Free Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing Board Certification Examination Practice Questions

Sample Practice Questions

Try these 10 sample questions from the Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing Board Certification Examination practice bank. Each includes the answer and explanation. Continue with the interactive practice above to review the full question set.

1. 1During assessment, a patient describes recurring periods of mild elevated mood and depressive symptoms. Neither pattern has reached the severity or duration of a full hypomanic or depressive episode. Which disorder best fits this pattern?

   1. A. Bipolar I disorder
   2. B. Cyclothymic disorder
   3. C. Bipolar II disorder
   4. D. Persistent depressive disorder

   Answer: B

   Explanation: NIMH states, "Cyclothymic disorder (also called cyclothymia) is defined by recurrent hypomanic and depressive symptoms that are not intense enough or do not last long enough to qualify as hypomanic or depressive episodes." The described subthreshold fluctuations match cyclothymia.

   Reference: Bipolar Disorder — Types of bipolar disorder

2. 2A patient and care team are beginning a behavioral health recovery plan. The patient can describe personal priorities and choose whom to involve. Who should lead the planning process?

   1. A. The patient receiving support
   2. B. The assigned psychiatric nurse
   3. C. The consulting psychiatrist
   4. D. The designated family caregiver

   Answer: A

   Explanation: SAMHSA states, "PCP is a process led by the person receiving support in collaboration with chosen team members." The patient therefore leads the plan and selects collaborators.

   Reference: Issue Brief: Person-Centered Planning — What Is Person-Centered Planning?, page 2

3. 3A patient in psychotherapy identifies an automatic belief that they cannot manage any setback. The therapist helps the patient question that belief and change the behavior it drives. Which treatment modality is this?

   1. A. Supportive counseling
   2. B. Exposure therapy
   3. C. Cognitive behavioral therapy
   4. D. Interpersonal psychotherapy

   Answer: C

   Explanation: NIMH describes helping a person identify inaccurate automatic thoughts, question them, and change self-defeating behavior, and says, "This approach is known as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)." The described intervention follows that method.

   Reference: Psychotherapies — What are the elements of psychotherapy?

4. 4A mental health professional keeps personal notes analyzing a counseling conversation separate from the patient's medical record. Another treating clinician requests those notes. Under the HIPAA Privacy Rule, what is generally needed before the notes are disclosed?

   1. A. The patient's authorization for the disclosure
   2. B. The receiving clinician's routine treatment request
   3. C. The facility's ordinary internal handoff approval
   4. D. The patient's general acknowledgment of privacy practices

   Answer: A

   Explanation: HHS states that separately maintained psychotherapy notes have special protection and that "with few exceptions, the Privacy Rule requires a covered entity to obtain a patient’s authorization prior to a disclosure of psychotherapy notes for any reason, including a disclosure for treatment purposes to a health care provider other than the originator of the notes." The request here is for those notes.

   Reference: Does HIPAA provide extra protections for mental health information compared with other health information? — FAQ answer, psychotherapy notes disclosure

5. 5A patient has had an unequivocal manic episode lasting eight days, without hospitalization. Which bipolar diagnosis is supported by that episode?

   1. A. Bipolar II disorder
   2. B. Substance/medication-induced bipolar disorder
   3. C. Bipolar I disorder
   4. D. Cyclothymic disorder

   Answer: C

   Explanation: NIMH states, "Bipolar I disorder is defined by manic episodes that last at least 7 days (most of the day, nearly every day) or when manic symptoms are so severe that hospital care is needed." An eight-day manic episode meets that pattern.

   Reference: Bipolar Disorder — Types of bipolar disorder

6. 6A psychiatric care team builds a plan around a patient's goal of returning to volunteer work, their values, and their preferences. Which care model does CMS define around these features?

   1. A. Stepped care
   2. B. Person-centered care
   3. C. Measurement-based care
   4. D. Collaborative care

   Answer: B

   Explanation: CMS describes person-centered care as "Care that’s guided and informed by patients’ goals, preferences, and values." The patient's volunteered goal and preferences determine this model's focus.

   Reference: Person-Centered Care — Person-centered care includes

7. 7A patient with a phobia repeatedly practices facing a feared but safe situation in a supportive setting until the associated fear decreases. Which psychotherapy technique is being used?

   1. A. Exposure therapy
   2. B. Supportive counseling
   3. C. Mindfulness meditation
   4. D. Problem-solving therapy

   Answer: A

   Explanation: NIMH describes exposure therapy as a type of CBT in which a person spends brief periods in a supportive setting learning to tolerate distress caused by feared cues, "until, over time, the fear associated with those things goes down." That is the technique in the scenario.

   Reference: Psychotherapies — What are the elements of psychotherapy?

8. 8A patient asks a covered health care provider for information in the designated record set. Which item is generally within the patient's HIPAA access right?

   1. A. A separately maintained psychotherapy note
   2. B. A peer-review performance evaluation
   3. C. A clinical progress note in the medical record
   4. D. An internal formulary development memo

   Answer: C

   Explanation: HHS states that access includes "notes (such as clinical case notes or “SOAP” notes (a method of making notes in a patient’s chart) but not including psychotherapy notes as explained below)." The clinical progress note is part of the medical record, unlike the other listed materials.

   Reference: What personal health information do individuals have a right under HIPAA to access from their health care providers and health plans? — FAQ answer, designated record sets and exclusions

9. 9A patient with recurrent depressive episodes also has distinct hypomanic episodes but has never had a manic episode. Which bipolar diagnosis best matches this history?

   1. A. Bipolar II disorder
   2. B. Major depressive disorder with mixed features
   3. C. Cyclothymic disorder
   4. D. Bipolar I disorder

   Answer: A

   Explanation: NIMH states, "Bipolar II disorder is defined by a pattern of depressive and hypomanic episodes, but the hypomanic episodes are less severe than the manic episodes in bipolar I disorder." The described pattern is bipolar II.

   Reference: Bipolar Disorder — Types of bipolar disorder

10. 10A patient is managing symptoms and has supportive friends but has no stable, safe place to live. Which SAMHSA recovery dimension is most directly affected?

    1. A. Health
    2. B. Home
    3. C. Purpose
    4. D. Community

    Answer: B

    Explanation: SAMHSA defines the recovery dimension "Home - Having a stable and safe place to live." Unstable housing directly affects that dimension.

    Reference: About Recovery — The Four Major Dimensions of Recovery