Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) Practice Exam

Take this free CNA practice test to get a sample of the types of questions on an actual Nursing Assistant certification exam.

People who have completed at least 75 hours of CNA training are eligible to take the CNA exam in their state. Subjects that will be included in the test are: CNA Roles, Roles of Others and Teamwork, Legal and Ethical Aspects of the CNA Role, Priorities and Priority Setting, Observation, Reporting and Abbreviations, Safety and Managing Behavior, Disasters and Emergencies, Personal Care Skills, Infections, Infection Control and Blood Borne Pathogens, Caring for All Ages and Health Maintenance and Restoration, Common Physical and Emotional Problems and Care of the Dying Person at the End of Life.

For complete practice, try the CNA Practice Exam Kit with 300 questions and fully explained answers.

CNA Roles, Roles of Others and Teamwork

1.	Nursing assistants work in a lot of different places. One place that CNAs work is a skilled nursing facility. This type of facility is also called a ______________.
		a. hospital
		b. rehab center
		c. hospice
		d. nursing home

2.	Many people, particularly older people, go to what kind of healthcare facility after they are discharged from a hospital after a stroke?
		a. A subacute care center
		b. A hospice
		c. A respite center
		d. A group home

Legal and Ethical Aspects of the CNA Role

3.	The CNA can legally ____________.
		a. supervise other CNAs
		b. teach other CNAs
		c. mentor other CNAs
		d. None of the above

4.	The director of nursing at your long term care nursing home has assigned you to be in charge of the nursing home for the weekend because she is going away on a cruise vacation to the Caribbean. What should you do?
		a. Refuse to do the assignment
		b. Do the best you can do
		c. Ask about the details
		d. Call the owner

Priorities and Priority Setting

5.	Who developed the Hierarchy of Needs?
		a. Erikson
		b. Piaget
		c. Maslow
		d. Nightingale

6.	The levels of Maslow's hierarchy are ___________________.
		a. the physical needs, safety and security needs, love and belonging needs, esteem needs and self actualization
		b. assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation
		c. subjective data, objective data, data analysis, open ended questions and close ended questions
		d. integumentary, respiratory, nervous and cardiac systems

Acceptable and Unacceptable Abbreviations

7.	You are the CNA caring for Mrs. Thomas. You see a notation on the nursing care plan that states, "ambulate at least 10 yards qid". This patient will be assisted with ambulation at which of the following times?
		a. 10 am
		b. 10 am and 2 pm
		c. 10 am, 2 pm and 6 pm
		d. 10 am, 2 pm, 6 pm and 10 pm

8.	The RN asks you to bring the unit's collected lab specimens to the lab "stat". You should ______________.
		a. not do this errand because CNAs do not do �stats�.
		b. run this errand as soon as you can.
		c. run this errand immediately and without delay.
		d. Before the end of your shift or after your lunch.

Observation, Reporting and Abbreviations

9.	Which of the following lists the five senses?
		a. sight, hearing, taste, smell and common sense.
		b. hearing, taste, smell, common sense and auditory.
		c. sight, taste, smell, auditory and visual.
		d. hearing, smell, taste, sight and touch.

10.	What senses do nursing assistants use to observe patients and residents?
		a. Sight, hearing and touch
		b. Sight and hearing only
		c. Sight and common sense only
		d. Taste and hearing only

Safety and Managing Behavior

11.	Which risk factor places patients and residents at the greatest risk for falls?
		a. Old age
		b. Middle years
		c. Pneumonia
		d. COPD

12.	Which sensory impairment places residents and patients at risk for falls?
		a. Blindness
		b. Confusion
		c. Weakness
		d. Aging
		e. A and c only

Disasters and Emergencies

13.	The fire alarms in your nursing home begin ringing. Nobody on your unit is in immediate danger. You must now ____________.
		a. evacuate the patients laterally.
		b. evacuate the patients vertically.
		c. close the patient doors.
		d. open the patient doors.

14.	A small contained fire breaks out in a small trash can near the lobby of the nursing home. No visitors or residents are in immediate danger. You have pulled the alarm, what should you do next?
		a. Extinguish the fire if you can do so safely and without harm.
		b. Run away from the fire.
		c. Cover the fire with a blanket.
		d. Open the windows and exit the floor.

Personal Care Skills

15.	When cleansing the genital area during perineal care, the nurse aide should _______________.
		a. cleanse the penis with a circular motion starting from the base and moving toward the tip.
		b. replace the foreskin after it has been pushed back to cleanse an uncircumcised penis.
		c. cleanse the rectal area first and then clean the patient�s genital area.
		d. use the same area on the washcloth for each washing and rinsing stroke for a female resident.

16.	____________ may result when patients or residents ignore the urge to defecate.
		a. Constipation
		b. Diarrhea
		c. Incontinence
		d. Hemorrhoids

Infections, Infection Control and Blood Borne Pathogens

17.	The chain of infection includes the ________________.
		a. germ, agent, reservoir, exit portal, mode of transmission, entry port, and susceptible host
		b. active natural, active artificial, passive natural and passive artificial
		c. opportunism, weakness, immunity, and colonization
		d. intrinsic, extrinsic, internal and external transmission

18.	Asepsis is defined as ________________.
		a. the absence of all microorganisms
		b. the absence of disease causing germs
		c. a urinary infection
		d. a pathogenic infection

Caring for All Ages and Health Maintenance and Restoration

19.	Mobility is an important human function. The hazards of immobility lead to many physical problems and emotional problems. Immobility can lead to detrimental cardiac, muscular, respiratory, skeletal, urinary, gastrointestinal, skin and emotional changes. Which of the following is an example of a skeletal hazard of immobility?
		a. Contractures.
		b. Constipation.
		c. Calcium loss.
		d. Catabolism.

20.	An emotional consequence of immobility is: ________________.
		a. depression
		b. dementia
		c. delirium
		d. diversion

Common Physical and Emotional Problems

21.	Your patient is saying that they have chest pain and "a pounding heart". You touch the person's arm and you feel moisture. The patient is sweating and your also see that the person's lips are blue. These signs and symptoms indicate that the person is most likely _______________.
		a. nervous and anxious
		b. having a panic attack
		c. having a heart attack
		d. calling out for emotional attention

22.	You are caring for Thomas N. Thomas is 77 years old. He has edema, or swelling, in his legs and he has a fluid restriction in terms of his fluid intake. You have been assigned to weigh him daily. Based on these symptoms and the care that he is being given, what disorder is he most likely affected with?
		a. Diabetes
		b. Dementia
		c. Congestive heart failure
		d. Continguous heart disease

Care of the Dying Person at the End of Life

23.	Which is considered a "normal" or "healthy" type of grief?
		a. Anticipatory grief
		b. Complicated grief
		c. Unresolved grief
		d. Inhibited grief

24.	The Grant family has just lost a loved one. A family member informs you that their culture does not permit a dead person to be left alone before burial. Hospital policy states that all bodies are to be stored in the hospital morgue. How would you best handle this situation?
		a. Gently explain the policy to the family and then implement it.
		b. Notify the nurse about this cultural concern.
		c. Call the deceased patient�s primary care provider for advice.
		d. Move the deceased patient to an empty room and stay with the body yourself.