NBRC Study Guide 2026: The RT and TMC Content Outlines

How the RT outline splits the 160 scored questions

The RT outline, effective January 2027, has two portions, mixed together on one exam:

Portion and area	Items
Breadth: patient data	25
Breadth: devices and patient safety	25
Breadth: interventions	50
Depth of clinical judgment	60

The breadth portion uses the same three content areas and cognitive levels as the TMC. Every question in the depth of clinical judgment portion is at the application or analysis level and is tied to a patient condition. Fifty of those 60 are about adults, including 17 on chronic lung disease, and 10 are about children. Forty are decision making and 20 information gathering, and 46 are set in a hospital and 14 outside one. Across the whole exam, 15 to 18 questions involve neonatal or pediatric patients.

NBRC: RT Detailed Content Outline, effective January 2027 (PDF) ↗

The TMC outline, for tests through December 31, 2026

Each content area has a set number of questions at each cognitive level:

Content area	Recall	Apply	Analyze	Total
Patient data	15	27	8	50
Devices and infection control	8	9	3	20
Interventions	10	30	30	70

In full, the three areas are Patient Data; Troubleshooting and Quality Control of Devices, and Infection Control; and Initiation and Modification of Interventions. Three questions across the exam are also linked to ethics. The outline sets a target of 4 pediatric and 3 neonatal questions, and the rest are about adults or general care.

NBRC: TMC Detailed Content Outline, effective January 2020 (PDF) ↗How the TMC and RT cut scores work →

Recall, application and analysis questions

Recall questions ask you to retrieve or recognize a fact, so they’re short and simple. NBRC calls the other two levels integration, because they ask you to react to an unfamiliar or changing situation, and those questions are longer.

Application means relating facts to one another, interpreting a group of facts or reaching a useful conclusion. Analysis means judging the best action to solve a problem described by a set of facts. Add up the application and analysis columns in the TMC table and you get 107 of the 140 scored questions, so knowing facts isn’t enough. You have to use them on a patient.

What else is in the NBRC Candidate Handbook

The handbook, revised September 3, 2026, covers every NBRC exam. It includes:

Admission policies for the TMC, the Clinical Simulation Examination (CSE), the RT Examination and the specialty exams
Paper application forms and the accommodations request forms
Exam fees, transfer and refund rules, and the holidays when no exams are given
ID rules, security rules and what happens at the test center
How the testing software works for multiple-choice and simulation exams
NBRC’s study suggestions and its suggested study sequence

NBRC: Candidate Handbook (PDF) ↗NBRC’s practice exams and Self-Assessment Examinations →

Is an older NBRC study guide worth using?

Check its edition. The last TMC outline took effect in January 2020, and anything older follows a different split. For a test date from January 4, 2027, a TMC guide is the wrong map altogether, because the RT Examination adds a whole portion on clinical judgment. NBRC’s Document Library also has a summary of the 2017 TMC job analysis that the outline was built from.

NBRC: TMC Job Analysis Report Summary (PDF) ↗How the Registered Respiratory Therapist (RRT) path changes in 2027 →

Sources: NBRC and 3 more. Checked October 2026.

Rules and fees can change, so check the official site before your test.

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