These 30 ambulatory care nursing certification test questions are built on the outline ANCC has used since September 11, 2026. Each has 4 choices, each choice comes with an explanation once you answer, and a label on every item names its domain. There is no sign-up and no timer.
Items are spread roughly as the exam spreads them. Assess and Evaluate supplies the most, just as it supplies 51 of the exam's 125 scored questions; Plan and Implement, the smallest domain at 16%, supplies the fewest.
Many items are calls and messages rather than bedside scenes: a caller with bloody diarrhea, a patient late in pregnancy who has stopped feeling movement, four callbacks waiting to be ranked. Others put you in the clinic's back office, with a referral stuck in prior authorization, a patient who says they cannot pay for the visit or a power cut in the middle of clinic, and a few test teaching across a barrier, such as printed instructions for someone whose diabetes has damaged their sight.
Documents behind these figures: ANCC outline 2026[1] ANCC page[2]
30 scenarios from clinics, phone lines and video visits
Answered 0 of 30Matched the key: 0
IIIIIIIV
I. Assess & Evaluate 41%
II. Plan & Implement 16%
III. Professional Role 24%
IV. Education 19%
Assess & Evaluate · 41%Question 1 of 30
A patient calls with 2 days of diarrhea containing visible blood, fever of 101.5°F, and cramping. The ambulatory care nurse advises the patient to:
Each of the 4 choices opens onto the reasoning behind it.
Atake loperamide and push fluids.
Why A is wrong. Taking loperamide is avoided with bloody diarrhea and fever, and pushing fluids at home alone misses an invasive cause.
Bfollow a clear liquid diet for 1 week.
Why B is wrong. A week of clear liquids delays evaluation of dysentery and is not current dietary advice for diarrhea.
Cbe evaluated today and avoid loperamide.
Why C is right. Bloody diarrhea with fever suggests invasive infection, so the patient is evaluated the same day, and loperamide is avoided because slowing the gut can worsen it.
Davoid solid food and call back in 5 days.
Why D is wrong. Holding solid food and calling back in five days misses that fever with visible blood needs assessment the same day.
Assess & Evaluate · 41%Question 2 of 30
A 68-year-old patient with COPD calls reporting 2 days of dyspnea with minimal activity and sputum that has turned green. The patient asks whether it is safe to wait for next week's routine visit. The nurse's most appropriate response is to:
Aadvise going to the ED only if the temperature exceeds 101°F.
Why A is wrong. Fever is often absent in COPD flares, so a temperature trigger lets a worsening patient stay home.
Breassure that COPD symptoms fluctuate and keep next week's visit.
Why B is wrong. Normal fluctuation does not explain two days of dyspnea with minimal activity and a sputum color change, so keeping next week's visit is unsafe.
Cadvise doubling the maintenance inhaler until next week's visit.
Why C is wrong. Changing the maintenance dose is a prescribing decision, and it leaves an exacerbation unassessed for a week.
Dadvise a same-day visit to evaluate for an exacerbation.
Why D is right. More breathlessness plus a change to green sputum fits a COPD exacerbation, which is assessed the same day for possible antibiotics and a steroid course.
Assess & Evaluate · 41%Question 3 of 30
An 8-month-old infant has had vomiting and diarrhea for 24 hours, and the caregiver reports no wet diapers for 8 hours. Which finding is most indicative of severe dehydration?
ALethargy and difficulty arousing.
Why A is right. Lethargy and trouble waking the infant reflect poor brain perfusion, the marker of severe dehydration that needs emergency fluids.
BDry lips and oral mucous membranes.
Why B is wrong. Dry mucosa appears early, in mild to moderate dehydration, so it does not grade the loss as severe.
CAbsence of tears when crying.
Why C is wrong. Missing tears are a moderate sign; an infant who still cries vigorously is not showing the severe picture.
DA slightly sunken anterior fontanelle.
Why D is wrong. A slightly sunken fontanelle fits moderate dehydration; a markedly sunken one with altered alertness signals severe loss.
Assess & Evaluate · 41%Question 4 of 30
A parent calls to ask when their child with chickenpox can return to child care. The ambulatory care nurse explains that the child remains contagious until:
Afever-free for 24 hours.
Why A is wrong. Being fever-free for 24 hours is a return rule for many illnesses, but a child with open blisters is still contagious after the fever ends.
Ball the blisters have crusted over.
Why B is right. Varicella spreads until all blisters have crusted over and no new ones are forming, which usually takes 5 to 7 days after the rash starts.
C5 days after an antiviral is started.
Why C is wrong. Healthy children usually receive no antiviral, and the drug does not set a fixed return date.
Dthe itching has stopped.
Why D is wrong. Itching can linger after the blisters crust, so the itching stopping does not track contagiousness.
Assess & Evaluate · 41%Question 5 of 30
A healthy patient at 22 weeks' gestation has a hemoglobin of 10.8 g/dL. The ambulatory care nurse interprets this as:
Airon deficiency anemia needing a visit today.
Why A is wrong. Calling this iron deficiency applies the nonpregnant cutoff; 10.8 g/dL is above the second-trimester threshold and gives no reason for a visit today.
Ba probable laboratory error needing a repeat draw.
Why B is wrong. Nothing suggests a laboratory error; 10.8 g/dL is a typical second-trimester value, and a repeat draw would add nothing.
Can expected finding needing only routine follow-up.
Why C is right. Plasma volume rises faster than red cell mass in pregnancy, so the second-trimester anemia cutoff is 10.5 g/dL; 10.8 at 22 weeks is an expected finding needing only routine follow-up.
Danemia needing a referral to hematology.
Why D is wrong. A hematology referral treats a normal second-trimester value as disease; anemia at this stage starts below 10.5 g/dL.
Assess & Evaluate · 41%Question 6 of 30
A caller reports that their spouse suddenly became short of breath while sitting at home. The ambulatory care nurse first determines whether the spouse:
Ahas had a fever this week.
Why A is wrong. Fever history is secondary; it does not show whether the person is in danger right now.
Bhas known asthma.
Why B is wrong. Known asthma shapes the protocol choice, but the first step is ruling out a life-threatening presentation.
Chas bluish or gray lips.
Why C is right. Sudden breathlessness at rest is screened first for emergency signs; bluish or gray lips mean poor oxygenation and an immediate EMS disposition.
Dis coughing up colored sputum.
Why D is wrong. Sputum color helps sort infection later, but it is not the emergency question in a sudden onset.
Assess & Evaluate · 41%Question 7 of 30
A patient who is 34 weeks pregnant calls saying she has not felt the baby move since last night, even after lying on her side for an hour. The ambulatory care nurse advises her to:
Ago to labor and delivery for evaluation now.
Why A is right. No fetal movement since the night before, even after resting on her side, needs fetal monitoring on labor and delivery without delay.
Bdrink something sweet and count kicks tomorrow.
Why B is wrong. Kick counting is for routine self-monitoring; she has already tried positioning, so another day of counting delays care.
Ckeep her routine prenatal visit set for next week.
Why C is wrong. Keeping the routine visit set for next week ignores a warning sign that calls for assessment now.
Dschedule an ultrasound within the next 3 days.
Why D is wrong. A days-long wait is unsafe when movement has stopped; fetal well-being is checked the same day, in person.
Assess & Evaluate · 41%Question 8 of 30
The ambulatory care nurse has four callback messages waiting. Which caller should the nurse call back first?
AA 72-year-old with a productive cough and a 101°F fever
Why A is wrong. Cough and fever in an older adult need a visit within the day, but they are not as time-critical as a possible heart attack.
BA 30-year-old whose usual migraine did not respond to a triptan
Why B is wrong. A familiar migraine that failed one triptan dose needs a plan, not a callback ahead of possible cardiac ischemia.
CA 26-year-old at 9 weeks' gestation with light spotting and no pain
Why C is wrong. Light painless spotting early in pregnancy is common and is handled the same day, after the cardiac caller.
DA 58-year-old with diabetes who has jaw pain and sweating
Why D is right. Jaw pain with sweating can be acute coronary syndrome, and diabetes blunts typical chest pain, so this caller is the time-critical one.
Assess & Evaluate · 41%Question 9 of 30
The protocol disposition for an 84-year-old caller with a cough is "see within 3 days," but the daughter reports the patient is more confused than usual today. The ambulatory care nurse's most appropriate action is to:
Aupgrade to an immediate in-person evaluation.
Why A is right. New confusion in an older adult with a cough can signal pneumonia or sepsis; a protocol disposition is a minimum, so the nurse upgrades it to an immediate in-person evaluation.
Bfollow the protocol's 3-day visit disposition.
Why B is wrong. The protocol was chosen for the cough alone and does not account for the new change in mental status.
Cask the daughter to call back if confusion worsens.
Why C is wrong. The confusion is already new today; waiting for it to worsen delays care for a possible serious infection.
Dsend home health this week.
Why D is wrong. Sending home health this week is slower than the protocol already asks for, for a patient who now shows signs of acute illness.
Assess & Evaluate · 41%Question 10 of 30
A 72-year-old patient scores normally on the Mini-Cog but has taken double doses of several medications. The ambulatory care nurse's most useful next assessment is to:
Aprovide a detailed written dosing schedule today.
Why A is wrong. Handing over a written dosing schedule today is an intervention before the problem is understood; the task has not been assessed.
Bask the patient to rate their confidence with the regimen.
Why B is wrong. Self-rated confidence is often high in people who are making errors, so it adds little.
Crepeat the Mini-Cog screen at the next visit.
Why C is wrong. Repeating a screen that was already normal delays finding the cause of a current safety problem.
Dobserve the patient fill a pillbox from the bottles.
Why D is right. A normal cognitive screen does not prove the patient can manage medications; watching the task shows exactly where the doubling happens.
Assess & Evaluate · 41%Question 11 of 30
A critical potassium of 6.9 mEq/L was routed to a provider who is on vacation, and the patient has gone home. The ambulatory care nurse's first action is to:
Aask the laboratory to reroute the result.
Why A is wrong. Rerouting adds another delay; the nurse already holds the value and can reach the covering clinician directly.
Bcall the covering provider with the result now.
Why B is right. A potassium of 6.9 can cause fatal arrhythmias; the result goes to whoever is covering, by phone, without delay.
Ccall the patient to repeat the test tomorrow.
Why C is wrong. Repeating the test tomorrow leaves a dangerous level untreated overnight; whether to redraw is a provider decision made now.
Dsend the result to the ordering provider's inbox.
Why D is wrong. The ordering provider is away, so the inbox is exactly where the critical value is already stuck.
Assess & Evaluate · 41%Question 12 of 30
A patient's blood pressure remains above goal despite three medication changes over six months. Before the provider adds another drug, the ambulatory care nurse first:
Aasks how the patient actually takes each pill.
Why A is right. Apparent resistance is often a gap in how the drugs are taken, so a nonjudgmental review of real use comes before adding another agent.
Bdocuments nonadherence as the cause of poor control.
Why B is wrong. Recording nonadherence assumes the answer without asking, and it does not change anything.
Crefers the patient today for a sleep study to rule out apnea.
Why C is wrong. A sleep study referral today skips the first step: apnea is looked for after adherence is confirmed, not before.
Dteaches the patient to follow a 1,500-mg sodium diet.
Why D is wrong. Sodium teaching is a later step; it skips finding out whether the current regimen is being taken at all.
Plan & Implement · 16%Question 13 of 30
A patient discharged home on new oxygen therapy reports during a telehealth visit that the equipment never arrived. The clinic record shows only that the order was sent. Which transition step was missed?
AScreening the patient's health literacy before discharge
Why A is wrong. Literacy screening supports teaching, but the failure here was a missing delivery, not a misunderstood instruction.
BRechecking the liter flow written on the discharge order
Why B is wrong. The flow rate matters only once the equipment is in the home, so checking it would not have prevented this gap.
CScheduling pulmonary function testing for the next month
Why C is wrong. Later testing does nothing about a patient who is at home without the oxygen that was ordered.
DConfirming delivery and setup with the medical supplier
Why D is right. Sending an order does not close the loop; someone must confirm the supplier delivered and set up the oxygen before the patient needs it.
Plan & Implement · 16%Question 14 of 30
A patient referred for a screening colonoscopy has not scheduled it, and three phone calls on different days have gone unanswered. The ambulatory care nurse's next action is to:
Asend a letter and notify the primary clinician.
Why A is right. After failed calls, the nurse switches to another contact method and makes the gap visible to the clinician responsible for the screening.
Bclose the referral as declined by the patient.
Why B is wrong. Silence is not a refusal; closing the referral records a decision the patient never made.
Ckeep calling and leave the same voicemail.
Why C is wrong. Calling again and leaving the same voicemail repeats a method that has already failed three times.
Dhand off follow-up to the gastroenterology provider's office.
Why D is wrong. The ordering practice owns the referral loop; passing it to the gastroenterology provider's office removes it from the practice's tracking.
Plan & Implement · 16%Question 15 of 30
In recovery after a colonoscopy with polypectomy under moderate sedation, a patient reports worsening abdominal pain. The abdomen is distended and firm, and the heart rate has risen from 76 to 112/min. The nurse's next action is to:
Anotify the provider of a possible perforation.
Why A is right. Worsening pain with a firm, distended abdomen and a new rise in heart rate after polypectomy are red flags for perforation that need immediate provider evaluation.
Breassure the patient that the provider expects gas cramping.
Why B is wrong. Gas cramping that the provider expects after colonoscopy does not explain worsening pain, a firm abdomen and a heart rate of 112, so reassurance misses a complication.
Cencourage walking now to pass gas.
Why C is wrong. Walking now to pass gas is routine advice for normal bloating; here it delays recognition of a perforation.
Dgive the oral analgesic and reassess later.
Why D is wrong. An oral analgesic can mask a worsening abdomen, and reassessing later delays the call these objective findings require.
Plan & Implement · 16%Question 16 of 30
A patient with exertional syncope was referred urgently to cardiology. One week later the appointment is still unscheduled because prior authorization is pending. The nurse's next action is to:
Aask the patient to call the insurer to check on the approval status.
Why A is wrong. Asking the patient to call the insurer shifts the task to the patient and does not speed the review, which the clinical team has to drive.
Bask the requesting provider to seek an expedited review.
Why B is right. Exertional syncope is a high-risk symptom; the requesting provider can ask for an expedited review or a peer-to-peer call so the visit is not delayed.
Cdocument the status and update the provider in a week.
Why C is wrong. Documenting the status and updating the provider in a week adds a week of delay for a patient whose fainting with exertion points to a possible cardiac cause.
Dbook the next routine cardiology slot pending approval.
Why D is wrong. A routine slot does not match an urgent referral and leaves the delay in place.
Plan & Implement · 16%Question 17 of 30
A 62-year-old patient with heart failure is living in temporary housing and has no scale, so daily weights are not possible. Which intervention by the ambulatory care nurse is most appropriate?
AAsk the patient to buy a scale.
Why A is wrong. Asking someone in temporary housing to buy a scale ignores the barrier the nurse just identified.
BArrange a donated scale through a community program.
Why B is right. A donated scale from a community program restores daily weights, the early warning for fluid gain in heart failure.
CReplace daily weights with weekly weights at the clinic.
Why C is wrong. Weekly readings miss the gain of 2 to 3 lb in a day or two that should prompt a call.
DTeach the patient to check ankle swelling instead of weight.
Why D is wrong. Ankle swelling appears after several pounds of fluid have built up, so it is a late and unreliable stand-in for the scale.
Professional Role · 24%Question 18 of 30
A patient at a federally qualified health center (FQHC) says they cannot afford today's visit. The nurse's most appropriate action is to:
Awaive the fee without recording a reason.
Why A is wrong. An undocumented waiver bypasses the required, consistent process for discounts.
Brefer the patient to the emergency department instead.
Why B is wrong. Sending a nonemergency visit to the emergency department is costlier and unnecessary when the center has a discount program.
Creschedule the visit until the patient can pay.
Why C is wrong. Delaying care for inability to pay is contrary to the health center's mission and requirements.
Dhave the patient assessed for the sliding fee discount.
Why D is right. Health centers must offer a discount scale based on income and family size, so cost is handled without turning the patient away.
Professional Role · 24%Question 19 of 30
During business hours, an ambulatory clinic loses electrical power. One patient is receiving a nebulizer treatment; others are waiting for routine visits. The nurse leader's first action is to:
Anotify the utility company and wait for power to return.
Why A is wrong. Reporting the outage is a task for later; waiting for power to return leaves the patient whose nebulizer stopped without assessment.
Bkeep seeing scheduled patients using flashlights.
Why B is wrong. Seeing scheduled patients by flashlight puts routine visits ahead of the patient whose treatment just stopped.
Csend all patients home and close the clinic until power returns.
Why C is wrong. Sending everyone home and closing the clinic discharges patients without checking who depends on power or needs care before leaving.
Dcheck on any patient whose therapy depends on power.
Why D is right. A patient whose therapy depends on power, like the one on the nebulizer, is at risk as soon as it stops, so the nurse leader checks on that patient first and then runs the outage plan.
Professional Role · 24%Question 20 of 30
A patient angrily threatens to "make the nurse pay" after a long wait, then walks out without acting on it. The nurse's most appropriate action is to:
Ahandle it privately and continue working.
Why A is wrong. Treating threats as a private matter normalizes violence and keeps the risk hidden from the team.
Breport it through the clinic's incident reporting system.
Why B is right. A verbal threat is workplace violence; an incident report lets the organization track patterns and plan protection, even when nothing more happened.
Creport it only if the threat is repeated at a later visit.
Why C is wrong. Waiting for a second threat delays protective steps after the first one.
Dtell the manager today and let the matter drop.
Why D is wrong. Telling the manager today and letting the matter drop leaves no record, so repeated threats cannot be tracked or acted on.
Professional Role · 24%Question 21 of 30
Medicare's advanced primary care management codes (G0556 to G0558) differ from chronic care management codes mainly because they:
Aare limited to patients with a single chronic condition.
Why A is wrong. APCM has tiers for patients with zero or one condition and for those with two or more, so it is not restricted to one condition.
Bare billed by complexity tier instead of counted minutes.
Why B is right. Billing by complexity tier is the difference: the APCM level is set by the patient's chronic conditions and Qualified Medicare Beneficiary status, with nothing counted in minutes, while CCM is billed on documented minutes.
Crequire at least 60 minutes of clinical staff time each month.
Why C is wrong. Sixty minutes is a complex CCM threshold; APCM carries no minute requirement at all.
Dare billed in hospital outpatient departments instead of practices.
Why D is wrong. APCM is paid under the physician fee schedule to the practice that serves as the patient's primary care home; the setting is not what separates it from CCM.
Professional Role · 24%Question 22 of 30
Several nurses report that the telephone triage queue regularly exceeds a safe workload. The nurse leader's best advocacy action is to:
Atell the nurses to work faster during peak call hours.
Why A is wrong. Telling nurses to work faster at peak hours raises the risk of missed red flags and puts the burden back on the staff.
Bask the nurses to skip documentation during peak hours.
Why B is wrong. Dropping documentation creates legal and safety gaps and hides the overload rather than fixing it.
Cbring documented call volumes and staffing proposals to administration.
Why C is right. Documented call volumes show the problem in numbers, and staffing proposals give administration something workable to act on.
Dwait for turnover and let administration discover the problem.
Why D is wrong. Waiting for turnover and letting administration discover the problem allows staff to burn out; the leader acts on the reports already in hand.
Professional Role · 24%Question 23 of 30
An ambulatory care nurse believes a triage protocol causes unnecessary emergency department referrals. The nurse's first step is to:
Areport the protocol to a state regulatory agency.
Why A is wrong. Going to a state agency skips internal review and has no evidence behind it yet.
Bcollect data on the outcomes of referred calls.
Why B is right. Before a protocol is challenged, outcome data show whether the referrals were unnecessary or appropriate; that evidence drives a formal review.
Crewrite the protocol to cut referrals.
Why C is wrong. Protocols are changed through the approval process with the medical director; one nurse does not rewrite the protocol to cut referrals.
Dstop using the protocol for those types of calls.
Why D is wrong. Abandoning an approved protocol on a hunch leaves triage nurses without a standard and exposes callers to risk.
Professional Role · 24%Question 24 of 30
Clinic leaders ask RNs to start changing antihypertensive doses based on patients' home blood pressure logs, with no written orders in place. The nurse's best response is to:
Aask the medical assistant to make the adjustments.
Why A is wrong. A medical assistant has even less authority to change doses; handing the adjustments off does not create that authority.
Badjust doses using nursing judgment and the home readings.
Why B is wrong. Nursing judgment does not replace prescriptive authority or an approved protocol for medication changes.
Cdecline and request an approved titration protocol.
Why C is right. RN dose titration needs a provider-approved protocol; without one, declining is the safe answer because adjusting medications is outside the RN scope.
Dadjust doses only for patients who seem stable.
Why D is wrong. Choosing stable patients does not create authority; any dose change without an order is still outside scope.
Education · 19%Question 25 of 30
During a visit for a cold, the ambulatory care nurse notices symmetric linear red marks on the back of a Vietnamese American adult. The nurse's best initial action is to:
Aask the patient what caused the marks.
Why A is right. Linear marks on the back fit coining, a traditional remedy; asking first respects the practice and avoids a false accusation.
Breport the marks as suspected abuse.
Why B is wrong. Reporting suspected abuse before asking can harm the patient and family when the marks have a cultural cause.
Cdocument the marks as bruises of unknown cause.
Why C is wrong. Charting unexplained bruises without asking misrepresents a finding that has a simple explanation.
Dtell the patient that the practice is harmful.
Why D is wrong. Judging the practice before learning what it is shuts down communication, and coining is usually harmless.
Education · 19%Question 26 of 30
A patient with low vision from diabetic retinopathy needs written instructions for a new medication schedule. Which format is most appropriate?
AStandard 12-point text printed on glossy paper.
Why A is wrong. Twelve-point type is too small for low vision, and glossy paper adds glare.
BBlue italic text highlighted in yellow for key steps.
Why B is wrong. Italics, colored ink and highlighting all lower contrast and make letters harder to read.
CBlack 16-point sans-serif text on matte white paper.
Why C is right. Black 16-point sans-serif type on matte paper gives large, plain, high-contrast print without glare, the standard low-vision format.
DAll-capital 14-point text for every instruction.
Why D is wrong. Capital letters remove word shapes and slow reading, and 14-point type is still small for low vision.
Education · 19%Question 27 of 30
A patient with heart failure lives on a farm 90 minutes from the clinic and has no home internet but a working landline. Which follow-up plan best meets this patient's needs?
AWeekly in-person clinic visits for weight checks and symptom review.
Why A is wrong. Weekly in-person visits mean a three-hour round trip every week, a burden that leads to missed checks.
BVideo visits through the patient portal every two weeks.
Why B is wrong. Video visits through the portal depend on home internet, and every two weeks is too sparse to catch weight gain early.
CScheduled nurse telephone reviews of weights and symptoms.
Why C is right. Scheduled telephone reviews use the working landline the patient already has, so the nurse can follow weights and symptoms regularly without travel or internet.
DA Bluetooth scale that uploads weights to the portal.
Why D is wrong. A Bluetooth scale needs an internet connection to upload to the portal, which this patient does not have.
Education · 19%Question 28 of 30
To assess a patient's ability to find and use online health information before enrolling them in remote monitoring, the ambulatory care nurse can use the:
ANewest Vital Sign.
Why A is wrong. The Newest Vital Sign tests reading and numeracy with a nutrition label, not skill with online information.
BMini-Cog cognitive screen.
Why B is wrong. The Mini-Cog screens for cognitive impairment and says nothing about digital skills.
CPatient Activation Measure.
Why C is wrong. Activation measures a person's knowledge and confidence in managing health, not ability to use online resources.
DeHealth Literacy Scale.
Why D is right. The eHealth Literacy Scale measures how well a person can find, judge and use health information online, the skill remote monitoring depends on.
Education · 19%Question 29 of 30
A patient with hypertension wants to keep wearing a protective amulet from a traditional healer along with the prescribed treatment. The ambulatory care nurse's best response is to:
Asupport the practice and include it in the plan.
Why A is right. A harmless cultural practice used alongside treatment can be respected and written into the plan, which builds trust and adherence.
Bexplain that the amulet will not lower blood pressure.
Why B is wrong. Telling the patient the amulet will not lower blood pressure challenges a harmless belief, adds nothing clinically and can damage the relationship.
Cask the patient to choose one approach or the other.
Why C is wrong. Forcing a choice creates a conflict where none exists and risks the patient dropping the prescribed treatment.
Dchart it and flag it as an adherence barrier.
Why D is wrong. The patient plans to use both, so charting the amulet and flagging it as an adherence barrier misstates the situation.
Education · 19%Question 30 of 30
A patient with a viral upper respiratory infection insists on getting an antibiotic. Which response by the ambulatory care nurse is most appropriate?
AAsk the provider to call in an antibiotic to keep the patient satisfied.
Why A is wrong. Prescribing for satisfaction promotes resistance and side effects with no benefit for a viral infection.
BExplore the patient's concerns and discuss symptom relief options.
Why B is right. Learning what the patient fears and offering relief for the symptoms meets the need behind the request without an unneeded antibiotic.
CState that antibiotics are not indicated and end the discussion.
Why C is wrong. Ending the discussion after a flat refusal ignores the worry behind the request and undermines trust.
DAdvise waiting two weeks and calling back if symptoms continue.
Why D is wrong. Advising a two-week wait without addressing the concern leaves the patient unheard and likely to seek antibiotics elsewhere.
When a wrong choice looked right
Read the explanation of every choice you passed over, not only the key. In this set, the attractive wrong answer tends to be one of four kinds: a disposition one step too relaxed for the symptom in the stem; an action outside the RN's role, such as naming a diagnosis over the phone; a reasonable step taken out of order, like teaching before the problem has been assessed; or a reply that is accurate but does not answer what the patient asked.
Note which of the four caught you each time, and in which domain. After a dozen misses the tally shows where to go next: the study guide section for that domain.
This set compared with the timed exam
This page shows everyone the same 30 items with no clock and counts right answers. The live test is 150 items over 3 hours; 25 of them are tryouts you cannot pick out, and the result comes back on a scale on which 350 passes. Nothing on this page converts to that scale. What it does show is which domain to study next.
For a feel of the pace, work through the set without breaks, timing yourself at the live rate, and answer every item: a blank on the real exam earns nothing.
ANCC's own practice material
A free set of 25 untimed sample questions, the test content outline and reference list, and the ANCC Readiness Test: $85 for 60 questions in 75 minutes. That is what ANCC itself offers. Nothing in this set was taken from ANCC material or from a live form, and ANCC endorses no study product, ours included.
No. They were written for this site against ANCC's published outline. Live exam content is not public, and ANCC's free sample questions are a separate set on its own site.
Does this set follow the 2021 or the 2026 outline?
The 2026 one. The four domain names are the same in both; the set follows the 2026 question counts, with Plan and Implement the smallest.
Documents behind these figures: ANCC outline 2026[1] ANCC page[2]