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MLPAO MLA/T Certification Exam: Practice Test 2

Number of questions: 500

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About the MLPAO MLA/T exam

The MLPAO MLA/T Certification Exam, or simply the MLPAO MLA/T exam, is an exam for medical laboratory assistants/technicians (MLA/Ts) in Ontario, Canada. It tests the basic knowledge and skills needed to work as a lab assistant or lab technician.

If you pass the exam, you become certified by the MLPAO. This can help show employers that you have the knowledge to work as an MLA or MLT. The exam is not required by law, but many employers in Ontario may ask for it or prefer it.

The exam is administered by the Medical Laboratory Professionals Association of Ontario (MLPAO).

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About these practice questions

These practice questions will help prepare you for the MLPAO MLA/T exam.

This page contains 500 practice questions divided into the thirteen sections of the exam: 1. Standards of Practice, 2. Medical Terminology, 3. Basic Biology, Anatomy and Physiology, 4. Laboratory Mathematics and Quality Management, 5. Specimen Procurement, Processing and Data Collection, 6. Laboratory Safety, 7. Laboratory Equipment, 8. Histology and Cytology, 9. Clinical Microbiology, 10. Clinical Chemistry, 11. Clinical Hematology, 12. Transfusion Medicine, and 13. Electrocardiograms.

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

Check out all the practice tests in this series: Practice Test 1, Practice Test 2, and Practice Test 3.

Sections

  1. Standards of Practice
  2. Medical Terminology
  3. Basic Biology, Anatomy and Physiology
  4. Laboratory Mathematics and Quality Management
  5. Specimen Procurement, Processing and Data Collection
  6. Laboratory Safety
  7. Laboratory Equipment
  8. Histology and Cytology
  9. Clinical Microbiology
  10. Clinical Chemistry
  11. Clinical Hematology
  12. Transfusion Medicine
  13. Electrocardiograms

Section 1: Standards of Practice

1.1) Which of these specimens has the lowest priority?
  1. Postop complete blood count
  2. Preop pregnancy test
  3. Routine urinalysis
  4. Stat troponin
  5. Timed glucose
Answers are locked. Please click here to buy them. 1.2) When should a stat glucose test be performed?
  1. Immediately
  2. Within 1 hour
  3. 2 hours after the last meal
  4. Within 4 hours
  5. 24 hours after the last meal
Answers are locked. Please click here to buy them. 1.3) A phlebotomist arrives to collect a trough level but discovers the nurse has already administered the medication. What is the best action?
  1. Ask the nurse to administer the medication again
  2. Document the error and notify the supervisor
  3. Draw the specimen anyway
  4. Draw the trough level from a different patient
  5. Wait 30 minutes before drawing the trough level
Answers are locked. Please click here to buy them. 1.4) A patient is hesitant about providing a blood sample. What is the most appropriate response?
  1. Ask a family member to convince the patient to cooperate
  2. Listen respectfully and answer their questions
  3. Proceed with the blood draw anyway
  4. Reassure them that it won't hurt
  5. Tell the patient that a blood sample is mandatory
Answers are locked. Please click here to buy them. 1.5) Which principle of the Canada Health Act is not patient-focused but rather the means of achieving the other four principles?
  1. Accessibility
  2. Comprehensiveness
  3. Portability
  4. Public administration
  5. Universality
Answers are locked. Please click here to buy them. 1.6) Which of these actions shows accountability?
  1. Blaming a mistake on someone else
  2. Completing an incident form for an error you made
  3. Giving constructive feedback to a colleague
  4. Reporting a colleague's mistake to a supervisor
  5. Thanking a colleague for helping you with a task
Answers are locked. Please click here to buy them. 1.7) Which of these is the responsibility of a laboratory assistant?
  1. Disciplining workers
  2. Giving results to patients
  3. Performing tests that require judgment
  4. Preparing chemical solutions
  5. Supervising other workers
Answers are locked. Please click here to buy them. 1.8) A supervisor asks a lab assistant to perform a test on an analyzer they have never used before. What should the lab assistant do?
  1. Ask a colleague to enter the results
  2. Perform the test
  3. Perform the test only if the sample is marked as a "STAT"
  4. Read the analyzer's quick-start guide
  5. Request training
Answers are locked. Please click here to buy them. 1.9) A coworker asks you about a patient’s biopsy result, but they are not involved in the patient’s care. What should you do?
  1. Refer the worker to the patient’s primary physician
  2. Refuse to discuss the patient’s information
  3. Share the result but omit the patient's name
  4. Share the result only if the worker signs a confidentiality report
  5. Show the coworker how to find the result on the computer
Answers are locked. Please click here to buy them. 1.10) A patient looks confused after you explain a procedure. What is the best next step?
  1. Call the patient's doctor and ask them to explain
  2. Continue because you already obtained consent
  3. Document that the patient appeared confused
  4. Explain it again using simpler language
  5. Speak louder and more slowly
Answers are locked. Please click here to buy them. 1.11) Which of these is a barrier to effective written communication?
  1. Clear subject headings
  2. Concise sentences
  3. Logical structure
  4. Professional tone
  5. Technical jargon
Answers are locked. Please click here to buy them. 1.12) How can you show empathy to a nervous patient?
  1. Distract the patient by talking about your life
  2. Explain the procedure in simple terms
  3. Listen to their concerns
  4. Tell the patient not to worry
  5. Tell the patient you need to hurry up
Answers are locked. Please click here to buy them. 1.13) A patient is hard of hearing and speaks limited English. What is the best action?
  1. Ask a family member to help
  2. Find an interpreter
  3. Proceed with the procedure anyway
  4. Refuse to collect the specimen
  5. Use gestures to convey information
Answers are locked. Please click here to buy them. 1.14) After a difficult interaction with a patient, a lab technician reviews what happened and considers how to improve next time. What is this an example of?
  1. Authority
  2. Communication
  3. Compliance
  4. Reflection
  5. Role clarification
Answers are locked. Please click here to buy them. 1.15) A patient asks a lab assistant whether they can go home. What should the lab assistant do?
  1. Contact hospital security
  2. Ignore the question
  3. Provide an estimate of when they can go home
  4. Refer the patient to the nurse or physician
  5. Tell the patient to stay until all tests are complete
Answers are locked. Please click here to buy them. 1.16) The “need-to-know” principle in information security means access to information based on:
  1. job duties
  2. organizational hierarchy
  3. patient consent
  4. seniority
  5. time
Answers are locked. Please click here to buy them. 1.17) A manager tells you to skip a required QC step to save time. What is the most professional response?
  1. Agree, but perform the QC step anyway in secret
  2. Ask another coworker to do it instead
  3. Refuse to skip the QC step and escalate the issue if necessary
  4. Report the manager to the police
  5. Skip the QC step
Answers are locked. Please click here to buy them. 1.18) A lab assistant overhears coworkers discussing a patient’s transfusion history in the cafeteria. What is the best action?
  1. File an incident report
  2. Ignore the discussion
  3. Record the conversation using your smartphone
  4. Remind the coworkers of patient privacy
  5. Report the incident to the patient's family
Answers are locked. Please click here to buy them. 1.19) A patient’s family member asks a lab assistant for biopsy results. What should the lab assistant do?
  1. Ask the family member to sign a Release of Information form
  2. Give the result to the family member
  3. Refer the family member to the pathologist
  4. Refuse to release results without proper authorization
  5. Tell the family member the results look normal
Answers are locked. Please click here to buy them.

Section 2: Medical Terminology

Section 3: Basic Biology, Anatomy and Physiology

Section 4: Laboratory Mathematics and Quality Management

Section 5: Specimen Procurement, Processing and Data Collection

Section 6: Laboratory Safety

Section 7: Laboratory Equipment

Section 8: Histology and Cytology

Section 9: Clinical Microbiology

Section 10: Clinical Chemistry

Section 11: Clinical Hematology

Section 12: Transfusion Medicine

Section 13: Electrocardiograms

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