English Healthcare Professions test simulations 2026

Preparing for the 2026 English Healthcare Professions admission test starts with a very simple question: which simulations are actually useful, and which materials truly reflect the real exam?

Here we explain where to find official questions and past papers, whether an official question bank exists, how to use online exercises and PDF tests, how to analyze your results, and which scores can be used as a reference. We also look at how to recreate the real conditions of the 17 September 2026 test, using the same number of questions, the same time limit, and the same scoring system.

Are there official simulations for the 2026 English Healthcare Professions test?

At the moment, there is no complete national official 2026 simulation published by the Ministry.

This matters because, for Healthcare Professions admissions, the Ministry defines the structure, syllabus, duration, and scoring criteria, while individual universities prepare their own admission tests according to those rules.

This means:

• there is no single national test identical across all universities;
• no complete 2026 ministerial simulation has been published;
• individual universities may independently provide materials, exercises, or orientation activities;
• any useful simulation should still follow the official 2026 structure.

For example, Sapienza University states that it does not provide official preparation materials for its Nursing degree taught in English.

What does the 2026 test look like?

The structure to reproduce in your simulations has already been defined.

The test lasts 100 minutes.

The scoring system is:

• +1.5 points for each correct answer;
• -0.4 points for each incorrect answer;
• 0 points for each unanswered question;
• 90 points as the maximum possible score.

This structure is essentially unchanged from 2025.

When is the 2026 English Healthcare Professions test?

The date has already been published.

The Healthcare Professions admission test in English will take place on 17 September 2026.

The Italian-language test is scheduled for 16 September 2026, so the 2 tests are held on different days.

For example, Sapienza's 2026 Nursing admission notice states:

• arrival at the test venue at 9:00 AM;
• test starting time at 11:00 AM;
• 100 minutes available to complete the exam.

Exact times and operational details should still be checked in the admission notice published by the university you are applying to.

Is there an official question bank?

No. At the moment, there is no official 2026 ministerial question bank containing the questions that will be used to build the test.

The official syllabus defines what can be assessed during the exam, but it does not provide a pre-published database of questions.

There is also no official date announced for the possible publication of such a question bank.

The situation was similar in 2025: the exam rules were available, but there was no national question bank released before the test.

Where can you find online exercises by subject?

Universities may publish their own practice materials.

One example is Sapienza's institutional learning environment, where historical Healthcare Professions quizzes are available by subject, including:

• Biology;
• Chemistry.

These exercises come from admission tests used in the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 academic years.

However, they should be used carefully because:

• they are not 2026 questions;
• they are not an official question bank;
• they were not specifically designed for English-taught Nursing;
• some historical scoring information no longer matches the current rules.

There is also no official ministerial classification of questions as easy, medium, or difficult.

For more structured practice, students can combine institutional materials with TestBuddy simulations, where it is possible to practise by topic and track progress over time. You can start for free.

Free online simulations with correction

For 2026, there is currently no ministerial platform offering a complete free English Healthcare Professions simulation with automatic correction.

In previous years, some universities organised their own initiatives.

For example, in 2025, Sapienza organised a free Healthcare Professions simulation based on the subjects included in the official syllabus and accompanied by a comparative ranking.

However, it was a university initiative and not a national ministerial simulation specifically designed for English-taught Nursing.

At the moment, no equivalent 2026 initiative with an official date has been published.

PDF simulations with solutions: what can you use?

This is one of the most useful updates compared with the previous version of this guide.

There are official past tests available as downloadable PDFs with the correct answers.

A useful example is the 2025 English Nursing admission test from the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, published by the university after the exam took place.

The PDF includes:

• the actual test administered to candidates;
• questions written in English;
• the different sections of the exam;
• the correct answer identified for each question.

So this is not a simulation created for practice. It is something even more useful for understanding the format: a real test from the previous year.

However, the paper belongs to a specific university. It does not mean that the 2026 questions will be taken from that PDF.

How to use a past-paper PDF properly

The most useful approach is to treat it like a real simulation.

You can:

• set a timer for 100 minutes;
• complete all 60 questions without checking the solutions;
• apply the official scoring system;
• correct the test only after finishing;
• record the subjects and question types where mistakes happen most often.

The 2025 format is still useful because the number of questions, subject distribution, duration, and scoring system remain unchanged in 2026.

It should not, however, be used to predict which questions will appear in the next exam.

How to analyze your simulation results

Looking only at the final score tells you very little.

After each simulation, it is useful to check at least:

• total score;
• correct answers;
• incorrect answers;
• unanswered questions;
• performance in each subject;
• recurring mistakes;
• total time used.

With 60 questions in 100 minutes, the theoretical average is about 100 seconds per question. This does not mean that every question should take exactly that long, but it is a useful reference for understanding whether your overall pace is sustainable.

After the real exam, some universities also allow candidates to review their paper. In 2025, for example, Vanvitelli allowed candidates to view the correct answers, their score, and a scanned copy of their answer sheet.

Institutional systems do not appear to provide automatic reports on:

• recurring mistakes;
• weak areas by subject;
• time spent on each individual question.

These are therefore metrics that should be tracked during practice.

On TestBuddy, this process is automated through statistics, error analysis, and the TB™ Score, which helps you monitor your current level over time instead of relying on the result of a single simulation.

What score do you need?

There is no national score that guarantees admission.

Admission depends on the ranking at each university and on the number of available places.

For 2026, there are not yet:

• official average scores from the test;
• final admission cut-offs;
• an official national benchmark.

That is expected, because the test will only take place on 17 September 2026.

In admission notices already published, a score of 0 or below may mean that the test has not been passed, but obtaining a positive score does not automatically guarantee admission.

A real reference from 2025

Just to provide an order of magnitude, in the initial 2025 ranking for English Nursing at Vanvitelli for European Union candidates and non-European Union candidates residing in Italy:

• the 10th allocated candidate scored 33.80 points;
• the next candidate, with 33.60 points, was not allocated.

This is not a national minimum score and should not be treated as a target for 2026. It only reflects that specific 2025 ranking and may also have changed through later ranking rounds.

How to simulate the real test conditions

A simulation becomes useful when it resembles the real exam as closely as possible.

You should reproduce at least:

• 60 questions;
• 100 minutes in total;
• the official subject structure;
• the +1.5 / -0.4 / 0 scoring system;
• no books or notes;
• no phone or other devices used as support;
• no discussion with other people during the test;
• correction only after the simulation is complete.

The environment also matters. It is better to complete a full simulation without constantly stopping and without immediately checking whether each answer is correct.

The goal is not simply to complete more questions, but to understand whether you can maintain accuracy and pace for the full 100 minutes.

Platforms and university materials

There is no single national institutional platform dedicated to simulations.

Available materials depend on individual universities.

For example:

• Sapienza provides some historical quizzes by subject, but states that it does not provide official 2026 preparation materials for English Nursing;
• Vanvitelli published the real 2025 English Nursing test with the correct answers after the exam;
• the University of Perugia allows candidates, for the relevant admission procedures, to access post-test materials such as the question paper and answer sheet, but there is currently no specific 2026 simulation for English Healthcare Professions.

It is therefore important to distinguish between official university materials, real tests from previous years, and practice simulators.

Official references used for this guide

• The 17 September 2026 date and the national calendar come from the official 2026/2027 admission-test calendar published by the Italian Ministry of University and Research.
• The structure, number of questions, duration, and scoring system come from the official ministerial rules for Healthcare Professions admissions 2026/2027.
• The times and procedures mentioned for English Nursing come from the 2026/2027 admission notice published by Sapienza University of Rome.
• The information regarding the absence of official preparation materials for Nursing comes from the 2026 institutional presentation published by Sapienza.
• Historical subject-based exercises are available through Sapienza's institutional learning environment.
• The example of the free simulation organised in 2025 is described on Sapienza's institutional page dedicated to the Healthcare Professions simulation.
• The official 2025 English Nursing precedent is documented on the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli admission-test page, while the practice material is available in the official 2025 question paper with correct answers.
• The historical score reference comes from the official 2025 English Nursing ranking published by Vanvitelli.
• The post-test consultation procedure mentioned for Perugia is described on the University of Perugia institutional page for limited-enrolment degree programmes.