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CAMLPR Clinical Chemistry Practice Questions

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CAMLPR Clinical Chemistry Practice Questions

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Questions
300
Format
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2 years
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About these practice questions

These practice questions will help you prepare for the CAMLPR Clinical Chemistry exam.

This practice test contains 300 practice questions covering the eight sections of the CAMLPR Clinical Chemistry exam:

  1. Specimen Collection
  2. Preparation and Testing
  3. Evaluation and Interpretation
  4. Reporting and Communication
  5. Equipment and Resources
  6. Safety
  7. Professionalism
  8. Quality Assurance

All questions have been carefully designed to reflect the questions on the real exam, to help you prepare and get a passing grade.

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Sample practice questions

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Section 1: Specimen Collection

1) When should a stat glucose test be performed?
  1. Immediately
    All tests marked stat should be performed immediately.
  2. Within 1 hour
  3. 2 hours after the last meal
  4. Within 4 hours
2) What is the first step in performing a blood draw?
  1. Apply the tourniquet
  2. Clean the site
  3. Identify the patient
    Before drawing the patient's blood, first make sure you have the right patient.
  4. Insert the needle
3) A patient has an IV in his left wrist and a cast on his right arm. Which site should be used to obtain a venous blood sample?
  1. A vein in the left forearm
  2. A vein in the left hand
    The right arm cannot be used due to the cast. Therefore, the blood must be drawn from the left arm. However, blood should not be drawn from above the IV because the IV fluid could contaminate the blood sample. Therefore, the best place to draw blood is the left hand (below the IV site).
  3. A vein in the right forearm
  4. An earlobe
4) When using a blood pressure cuff instead of a tourniquet for venipuncture, what should the pressure be?
  1. Equal to the patient's systolic blood pressure
  2. Just above the patient's systolic blood pressure
  3. Just below the patient's diastolic blood pressure
    A blood pressure cuff for venipuncture should be inflated to a pressure just below the patient's diastolic blood pressure. This will restrict venous flow without stopping arterial flow.
  4. Midway between the patient's diastolic and systolic blood pressure
5) For venipuncture, the tourniquet should be applied _____________ the needle insertion point.
  1. 1–2 inches above
  2. 1–2 inches below
  3. 3–4 inches above
    Tourniquets should be applied 3–4 inches above the needle insertion site. This positioning helps make the veins more prominent.
  4. 3–4 inches below
6) For venipuncture, tourniquets should be:
  1. applied very tightly to the arm
  2. left on the arm for at least three minutes
    Leaving the tourniquet on for three minutes could cause blood pooling at the venipuncture site, leading to falsely elevated results.
  3. tight enough to slow arterial flow
  4. tight enough to slow venous flow
    The tourniquet should be tight enough to slow venous flow without affecting the arterial flow.
7) In venipuncture, what can happen if you palpate a site after cleaning it with alcohol?
  1. Difficulty locating the vein
  2. Entry of alcohol into the patient's bloodstream
  3. Hemolysis of the specimen
  4. Recontamination
    Alcohol is used to kill microorganisms on the skin before inserting the needle. If you touch the site again after cleaning, your fingers can transfer bacteria or other contaminants back to the area. This recontaminates the site, increasing the risk of infection or invalid test results. If you must palpate the vein again, you should first sanitize your fingers with an alcohol pad, or clean the site again after touching it.
8) Which statement about venipuncture is true?
  1. Disinfect the entry site with a 70% alcohol swab
    Before performing venipuncture, you should disinfect the site with an alcohol swab to minimize the risk of infection.
  2. Ensure the bevel of the needle is pointing down when the needle enters the vein
    The bevel should be pointing up, not down.
  3. Enter the vein at a 50-degree angle
    You should enter the vein at a 15–30° angle, not a 50° angle.
  4. Remove the needle first, then the tourniquet
    You should release the tourniquet first, then withdraw the needle.
9) In which direction should the bevel be facing when the needle enters the arm?
  1. Downwards
  2. To the left
  3. To the right
  4. Upwards
    The bevel should be facing up when the needle enters the arm. This way, the very tip of the needle pierces the vein first. This helps the needle enter the skin and the vein smoothly.
10) What is a sign of an arterial puncture during venipuncture?
  1. Blood spurting into the tube
    When an artery is punctured instead of a vein, blood will spurt into the tube due to the high pressure in arteries. Arterial blood is also brighter than venous blood because it has more oxygen.
  2. Breathing difficulties
  3. Dark blue blood
  4. Intense pain
    Intense pain is more associated with accidental nerve puncture, not arterial puncture.
11) During venipuncture, what is the longest time a tourniquet should remain on the patient's arm?
  1. 1 minute
    Tourniquets should remain on the patient's arm for less than a minute. Leaving the tourniquet on longer can affect test results due to hemoconcentration. It could also hurt the patient.
  2. 3 minutes
  3. 5 minutes
  4. 7 minutes
12) What is the most likely result if a lavender tube is not inverted after collection?
  1. Clotted specimen
    Lavender-top tubes contain the anticoagulant EDTA. Inverting the tube after collection ensures the EDTA is properly mixed with the blood sample. If the tube is not inverted, the EDTA will not fully mix, and the blood will clot.
  2. Diluted specimen
  3. Falsely low potassium
  4. Hemolyzed specimen
13) A blood culture and four tubes (green, lavender, light blue, and red) need to be filled. Which should be filled first?
  1. Blood culture bottle
    Blood culture bottles are always filled first to avoid contamination from other tubes. They must be kept sterile.
  2. Lavender
    The lavender top tube would be filled last because it contains EDTA, which may otherwise contaminate the other tubes.
  3. Light blue
  4. Red
14) Which anticoagulant is used to collect arterial blood gas specimens?
  1. Heparin
    Heparin is the anticoagulant of choice for arterial blood gas specimens. This is because it prevents clotting without significantly altering blood gases or electrolytes.
  2. Potassium EDTA
    Potassium EDTA is the preferred anticoagulant for hematology testing, not for collecting arterial blood gas specimens.
  3. Potassium oxalate
    Potassium oxalate is used in glucose testing.
  4. Trisodium citrate
    Trisodium citrate is the preferred anticoagulant for coagulation testing.
15) When a test requires plasma, the blood sample must be collected in a tube containing a(n):
  1. anticoagulant
    Plasma is the liquid portion of unclotted blood. To prevent clotting, the blood must be drawn into a tube containing an anticoagulant (e.g., EDTA, citrate, heparin). If no anticoagulant is used, the blood will clot, and centrifugation will produce serum, not plasma.
  2. antiglycolytic agent
  3. clot activator
  4. preservative
16) What does sodium fluoride preserve?
  1. Ammonia
  2. Bilirubin
  3. Glucose
    Sodium fluoride preserves glucose in blood samples to ensure the measured glucose levels are accurate. It does this by inhibiting glycolysis (the process by which cells break down glucose).
  4. Potassium
17) A phlebotomist needs to collect blood in a grey top tube, a gold top tube, and a lavender top tube. What is the correct order to fill the tubes?
  1. Gold, grey, lavender
  2. Gold, lavender, grey
    Gold tubes are filled before lavender tubes. Grey tubes are drawn after lavender and EDTA tubes because grey tubes contain additives such as fluoride or oxalate, which can interfere with other tests.
  3. Grey, gold, lavender
  4. Grey, lavender, gold
18) Why are infant bilirubin specimens obtained in amber-coloured tubes?
  1. To identify them as bilirubin specimens
  2. To protect the specimens from light
    Light can break down bilirubin into other compounds. Therefore, bilirubin specimens are obtained in amber containers to protect them from the light.
  3. To reduce the risk of hemolysis
  4. To show that they are capillary specimens
19) Venipuncture needles are colour-coded according to their:
  1. expiration date
  2. gauge
    Needles are colour-coded by gauge. The gauge of a needle refers to the diameter of the needle. Colour-coding helps to quickly identify needles by their size.
  3. length
  4. manufacturer
20) When should a phlebotomist label a blood collection tube?
  1. As soon as they receive the test order
  2. Just before the patient arrives
  3. Before collecting the specimen
    You should never label blood collection tubes before collecting specimens. Doing this may cause tubes to get mixed up and used on the wrong patient.
  4. Immediately after collection
    You must label specimens immediately after collection, in the patient's presence. This is the best way to prevent specimen mix-ups.

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About the CAMLPR Clinical Chemistry exam

What is the CAMLPR Clinical Chemistry exam?

The CAMLPR Clinical Chemistry exam is one of the single-field exams administered by the Canadian Alliance of Medical Laboratory Professionals Regulators (CAMLPR). The other single-field exams are Hematology, Clinical Microbiology, Transfusion Medicine, Histology, Cytogenetics, Molecular Diagnostics, and Cytology.

The Clinical Chemistry exam tests your knowledge of the principles, methods, and interpretation of testing substances in blood, urine, and other body fluids. This includes tests such as urinalysis, blood gases, electrolytes, toxicology, and glucose, and tests related to the kidneys, liver, heart, pancreas, metabolism, and osmotic function.

[CAMLPR-intro] [prometric] [CAMLPR-exam-format] [CAMLPR-exam-fees]

Exam bundles

You can take the Clinical Chemistry exam on its own or you can save money with an exam bundle:

[CAMLPR-bundles_intro] [CAMLPR-bundle_chem-hema-trans] [CAMLPR-bundle_chem-hema-trans-micro] [CAMLPR-bundle_chem-hema-trans-micro-histo] [CAMLPR-reschedule] [CAMLPR-fail]

Competencies

The questions on the CAMLPR Clinical Chemistry exam cover eight competencies, each testing a different area of knowledge. The eight competencies are:

  1. Specimen Collection
  2. Preparation and Testing
  3. Evaluation and Interpretation
  4. Reporting and Communication
  5. Equipment and Resources
  6. Safety
  7. Professionalism
  8. Quality Assurance

The following table shows the percentage distribution of the competencies assessed in the CAMLPR Clinical Chemistry exam.

Percentage distribution of the competencies in the CAMLPR Clinical Chemistry exam.
Competency Percentage of exam
Specimen Collection 15%
Preparation and Testing 20%
Evaluation and Interpretation 25%
Reporting and Communication 15%
Equipment and Resources 5%
Safety 5%
Professionalism 5%
Quality Assurance 10%

The next few pages will describe each of the eight competencies in detail. These competencies form the blueprint for the CAMLPR Clinical Chemistry exam and can help you focus your study on the areas most likely to be assessed.

1. Specimen Collection

The first competency, Specimen Collection, is about collecting, transporting, and handling samples correctly so they stay suitable for testing. This competency may include questions about:

[CAMLPR_1_1] [CAMLPR_1_2-9] [CAMLPR_1_10] [CAMLPR_1_11]

2. Preparation and Testing

The second competency, Preparation and Testing, is about preparing and testing samples accurately to give reliable results. It may test your knowledge of:

    [CAMLPR_2_1] [CAMLPR_2_2] [CAMLPR_2_4_chemistry] [CAMLPR_2_5] [CAMLPR_2_10] [CAMLPR_2_14] [CAMLPR_2_21] [CAMLPR_2_22] [CAMLPR_2_25] [CAMLPR_2_26] [CAMLPR_2_33] [CAMLPR_2_34] [CAMLPR_2_38] [CAMLPR_2_40]

3. Evaluation and Interpretation

The third competency, Evaluation and Interpretation, is about checking and understanding results to help with diagnosis and treatment. It may include questions about:

    [CAMLPR_3_1] [CAMLPR_3_3_chemistry] [CAMLPR_3_5_chemistry] [CAMLPR_3_7] [CAMLPR_3_12] [CAMLPR_3_13]

4. Reporting and Communication

The fourth competency, Reporting and Communication, is about recording and sharing results clearly with healthcare teams. It may include questions about:

    [CAMLPR_4_1] [CAMLPR_4_2] [CAMLPR_4_3] [CAMLPR_4_4] [CAMLPR_4_5] [CAMLPR_4_6] [CAMLPR_4_8]

5. Equipment and Resources

The fifth competency, Equipment and Resources, is about using, maintaining, and fixing lab equipment, and managing supplies. It may include questions about:

    [CAMLPR_5_1] [CAMLPR_5_1_chemistry] [CAMLPR_5_2] [CAMLPR_5_3]

6. Safety

The sixth competency, Safety, is about following safety and infection control rules to protect staff, patients, and the environment. It may include questions about:

    [CAMLPR_6_1-11] [CAMLPR_6_13] [CAMLPR_6_14]

7. Professionalism

The seventh competency, Professionalism, is about acting ethically, communicating well, and working professionally with others. It may include questions about:

    [CAMLPR_7_1-5] [CAMLPR_7_6] [CAMLPR_7_7]

8. Quality Assurance

The final competency, Quality Assurance, is about following quality checks and standards to keep results accurate and reliable. It may include questions about:

    [CAMLPR_8_1] [CAMLPR_8_2] [CAMLPR_8_3-5] [CAMLPR_8_6] [CAMLPR_8_7-9] [CAMLPR_8_11]