Medical Laboratory Quiz

A phlebotomist's results can be affected by:

• the patient's exercise routine

• the patient's stress levels

• the patient's posture during the procedure

• all of the above

In phlebotomy, when drawing blood into citrate tubes, they must be filled to within ____ percent of their capacity to ensure accurate test results.

• 75

• 10

• 25

• 50

In the context of phlebotomy, when are circadian changes most likely to affect blood test results?

• Hour by hour changes

• Changes through the course of a year

• Cyclical changes throughout the day

• Changes every 10 years

A phlebotomist needs to protect a blood sample from light. The best way to do this is by:

• placing the sample in an amber-colored tube

• All tubes protect the sample from light.

• wrapping aluminum foil around the sample

• both A and C

A phlebotomist may have to reject samples for testing if:

• the sample was drawn above a running IV

• the sample was not labeled with the patient’s complete name

• an anticoagulated sample had a clot

• all of the above

A phlebotomist is preparing to collect a blood sample. Which of the following scenarios would NOT lead to the rejection of the sample?

• There is a clot in a red, black, or gold top tube

• There is a clot in an EDTA tube

• The draw in the sodium citrate tube is short

• There is hemolysis in a blood bank sample

You are a phlebotomist and you are about to draw blood from a patient. What is the most critical step in this process?

• Identifying the patient correctly

• Choosing the proper needle length

• Cleansing the site where the needle will be inserted

• Using the correct tube for collecting the blood sample

A phlebotomist is drawing blood for a critical test. What statement best summarizes the importance of the quality of the blood sample?

• The way the phlebotomist handles the sample has no effect on the laboratory results.

• If the phlebotomist collects a low-quality sample, it can produce inaccurate and potentially dangerous results.

• The phlebotomist's technique is not critical to the test results.

• The laboratory will detect any problem with the sample collected by the phlebotomist.

A phlebotomist has been asked to draw blood for a patient's routine check-up. If the tourniquet is left on the patient's arm for longer than 1 minute, which of the following analytes in the blood sample will be elevated and will continue to increase the longer the tourniquet is applied?

• glucose

• creatinine

• potassium

• blood urea nitrogen

A phlebotomist is preparing to draw blood from a patient for a test that requires fasting. Which of the following scenarios would be considered a preexamination error caused by the patient?

• The patient consumes a candy bar just before the blood draw

• The tube containing the blood sample breaks during transport

• The phlebotomist labels the tube with the incorrect patient name

• The blood sample is not placed on ice immediately after the draw, even though the test requires the specimen to be cooled