A 58-year-old woman with type 2 diabetes is waiting for a routine visit at a family practice. She tells the medical assistant she has felt unusually tired and nauseated for an hour, with an ache in her jaw and mild shortness of breath. What should the medical assistant do FIRST?

Alert the provider at once and keep her seated and monitored

Reschedule the visit because her symptoms are vague and mild

Suggest an antacid and keep her place in the waiting line

Offer crackers and juice and recheck her blood glucose later

While activating the safety device after an injection, a medical assistant at an orthopedic clinic sticks her finger with the used needle. What should she do FIRST?

Wash the site with soap and water

Finish charting the injection first

Squeeze the finger hard to force out blood

Soak the finger in household bleach

A patient at an OB-GYN office is scheduled for a pelvic exam with a Pap test. In which position should the MA help her once the provider is ready?

Lithotomy, on her back with her feet in stirrups

Semi-Fowler's, with the head of the table raised to about 45 degrees

Prone, lying face down with her arms at her sides and head turned

Trendelenburg, flat on her back with her head lower than her legs

A medical assistant at an outpatient lab draws three tubes from a patient. When should the tubes be labeled?

Right after the draw, at the patient's side, before leaving

After centrifuging, so the labels do not peel off in the spin

Before the draw, so the correct tubes are ready to be filled

After returning to the lab bench, when there is a flat surface

A family practice provider orders an outpatient MRI of the lumbar spine, and the patient's plan requires prior authorization. The medical assistant has gathered the provider's notes and submitted the request online. What should the MA do NEXT?

Record the reference number and date, then track the request until a decision is made

Tell the patient that the MRI is now approved and covered and that no further steps are needed

Ask the imaging center to submit a second request so that the payer receives two copies

Schedule the MRI right away, since most requests submitted online are approved quickly

During a home-based outreach clinic, a medical assistant gives an injection with a syringe that has no safety device, and there is no sharps container within reach. Which is the safest way to handle the needle?

Recap it with the one-handed scoop technique

Bend the needle against the table to make it safe

Wrap it in gauze and place it in the regular trash

Recap it with both hands, holding the cap carefully

An outpatient lab is collecting a fasting glucose at a satellite clinic, and the specimen will not be centrifuged or reach the main lab for several hours. Which tube is the best choice?

Gray sodium fluoride/potassium oxalate

Light blue sodium citrate for plasma

Lavender EDTA for whole blood testing

Red plain tube with no additive at all

A provider at an internal medicine office gives a patient an intramuscular injection of an antibiotic. Which coding combination is generally correct for this service?

A CPT code for giving the injection and a HCPCS Level II J code for the drug

A HCPCS Level II code for giving the injection and a CPT code for the drug

A single ICD-10-CM code that describes both the drug and how it was given

Two CPT Category III codes, one for the drug and one for giving the injection

National Certified Medical Assistant Exam

Free NCMA Practice Questions

10 sample questions for the National Certified Medical Assistant Exam, with the correct answer and an explanation for each. No account needed. Try each one before you open the answer.

Sections covered on the exam: Medical Law and Ethics, Pharmacology, Infection Control, Safety and Emergencies, Patient Intake, Vital Signs and Screening, Exams, Procedures and Point-of-Care Testing, Phlebotomy, Electrocardiography.

Question 1 · Medical Law and Ethics
A 58-year-old woman with type 2 diabetes is waiting for a routine visit at a family practice. She tells the medical assistant she has felt unusually tired and nauseated for an hour, with an ache in her jaw and mild shortness of breath. What should the medical assistant do FIRST?
- A.Reschedule the visit because her symptoms are vague and mild
- B.Alert the provider at once and keep her seated and monitored
- C.Suggest an antacid and keep her place in the waiting line
- D.Offer crackers and juice and recheck her blood glucose later
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Alert the provider at once and keep her seated and monitored
Women and people with diabetes often have atypical heart attack signs such as fatigue, nausea, jaw or back pain and shortness of breath instead of crushing chest pain. These are urgent symptoms that need immediate provider escalation, so the patient stays seated and monitored. Treating her for low glucose, giving an antacid or rescheduling delays care for a possible myocardial infarction (MI).
Question 2 · Infection Control, Safety and Emergencies
While activating the safety device after an injection, a medical assistant at an orthopedic clinic sticks her finger with the used needle. What should she do FIRST?
- A.Finish charting the injection first
- B.Squeeze the finger hard to force out blood
- C.Wash the site with soap and water
- D.Soak the finger in household bleach
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Wash the site with soap and water
The first post-exposure step is to wash the puncture with soap and water right away, then report the exposure immediately so source testing and a post-exposure evaluation can begin within hours. Squeezing the wound and applying bleach or other caustic agents are not recommended and can damage tissue. Charting can wait.
Question 3 · Exams, Procedures and Point-of-Care Testing
A patient at an OB-GYN office is scheduled for a pelvic exam with a Pap test. In which position should the MA help her once the provider is ready?
- A.Semi-Fowler's, with the head of the table raised to about 45 degrees
- B.Lithotomy, on her back with her feet in stirrups
- C.Prone, lying face down with her arms at her sides and head turned
- D.Trendelenburg, flat on her back with her head lower than her legs
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Lithotomy, on her back with her feet in stirrups
The lithotomy position, on the back with the feet in stirrups and the buttocks at the end of the table, gives access to the vagina and cervix for a speculum exam and Pap test. The MA drapes the patient and has her slide down only when the provider is ready, to limit time in an exposed position. The other positions do not allow a speculum exam.
Question 4 · Phlebotomy
A medical assistant at an outpatient lab draws three tubes from a patient. When should the tubes be labeled?
- A.After centrifuging, so the labels do not peel off in the spin
- B.Before the draw, so the correct tubes are ready to be filled
- C.Right after the draw, at the patient's side, before leaving
- D.After returning to the lab bench, when there is a flat surface
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Right after the draw, at the patient's side, before leaving
Tubes are labeled immediately after collection in the patient's presence, with the patient's name, date of birth or ID number, date and time of collection and the collector's initials, then compared to the ID band or the patient's stated identifiers. Pre-labeling allows a labeled tube to be filled from the wrong patient or not used at all. Labeling later, away from the patient, is how mix-ups happen.
Question 5 · Medical Law and Ethics
A family practice provider orders an outpatient MRI of the lumbar spine, and the patient's plan requires prior authorization. The medical assistant has gathered the provider's notes and submitted the request online. What should the MA do NEXT?
- A.Tell the patient that the MRI is now approved and covered and that no further steps are needed
- B.Record the reference number and date, then track the request until a decision is made
- C.Ask the imaging center to submit a second request so that the payer receives two copies
- D.Schedule the MRI right away, since most requests submitted online are approved quickly
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Record the reference number and date, then track the request until a decision is made
After a prior authorization is submitted, the MA documents the reference or tracking number, the date and the contact, then follows up until the payer approves or denies it and informs the patient. Scheduling before approval risks a denied claim, submission is not the same as approval, and duplicate requests cause confusion and delays.
Question 6 · Medical Law and Ethics
A patient in a gastroenterology clinic points to burning pain just below the breastbone, in the center of the upper abdomen above the navel. Which abdominal region should the medical assistant record?
- A.Epigastric region
- B.Hypogastric region
- C.Left hypochondriac region
- D.Umbilical region
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. Epigastric region
The epigastric region is the upper middle region of the nine abdominal regions, just below the sternum and above the umbilical region. The hypogastric region lies below the umbilical region, the umbilical region surrounds the navel, and the left hypochondriac region is the upper left area under the ribs.
Question 7 · Infection Control, Safety and Emergencies
During a home-based outreach clinic, a medical assistant gives an injection with a syringe that has no safety device, and there is no sharps container within reach. Which is the safest way to handle the needle?
- A.Bend the needle against the table to make it safe
- B.Recap it with the one-handed scoop technique
- C.Wrap it in gauze and place it in the regular trash
- D.Recap it with both hands, holding the cap carefully
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Recap it with the one-handed scoop technique
OSHA prohibits recapping used needles except when no alternative exists, and then only with a one-handed scoop technique or a mechanical device, keeping the other hand away. Two-handed recapping is a leading cause of needlesticks, bending or breaking needles is prohibited, and sharps never go into regular trash.
Question 8 · Exams, Procedures and Point-of-Care Testing
A provider at a dermatology clinic is closing a small laceration on a patient's face and wants the finest suture available on the tray. Which suture size should the MA hand over?
- A.0
- B.6-0
- C.3-0
- D.2-0
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. 6-0
Suture size numbers work in reverse: the more zeros, the finer the thread, so 6-0 is finer than 3-0, 2-0 or 0. Very fine sutures such as 5-0 and 6-0 are used on the face to reduce scarring, while heavier sizes are used where skin is thicker or under more tension.
Question 9 · Phlebotomy
An outpatient lab is collecting a fasting glucose at a satellite clinic, and the specimen will not be centrifuged or reach the main lab for several hours. Which tube is the best choice?
- A.Light blue sodium citrate for plasma
- B.Gray sodium fluoride/potassium oxalate
- C.Lavender EDTA for whole blood testing
- D.Red plain tube with no additive at all
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Gray sodium fluoride/potassium oxalate
Blood cells keep using glucose after collection (glycolysis), which falsely lowers the result over time. The sodium fluoride in a gray tube stops glycolysis, and potassium oxalate acts as the anticoagulant, so glucose stays stable for hours. Lavender, light blue and plain red tubes have no preservative to stop glucose loss.
Question 10 · Medical Law and Ethics
A provider at an internal medicine office gives a patient an intramuscular injection of an antibiotic. Which coding combination is generally correct for this service?
- A.A CPT code for giving the injection and a HCPCS Level II J code for the drug
- B.A HCPCS Level II code for giving the injection and a CPT code for the drug
- C.A single ICD-10-CM code that describes both the drug and how it was given
- D.Two CPT Category III codes, one for the drug and one for giving the injection
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. A CPT code for giving the injection and a HCPCS Level II J code for the drug
The administration of an injection is a service reported with a CPT code, while the drug supplied is reported with a HCPCS Level II code, usually a J code that includes the drug and amount. ICD-10-CM codes describe the diagnosis that justifies the injection, not the service or the drug, and Category III codes are for emerging technology.

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