 100-question, 100-minute format and review accuracy and time per question after each attempt.

Other points for exam day: carry your admit card and a valid photo ID, reach the centre early, and remember that mobile phones, watches, bags and other electronic items are not allowed inside the centre as per the notification. Older pages and other institutes may show different patterns, so rely on the current notification for this cycle.