RD Exam Nutrition Education & Counseling Practice Questions
Nutrition Education & Counseling makes up 5 of every 50 questions on a Tigertest RD Exam practice test. Here are 10 of the 20 questions on it, each with the answer and the reason.
Updated by the Tigertest team. Based on the CDR Registration Examination for Dietitians test specifications. Original questions; 50 per test, weighted like the real exam. Not affiliated with the Commission on Dietetic Registration.
1. For the past 2 months a client has logged every meal and switched from soda to water. Which stage of change is this?
- A.Contemplation
- B.Action
- C.Preparation
- D.Maintenance
Answer: B. Action is the first 6 months of an actual, observable change. Preparation comes before it (small steps, intending to act within a month), and maintenance begins once the change has lasted more than 6 months.
2. A client in precontemplation is referred for weight counseling. What approach fits this stage best?
- A.Plan for relapse triggers
- B.Track daily food intake
- C.Set a detailed weekly meal plan
- D.Raise awareness of the issue
Answer: D. In precontemplation the client does not yet see a problem, so the aim is to build awareness and explore concerns without pressure. Action plans and self-monitoring suit later stages.
3. In motivational interviewing, what does the R in OARS stand for?
- A.Reflective listening
- B.Repeating instructions
- C.Rapid goal setting
- D.Reassuring the client
Answer: A. OARS is open questions, affirmations, reflections and summaries. Reflective listening restates what the client means and invites them to keep exploring.
4. Which is an open-ended question for a diet history?
- A.Is lunch your biggest meal?
- B.Do you drink regular soda?
- C.What does a usual day look like?
- D.Do you eat breakfast daily?
Answer: C. Open questions cannot be answered with yes or no and draw out detail. The other three are closed questions, useful for checking specific facts.
5. A client says, 'I really want to be able to play with my grandkids.' In motivational interviewing, what is this?
- A.Discord
- B.A righting reflex
- C.Change talk
- D.Sustain talk
Answer: C. Change talk is the client's own reasons, desire or ability to change, and the counselor reinforces it. Sustain talk argues for staying the same; the righting reflex is the counselor's urge to fix things.
6. Under the health belief model, a client who thinks diabetes is serious but sees no personal risk lacks which belief?
- A.Perceived susceptibility
- B.Perceived benefits
- C.Cues to action
- D.Perceived severity
Answer: A. Perceived susceptibility is believing one could get the condition; perceived severity is believing it would be serious. Both, with benefits that outweigh barriers, raise the chance of action.
7. A teen gains confidence in cooking vegetables after watching a peer do it successfully. Which theory explains this?
- A.Diffusion of innovations
- B.Stages of change model
- C.Theory of reasoned action
- D.Social cognitive theory
Answer: D. Social cognitive theory includes observational learning and self-efficacy: seeing a similar person succeed raises one's own confidence. Reciprocal determinism links person, behavior and environment.
8. Teaching a patient to draw up and inject insulin targets which learning domain?
- A.Interpersonal
- B.Psychomotor
- C.Cognitive
- D.Affective
Answer: B. Psychomotor learning is physical skill, best taught by demonstration and return demonstration. Cognitive learning is knowledge, and affective learning concerns attitudes and values.
9. Which behavioral objective is written correctly?
- A.Client will value an iron-rich diet
- B.Client will list 3 iron-rich foods
- C.Client will understand iron
- D.Client will learn about iron
Answer: B. A behavioral objective uses an observable, measurable verb (list, select, demonstrate) and a criterion. 'Understand' and 'learn' cannot be observed directly.
10. A dietitian checks learning by asking a patient to explain the low-potassium diet in her own words. What is this?
- A.Summative evaluation
- B.Reflective listening
- C.Return demonstration
- D.Teach-back method
Answer: D. Teach-back confirms understanding by having the patient restate the instructions, and the educator re-teaches what was missed. Return demonstration is for physical skills.
Practice all 20 nutrition education & counseling questions, and the rest of the 200-question bank, in the free RD Exam training sets. Questions you miss come back until you have mastered them.
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