CMA General Practice 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which position places the patient flat on their back with knees flexed and feet flat on the table?
- Prone position
- Fowler's position
- Dorsal recumbent position (Correct answer)
- Trendelenburg position
Correct answer: Dorsal recumbent position
The dorsal recumbent position has the patient supine with knees bent, used for abdominal and pelvic exams.
Question 2: Which of the following lab values indicates hypoglycemia?
- Fasting blood glucose of 110 mg/dL
- Fasting blood glucose of 95 mg/dL
- Random blood glucose of 45 mg/dL (Correct answer)
- Random blood glucose of 200 mg/dL
Correct answer: Random blood glucose of 45 mg/dL
Hypoglycemia is defined as blood glucose below 70 mg/dL; 45 mg/dL is dangerously low.
Question 3: A medical assistant suspects a patient is experiencing a myocardial infarction. The correct immediate action is to:
- Have the patient walk to the car
- Administer aspirin and call 911 (Correct answer)
- Schedule an urgent cardiology appointment
- Perform CPR immediately
Correct answer: Administer aspirin and call 911
For suspected MI, give aspirin (if not contraindicated) and activate emergency services immediately.
Question 4: Under OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogen Standard, hepatitis B vaccination must be offered to employees:
- After one year of employment
- Within 10 days of initial assignment with occupational exposure (Correct answer)
- Only if requested by the employee
- At the employee's own expense
Correct answer: Within 10 days of initial assignment with occupational exposure
OSHA requires employers to offer HBV vaccine within 10 working days of initial assignment to tasks with potential exposure.
Question 5: When documenting a correction to a handwritten medical record, the medical assistant should:
- Use white-out to cover the error
- Completely cross out the error so it is unreadable
- Draw one line through the error, initial and date it (Correct answer)
- Tear out the page and rewrite it
Correct answer: Draw one line through the error, initial and date it
Legal medical record corrections require a single line through the error with initials, date, and optionally 'error' noted — the original entry must remain legible.
Question 6: Which of the following describes the anatomical position?
- Body prone, arms at sides, palms facing down
- Body supine, arms raised above head
- Body erect, facing forward, arms at sides, palms facing forward (Correct answer)
- Body erect, facing away, arms crossed
Correct answer: Body erect, facing forward, arms at sides, palms facing forward
Anatomical position is standing upright, facing forward, arms at sides with palms facing anteriorly (forward).
Question 7: A patient is allergic to penicillin. The medical assistant should alert the provider before the patient receives:
- Azithromycin
- Amoxicillin-clavulanate (Correct answer)
- Doxycycline
- Ciprofloxacin
Correct answer: Amoxicillin-clavulanate
Amoxicillin-clavulanate is a penicillin-class antibiotic and shares cross-reactivity risk with penicillin-allergic patients.
CMA General Practice 4
Which position places the patient flat on their back with knees flexed and feet flat on the table?