CCMA Point of Care Testing & Lab Practice Questions
Point of Care Testing & Lab makes up 3 of every 50 questions on a Tigertest CCMA practice test. Here are 10 of the 12 questions on it, each with the answer and the reason.
Updated by the Tigertest team. Weighted to the NHA CCMA test plan (3.0). Scope of practice varies by state.
1. A clinic wants its medical assistants to perform urine pregnancy tests and fingerstick glucose tests. Under CLIA, these are classified as:
- A.Provider-performed microscopy
- B.Waived tests
- C.Moderate-complexity tests
- D.High-complexity tests
Answer: B. Simple tests with a low risk of error, like urine hCG and glucose meters, are CLIA-waived and may be performed by medical assistants following the manufacturer's instructions. Moderate- and high-complexity tests carry personnel and proficiency testing requirements.
2. Which federal requirement applies to a medical office that performs only CLIA-waived tests?
- A.A pathologist on site as lab director
- B.Biannual proficiency testing for every test
- C.No certificate, since waived tests are exempt
- D.A CLIA Certificate of Waiver
Answer: D. Even offices performing only waived tests must hold a CLIA Certificate of Waiver and follow the manufacturer's instructions. Waived tests are exempt from proficiency testing, not from CLIA registration.
3. A medical assistant runs the daily controls on a glucose meter, and the high control reads out of range. The medical assistant should:
- A.Hold patient testing until the problem is corrected
- B.Skip quality control for the rest of the day
- C.Test patients and note the control result
- D.Report patient results and add a note about the control
Answer: A. An out-of-range control means patient results may be inaccurate, so no patient results are reported until the cause is found and controls pass. Troubleshooting and corrective action are documented in the quality control log.
4. The refrigerator holding test kits and controls reads 12 C on the morning temperature log. The medical assistant should:
- A.Wait for tomorrow's reading before acting
- B.Move the kits into the freezer compartment
- C.Document it and report it per office policy
- D.Record it as acceptable and keep using the kits
Answer: C. Reagent refrigerators should stay between 2 and 8 C, so 12 C is out of range and must be documented and reported so the kits can be evaluated. Freezing can ruin reagents just as heat can.
5. A provider orders a urine culture for a female patient with symptoms of a urinary tract infection. Which collection instruction is correct?
- A.Catch the very first drops in the cup
- B.Collect a random sample without any cleansing first
- C.Cleanse, start voiding, then catch midstream
- D.Collect all urine for 24 hours
Answer: C. A clean-catch midstream specimen lowers contamination from skin and urethral flora, which matters for a culture. The first stream flushes those organisms out, so it is not collected.
6. A first morning urine is preferred for pregnancy testing because it is the most concentrated. Which is the normal range for urine specific gravity?
- A.1.005 to 1.030
- B.1.000 to 1.003
- C.1.035 to 1.060
- D.4.5 to 8.0
Answer: A. Normal urine specific gravity is about 1.005 to 1.030, with first morning specimens at the higher end. The range 4.5 to 8.0 is the normal urine pH, a common mix-up.
7. A patient will begin a 24-hour urine collection at 7 AM tomorrow. Which instruction should the medical assistant give?
- A.Save the 7 AM void as the very first specimen
- B.Keep the container somewhere warm
- C.Stop collecting when you go to bed
- D.Discard the 7 AM void; keep the jug cold
Answer: D. The first void is discarded because it was made before the timed period started, then all urine for 24 hours, including the final 7 AM void, is saved and refrigerated. Saving the first void adds urine from before the collection window.
8. A provider orders a rapid strep test for a child with a sore throat. When collecting the specimen, the medical assistant should:
- A.Swab only the inside of the cheek
- B.Swab the tonsils and back of the throat
- C.Swab the tongue and lips
- D.Have the child gargle saline and spit into a cup
Answer: B. Group A strep lives on the tonsils and posterior pharynx, so the swab must touch those areas while avoiding the tongue, cheeks, and teeth. Cheek or tongue swabs collect normal oral flora and can give a false negative.
9. A wound culture swab will not reach the reference lab for several hours. To keep the organisms viable, the medical assistant should:
- A.Wrap the swab in gauze soaked with alcohol
- B.Place the swab in its transport medium
- C.Let the swab air-dry on the counter
- D.Put the swab in the freezer
Answer: B. Transport media keep organisms alive without letting them multiply until the specimen is cultured. Drying, freezing, or alcohol can kill the pathogen and cause a false-negative culture.
10. A provider orders a fasting lipid panel to be drawn tomorrow morning. The medical assistant should instruct the patient to:
- A.Avoid all fluids, including water, for 24 hours
- B.Eat a light breakfast before coming in
- C.Fast for only 2 hours beforehand
- D.Fast 9 to 12 hours; water is allowed
Answer: D. A lipid panel is drawn after a 9 to 12 hour fast because a recent meal raises triglycerides; plain water is permitted. Withholding all water for a day is unnecessary and can cause dehydration.
Practice all 12 point of care testing & lab questions, and the rest of the 200-question bank, in the free CCMA training sets. Questions you miss come back until you have mastered them.
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