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CAMLPR Hematology Practice Questions

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CAMLPR Hematology Practice Questions

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Questions
300
Format
Multiple choice
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2 years
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About these practice questions

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

This practice test contains 300 practice questions covering the eight sections of the CAMLPR Hematology 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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Section 1: Specimen Collection

1) A phlebotomist needs to collect a blood specimen from an inpatient who is not wearing an ID band. What is the best action to take?
  1. Ask the nurse to confirm the identity of the patient
  2. Do not draw the specimen until an ID band is placed
    Inpatients must be identified using the details on their ID band. If the patient is not wearing an ID band, do not collect the specimen. Instead, notify the nurse so a new ID band can be placed. The other options are wrong because you shouldn't rely on verbal confirmation, nurse confirmation, or name cards to identify a patient.
  3. Identify the patient by asking them, "What is your name?"
  4. Identify the patient by the name card on the door
2) A phlebotomist fails to check patient identifiers before collecting blood samples. What is the most likely consequence?
  1. Clotting
  2. Hemolysis
  3. Increased turnaround time
  4. Specimen misidentification
    The most likely consequence is specimen misidentification (specimens linked to the wrong patients), which could lead to incorrect diagnosis, inappropriate treatment, or delayed care.
3) What can a phlebotomist do to find a difficult vein?
  1. Apply the tourniquet tightly for 3 to 4 minutes
  2. Ask the patient to hold their arm up
    Asking the patient to hold their arm up would drain the arm of blood and make the veins harder to find.
  3. Ask the patient to make a fist
    Making a fist makes the veins more prominent by increasing blood flow to the area. This is a standard technique used by phlebotomists during venipuncture.
  4. Cool the area with an ice pack
    Cooling the area with an ice pack would make the veins constrict, making them harder to find. Warming the area with a heating pad is the correct approach.
4) After applying a tourniquet, small red spots appear on the patient's arm. These spots are a sign that:
  1. the patient has diabetes
  2. the patient is taking an anticoagulant
  3. the site may bleed excessively
    Tiny, non-raised red spots that appear on the patient’s skin when a tourniquet is applied are called petechiae. They indicate the venipuncture site may bleed excessively. They do not indicate that the phlebotomist has performed the procedure incorrectly.
  4. the tourniquet is too tight
5) What can happen if a phlebotomist removes the needle before releasing the tourniquet?
  1. Angina
  2. Bleeding
    If the needle is removed before the tourniquet, the puncture site will bleed. For this reason, you should remove the tourniquet first, then the needle.
  3. Cyanosis
  4. Edema
6) Which test result is most affected when collected from a crying infant?
  1. Bilirubin
  2. Cholesterol
  3. Lead level
  4. White blood cell count
    Crying causes physiological stress, temporarily increasing white blood cell levels. It may take an hour for white blood cell levels to return to normal.
7) Fist pumping during a blood draw can cause falsely elevated levels of which ion?
  1. Chloride
  2. Iron
  3. Potassium
    Patients are often asked to fist pump (make a fist) during venipuncture to make the veins more prominent and easier to locate. However, this can release potassium from the forearm muscles, causing pseudohyperkalemia (falsely elevated potassium levels).
  4. Sodium
8) What Vacutainer tube is used for coagulation studies?
  1. Black
  2. Green
  3. Grey
  4. Light blue
    Coagulation tests use light blue top Vacutainer tubes. These tubes contain sodium citrate, which prevents clotting by binding to calcium ions in the blood. Sodium citrate is used because it is easily reversible: when the laboratory is ready to perform the test, calcium is added back to the sample, which starts the coagulation cascade.
9) For which Vacutainer tube is the blood-to-additive ratio most critical?
  1. Green
  2. Lavender
  3. Light blue
    Light blue tubes contain sodium citrate, which requires a 9:1 blood-to-additive ratio (9 parts blood to 1 part sodium citrate). If the ratio is incorrect, the test results will be wrong, potentially leading to inaccurate diagnoses and treatment errors.
  4. Red
10) What are lavender top tubes used for?
  1. Blood cultures
  2. Erythrocyte sedimentation rates
  3. Glucose determinations
  4. Hematology tests
    Lavender top tubes contain an anticoagulant called EDTA. This prevents blood from clotting and allows for accurate assessment of various blood cell parameters. These tests include complete blood count, differential white blood cell count, and red blood cell indices.
11) Which Vacutainer tube is needed for a complete blood count?
  1. Gold
  2. Lavender
    Complete blood counts require lavender tubes. These tubes contain EDTA, an anticoagulant that prevents clotting, which is essential for accurate CBC results.
  3. Light blue
  4. Red
12) What Vacutainer tube is used for reticulocyte counts?
  1. Green
  2. Lavender
    Lavender tubes are used for hematology tests, such as complete blood counts, platelet counts, and reticulocyte counts.
  3. Light blue
  4. Red
13) Which Vacutainer is used for white blood cell counts?
  1. Black
  2. Blue
  3. Grey
  4. Lavender
    Blood for white blood cell counts is typically collected in lavender Vacutainer tubes. These tubes contain the anticoagulant EDTA, which prevents blood from clotting and preserves the integrity of the blood cells. EDTA does not affect the morphology or staining properties of white blood cells, making them easier to identify and count accurately.
14) Which mineral does EDTA bind to to prevent blood from clotting?
  1. Calcium
    EDTA binds to many minerals, including iron and zinc. But in blood collection tubes, what matters is that EDTA binds calcium. Calcium is required for the blood clotting cascade, so once EDTA binds to it, clotting cannot occur. This is why EDTA is used as an anticoagulant in some Vacutainer tubes.
  2. Chloride
  3. Potassium
  4. Sodium
15) What is the correct citrate-to-blood ratio in light blue top Vacutainer tubes?
  1. 1:3
  2. 1:6
  3. 1:9
    When filling blue top coagulation tubes, the ratio of citrate-to-blood must be exactly 1:9. Too little blood will mean excess anticoagulant relative to the sample and the results will be falsely prolonged.
  4. 1:12
16) A phlebotomist has finished drawing blood into a light blue top tube. However, the blood in the tube is below the minimum line. What should the phlebotomist do?
  1. Add a little blood from another tube
  2. Fill another light blue top tube partly full and mix the two tubes
  3. Repeat the procedure with a new light blue top
    The citrate (blue-topped) tube is the most sensitive tube to underfilling. The ratio of blood to sodium citrate in this tube must be 9:1. If the tube is underfilled, the concentration of anticoagulant will be too high, causing false results. For this reason, the tube must be filled to the line indicated. If a light blue top tube is underfilled, the best action is to repeat the blood collection procedure with a new light blue top tube to ensure an adequate and uncontaminated sample.
  4. Submit the tube for testing as usual
17) Which Vacutainer tube is used for hemoglobin testing?
  1. Green
  2. Grey
  3. Lavender
    Lavender top tubes contain EDTA as an anticoagulant. These tubes are used for hemoglobin testing, complete blood counts, erythrocyte sedimentation rates, and blood typing.
  4. Red
18) You have collected blood in a tube containing an additive. What should you do next?
  1. Empty the tube into the sink
  2. Invert the tube several times
    Tubes with additives must be gently inverted several times after filling to mix the blood with the additives.
  3. Leave the tube in the fridge for 2-3 hours
  4. Shake the tube vigorously
19) Which of these tests needs a 1:9 ratio of anticoagulant to blood in the collection tube?
  1. Blood typing
  2. Prothrombin time
    Light blue top tubes are used for coagulation tests, such as prothrombin time. The tube needs a 1:9 ratio of anticoagulant to blood for accurate results.
  3. Sedimentation rate
  4. Serum hCG
20) Which colour Vacutainer tube is known as the citrate tube?
  1. Dark blue
  2. Dark green
  3. Light blue
    A light blue top tube is commonly referred to as a citrate tube because it contains sodium citrate.
  4. Light green

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About the CAMLPR Hematology exam

What is the CAMLPR Hematology exam?

The CAMLPR Hematology 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 Clinical Chemistry, Clinical Microbiology, Transfusion Medicine, Histology, Cytogenetics, Molecular Diagnostics, and Cytology.

The Hematology exam tests your knowledge of the principles, methods, and interpretation of analyzing the cellular and non-cellular components of blood, as well as hemostasis and coagulation processes. This includes testing such as complete blood counts (CBC), peripheral blood smear evaluation, manual and automated cell counting, flow cytometry, coagulation studies, slide preparation and staining, and the use of microscopic and automated techniques to diagnose disease and monitor treatment.

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

Exam bundles

You can take the Hematology exam on its own or as part of 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 Hematology 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 Hematology exam.

Percentage distribution of the competencies in the CAMLPR Hematology 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 Hematology 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_3] [CAMLPR_2_4_hematology] [CAMLPR_2_5] [CAMLPR_2_6] [CAMLPR_2_10] [CAMLPR_2_14] [CAMLPR_2_21] [CAMLPR_2_22] [CAMLPR_2_25] [CAMLPR_2_26] [CAMLPR_2_35] [CAMLPR_2_36] [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_2] [CAMLPR_3_3_hematology] [CAMLPR_3_5_hematology] [CAMLPR_3_7] [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_hematology] [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_10] [CAMLPR_8_11]