PCT practice exam questions and answers
A patient care technician is preparing to perform documentation in a patients electronic health
record. Which of the following is an example of appropriate documentation by the technician?
A.) the technician on the previous shift reports giving the patient a bath at 1600.
B.) The patient has a large, dark bowel movement at 1100.
C.) The Patient will receive an enema at 1700.
D.) The patient is upset because the nurse from the previous shift forgot to provide breakfast.
B.) The patient has a large, dark brown bowel movement at 1100.
Which of the following EKG findings differentiates accelerated idioventricular rhythm from junctional
rhythm?
A.) Accelerated idioventricular rhythm has P wave.
B.) The ventricular rate in accelerated idioventricular rhythm is slower than junctional rhythm.
C.) junctional rhythm has P waves
D.) accelerated idioventricular rhythm has wide QRS complexes.
D.) Accelerated idioventricular rhythm has wide QRS complexes.
A patient care technician is caring for a patient whose has a stage 3 pressure ulcer. Which of the
following manifestations should the technician expect?
A.) The area forms a blister, and the epidermis peels away or cracks open
B.) The subcutaneous fat is visible, and there is drainage from the wound.
C.) The area appears as reddened skin that does not return to its initial color after pressure is
removed.
D.) The damaged tissue extends all the way through the tissues to the muscle.
B.) The subcutaneous fat is visible, and there is drainage from the wound.
Which of the following tubes should be collected first for dermal samples?
A.) lavender top
B.) green top
C.) red top
D.) light blue top
A.) lavender top
A patient care technician is transferring a patient from a bed to a wheelchair using a mechanical lift
with a sling. As the patient is being transferred the technician should place him in which of the
following position?
A.) Sims
B.) Fowlers
C.) Lithotomy
D.) Trendelenburg
B.) Fowler's
A patient care technician is performing a routine venipuncture for a patient who becomes pallid and
diaphoretic. Which of the following conditions is this patient most likely to experience?
A.) Syncope
B.) Seizure
C.) Nausea
D.) Shock
A.) Syncope
, A patient care technician is assisting a nurse to apply a hand-wrist immobility splint for a patient who
has left-sided paralysis due to a stroke. The technician should identify that the splint will secure the
patients hand and write in which of the following positions?
A.) wrist in slight dorsiflexion
B.) fingers in a extended position
C.) fingers rotated slightly in an external position
D.) thumb kept in close proximity to the index finger
A.) wrist in slight dorsiflexion
A patient care technician recently attended a seminar about hospice car. Which of the following
statements by the technician indicates an understanding of hospice care?
A.) "the cost of hospice care is reimbursed by Medicare or Medicaid"
B.) "many hospice agencies do not require patients to have a primary caregiver"
C.) "an immediate family member must accept responsibility for the patients care"
D.) "hospice care covers curative therapies prescribed by the health care provider"
A.) "the cost of hospice care is reimbursed by Medicare or Medicaid"
A patient care technician is preparing a peripheral blood smear on a slide. Which of the following
actions should the technician take?
A.) press down on the spreader slide to fix the cells on the lower slide
B.) Apply the spreader slide to the lower slide at a 60 degree angle
C.) verify that the smear covers about three-quarters of the slide
D.) apply blood to the clear portion of the slide
C.) verify that the smear covers about three-quarters of the slide
A patient care technician is caring for four patients. Which of the following should the technician
report to the nurse?
A.) a patient who has a blood glucose level of 190 mg/dL
B.) a patient who has a blood glucose level of 90 mg/dL
C.) a patient who has a blood glucose level of 100 mg/dL
D.) a patient who has a blood glucose level of 130 mg/dL
A.) a patient who has a blood glucose level of 190 mg/dL
A patient care technician is providing palliative care to a patient. The patients family expresses
feelings of anger and hopelessness. Which of the following actions should the technician take?
A.) explain that anger is the first coping mechanism everyone experience during grief.
B.) refer the family to the charge nurse
C.) recommend that the patient talk to social services
D.) Listen when the family is ready to talk
D.) Listen when the family is ready to talk
A patient care technician is performing CPR for n adult patient. Which of the following actions should
the technician take?
A.) check for a pulse at the patients radial artery site
B.) give the patient rescue breaths that have a 3-second duration
C.) depress 5 cm (2 in) into the patients chest while performing compressions
D.) perform 80 to 90 compressions per min
C.) depress 5 cm (2 in) into the patients chest while performing compressions
A patient care technician is preparing to perform documentation in a patients electronic health
record. Which of the following is an example of appropriate documentation by the technician?
A.) the technician on the previous shift reports giving the patient a bath at 1600.
B.) The patient has a large, dark bowel movement at 1100.
C.) The Patient will receive an enema at 1700.
D.) The patient is upset because the nurse from the previous shift forgot to provide breakfast.
B.) The patient has a large, dark brown bowel movement at 1100.
Which of the following EKG findings differentiates accelerated idioventricular rhythm from junctional
rhythm?
A.) Accelerated idioventricular rhythm has P wave.
B.) The ventricular rate in accelerated idioventricular rhythm is slower than junctional rhythm.
C.) junctional rhythm has P waves
D.) accelerated idioventricular rhythm has wide QRS complexes.
D.) Accelerated idioventricular rhythm has wide QRS complexes.
A patient care technician is caring for a patient whose has a stage 3 pressure ulcer. Which of the
following manifestations should the technician expect?
A.) The area forms a blister, and the epidermis peels away or cracks open
B.) The subcutaneous fat is visible, and there is drainage from the wound.
C.) The area appears as reddened skin that does not return to its initial color after pressure is
removed.
D.) The damaged tissue extends all the way through the tissues to the muscle.
B.) The subcutaneous fat is visible, and there is drainage from the wound.
Which of the following tubes should be collected first for dermal samples?
A.) lavender top
B.) green top
C.) red top
D.) light blue top
A.) lavender top
A patient care technician is transferring a patient from a bed to a wheelchair using a mechanical lift
with a sling. As the patient is being transferred the technician should place him in which of the
following position?
A.) Sims
B.) Fowlers
C.) Lithotomy
D.) Trendelenburg
B.) Fowler's
A patient care technician is performing a routine venipuncture for a patient who becomes pallid and
diaphoretic. Which of the following conditions is this patient most likely to experience?
A.) Syncope
B.) Seizure
C.) Nausea
D.) Shock
A.) Syncope
, A patient care technician is assisting a nurse to apply a hand-wrist immobility splint for a patient who
has left-sided paralysis due to a stroke. The technician should identify that the splint will secure the
patients hand and write in which of the following positions?
A.) wrist in slight dorsiflexion
B.) fingers in a extended position
C.) fingers rotated slightly in an external position
D.) thumb kept in close proximity to the index finger
A.) wrist in slight dorsiflexion
A patient care technician recently attended a seminar about hospice car. Which of the following
statements by the technician indicates an understanding of hospice care?
A.) "the cost of hospice care is reimbursed by Medicare or Medicaid"
B.) "many hospice agencies do not require patients to have a primary caregiver"
C.) "an immediate family member must accept responsibility for the patients care"
D.) "hospice care covers curative therapies prescribed by the health care provider"
A.) "the cost of hospice care is reimbursed by Medicare or Medicaid"
A patient care technician is preparing a peripheral blood smear on a slide. Which of the following
actions should the technician take?
A.) press down on the spreader slide to fix the cells on the lower slide
B.) Apply the spreader slide to the lower slide at a 60 degree angle
C.) verify that the smear covers about three-quarters of the slide
D.) apply blood to the clear portion of the slide
C.) verify that the smear covers about three-quarters of the slide
A patient care technician is caring for four patients. Which of the following should the technician
report to the nurse?
A.) a patient who has a blood glucose level of 190 mg/dL
B.) a patient who has a blood glucose level of 90 mg/dL
C.) a patient who has a blood glucose level of 100 mg/dL
D.) a patient who has a blood glucose level of 130 mg/dL
A.) a patient who has a blood glucose level of 190 mg/dL
A patient care technician is providing palliative care to a patient. The patients family expresses
feelings of anger and hopelessness. Which of the following actions should the technician take?
A.) explain that anger is the first coping mechanism everyone experience during grief.
B.) refer the family to the charge nurse
C.) recommend that the patient talk to social services
D.) Listen when the family is ready to talk
D.) Listen when the family is ready to talk
A patient care technician is performing CPR for n adult patient. Which of the following actions should
the technician take?
A.) check for a pulse at the patients radial artery site
B.) give the patient rescue breaths that have a 3-second duration
C.) depress 5 cm (2 in) into the patients chest while performing compressions
D.) perform 80 to 90 compressions per min
C.) depress 5 cm (2 in) into the patients chest while performing compressions
