CCMA Exam Questions Part 1

Here we go, first question: A patient has a BMI of 26. According to medical standards, which of the following categories does this patient's BMI fall into? A) Underweight B) Normal weight C) Overweight D) Obese? So first, what is BMI? BMI stands for body mass index, and it's just a way of measuring body fat. A BMI of less than 18.5 is considered underweight, a BMI between 18.5 to 24.9 is considered normal, a BMI between 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight, and over 30 is considered obese. So there's a fair amount of numbers to memorize there, and you do need to memorize these numbers. You actually have to commit them to memory, so try writing them down to remember them. But I would just try and remember these two: 18.5 to 25 is considered normal, and 25 to 30 is considered overweight. Then, you know that anything above 30 is more than overweight, that's obese. Anything less than 18.5, that's less than normal, is considered underweight. So 18.5 to 25 is normal, 25 to 30 overweight. And that's why a BMI of 26, greater than 25 but less than 30, is overweight. If their BMI, for example, is 31, then they would be considered obese. So, let's look at this question: A medical assistant is taking a blood pressure on an adult patient. Which of the following actions should the assistant take to make sure the reading is precise? A) Hold the patient's arm above the level of the heart B) Position the diaphragm of the stethoscope over the patient's brachial artery C) Ask the patient to count down from 10 seconds out loud D) Instruct the patient to slowly raise her arm during the reading. So let's take a second and think about this, and the answer is B) Position the diaphragm of the stethoscope over the patient's brachial artery. Let's take a look at this detailed explanation. We always like to try and simplify things at SmarterMA, so here's how we're going to take a blood pressure measurement with a stethoscope. We're going to make sure the patient is seated with their arm supported at the level of the heart. So often, the medical assistant will put the patient's arm under their armpit and hold the arm straight out at the level of the heart, but not above. And the reason is, if it's above, then blood's going to drain out of that arm. We're then going to place the blood pressure cuff with the cuff's lower edge one inch above the antecubital fossa. So these are all high-yield terms that you need to remember. One inch above the antecubital fossa. And we're going to pump up that blood pressure cuff until the dial on the mercury column reaches 180 millimeters mercury. You're going to take the diaphragm of the stethoscope, and the diaphragm of the stethoscope is that part right here that we're actually going to place down to listen. We're going to take that diaphragm, the stethoscope, and put it over the brachial artery. And you don't need to be so exact. If you're approximately in that area and you can just kind of feel those vessels in that spot, that's close enough. You're then going to release the cuff and listen to those first sounds of blood flow through the artery. The first noises you hear, write down whatever that blood pressure is, because that's your systolic blood pressure. We're then going to keep on listening, and when we hear the sound of the blood flow become muffled, that's the diastolic blood pressure. So the first sounds we hear is the systolic, when it becomes muffled, that's our diastolic, and we're going to record that as well. And these are a list of things that we want to avoid during a blood pressure reading, because that can all interfere with the reading. Now, going back to our answer choices, and we explain them all individually as well as a summary down here: A) Hold the patient's arm above the level of the heart: No, we know that we want the arm to be level with the heart, but not above. If it's higher than the heart, that can negatively impact our ability to get an accurate reading. C) Ask the patient to count down from 10 seconds out loud: No, we want the patient to avoid talking. If they're talking, that could cause their heart rate to elevate, and that would lead to an inaccurate blood pressure. We want them to be resting. And that's the same reason why D is incorrect, because we don't want the patient to be moving, raising their arm during the reading. That could lead to an inaccurate reading. So therefore, our answer is B) Position the diaphragm of the stethoscope over the patient's brachial artery. That's the artery we're going to be using in that anticubital fossa for measuring blood pressure with a stethoscope. Next question: A medical assistant is reviewing a patient's blood pressure reading. Which of the following readings is indicative of stage 2 hypertension? A) 115 over 75 B) 140 over 85 C) 155 over 98 or D) 130 over 82. And the answer is C) 155 over 98. So this is another one of those lists that you have to memorize. These are our blood pressure ranges. We know that normal systolic is less than 120, over 80. So less than 120 over 80, that's normal. Elevated but not considered hypertension yet is 120 to 129, and a diastolic still less than 80. So these are the big ones that you have to remember: Stage 1 hypertension is that 130 to 139 range for the systolic, and a diastolic of 80 to 89. And Stage 2 hypertension is a systolic greater than 140 or a diastolic greater than 90. And hypertensive crisis is when it's greater than 180 or greater than 120. The big ones I would remember are that normal is less than 120 and less than 80. Stage 1 is between 130 to 139, or a diastolic between 80 to 89. And Stage 2 is greater than 140 or greater than 90. It's important to know that for these conditions, a patient just has to fall into one of the categories to be considered having that condition. So say they had a blood pressure of 135 over 79, they would still be considered Stage 1 hypertension because their systolic meets the criteria for it, even though their diastolic is low. Going back to our question now, we see that the patient has a blood pressure reading of 155 over 98. This would fall within the criteria of Stage 2 hypertension for both the systolic and diastolic because this is above 140 and this is above 90. Although they only need one of these blood pressures to qualify for Stage 2 hypertension, therefore our answer is C. And for this next question. Llook at question 14: Which of the following represents the range of fees charged by providers for a given service? Is it A) Customary, B) Reasonable, C) Usual, or D) Accepted?