CCMA Practice Test

CCMA Infection Control & Safety Practice Questions

Infection Control & Safety makes up 5 of every 50 questions on a Tigertest CCMA practice test. Here are 10 of the 20 questions on it, each with the answer and the reason.

Updated 2026-11-10 by the Tigertest team. Weighted to the NHA CCMA test plan (3.0). Scope of practice varies by state.

1. 1. A patient with influenza coughs into the air without covering the mouth. In the chain of infection, the cough represents which link?

   • A.Reservoir
   • B.Portal of exit
   • C.Susceptible host
   • D.Portal of entry

   Answer: B. Respiratory secretions leave the infected person (the reservoir) through the portal of exit, here the mouth and nose. The reservoir is where the organism lives, not the route by which it leaves.

2. 2. A medical assistant performs hand hygiene before and after every patient contact. This practice breaks the chain of infection mainly at which link?

   • A.Infectious agent
   • B.Reservoir
   • C.Susceptible host
   • D.Mode of transmission

   Answer: D. Hands are the most common vehicle for carrying organisms between patients, so hand hygiene interrupts the mode of transmission. It does not change the patient's susceptibility, which is addressed by measures such as immunization.

3. 3. A medical assistant is leaving the exam room of a patient with C. diff diarrhea. Which hand hygiene method is required?

   • A.Soap and water for at least 20 seconds
   • B.Antiseptic wipe on the palms only
   • C.Alcohol-based hand rub for at least 20 seconds
   • D.Glove change without any hand hygiene

   Answer: A. Clostridioides difficile spores are not killed by alcohol, so hands must be washed with soap and running water to remove them mechanically. Alcohol rub is the routine choice only when hands are not visibly soiled and spore-forming organisms or norovirus are not involved.

4. 4. Before entering a room under contact and droplet precautions, the medical assistant puts on PPE. Which donning order is correct?

   • A.Mask, gloves, gown, goggles
   • B.Goggles, gloves, mask, gown
   • C.Gown, mask, goggles, gloves
   • D.Gloves, gown, mask, goggles

   Answer: C. CDC sequence for donning is gown, mask or respirator, goggles or face shield, then gloves last so the gloves cover the gown cuffs. Putting gloves on first leaves the cuffs exposed and contaminates the gloves while tying the gown.

5. 5. After caring for a patient on contact precautions, the medical assistant begins removing PPE at the doorway. Which item comes off first?

   • A.Goggles
   • B.Gown
   • C.Gloves
   • D.Mask

   Answer: C. Gloves are the most contaminated item, so they are removed first, followed by goggles, gown, and finally the mask after leaving the room. Removing the mask early risks touching the face with soiled gloves.

6. 6. A patient with suspected active tuberculosis arrives at the front desk coughing heavily. What should the medical assistant do first?

   • A.Mask the patient and room them alone promptly
   • B.Continue routine check-in, then notify the provider
   • C.Seat the patient at the far end of the lobby
   • D.Ask the patient to wait outside until called

   Answer: A. Tuberculosis is airborne, so the patient wears a surgical mask and is moved out of the shared waiting area into a private room, ideally negative pressure, while staff use fit-tested N95 respirators. Distance in the lobby does not stop airborne particles from spreading.

7. 7. Which type of transmission-based precautions is required for a patient with pertussis (whooping cough)?

   • A.Contact precautions
   • B.Airborne precautions
   • C.Protective (reverse) isolation
   • D.Droplet precautions

   Answer: D. Pertussis spreads by large respiratory droplets, so droplet precautions with a surgical mask within close range are used. Airborne precautions with an N95 are reserved for organisms like tuberculosis, measles, and varicella.

8. 8. A newly hired medical assistant asks which patients require standard precautions. The correct response is:

   • A.Only patients placed in isolation rooms
   • B.Every patient, regardless of diagnosis
   • C.Only patients with known bloodborne infections
   • D.Only patients who are visibly bleeding

   Answer: B. Standard precautions treat all blood and body fluids as potentially infectious for every patient, because many infections are undiagnosed. Limiting them to known infections leaves staff unprotected from unrecognized carriers.

9. 9. A medical assistant is loading wrapped instruments into a steam autoclave. Which cycle parameters are standard for sterilization?

   • A.180 F at 15 psi for 60 minutes
   • B.250 F at 15 psi for 15-30 minutes
   • C.212 F at 10 psi for 10 minutes
   • D.250 F at 15 psi for 3 to 5 minutes

   Answer: B. Steam sterilization of wrapped items typically uses 250 F (121 C) at about 15 psi for 15 to 30 minutes. Boiling temperature of 212 F does not reliably kill bacterial spores.

10. 10. After an autoclave cycle, the chemical indicator tape on a wrapped pack has changed color. This tells the medical assistant that:

    • A.The pack may be stored indefinitely
    • B.Weekly spore testing is no longer needed
    • C.The contents are guaranteed to be sterile
    • D.The pack was exposed to sterilizing heat

    Answer: D. Chemical indicators confirm only that the pack reached certain conditions, not that every organism was killed. Sterility is verified with a biological (spore) indicator run at least weekly.