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Certified Medical Assistant — Practice Exam

Communication and patient education: practice questions

Our Medical Assistant bank has 23 questions on this topic. Here are 5 of them with answers; the full mock exam draws from every topic, like the real one.

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Question 1

Which defence mechanism involves refusing to accept a painful reality?

  1. Denial
  2. Regression
  3. Sublimation
  4. Projection
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A. Denial — Projection attributes one's own feelings to others.

Question 2

What are the stages of grief described by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross?

  1. Denial, panic, despair, relief and finally forgetting the loss
  2. Anger, guilt, blame, hope and recovery
  3. Shock, fear, sadness, loneliness and peace
  4. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance
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D. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance — People may not experience every stage or go through them in order.

Question 3

Which is an example of an open-ended question?

  1. 'Do you have pain in your chest today?'
  2. 'Have you taken any medicine this week?'
  3. 'Can you describe the pain you've been having?'
  4. 'Is the pain worse today than it was yesterday morning?'
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C. 'Can you describe the pain you've been having?' — Open-ended questions invite detailed answers.

Question 4

According to Maslow's hierarchy, which needs must be met first?

  1. Self-actualization needs such as creativity
  2. Physiological needs such as food, water and air
  3. Love and belonging needs such as friendship
  4. Esteem needs such as respect, status and recognition
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B. Physiological needs such as food, water and air — Safety needs come next.

Question 5

What is the best way to help a patient with limited English proficiency?

  1. Speak louder and more slowly in English
  2. Use a qualified medical interpreter
  3. Ask the patient's young child to interpret
  4. Use hand gestures only to explain the visit
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B. Use a qualified medical interpreter — Federal law requires meaningful language access.

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