RMA Practice Test 3
This is a timed quiz. You will be given 60 seconds per question. Are you ready?
What would result following an injury to the phrenic nerve?
The phrenic nerve controls breathing and the movement of the diaphragm. If damage is done to this area the diaphragm will not receive the necessary signals to contract and/or relax, making it extremely difficult or impossible for a person to breathe on their own. The only answer option that coincides with this is "An inability to control breathing".
What is a "tickler" system used for?
"Tickler" systems send out automatic appointment reminders to patients, either through automatically issued letters, emails, SMS or automated telephone calls. There will be a default setting for when and how often these will be sent out, but you should be aware of any patients who for some reason may need more frequent or more personal reminders.
What are MSDS?
Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) should be kept for all material supplies in a medical office (e.g. bio-hazardous materials, radioactive materials). They should be regularly updated to show that correct safety procedures are being followed.
Which of these terms means stopping breathing?
Apnea (or apnoea) refers to stopping breathing. It can be caused by outside force (e.g. strangulation), drugs (e.g. opiates) and neurological disease. Sleep apnea is a condition where the patient may stop breathing many times during a night’s sleep.
When a medicine is a preparation of oil suspended in fluid it is known as what?
Tiny particles of oil suspended in fluid are known as an emulsion. Examples are cod liver oil and castor oil (taken orally) and many types of skin cream.
Drugs designed for pain relief are designated what?
Analgesic drugs are used for pain management. Analgesics can range from mild, e.g. aspirin, to extremely strong, e.g. opiate drugs. They may be either narcotic or nonnarcotic. Care must be taken with all analgesic drugs as they can be damaging or fatal in overdose and many can be addictive.
What area(s) of the brain are the most affected if a person is unable to understand written or verbal speech?
The person cannot understand speech, which does not mean that they are unable to produce speech. Speech production is concentrated in Broca's area and since the question referred to the person's inability to understand speech and not their inability to produce speech, “Broca’s area" is not the correct answer. The occipital lobe is responsible for vision, and the parietal is responsible for response to touch and body movements. Only Wernicke's area is the site for language comprehension, therefore the correct answer is “Weirnecke’s area”.
A palpation examination is performed by…?
Palpation means to feel for lumps and abnormalities with the fingers, for example feeling to see if any organs are swollen. A palpation examination should be undertaken with great care for the sensitivities of the patient, and what you are doing should be carefully explained beforehand.
In law, what does “respondeat superior” mean?
Respondeat superior translates as “let the master answer” and means that an employer can be held responsible for an employee’s actions, provided those actions come under the heading of their employment, for example a clinic may be held accountable for a medical practitioner’s negligence. However, this does not mean that employees will necessarily escape sanction for malpractice or negligence: both employer and employee can be sanctioned.
When making up invoices for insurance companies, ICD numbers should be used. What does ICD mean?
It should always be made clear when billing insurance companies exactly what condition has been treated. The ICD numbers cover all conditions; if unsure of exactly what condition has been treated, consult with the treating physician.
Which body part is not part of the acronym EENT?
EENT stands for ear, eye, nose and throat. EENT specialists were common previously, specializing in the head and neck area. In recent years eye medicine has become increasingly sophisticated and complex, so the eye tends to be treated by specialist ophthalmologists and the other three areas by ENT (ear, nose and throat) specialists.
What does asepsis mean?
The ideal situation in a medical environment is for it to be sterile, but in practice this is virtually impossible to achieve, as even healthy people carry bacteria with them. Therefore the aim of cleaning procedures in hospitals is to achieve asepsis (which is also used as a term for the procedures), which means there are no disease causing agents present. Medical asepsis such as would be used on a ward aims to reduce the number of disease-causing organisms, whereas surgical asepsis as used in theatre aims to eliminate them.
Which of these is used to drain fluid from the body?
A catheter is used to drain fluid from the body. It may be inserted in a body cavity, duct or vein.
When washing your hands between procedures or duties, if using soap and water you should take at least…?
In order to ensure your hands are thoroughly clean you should wash them for at least a minute when using soap and water. All parts of the hand should be thoroughly cleaned and rinsed in cold water, dried with a single use towel and you should not touch the faucet with your clean hands when finished.
Who has ownership of a patient's medical records?
Although all the other entities may request copies of the patient's medical records, they have been created by the care provider (i.e. a medical office, hospital etc.) and remain their property. This means that a care provider is entitled to levy a reasonable charge for the provision of copies of the records.
A patient release is required if you are sending the patient's medical records to another party using which of these methods?
Fax machines are not regarded as a secure method of communication as misdialing can result in the fax going to unintended recipients; also fax machines are often in public areas and not continually monitored. For this reason you must obtain a patient's permission if you wish to send their records by fax.
A patient may be placed at risk of electrocution during an ECG if you have not ensured that the machine is…?
As an ECG machine passes electricity through a patient every care must be taken to ensure that the patient does not receive an excessive charge. Ensuring the machine is properly grounded means that any accidental charge should be drawn away from the patient.
When sterilizing instruments using an autoclave, the machine should be filled with what?
Autoclaves must be used with distilled water. Most modern autoclaves have purity sensors that will abort the sterilization procedure if distilled water is not used. Even if your machine does not have a purity sensor, using even boiled water will risk compromising the effectiveness of sterilization and greatly increase the need for cleaning – it may even damage the machine.
During an ECG test you should monitor the patient's…?
All vital signs should be carefully monitored during an ECG test and the test should be suspended or aborted if a patient begins to show obvious signs of distress.
Which of these would be best placed under the heading of “medical etiquette”?
Medical etiquette refers to what is regarded as socially acceptable behavior for medical practitioners. Examples might be how a patient is spoken to, the body language employed by a medical practitioner etc. Medical etiquette is not as binding as, and is separate from, medical ethics and law, but it is still regarded as a very important part of being a medical practitioner.