2025 Edition

Medical Assistant Practice Exam

Take this free practice test to see what types of questions appear on a medical assistant certification exam.

The three most prevalent certifications for Medical Assistant are offered by the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA), the American Medical Technologists (AMT) and the National Center for Competency Testing (NCCT). In most cases, certification by any of these organizations will be accepted nationally. Subject matter for these exams falls into the following three subject areas: General Knowledge, Administrative Knowledge and Clinical Knowledge.

To prepare for the actual exam, we provide a 750 question Medical Assistant Practice Exam written by expert instructors in medical assisting.

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Medical Terminology and Anatomy

1.	The term, "Afferent Nerve," means:
		a. Carrying an impulse to the brain
		b. Carrying an impulse away from the brain
		c. Carrying impulses to the motor neurons of the appendicular muscles
		d. None of the above
Afferent nerves carry sensory signals to the brain. Efferent nerves carry motor signals from the brain. Incorrect answer. Please choose another answer.

2.	The medical term, "basophilia," refers to:
		a. an attachment of the epithelial cells of the skin to a basement membrane
		b. An overabundance of a particular white blood cell in the peripheral blood
		c. An underrepresentation of basophils on a blood smear.
		d. None of the above
Basophilia is an increased number of basophils in the peripheral blood. Basophilia is found in certain blood disorders such as leukemia and also in some types of allergic reactions. Incorrect answer. Please choose another answer.

Law, Ethics and Professionalism

3.	The Common Law source of laws is:
		a. Derived from Customs and Judicial Decisions
		b. Derived from the US. Constitution
		c. Derived from State/Federal Legislation
		d. None of the above
Common sources of law are found in the history of a civilization and center around that culture's customs and previous judicial decisions. Incorrect answer. Please choose another answer.

4.	A woman is being accused of failure to pay her medical bills. Which of the following classifications of law is she violating?
		a. Criminal Law
		b. Civil Law
		c. Felony
		d. Family Law
Failure to pay for services rendered falls under Civil Law as this is a difference of opinion between two parties. Incorrect answer. Please choose another answer.

Psychology and Communication

5.	Elizabeth Kubler Ross is known for developing the Stages of Grief. Which of the following is true of these stages?
		a. All patients will go through all five stages of grief.
		b. Each patient will go through the stages of grief in the same order, but not necessarily in the same amount of time.
		c. Each patient who goes through the grieving process will experience some or all of the Stages of Grief in varying amounts of time.
		d. The Stages of Grief are an antiquated method of psychology and are not recognized in current practice.
The Stages of Grief are different for each person experiencing loss. The time spent in each stage and the order of the stages can differ greatly between those coping with loss. Incorrect answer. Please choose another answer.

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6.	Who proposed the Hierarchy of Needs?
		a. Maslow
		b. Freud
		c. Erikson
		d. Skinner
Abraham Maslow is credited with defining the Hierarchy of Need. The Hierarchy of Needs are ranked in order to include Physiologic Needs, Safety and Security, Love and Belonging, Esteem and Recognition, and finally Self Actualiztion. In order to progress from one level to the next, subjects must satisfy the current need. Incorrect answer. Please choose another answer.

Bookkeeping, Credits and Collections

7.	Which of the following pieces of information would be considered patient demographics?
		a. Patient's Age
		b. Patient's date of last X-ray
		c. Patient's current blood pressure
		d. Patient's last date of Rx refill
Demographic information is data that can identify a patient. Names, addresses, telephone numbers and ages are all considered demographic information. Incorrect answer. Please choose another answer.

8.	The "Write it Once" system is used in some offices as an alternative to:
		a. Computerized scheduling systems
		b. Hospital referral services
		c. Computerized bookkeeping
		d. Medical resource allocation
Write it Once systems are sometimes referred to as Pegboard systems where financial information is written once but recorded in three different places. Incorrect answer. Please choose another answer.

Billing, Coding and Insurance

9.	Coding systems are:
		a. used to place verbal descriptions of medical conditions or procedures into alpha-numeric codes.
		b. a method of monitoring disease processes.
		c. used to allow for easier statistical tracking of medical conditions or procedural uses.
		d. All of the above.
Coding systems are a way for medical conditions and procedures to be listed as a number. This allows for easier tracking of statistics related to this information. It also allows for easier communication between physicians and health care insurance plans. Incorrect answer. Please choose another answer.

10.	Volume II of the ICD-10 coding book:
		a. is the three part alphabetical index.
		b. contains procedural codes for specific diagnostic tests.
		c. contains three sections with Section 3 being the index to Diseases.
		d. None of the above.
Volume II of the ICD-10 coding book is the three part alphabetical index, which should be used first when searching for the correct diagnostic code to be used for a disease state. Volume I is then used to confirm that the code chosen is correct. Incorrect answer. Please choose another answer.

Medical Records and Office Supplies

11.	Who owns a patient's medical record?
		a. The patient
		b. The physician
		c. The Legal Counsel of the Office
		d. No one owns a medical record.
Physicians own their patients' medical records, but patients have the right to have copies of their records. Incorrect answer. Please choose another answer.

12.	Who owns a patient's x-rays?
		a. The patient
		b. The doctor
		c. The facility that performed the procedure.
		d. None of the above.
X-rays, while considered part of a patient's medical record, are owned by the facility that performs the procedure. Incorrect answer. Please choose another answer.

Oral and Written Communication

13.	Your doctor has given you a patient memo that he has written. You notice that his grammar and punctuation need corrected. Which of the following proofreader's marks signifies that a period is to be introduced into a sentence?
		a. Equals sign
		b. Circle with a dot in the middle
		c. Ellipsis
		d. Empty circle
To show that a period needs to be added to a document that is being proofread, place a small circle with a dot in it in the spot where the period is to be added. Incorrect answer. Please choose another answer.

14.	As a rule of social acceptance, what is the maximum number of times a telephone should be allowed to ring in most cases?
		a. Three
		b. Five
		c. Seven
		d. Ten
The commonly accepted number of rings that a caller will tolerate is three or less. If a medical assistant cannot take a call, she should answer the phone and politely ask the caller to hold. Incorrect answer. Please choose another answer.

Scheduling and Office Management

15.	Of the following choices, which should NOT be considered when performing payroll functions?
		a. Number of exemptions
		b. Deductions
		c. Hours worked
		d. Number of patients roomed per day
Payroll is the process of calculating how much is owed an employee based on the employee's salary and number of hours worked. Deductions that are made based on taxes are also calculated from an employee's gross pay. Incorrect answer. Please choose another answer.

16.	Which of the following tasks is NOT the responsibility of the office manager?
		a. Maintain adequate supply of inventory
		b. Perform employee evaluations
		c. Ensure adequate staffing
		d. determine the appropriate number of tax exemptions that should be made by an employee
Office managers have the responsibility to keep the office running smoothly by handling employee issues, monitoring inventory, ensuring customer service excellence, and adequate staffing. Choosing the amount of tax exemptions that each employee should take is the responsibility of the employee. Incorrect answer. Please choose another answer.

Exam Room Techniques, Patient Preparation and Infection Control

17.	Which of the following vital signs can be expected in a child that is afebrile?
		a. Rectal Temp of 100.9 degrees F.
		b. Oral Temp of 38 degrees C.
		c. Axillary Temp of 98.6 degrees F.
		d. All of the above are incorrect.
Afebrile means to be without fever. An axillary temperature is taken in the arm pit and is normal at 98.6 degrees F. Incorrect answer. Please choose another answer.

18.	Intermittent fevers are:
		a. fevers which come and go.
		b. fevers which rise and fall but are always considered above the patient's average temperature.
		c. fevers which fluctuate more than three degrees in never return to normal.
		d. None of the above.
Intermittent fevers are fevers that come and go. They alternate between periods of being febrile then afebrile. Continuous fevers rise and fall slightly over a period of 24 hours. Remittent fevers fluctuate considerably; more than 3 degrees and do not return to normal body temperature. Incorrect answer. Please choose another answer.

Office Laboratory Procedures

19.	Which of the following anticoagulants would be found in a light blue vacutainer tube?
		a. EDTA
		b. Sodium Oxalate
		c. Lithium Heparin
		d. Sodium Citrate
Sodium citrate is found in the light blue collection tubes. This tube is used most often for tests that assess coagulation times. Incorrect answer. Please choose another answer.

20.	A medical assistant is asked to draw blood in the antecubital (AC) space. Which of the following veins are found in the AC?
		a. Cephalic
		b. Median cubital
		c. Basilic
		d. All of the above.
All three of these veins are located in the antecubital space, which is the space opposite the elbow on the arm. Incorrect answer. Please choose another answer.

Emergency Procedures and First Aid

21.	A patient is describing a contusion of his arm over the telephone to you. What description would closely describe a contusion?
		a. Blood collecting under the skin without a break in the skin.
		b. A clean cut that has broken the integrity of the skin.
		c. A jagged cut that has broken the integrity of the skin.
		d. A puncture which has pierced the top layers of the skin.
A contusion is bruising of the affected area, also known as an ecchymosis. Incorrect answer. Please choose another answer.

22.	The elderly and very young:
		a. have increased susceptibility to infectious pathogens.
		b. are more sensitive to heat and cold.
		c. have a higher risk of falls.
		d. All of the above.
The young and elderly have increased risks for medical emergencies including heat injury, infections, and falls. Incorrect answer. Please choose another answer.

Pharmacology

23.	Category A drugs include those that: (Choose the BEST answer.)
		a. can be safely taken during all three trimesters of pregnancy according to results from adequate and controlled animal and human studies.
		b. have been proven to be dangerous when taken during all three trimesters of pregnancy according to results from adequate and controlled animal and human studies.
		c. have a high potential for abuse.
		d. have a low potential for abuse.
Pregnancy category ratings place drugs in one of five categories depending on the potential risk to the fetus from the drugs. Category A is the safest category for drugs. Incorrect answer. Please choose another answer.

24.	How many drug schedules are there under the Controlled Substances Act?
		a. 1
		b. 3
		c. 5
		d. 10
There are 5 druge schedules under the federal Controlled Substances Act. Drug schedules place controlled substances in categories based on the potential for abuse. Category I drugs have the most potential for abuse while Category V have the lowest. Incorrect answer. Please choose another answer.

Pathophysiology

25.	Patients with irritable bowel syndrome will experience which of the following symptoms?
		a. Diarrhea
		b. Flatulence
		c. Constipation
		d. Patients can experience a variety of symptoms that can include all of the above.
Patients with IBS can experience a multitude and variety of symptoms, but the most commonly reported are diarrhea, constipation, and flatulence. Incorrect answer. Please choose another answer.

26.	Diabetic patients are monitored by using which of the following tests?
		a. KUB
		b. Troponin
		c. Fe++
		d. HbA1C
Hemoglobin A1C is a test used to monitor the average blood glucose level in a patient over a 2-3 month period. Incorrect answer. Please choose another answer.

Quality starts with who wrote the material.

Our practice exam writer

Melanie Shearer, MS, MT (ASCP), CMA (AAMA) is an Assistant Professor at Cuyahoga Community College, where she teaches medical assisting. Ms. Shearer volunteers her time to the Medical Assisting Education Review Board of the AAMA, serving as a member of the Leadership in Education and Practice Task Force and a program surveyor.

Dr. David Valte, MD, is a professor in medical assisting at Keiser University. He is also an adjunct instructor at the Arizona College of Nursing. Dr. Valte has taught medical assisting at numerous schools and has held department head and chairman positions in medical assisting education departments. He is a registered educator with the AAMA.

Christine Cline, CMA (AAMA) formerly instructed in medical assisting for five years as adjunct faculty at Everett Community College.

Our Practice Tests follow the actual CMA (AAMA) Certification Exam Outline:

General

Medical Terminology

Anatomy & Physiology

Psychology

Professionalism

Communication

Medicolegal Guidelines

Administrative

Data Entry

Equipment

Records Mgmt.

Processing Mail

Scheduling Appointments

Resource Info.

Maintaining Office

Office Policies, Procedures

Practice Finances

Clinical

Infection Control

Treatment Area

Patient Preparation...

Patient History, Interview

Specimen, Diagnostics...

Preparing, Admin. Medications...

Emergencies

First Aid

Nutrition

The three most popular medical assistant certifications are CMA by the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA), RMA by the American Medical Technologists (AMT) and the NCMA by the National Center for Competency Testing (NCCT). In most cases, certification by any of these organizations will be accepted nationally.

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