Free ANCC Ambulatory Care Nursing board certification examination Practice Questions

Sample Practice Questions

Try these 10 sample questions from the ANCC Ambulatory Care 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. 1A patient with no known diabetes has an A1C result near a diagnostic cutoff. What is the lowest A1C value that meets the CDC's diabetes range?

   1. A. 5.7%
   2. B. 6.4%
   3. C. 6.5%
   4. D. 7.0%

   Answer: C

   Explanation: The CDC lists "Diabetes: 6.5% or above". Thus 6.5% is the lower boundary of the diabetes range; 5.7% and 6.4% fall in the prediabetes range, while 7.0% is above the boundary.

   Reference: A1C Test for Diabetes and Prediabetes — A1C results

2. 2An ambulatory nurse is arranging a prevention resource for an adult with confirmed prediabetes who wants structured help changing diet and activity. Which program best matches this need?

   1. A. A diabetes self-management education and support program
   2. B. A National Diabetes Prevention Program lifestyle change program
   3. C. A cardiac rehabilitation program for established heart disease
   4. D. A pulmonary rehabilitation program for chronic lung disease

   Answer: B

   Explanation: CDC directs clinicians to "Refer your patients with prediabetes to the CDC-led National Diabetes Prevention Program (National DPP) lifestyle change program." The other programs address different established conditions or care needs.

   Reference: CDC Clinical Guidance for Diabetes — Preventing type 2 diabetes, National Diabetes Prevention Program

3. 3An ambulatory nurse has completed assessment, identified a patient problem and goal, and written a nursing plan. Which step of the ANA nursing process comes next?

   1. A. Implementation
   2. B. Evaluation
   3. C. Assessment
   4. D. Diagnosis

   Answer: A

   Explanation: ANA gives the nursing-process sequence as "assessment, diagnosis/problem identification, goals/outcomes identification, planning, implementation, and evaluation." After planning, the nurse implements the plan.

   Reference: ANA Nursing Scope and Standards of Practice — How Registered Nurses Practice

4. 4A clinic nurse asks a patient who just heard a new home-care plan to describe how the patient will follow it at home. Which patient-education method is the nurse using to check understanding?

   1. A. Teach-back
   2. B. Motivational interviewing
   3. C. Shared decision-making
   4. D. Written action planning

   Answer: A

   Explanation: NIDDK says, "The Teach-back method is a quick way for health care team members and others to check how well patients have understood the information provided." Asking the patient to explain the plan checks understanding through teach-back; the other named methods address motivation, choice, or planning.

   Reference: NIDDK Use the Teach-back Method — Use the Teach-back Method

5. 5During an ambulatory diabetes review, the nurse discusses the general A1C treatment goal with an adult whose clinician has not set a different individual goal. What is the highest A1C value within the CDC's general goal for most people with diabetes?

   1. A. 6.0%
   2. B. 6.5%
   3. C. 7.0%
   4. D. 7.5%

   Answer: C

   Explanation: CDC says, "For most people with diabetes, the A1C goal is 7% or less." Of these values, 7.0% is the highest within that general goal; 6.0% and 6.5% are below the ceiling, while 7.5% is above it.

   Reference: A1C Test for Diabetes and Prediabetes — A1C goals

6. 6A patient with newly diagnosed type 2 diabetes asks the ambulatory nurse for help learning day-to-day glucose management. Which referral addresses this need?

   1. A. National Diabetes Prevention Program lifestyle program
   2. B. Diabetes self-management education and support service
   3. C. Medical nutrition therapy counseling service
   4. D. Intensive behavioral therapy for obesity service

   Answer: B

   Explanation: CDC's DSMES referral page says, "The statement includes evidence-based information on four critical times to refer people with type 2 diabetes to DSMES services: At diagnosis" The patient is newly diagnosed and seeks comprehensive day-to-day diabetes self-management teaching, so DSMES is the indicated referral rather than prevention, nutrition-only, or weight-focused support.

   Reference: CDC Referral Process for DSMES Teams — When to refer

7. 7An RN delegated routine observations for a stable clinic patient. The patient develops new shortness of breath, so the RN reassesses whether the delegation remains appropriate. Which of the Five Rights of Delegation directly governs this reassessment?

   1. A. Right circumstance
   2. B. Right task
   3. C. Right person
   4. D. Right directions and communication

   Answer: A

   Explanation: The ANA/NCSBN guideline states, "Right circumstance: The health condition of the patient must be stable. If the patient’s condition changes, the delegatee must communicate this to the licensed nurse, and the licensed nurse must reassess the situation and the appropriateness of the delegation." The changed condition invokes right circumstance rather than task, person, or directions.

   Reference: ANA and NCSBN National Guidelines for Nursing Delegation — page 4, Five Rights, Right circumstance

8. 8A team is preparing patient education for a chronic condition. In the CDC Clear Communication Index's opening questions, which planning element identifies what the audience should be able to understand and use?

   1. A. Health literacy skills of the primary audience
   2. B. Identity of the primary audience
   3. C. Communication objective for the material
   4. D. Main message of the material

   Answer: A

   Explanation: CDC instructs writers to answer opening questions about "primary audience, health literacy skills, communication objective, and main message." The question about what the audience can understand and use concerns its health literacy skills; the other options are the other three real opening elements.

   Reference: CDC Clear Communication Index: How to Use the Index — Drafting New Materials, opening four questions

9. 9An adult with diabetes reports a capillary glucose reading near the low-glucose boundary. Below what blood glucose value does the CDC classify the reading as low?

   1. A. 55 mg/dL
   2. B. 70 mg/dL
   3. C. 100 mg/dL
   4. D. 126 mg/dL

   Answer: B

   Explanation: The CDC states, "Blood sugar below 70 mg/dL is considered low." The question asks for the boundary, so 70 mg/dL is the correct threshold; 55 mg/dL is the threshold for severely low blood sugar, and the higher values are not the low-glucose boundary.

   Reference: Treatment of Low Blood Sugar (Hypoglycemia) — Key points

10. 10A nurse is updating an electronic Comprehensive Care Plan for a Medicare chronic care management patient. Which information does CMS explicitly say that plan tracks?

    1. A. The patient's active health issues
    2. B. The patient's completed referral claims
    3. C. The patient's medication dispensing transactions
    4. D. The patient's clinic appointment queue

    Answer: A

    Explanation: The CMS Chronic Care Management Toolkit describes an electronic "Comprehensive Care Plan" for a patient "that tracks their health issues". Referral claims, dispensing transactions, and an appointment queue are real administrative data, but they are not the plan's named health-issue tracking content.

    Reference: CMS Chronic Care Management Toolkit — page 7, sample actions required to bill for CCM