Free AMT RMA Practice Test: 50 Questions

Answer: C. Hands that are visibly soiled are washed with soap and water.

A is wrong. Gloves are worn in addition to hand hygiene, never in place of it. A new pair does not clean contaminated hands.

B is wrong. Hand sanitizer is the preferred choice for most routine moments in clinical care, but visible soil is the specific situation where it is not adequate.

D is wrong. A dry towel alone does not provide the hand washing required for visibly soiled hands.

Review tip: Learn the split: sanitizer for most routine hand hygiene, soap and water when hands are visibly soiled.

Source: CDC, Clinical Safety: Hand Hygiene for Healthcare Workers · CDC, Core Practices for Infection Prevention and Control

Answer: B. The alveoli are the tiny air sacs at the end of the airways. Their walls are extremely thin and are wrapped in capillaries, so oxygen moves into the blood and carbon dioxide moves out across that surface.

A is wrong. The trachea is the windpipe. It carries air toward the lungs and does no gas exchange.

C is wrong. The bronchi are conducting airways that branch from the trachea. They conduct air toward the gas-exchange surfaces rather than serving as the principal site of exchange.

D is wrong. The pleura are the membranes covering the lungs and lining the chest wall. They reduce friction during breathing.

Review tip: Sort respiratory structures into conducting airways versus the gas-exchange surface.

Source: NHLBI, How the Lungs Work: Breathing benefits · NHLBI, The Respiratory System — airways and pleura

Answer: D. Personal protective equipment is selected for the exposure that is actually expected. When splashing or spraying toward the face is anticipated, the eyes, nose and mouth need to be covered as well as the hands and body.

A is wrong. A second pair of gloves still leaves the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose and mouth exposed, which is the risk described here.

B is wrong. Shoe covers cover the footwear, not the face. They do nothing about a splash traveling toward the face.

C is wrong. Gloves and a gown cover the hands and clothing only. The anticipated route of exposure in this scenario is not covered.

Review tip: Pick PPE by asking what is likely to be exposed, not by habit.

Source: CDC, Core Practices for Infection Prevention and Control

Answer: B. Coinsurance is the patient's percentage share of the allowed amount for a covered service. Twenty percent of $200 is $40, so the plan pays the remaining $160.

A is wrong. $20 is 10 percent of the allowed amount, not 20 percent.

C is wrong. $160 is the plan's 80 percent share, not the patient's.

D is wrong. $200 is the full allowed amount. The patient would owe that much only if the plan paid nothing toward it.

Review tip: Coinsurance is a percentage of the allowed amount. A copayment is a fixed dollar amount. A deductible applies before plan cost sharing for services subject to it; some covered services are paid before the deductible is met.

Source: HealthCare.gov glossary, Coinsurance · HealthCare.gov glossary, Deductible

Answer: A. A single-dose vial is intended for one patient and one procedure. Leftover contents are discarded, because these vials generally have no antimicrobial preservative and can support the growth of organisms introduced during use.

B is wrong. A fresh needle and syringe protect the vial only from that one entry. They cannot undo contamination that may already have been introduced, and this practice has been linked to real outbreaks.

C is wrong. There is no short time window that makes a single-dose vial safe for a second patient.

D is wrong. Wiping the rubber septum is correct practice before every entry, but it disinfects the surface only. It says nothing about the contents.

Review tip: Read the vial label. Single-dose means one patient, then discard, no matter how much is left.

Source: CDC, Preventing Unsafe Injection Practices

Answer: C. The kidneys filter the blood continuously, removing waste products and excess fluid, which leave the body as urine. They also help regulate the balance of water, salts and minerals in the blood.

A is wrong. Storing urine is the job of the urinary bladder. The kidneys make the urine that the bladder holds.

B is wrong. Bile is produced by the liver.

D is wrong. Nutrient absorption happens mainly in the small intestine.

Review tip: Keep the four urinary structures straight: kidneys filter, ureters carry, bladder stores, urethra empties.

Source: NIDDK, Your Kidneys and How They Work · NIDDK, Your Digestive System and How It Works

Answer: D. The engineered safety feature is activated as the manufacturer instructs and the device goes into a sharps container promptly. That is the routine sequence, and it is why the safety device exists.

A is wrong. Two-handed recapping brings a hand toward the contaminated needle and is not an acceptable routine disposal method. Recapping is only permitted when there is no feasible alternative or a specific procedure requires it, and then only with a one-handed technique or a mechanical device.

B is wrong. Leaving a used sharp on a work surface exposes everyone who passes it, including cleaning staff. Contaminated sharps go into the container immediately or as soon as feasible.

C is wrong. Bending contaminated needles is prohibited under the same rule that restricts recapping.

Review tip: For routine disposal: activate the safety feature, then use the sharps container; do not bend, shear or recap the needle.

Source: eCFR, 29 CFR 1910.1030 Bloodborne pathogens · FDA, Medical Devices with Sharps Injury Prevention Features — section 13, Directions for Use

29 CFR 1910.1030(d)(2)(vii) and (d)(4)(iii).

Answer: A. Insulin is a hormone made by the pancreas. It allows glucose from the blood to enter cells, where it is used for energy, which is why blood glucose falls when insulin is working.

B is wrong. Protein digestion in the stomach depends on enzymes such as pepsin, not on insulin.

C is wrong. Oxygen is carried by hemoglobin inside red blood cells.

D is wrong. This does not describe insulin’s principal role in controlling blood glucose. Other hormones are central to calcium regulation.

Review tip: Connect the hormone to what it moves: insulin moves glucose out of the blood and into cells.

Source: NIDDK, What Is Diabetes? · NHLBI, Breathing benefits — hemoglobin · Heda, Toro and Tombazzi, Physiology, Pepsin — Introduction (2023)

Answer: B. This reusable surgical instrument must be cleaned before sterilization. Organic material physically shields organisms from the sterilizing agent, so an instrument that has not been cleaned may come out of the cycle unsterile.

A is wrong. A sterilization cycle is not a cleaning step. Soil left on the instrument can protect organisms underneath it.

C is wrong. An arbitrary alcohol soak is not a substitute for the instrument’s required cleaning procedure.

D is wrong. Keeping instruments moist until they are processed is sensible, but wrapping soiled instruments for sterilization skips the step that makes the cycle work.

Review tip: For reusable instruments, fix the order in your head: clean, then apply the required disinfection or sterilization process.

Source: CDC, Disinfection and Sterilization: Summary of Recommendations

CDC recommendations, Cleaning of Patient-Care Devices, §2.

Answer: B. An explanation of benefits shows what was billed, what the plan allowed, what the plan paid, and what the patient may owe. It explains how the claim was processed. Any actual bill comes separately from the provider.

A is wrong. Insurers do not bill patients through an explanation of benefits, which is exactly why the document says it is not a bill.

C is wrong. An explanation of benefits reports on a claim. It is not a termination or coverage notice.

D is wrong. It may show a payment was made, but it does not establish that the patient's balance is zero.

Review tip: When a patient waves a confusing insurance document, ask first whether it came from the plan or from the practice.

Source: CMS, Health insurance terms you should know

Answer: D. Wash the exposed skin with soap and water, report the incident under the employer's exposure control plan, and get the confidential medical evaluation and follow-up, which must be made immediately available. Do not wait until the end of the shift to arrange that evaluation.

A is wrong. Squeezing and bandaging do not replace washing, prompt reporting and the required medical evaluation.

B is wrong. Delay is the real harm in this option. The employer must make post-exposure evaluation and follow-up immediately available; finishing the shift first delays that process.

C is wrong. The required skin-cleaning response is soap and water, not an undiluted bleach soak. This option also omits prompt reporting and evaluation.

Review tip: Know your own workplace exposure procedure before you ever need it.

Source: eCFR, 29 CFR 1910.1030 Bloodborne pathogens

29 CFR 1910.1030(d)(2)(vi) and (f)(3).

Answer: A. The right side of the heart handles blood returning from the body. The right ventricle pumps that blood into the pulmonary artery, which carries it to the lungs to pick up oxygen and release carbon dioxide.

B is wrong. The aorta leaves the left ventricle and carries oxygen-rich blood out to the body.

C is wrong. The pulmonary veins run the other direction, returning oxygen-rich blood from the lungs to the left atrium.

D is wrong. The superior vena cava delivers blood from the upper body into the right atrium, before the right ventricle.

Review tip: Trace one full loop out loud: body, right atrium, right ventricle, lungs, left atrium, left ventricle, body.

Source: NHLBI, How Blood Flows Through the Heart

Answer: A. An otoscope has a light and a magnifying lens with a cone-shaped tip that fits into the ear canal, which lets the examiner see the canal and the tympanic membrane.

B is wrong. An ophthalmoscope is for examining the inside of the eye.

C is wrong. A nasal speculum holds the nostril open for examination of the nose.

D is wrong. A tuning fork is used to test hearing and vibration sense. It does not let anyone see anything.

Review tip: Read the word part. Ot- points to the ear, ophthalm- to the eye, rhin- to the nose.

Source: MedlinePlus, Ear examination · MedlinePlus, Ophthalmoscopy

Answer: D. The small intestine is where most digestion is completed and where the bulk of nutrient absorption happens. Its lining is folded and carries fingerlike projections that give it an enormous absorptive surface.

A is wrong. The stomach mixes food with acid and enzymes and starts protein digestion, but little nutrient absorption occurs there.

B is wrong. The esophagus is a muscular tube that moves swallowed food to the stomach.

C is wrong. The large intestine mainly absorbs water and salts and forms stool.

Review tip: Match each digestive organ to a verb: stomach mixes, small intestine absorbs, large intestine reclaims water.

Source: NIDDK, Your Digestive System and How It Works · NCI SEER Training, Small & Large Intestine — absorptive surface

Answer: C. An ophthalmoscope shines light through the pupil and lets the examiner see the fundus, the surface at the back of the eye that includes the retina, its blood vessels and the optic nerve head.

A is wrong. An otoscope is designed for the ear canal. It does not provide the fundus examination requested here.

B is wrong. A penlight checks pupil reaction and lights the mouth and throat. It does not provide the fundus view required here.

D is wrong. A Snellen chart measures distance visual acuity. It is a test, not an instrument for looking into the eye.

Review tip: Separate instruments that measure a function from instruments that let someone look inside.

Source: MedlinePlus, Ophthalmoscopy

Answer: B. A deductible is the amount the member pays out of pocket for covered services subject to the deductible before the plan starts paying its share. Some services are covered before it is met. Once it is met, the member usually still owes copayments or coinsurance.

A is wrong. A fixed per-visit amount is a copayment, which is a different form of cost sharing.

C is wrong. A deductible is not a maximum charge for one service. The plan’s annual out-of-pocket maximum is a different limit.

D is wrong. The monthly amount that keeps coverage in force is the premium.

Review tip: Line the four terms up side by side: premium, deductible, copayment, coinsurance.

Source: HealthCare.gov glossary, Deductible

Answer: D. A site operating under a CLIA Certificate of Waiver must follow the manufacturer’s current instructions. Timing, sample volume, storage and quality control can differ between products; using the correct instructions is necessary for reliable testing, not a guarantee that every result is valid.

A is wrong. Two kits measuring the same substance can still differ in every practical detail. Carrying over the old procedure can produce wrong results.

B is wrong. A textbook describes the method in general. It is not the validated instruction set for this specific product.

C is wrong. Memory is not a procedure. A remembered step may be outdated or belong to a different kit.

Review tip: When a kit changes, treat the package insert as brand new reading, even for a familiar test.

Source: CDC, Ready? Set? Test! (waived testing booklet) · CDC, Waived Tests

CDC booklet, printed pp. 5–6; current instructions.

Answer: A. Bile is made by the liver and stored and concentrated in the gallbladder. It is released into the small intestine, where it helps break fat into droplets the digestive enzymes can work on.

B is wrong. This reverses the two organs. The gallbladder is a storage sac, not a producer.

C is wrong. The pancreas releases digestive enzymes and bicarbonate into the small intestine, not bile into the stomach.

D is wrong. The small intestine receives bile. It does not produce it.

Review tip: Keep producer and storage separate. Say it as one sentence: liver makes, gallbladder holds.

Source: NIDDK, Your Digestive System and How It Works · NCI SEER Training, Accessory Organs — gallbladder and pancreas · Memorial Sloan Kettering, Gallbladder Cancer — opening anatomy definition

Answer: C. A failed control means the system has not shown that it is working. Patient results are not reported until the problem is identified and corrected and control results are acceptable again.

A is wrong. Documenting a failure does not make the results trustworthy. The log records what happened, it does not repair it.

B is wrong. Deciding which results look reasonable substitutes a guess for the check that just failed, and a plausible wrong result is the dangerous kind.

D is wrong. Repeating a control until it eventually passes hides the problem rather than finding it. The cause has to be identified.

Review tip: A control result is a go or no-go decision for patient testing, not paperwork.

Source: CDC, Ready? Set? Test! (waived testing booklet)

CDC booklet, printed pp. 7–8 and Appendix D (printed pp. 34–35).

Answer: B. The suffix -itis means inflammation, and dermat- refers to skin. The term describes inflamed skin. It does not identify what caused the inflammation.

A is wrong. Surgical removal is -ectomy.

C is wrong. Inflammation has many causes, including irritants and allergy. Reading an infection into -itis adds a diagnosis the word does not carry.

D is wrong. A tumor or mass is -oma.

Review tip: Suffixes name what is happening. Do not let them smuggle in a cause.

Source: MedlinePlus, Appendix A: Word Parts and What They Mean

Answer: D. Two unique identifiers tied to the patient, such as full name and date of birth, help prevent a specimen from being matched to the wrong person. CDC directs staff to label the specimen immediately after collection.

A is wrong. A location changes throughout the day and is not unique to the patient.

B is wrong. Staff initials record who collected the sample. They do not identify the patient.

C is wrong. The ordering provider may have dozens of patients on the same day, so this identifies no one in particular.

Review tip: Two identifiers, both belonging to the patient, applied at the moment of collection.

Source: CDC, Ready? Set? Test! (waived testing booklet)

CDC booklet, printed p. 10; label immediately after collection with two patient identifiers.

Answer: A. ICD-10-CM is the diagnosis coding system used in the United States. It reports the reason the service was provided, which is separate from reporting the service itself.

B is wrong. CPT reports procedures and services performed, not the condition that prompted them.

C is wrong. HCPCS Level II covers items such as supplies, drugs and equipment that fall outside CPT.

D is wrong. An NPI is the National Provider Identifier, a number identifying the provider. It is not a code set at all.

Review tip: Split the claim in two: diagnosis codes say why, procedure codes say what.

Source: CMS, Overview of coding and classification systems · CMS, National Provider Identifier Standard

Answer: B. The patient cleans the area first, starts the stream into the toilet to flush organisms from the opening, then collects the middle portion. That sequence helps reduce contamination from organisms around the urinary opening.

A is wrong. The first portion carries organisms rinsed from the urethral opening and the surrounding skin. It is deliberately discarded.

C is wrong. Skipping the cleaning step omits part of the instructed clean-catch technique.

D is wrong. Pouring urine from another vessel introduces whatever is in that vessel and defeats the point of the technique.

Review tip: Three steps in order: clean, start and discard, then catch the middle.

Source: MedlinePlus, Clean catch urine sample

Answer: D. Brady- means slow, and cardi/o refers to the heart, so bradycardia is a slow heart rate. The word describes the rate only, not the cause or whether it is a problem for this patient.

A is wrong. A fast rate is tachycardia, built on the opposite prefix, tachy-.

B is wrong. Brady- means slow, not absent. The prefixes a- and an- can mean without or not.

C is wrong. An arrhythmia can involve an abnormal rate or rhythm. Brady- specifically means slow, not irregular.

Review tip: Learn prefix pairs together. Brady- and tachy- appear constantly in vital-sign documentation.

Source: MedlinePlus, Appendix A: Word Parts and What They Mean · NHLBI, What Is an Arrhythmia?

Answer: C. CDC directs staff not to use testing materials past their applicable expiration date. Expired kits are taken out of service and replaced, regardless of how they look.

A is wrong. Intact packaging tells you the kit was not physically damaged. It says nothing about whether the reagents still perform.

B is wrong. A passing control does not authorize use beyond the kit’s applicable expiration date. The expired kit should be removed from use.

D is wrong. No extension applies in this scenario. Labeling a result approximate does not authorize testing with expired materials.

Review tip: Build the habit of checking expiration dates before you start, not after a strange result.

Source: CDC, Ready? Set? Test! (waived testing booklet)

CDC booklet, printed p. 5; check expiration before testing.

Answer: A. Hemat- refers to blood and -uria refers to a condition of the urine, so hematuria means blood in the urine. The word reports the finding, not the reason for it.

B is wrong. Passing unusually large volumes of urine is polyuria.

C is wrong. Painful or difficult urination is dysuria.

D is wrong. Oliguria means abnormally low urine output; anuria means absence of urine output. Neither term means blood in the urine.

Review tip: Group the -uria terms and drill them as a set. Keep blood, volume and discomfort separate.

Source: MedlinePlus, Appendix A: Word Parts and What They Mean · Open RN, Medical Terminology, 2nd edition — Chapter 5.5

Answer: C. Sterility depends on the barrier as well as the cycle. Packaging that is wet, torn or otherwise compromised is treated as contaminated, so the pack is set aside and reprocessed and a different pack is used for the procedure.

A is wrong. A completed sterilization cycle does not protect contents once the wrapper has failed. Moisture in particular provides a path for organisms.

B is wrong. Contamination is not confined to the visible defect. Once the barrier fails, the contents are handled as unsterile.

D is wrong. Tape restores the appearance of the wrapper, not its sterility.

Review tip: Inspect every package before opening it: intact, dry, and within its expiration date when one applies.

Source: CDC, Disinfection and Sterilization: Summary of Recommendations

CDC recommendations, §18.e–g; compromised packaging and storage.

Answer: D. A correction, addendum or amendment must be clearly and permanently identified as such, and the date it was made and the person who made it have to be identifiable. That is what lets a reviewer see what changed, when and by whom.

A is wrong. Deleting the entry without identifying a correction does not provide the clearly denoted change, date and author required here.

B is wrong. Silently overwriting leaves no evidence that anything changed and no author or date attached to the change.

C is wrong. A retyped note without an identified correction, date and author still fails these requirements. Who typed it is not the same as identifying the correction itself.

Review tip: Make the correction, its date and its author identifiable.

Source: CMS Program Integrity Manual, Chapter 3 s3.3.2.5 (PDF p. 46)

CMS Chapter 3, §3.3.2.5; clearly identified corrections, date and author.

Answer: B. Back supported, feet flat on the floor, legs uncrossed and the arm supported at heart level is the position the measurement standards are based on. The cuff goes on bare skin, and the patient should not be talking during the reading.

A is wrong. Dangling feet and an unsupported back do not meet the recommended setup, and an arm resting in the lap sits below heart level.

C is wrong. Crossed legs and an unsupported arm do not meet the recommended setup and can affect the reading.

D is wrong. The cuff belongs on bare skin. Clothing can interfere with proper cuff placement and fit.

Review tip: Run a five-point mental check every time: back, feet, legs, arm height, bare skin.

Source: CDC, Measure Your Blood Pressure

Answer: D. Hyper- means above normal or excessive, glyc- refers to glucose, and -emia refers to a condition of the blood. Together they mean an elevated blood glucose level.

A is wrong. Below-normal blood glucose is hypoglycemia, built on the opposite prefix.

B is wrong. There is no allergy meaning in any part of this term.

C is wrong. Glucose in the urine is glycosuria. The ending -emia points to blood, not urine.

Review tip: Decode long terms in three pieces: prefix, root, suffix. Hyper, glyc, emia.

Source: MedlinePlus, Appendix A: Word Parts and What They Mean

Answer: C. A 30-second count is half a minute, so it is multiplied by 2. Thirty-six beats in 30 seconds equals 72 beats per minute.

A is wrong. 36 is the raw count for half a minute, reported without converting it to a per-minute rate.

B is wrong. 66 comes from adding 30 to 36. Adding elapsed seconds to counted beats does not convert the count to beats per minute.

D is wrong. 76 is close to the correct answer, which is exactly why it is worth doing the multiplication rather than estimating.

Review tip: Note that a 30-second count assumes a regular rhythm. If the pulse is irregular, count a full minute.

Source: MedlinePlus, Pulse · Open RN, Nursing Skills — Pulse Rate

Answer: B. For payment purposes, a covered entity limits protected health information to the minimum reasonably necessary to accomplish the purpose. The clinic supplies the information reasonably needed for this payment purpose.

A is wrong. Sending the whole chart discloses far more than the payment purpose requires, which is what the standard exists to prevent.

C is wrong. Disclosure for payment is a permitted purpose. A blanket refusal is not correct, and it stalls the claim.

D is wrong. An instruction to the recipient is not a limit on the disclosure. The extra information has already been sent.

Review tip: Ask two questions in order: is this purpose permitted, and if so, what is the least information that serves it?

Source: HHS, Minimum Necessary Requirement

Answer: B. Multiply first, then add. 38.0 times 1.8 is 68.4, and 68.4 plus 32 is 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit.

A is wrong. 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit corresponds to 37.0 degrees Celsius, a full degree lower.

C is wrong. 101.4 comes from adding 33 instead of 32, or from a slip in the multiplication.

D is wrong. 102.2 corresponds to 39.0 degrees Celsius.

Review tip: Anchor two pairs in memory, 37 with 98.6 and 38 with 100.4, then sanity-check every conversion against them.

Source: NIST, SI Units - Temperature (exact conversion)

Answer: D. Electronic systems holding protected health information rely on unique user identification so that access and entries can be traced to the individual. Working under someone else’s credentials breaks that link and can attribute activity to the wrong person.

A is wrong. Permission from a coworker does not create authorization. He cannot grant access the organization has not granted.

B is wrong. A typed note inside an entry does not change the audit trail, which uses his login rather than hers.

C is wrong. Viewing records is itself an access event, and it should use the authorized individual’s credentials just as entering data should.

Review tip: Treat your login as your signature. Anything done under it is attributed to you.

Source: eCFR, 45 CFR 164.312 (technical safeguards)

45 CFR 164.312(a)(1), (a)(2)(i), (b) and (d).

Answer: A. Pulse oximetry has known limitations. Poor circulation at the sensor site is one of several factors, along with things such as skin pigmentation, skin temperature and nail polish, that can make a reading less accurate.

B is wrong. Site conditions are among the best-recognized sources of error with these devices.

C is wrong. A pulse oximeter estimates oxygen saturation. It does not measure carbon dioxide.

D is wrong. A pulse oximeter reading alone does not establish the diagnosis. Promptly bring an unexpected low reading or concerning symptoms to the responsible clinician; checking the device must not delay care for a patient in distress.

Review tip: Use the reading and the patient’s symptoms together. Do not dismiss a low reading as an equipment problem or delay urgent care.

Source: FDA, Pulse Oximeters

FDA: factors affecting accuracy and advice on symptoms and clinical follow-up.

Answer: A. The minimum necessary standard has stated exceptions, and one of them is disclosures to, or requests by, a health care provider for treatment purposes. A treating clinician may need the fuller picture, so the standard is not applied to restrict it.

B is wrong. Payment and treatment are handled differently. Treating payment and treatment identically is the error this item is built around.

C is wrong. A general consent form does not switch the standard off for everything. Disclosures made under a valid authorization are their own separate exception.

D is wrong. HIPAA permits treatment disclosures; its minimum necessary standard does not require this refusal. Other applicable disclosure requirements still matter.

Review tip: Learn the exceptions as a list. Compare the treatment exception with the payment request in Question 32.

Source: HHS, Minimum Necessary Requirement

Answer: B. An electrocardiogram is a recording. The electrodes pick up the electrical signals the heart already generates and the machine traces them. Nothing is delivered into the patient.

A is wrong. An ECG detects electrical signals; it does not deliver an electrical treatment.

C is wrong. No X-rays or other radiation are involved in an electrocardiogram.

D is wrong. Oxygen levels are not what this test measures.

Review tip: Practice explaining common tests in one plain sentence. Calming a patient is part of getting a clean tracing.

Source: MedlinePlus, Electrocardiogram

Answer: C. Access to a record has to be authorized for the work the person is doing. Having a login that can technically reach a chart is not the same as being permitted to open it.

A is wrong. Technical ability is not authorization. Systems are built so staff can reach many records they have no business opening.

B is wrong. Keeping quiet afterward does not undo the unauthorized access.

D is wrong. Asking someone else to look does not create an authorized work purpose for either person.

Review tip: The test is not can I open this, it is do I have a work reason to open this.

Source: eCFR, 45 CFR 164.312 (technical safeguards) · HHS, Minimum Necessary Requirement — workforce access

Answer: D. Shivering and movement are common sources of artifact. Warming and settling the patient and repeating the recording addresses a possible source of artifact; the clinician still reviews the ECG.

A is wrong. Shivering can alter the recording, so this tracing alone does not establish an arrhythmia diagnosis. The recording needs clinical review.

B is wrong. Altering a tracing falsifies a diagnostic record. There is no acceptable version of this.

C is wrong. Rescheduling is unnecessary when a correctable cause is sitting in front of you, and repeating the recording can provide the clinician with better information.

Review tip: When a tracing looks wrong, check the patient, the electrodes and the leads before anyone reads it as a finding.

Source: MedlinePlus, Electrocardiogram

Answer: A. Safety data sheets carry the hazard information for each hazardous chemical in the workplace, including first-aid measures, and employers must keep them readily accessible to employees in their work areas.

B is wrong. An employee handbook covers employment policies. It does not carry chemical-specific hazard information.

C is wrong. Patient education materials are written for patients about their care, not about workplace chemicals.

D is wrong. A maintenance log records service performed on equipment.

Review tip: Know where the safety data sheets live in your workplace before an incident, not during one.

Source: eCFR, 29 CFR 1910.1200(g) Safety data sheets

29 CFR 1910.1200(g)(2): SDS Sections 2 and 4; (g)(8): employee access.

Answer: C. Auscultation is listening to sounds produced inside the body, most often with a stethoscope. Heart, lung and bowel sounds are all assessed this way.

A is wrong. Palpation is examining by touch, feeling for texture, tenderness, size or position.

B is wrong. Percussion is tapping the body surface and judging the sound produced.

D is wrong. Mensuration is measuring, such as height, weight or circumference.

Review tip: Four methods, four verbs: look, feel, tap, listen. Inspection, palpation, percussion, auscultation.

Source: MedlinePlus, Auscultation

Answer: C. Informed consent requires that the patient receive the relevant information and have a real opportunity to ask questions before deciding. Those answers come from the physician, so the paperwork waits until the conversation has happened.

A is wrong. The assistant in this scenario should not substitute personal risk counseling for the physician’s informed-consent discussion.

B is wrong. A signature collected before the patient understands does not represent an informed decision, and asking afterward reverses the sequence.

D is wrong. General reassurance replaces the specific information the patient asked for and may not be accurate for her.

Review tip: Consent is an informed decision, not just a signature. The form documents the discussion and the patient’s decision.

Source: AMA Code of Medical Ethics, Opinion 2.1.1 Informed Consent

Answer: C. Work out how many stock doses are needed, then scale the volume. 500 divided by 250 is 2, and 2 times 5 mL is 10 mL.

A is wrong. 2.5 mL is half of one stock dose, which would supply 125 mg.

B is wrong. 5 mL is one stock dose, which is 250 mg, half of what was ordered.

D is wrong. 20 mL is double the correct volume and would supply 1,000 mg.

Working: Ordered 500 mg divided by stock strength 250 mg equals 2; 2 multiplied by 5 mL equals 10 mL.

Review tip: Say the units out loud as you work. A calculation that ends in the wrong unit is a calculation you have not finished.

Source: Arithmetic only; every value needed is stated in the question.

Answer: D. Teach-back asks the patient to say the plan in his own words, and framing it as a check on the explanation rather than a quiz keeps it from feeling like a test. What comes back reveals what was actually understood.

A is wrong. A yes-or-no response does not show that the patient can explain the plan. A patient may say yes without understanding it.

B is wrong. Word-for-word repetition tests short-term memory. Someone can echo a sentence perfectly without knowing what it means.

C is wrong. A handout is a useful supplement, but it confirms nothing about comprehension and depends on the patient's reading.

Review tip: Put the responsibility on yourself: I want to make sure I explained this clearly.

Source: AHRQ Health Literacy Precautions Toolkit, Tool 5: Use the Teach-Back Method

Answer: A. Sublingual means under the tongue. Sub- means under and lingual refers to the tongue, and the medication is left there to dissolve rather than being swallowed.

B is wrong. Placement between the cheek and gum is the buccal route.

C is wrong. Swallowing with water is the oral route.

D is wrong. Application to the skin is the topical or transdermal route.

Review tip: Routes come up constantly. Learn them as pairs of word part and location.

Source: MedlinePlus Drug Information, Nitroglycerin Sublingual (route definition only)

Answer: B. Use a leading zero before a decimal point to reduce the risk of it being missed, and leave off a trailing zero after a whole number. Writing 0.5 mg protects against a dose being read as ten times too large.

A is wrong. .5 mg is the classic error. If the decimal point is faint or missed, the dose reads as 5 mg.

C is wrong. 5.0 mg carries a trailing zero. A missed decimal point turns it into 50 mg.

D is wrong. 0.50 mg includes an unnecessary trailing zero. If its decimal point is missed, it can be read as 50 mg; 0.5 mg is the safer notation.

Review tip: For medication doses: use a leading zero below one unit and omit unnecessary trailing zeros.

Source: ISMP, List of Error-Prone Abbreviations, Symbols, and Dose Designations (2015 edition), p. 1 · Joint Commission, Dose designations — prohibited abbreviations and trailing zeros

ISMP 2015, p. 1; Joint Commission FAQ: Prohibited Abbreviations and Use of a trailing zero.

Answer: A. When important clinical information is being exchanged and a trained interpreter is available, the interpreter is used. A qualified interpreter brings the language skills, clinical vocabulary and confidentiality practices needed for this exchange.

B is wrong. Partial language ability is enough to produce a confident-sounding wrong instruction, and it leaves no way to know that a detail was lost.

C is wrong. A teenage child is not a substitute for the available qualified medical interpreter. Using family can create accuracy and privacy problems and put a burden on the child.

D is wrong. Volume does not translate. Nodding often signals politeness rather than understanding.

Review tip: Find out how your workplace arranges interpreters before the day you urgently need one.

Source: AHRQ Health Literacy Precautions Toolkit, Tool 4: Communicate Clearly · AHRQ, Tool 9: Address Language Differences

Answer: B. The cane is held in the hand opposite the weaker leg. The cane and the weak leg then move together, so the cane helps take pressure off the weak leg.

A is wrong. This reverses the recommended opposite-hand pattern for the one-sided leg weakness described here.

C is wrong. Comfort is not the deciding factor. Which hand is used determines how the weight is distributed.

D is wrong. Switching hands disrupts the instructed pattern of moving the cane with the weak leg.

Review tip: Remember it as opposite side, same time. Cane and weak leg advance together.

Source: MedlinePlus, Using a cane

Answer: D. Sudden face drooping, arm weakness and speech difficulty are recognized warning signs of stroke, and the response is to call 911 right away. The time the symptoms started matters a great deal to the treatment decisions that follow.

A is wrong. Waiting spends the time that treatment options depend on. These signs are acted on immediately, not observed.

B is wrong. Offering water does not address these emergency warning signs and delays the call for help.

C is wrong. Private transport bypasses the assessment and treatment that can start in the ambulance, while calling 911 brings emergency personnel to the patient.

Review tip: Learn the warning signs as a checklist and note the time of onset. That information helps clinicians make treatment decisions.

Source: CDC, Stroke Signs and Symptoms

Answer: C. Current resuscitation guidance for adults in cardiac arrest gives a compression rate of 100 to 120 per minute. The rate is one part of high-quality CPR; adequate depth, full recoil and minimal interruptions also matter.

A is wrong. 60 to 80 per minute is well below the recommended adult CPR range.

B is wrong. 85 to 95 per minute is below the recommended range.

D is wrong. 140 to 160 per minute is above the recommended range. Faster is not automatically better-quality CPR.

Review tip: This question tests one number. Hands-on CPR competence comes from an actual certification course, not a practice item.

Source: AHA, 2025 Guidelines Part 7: Adult Basic Life Support

2025 AHA Adult BLS, Chest Compression Rate and Depth, recommendation 3.