Medical Assistant Laboratory Work Practice Test 2024 Questions Answers. Try our free Medical Assistant exams (like CMA, RMA, CCMA, NCMA, CMAC) Laboratory Work including Specimen Collection, Diagnostic Testing, and Medical Equipment review question answer. You can also download it in PDF format for any Medical Assistant exams.
Clinical laboratory testing is an important part of a medical office. Laboratory tests are often used to provide vital information regarding the body’s functions and its ability to maintain homeostasis.
The exam will contain a variety of questions that cover clinical equipment operation, collecting and processing specimens, and diagnostic testing. Medical assistants are responsible for these activities in the physician’s office.
Medical Assistant Laboratory Work Practice Test
Q1. If a specimen of urine is refrigerated, which of the following is likely to occur?
- A. Crystals will form.
- B. Bacteria will grow.
- C. Ketones will appear.
- D. Red blood cells will undergo hemolysis.
- E. Nitrates will be converted to nitrites.
Q2. Which of the following blood levels is considered a liver function test?
- A. Potassium
- B. BUN
- C. Aspartate transaminase (AST)
- D. High-density lipoprotein (HDL)
- E. C-reactive protein (CRP)
Q3. The Holter monitor measures the activity of which organ?
- A. Heart
- B. Liver
- C. Kidney
- D. Bladder
- E. Pancreas
Q4. The standard order for a blood draw is
- A. yellow top (culture), green, gray, lavender, red or red/gray, light blue
- B. light blue, green, red or red/gray, gray, yellow top (culture), lavender
- C. yellow top (culture), light blue, red or red/gray, green, lavender, gray
- D. light blue, yellow top (culture), green, red or red/gray, gray, lavender
- E. green, red or red/gray, gray, yellow top (culture), light blue, lavender
Q5. Which type of thermometer is convenient to use for a patient of any age who does not cooperate?
- A. Oral thermometer
- B. Tympanic membrane thermometer
- C. Rectal thermometer
- D. Mercury thermometer
- E. Disposable oral thermometer
Q6. The most commonly performed test in the physician’s office laboratory is
- A. Pathology
- B. Urinalysis
- C. Chemistry
- D. Microbiology
- E. Hematology
Q7. After obtaining a clean-catch urine sample, you perform a urine culture. After how many hours of incubation can the result be read?
- A. 3
- B. 6
- C. 9
- D. 12
- E. 24
Q8. What does the QRS complex represent in an ECG tracing?
- A. Atrial depolarization
- B. Atrial repolarization
- C. Ventricular depolarization
- D. Ventricular repolarization
- E. None of the above
Q9. Which of the following is used to measure distance vision?
- A. Snellen eye chart
- B. Jaeger card
- C. Ishihara color test
- D. Ophthalmoscope
- E. All of the above
Q10. Which lab work would be helpful prior to prescribing warfarin (Coumadin)?
- A. Liver function tests
- B. Prothrombin time
- C. Hematocrit
- D. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate
- E. Leukocyte differential
Q11. Which microorganism stains dark blue or purple with Gram staining?
- A. Gram-positive bacteria
- B. Gram-negative bacteria
- C. Parasites
- D. Viruses
- E. Protozoa
Q12. While performing a spirometry test, you ask the patient to inhale as deeply as possible and then exhale forcefully into a spirometer. You then measure the amount of air that the patient blows out in the first second. This is called
- A. expiratory reserve volume.
- B. tidal volume (TV).
- C. forced vital capacity.
- D. forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1).
- E. peak expiratory flow (PEF).
Q13. Which vein is typically the most frequently used for venipuncture?
- A. Median cubital vein
- B. Basilic vein
- C. Cephalic vein
- D. Subclavian vein
- E. Brachiocephalic vein
Q14. The presence of which of the following in a urinalysis would be indicative of an infection?
- A. Nitrite
- B. Leukocyte esterase
- C. Hemoglobin
- D. A and B
- E. All of the above
Q15. Which test is used as a screening test for tuberculosis?
- A. Gram stain
- B. Mantoux test
- C. Guaiac test
- D. Spirometry
- E. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
Q16. Which patient is most at risk if exposed to radiation?
- A. Elderly man
- B. Middle-aged woman
- C. Pregnant woman
- D. Teenager
- E. Patient with TB
Q17. In adults, which of the following is the usual site for capillary puncture?
- A. Nose
- B. Ear lobe
- C. Heel
- D. Toe
- E. Fingertip
Q18. Which of the following organizations is responsible for quality control of laboratory tests and CLIA ’88 regulations?
- A. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
- B. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- C. U.S. Department of Labor
- D. Occupational Safety and Health Administration
- E. Food and Drug Administration
Q19. What is the normal ratio of hemoglobin to hematocrit for a healthy adult?
- A. 1:1
- B. 1:2
- C. 1:3
- D. 1:4
- E. 1:5
Q20. The pattern of an ECG is commonly called a(n)
- A. base.
- B. deflection.
- C. crescendo.
- D. tracing.
- E. electrode.
Q21. Which way should the patient face during an audiometry test?
- A. Away from the medical assistant
- B. Towards the medical assistant
- C. Next to the medical assistant
- D. At an angle to the medical assistant
- E. Position does not matter
Q22. While performing a capillary puncture, which of the following is TRUE?
- A. Squeeze the fingertip to increase blood flow.
- B. Do not use alcohol for cleaning.
- C. Perform the test while the finger is still wet.
- D. Discard the first drop.
- E. Standard precautions do not apply.
Q23. Which of the following hematologic tests is used as a nonspecific screening test for inflammation?
- A. RBC indices
- B. Red blood cell count
- C. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate
- D. Prothrombin time
- E. Platelet count
Read the following scenario to answer questions 24–27:
A 20-year-old female was experiencing urinary frequency, increased thirst, and nausea. She was instructed to bring in a first morning, clean-catch midstream urine specimen, and then she would be examined by the doctor
Q24. What reason would the doctor have for requesting a first morning specimen?
- (A) The patient could be pregnant, and a first morning specimen has the highest concentration of dissolved substances.
- (B) The patient may not be able to urinate when in the office, and the provider requires a specimen to test.
- (C) A first morning specimen is the only accurate specimen when screening for infection.
- (D) A first morning specimen is the only specimen that can be collected via a clean-catch midstream technique.
- (E) The first morning specimen will be the baseline for comparison when another specimen is obtained in the office.
Q25. The patient does not have a commercial sterile container. What instructions should the medical assistant give the patient about how to collect the clean-catch midstream specimen at home?
- (A) Wash a glass jar, cleanse the perineum from front to back, and urinate in the jar. Do not collect the end of the stream in the jar.
- (B) Wash a glass jar and avoid putting hands in the cleaned jar. Cleanse the perineum, urinate, and catch the middle part of the stream in the jar.
- (C) Boil a glass jar, cleanse the perineum from front to back, begin to urinate, and then positon the jar to catch the middle part of the stream. Do not collect the end of the stream in the jar.
- (D) Boil a glass jar, cleanse the perineum from back to front, begin to urinate, and then position the jar to catch the middle part of the stream. Do not collect the end of the stream in the jar.
- (E) Do not collect the specimen at home, because it would not be valid for a screening test.
Q26. The urine specimen reveals a 2+ glucose level and ketones. What could these results indicate?
- (A) Nothing, because glucose and ketones in the urine are normal.
- (B) Diabetes, because glucose and ketones are symptomatic of this condition.
- (C) Infection, because the patient has urinary frequency, an indicator of infection. The glucose is a result of that infection.
- (D) Kidney damage, because ketones indicate protein breakdown.
- (E) Vomiting or anorexia nervosa, because ketones indicate fat breakdown.
Q27. Based on the results of the urine testing, the provider ordered a fasting blood sugar (FBS) test. Which of the following statements regarding this test is TRUE?
- (A) FBS is a blood chemistry test, and the patient should fast except for water for 8–12 hours before testing.
- (B) FBS is a hematology blood test, and the patient should have nothing to eat or drink for 8–12 hours before testing.
- (C) FBS tests a blood sample that is collected 2 hours after a meal.
- (D) FBS tests a blood sample that is collected via capillary puncture.
- (E) If FBS test results are 120 mg/dL or less, the patient is not diabetic.
Q28. Which cells settle to the bottom of the test tube after blood is centrifuged?
- (A) RBCs
- (B) Platelets
- (C) Bacteria
- (D) Plasma
- (E) Serum
Q29. Which of the following is the correct gauge range for venipuncture needles?
- (A) 13–15
- (B) 15–19
- (C) 19–21
- (D) 20–22
- (E) 23–25
Q30. The total magnification while looking through the high power objective (40×) is
- (A) 10
- (B) 40
- (C) 100
- (D) 400
- (E) 1,000
See also:
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