Are these really correct examples of ANA med-surg certification questions?

Published

Hi, I'm taking the ANA med-surg certification test in 13 days now, and wondering how prepared I am...on nursecredentialing.org (website of ANA certification), some "practice questions" are listed,

http://www.nursecredentialing.org/Certification/ExamResources/SampleQuestions/MedSurg-Test.htm,

also copy/pasted below.

To anyone who's taken ANA med-surg certification: are the questions actually like this? Because these don't seem TOO hard.

Also, does anyone know where I can find some more representative practice q's (they offer to sell me about 100 more questions for the price of $75, and I already feel abused enough by the $400 price of the test, but I do like to feel that I know what I'm going in there for, and I like lots of practice q's)? Are NCLEX practice q's a good representation/practice for ANA med-surg practice q's? Thanks for your help.

1. Metabolic acidosis is best treated with:

calcium gluconate via IV push.

normal saline via bolus IV.

oxygen.

sodium bicarbonate via IV push.

2. The main goal of treatment for acute glomerulonephritis is to:

encourage activity.

encourage high protein intake.

maintain fluid balance.

teach intermittent urinary catheterization.

3. Before delegating tasks to unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP), the nurse determines that:

documentation on the assignments was given.

the appropriate level of supervision needed to complete the tasks has been provided.

the competency for the tasks was verified during orientation.

verbal instructions for the tasks have been provided.

4. A patient on the unit is prepared for a bronchoscopic procedure. The nurse administers the IV sedative and instructs the licensed practical nurse (LPN) to:

educate the patient about the pending procedure.

give the patient small sips of water only.

take the patient to the bathroom one more time.

take the patient's blood pressure and pulse readings.

5. To prevent a common adverse effect of prolonged use of Dilantin (phenytoin sodium), patients taking the drug are instructed to:

avoid crowds and obtain an annual influenza vaccination.

drink at least 2 L of fluids daily, including 8 to 10 glasses of water.

eat a potassium rich, low sodium diet.

practice good dental hygiene and report gum swelling or bleeding to the physician.

6. Which is often a physiological response to surgery-related stress?

Bronchial constriction

Decreased cortisol levels

Peripheral vasodilation

Sodium and water retention

7. Care for a patient who has had a left hemisphere stroke includes:

approaching the patient on the left side and placing food on the left side.

assisting the patient to get out of bed on the right side and placing food on the right side.

raising the left side rail and placing the television on the right side.

talking into the patient's right ear and placing food on the right side.

8. Which action will best help reduce anxiety in a 64-year-old patient who has been hospitalized for suspected peptic ulcer disease?

Ask all members of the team to reassure the patient about the quality of care provided in the hospital

Assign the patient to a room with a talkative, optimistic roommate

Explain to the patient what will happen during the hospitalization

Visit the patient frequently and get the patient to talk about pleasant future plans

9. Which statement made by a patient after a myocardial infarction indicates denial of the condition?

"I don't care if I live or die now."

"I had a really bad case of heartburn this time."

"I promise to change the way I live."

"I'll never be the same again."

10. A patient received spinal anesthesia 4 hours ago during surgery. The patient has been on the unit for ½ hours and now reports severe incisional pain. The patient's blood pressure is 170/90 mm Hg, pulse is 108 beats/min, temperature is 99oF (37.2oC), and respirations are 30 breaths/min. The patient's skin is pale and the dressing is dry and intact. The most appropriate nursing intervention is to:

call the physician and report the findings.

medicate the patient for pain.

place the patient in a high Fowler position and administer oxygen.

place the patient in a reverse Trendelenburg position and open the IV line.

11. A 78-year-old man is scheduled for discharge after treatment for heart disease. His wife, who has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, plans to care for him at home. She says that their grown children who live nearby will help. The best approach to discharge planning is to:

arrange nursing home placement for the couple.

consult the wife's health care practitioner about the wife's ability to care for her husband.

contact the children to ascertain if they will definitely help.

discuss community resources with the wife and offer to make referrals.

12. A patient suffered a head injury 24 hours ago. During a routine hourly neurologic check, the nurse notes that the patient's speech has become slurred and that the patient now is disoriented to time and place. The nurse's first action is to:

continue the hourly neurologic checks.

inform the neurosurgeon of the patient's status.

prepare the patient for emergency surgery.

recheck the patient's neurologic status in 15 minutes.

13. Patients taking furosemide (Lasix) are instructed to notify their health care practitioner if they develop:

a change in appetite.

a disruption in sleep patterns.

increased urinary frequency.

leg cramps.

14. According to the American Hospital Association's Patient's Bill of Rights, patients are responsible for:

accepting the treatment decisions of the medical and nursing team.

allowing HIV testing when a staff member experiences a body fluid exposure.

participating in the hospital's research studies.

providing information about past illnesses, hospitalizations, and medications.

15. Discharge instructions for a patient with a newly-placed pacemaker include avoiding:

cellular phones.

contact sports.

cordless phones.

microwave ovens.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med/Surg & Hospice & Dialysis.

Yes, those questions are representitve of the ancc test.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.

My personal opinion about all these tests.......and I've taken MANY.

It's all about the money......

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med/Surge, Psych, LTC, Home Health.

Have to agree with Esme12... and yes those questions sound about right.

Funny thing is, I got most of them right, and I haven't done Med/Surge in 3 years.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Med Surg.

Wow. I'm a new grad and I knew the answers. What does getting this certification do for a nurse? How does it help you?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Wow. I'm a new grad and I knew the answers. What does getting this certification do for a nurse? How does it help you?

Not all that much, really...

1) Salary: Some hospitals (don't know the percentage) will give you a bit of a salary raise...I think mine will give me 50 cents more an hour...consider that the cost of the exam is about $400 (not including the $50-80 I've paid for review books), although I think my hospital will reimburse that, IF I pass, of course. Another hospital that I know of will give you $1000 a year for having certification.

2) Resume: looks good on your resume, particularly if you're looking at nursing as more of a career than a job; that is, if I'm applying for a position, the fact that I've got a certification will be somewhat impressive, and make me stand out from other candidates.

3) Professional appearance: it also lets others (administration, etc.) know that I'm interested in putting in more than just the minimum (kind of a repeat of answer #2, above) as a nurse.

4) Jobs: I believe that "magnet hospitals" have to hire a certain number of certified nurses...so it puts me in the running for one of those jobs

5) Forces me to knuckle down and study, and conquer med-surg.

6) I get to feel good about myself for having certification, and for having that knowledge, and for overcoming that challenge, like people do when they run a road race or something.

7) Snobbish, I know, but I get to have new initials behind my name.

8) Won't look bad at all when I apply to grad school.

So, a lot of these reasons may not be that important to someone else, but they're enough for me to go for it.

Please note: for med-surg, I don't think that many nurses are certified; whereas for ICU or ER, or specialty or critical care areas, or advanced nurse practicing, a lot more are, and it's more "pushed." For example, I got interested in certification when my friend, an ICU nurse, got her critical care certification. It may also be true (I don't know, and I certainly don't think the med-surg testing companies will admit to it) that the med-surg test is easier than critical care certification.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Wow. I'm a new grad and I knew the answers. What does getting this certification do for a nurse? How does it help you?

My personal opinion about all these tests.......and I've taken MANY.

It's all about the money......

that makes me feel better. I hope so! :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Have to agree with Esme12... and yes those questions sound about right.

Funny thing is, I got most of them right, and I haven't done Med/Surge in 3 years.

I was looking at some other strings on allnurses about med-surg certification, and the discussion about the difficulty of the test seems to fall into two camps:

1) it's common sense/common knowledge, especially if you've been in med-surg for a year or two

OR

2) it's hard, like NCLEX, but not impossible.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Medical Surgical Telemetry.

Those questions sound about right. The test is hard, not impossible. Mostly common sense. I encourage medsurg nurses to take it - don't over study anything. You will do well!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Certified Med/Surg tele, and other stuff.
Wow. I'm a new grad and I knew the answers. What does getting this certification do for a nurse? How does it help you?

Where are the answers?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Where are the answers?

You click on your answers on the webpage (please click on, or copy/paste/ the link referenced - http://www.nursecredentialing.org/Certification/ExamResources/SampleQuestions/MedSurg-Test.htm -), press "evluate," and then it tells you right or wrong. Actually, you don't even have to put in answers; just press "evaluate."

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Update: took the test yesterday, passed it! :) More to the point of this thread, I did feel that the exam questions were a little harder than the ones that I've posted, although maybe that's because I couldn't automatically check if my answers were correct and I was worried. (For most of the test, I was thinking that I'd wasted my >$400, as I was expecting to fail.) Although my print-out did not include my score, as they had said that it would, so I don't know if I maybe did come close to failing; guess I'll call them up and ask if I can get my score. If not, though, who cares? Hee hee! :)

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion