NOCTI Health Sciences Fundamentals 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What does the medical abbreviation 'PRN' mean on a medication order?
- Every morning
- As needed (Correct answer)
- Before meals
- At bedtime
Correct answer: As needed
PRN (from Latin 'pro re nata') means a medication should be given only as needed rather than on a fixed schedule.
Question 2: Which of the following is the correct sequence for handwashing according to CDC guidelines?
- Wet, soap, scrub 20 seconds, rinse, dry (Correct answer)
- Soap, wet, scrub 10 seconds, rinse, dry
- Wet, soap, scrub 10 seconds, dry, rinse
- Soap, scrub 20 seconds, wet, rinse, dry
Correct answer: Wet, soap, scrub 20 seconds, rinse, dry
CDC guidelines require wetting hands first, applying soap, scrubbing for at least 20 seconds, rinsing, and then drying with a clean towel.
Question 3: What is the normal resting adult heart rate range in beats per minute?
- 40–60 bpm
- 60–100 bpm (Correct answer)
- 100–120 bpm
- 120–140 bpm
Correct answer: 60–100 bpm
A normal adult resting heart rate is 60 to 100 beats per minute; rates outside this range may indicate a medical condition.
Question 4: In healthcare, what does HIPAA primarily protect?
- Hospital financial records
- Patients' protected health information (PHI) (Correct answer)
- Healthcare worker wages
- Insurance company profits
Correct answer: Patients' protected health information (PHI)
HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) sets national standards to protect patients' individually identifiable health information from unauthorized disclosure.
Question 5: What is the purpose of Standard Precautions in healthcare settings?
- To reduce costs of personal protective equipment
- To treat every patient's blood and body fluids as potentially infectious regardless of diagnosis (Correct answer)
- To replace isolation precautions entirely
- To apply only when a patient has a known infection
Correct answer: To treat every patient's blood and body fluids as potentially infectious regardless of diagnosis
Standard Precautions require treating all blood and body fluids as potentially infectious to protect both healthcare workers and patients from transmission.
Question 6: Which body position places a patient flat on their back?
- Prone
- Lateral recumbent
- Fowler's
- Supine (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Supine
The supine position places the patient flat on their back facing upward, commonly used for physical examinations and many medical procedures.
NOCTI Health Sciences Fundamentals 1
What does the medical abbreviation 'PRN' mean on a medication order?