ANCC MEDSURG-BC Certification Sample Questions

The ANCC Medical-Surgical Nursing Certification Certification Sample Question Set on this page is designed to familiarize you with the actual ANCC MEDSURG-BC exam format and question types. These sample questions help you understand how questions are structured and what to expect on test day. While they provide a useful starting point, they represent only a limited preview of the real exam experience.

These sample questions are intended for evaluation and familiarization only. To understand exam style, pacing, and reasoning patterns more clearly, we recommend trying our online sample practice environment. If you are preparing for the ANCC Medical-Surgical Nursing-Board Certified (MEDSURG-BC) and want to assess your readiness more rigorously, structured, timed, scenario-based practice is recommended. This approach aligns with the cognitive demands and professional expectations typically associated with Registered nurses, Medical-surgical nurses, Acute care nurses and related roles working in settings such as Hospitals and inpatient units, Surgical and medical wards, Acute care clinical settings.

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The demo introduces core concepts, while full-length premium simulations provide deeper, scenario-based coverage that more closely reflects the actual cognitive demands of the ANCC Medical-Surgical Nursing Certification exam, particularly in areas such as Patient assessment and diagnosis, Clinical care planning and evaluation, Professional nursing practice. You can use these sample questions as a starting point, then progress to the ANCC MEDSURG-BC Certification Practice Exam for stronger readiness. Our premium simulations are designed to mirror real exam conditions, helping you refine reasoning, pacing, and decision-making before your official exam attempt.

ANCC MEDSURG-BC Sample Questions:

01. A family caregiver is being taught to give feedings through a gastrostomy tube at home.
Which instruction is most important for preventing aspiration?
a) Flush the tube with water before and after every feeding and medication.
b) Warm the feeding to body temperature before it is given to the patient.
c) Give the feeding slowly so that the stomach is not filled too quickly.
d) Keep the head of the bed raised during the feeding and for a period afterward.

02. A hospitalized patient with diabetes becomes shaky and diaphoretic and says of the feeling, "This is how I get when my sugar drops."
Which action should the nurse take first?
a) Obtain a capillary blood glucose measurement and act on the result.
b) Review when the patient last ate and when the most recent insulin dose was given.
c) Give a source of fast-acting carbohydrate on the strength of the patient's description.
d) Observe whether the symptoms settle over the next few minutes with the patient lying down.

03. A physical therapist arrives to mobilize a patient. The nurse has just assessed the patient and found them newly breathless and unsteady, findings that were not present earlier in the day.
Which action by the nurse is most appropriate?
a) Allow the session to proceed while remaining present to observe the patient's tolerance.
b) Share the findings with the therapist and defer the session until the patient is reviewed.
c) Contact the prescriber first and ask them to cancel the therapy session.
d) Ask the therapist to document that the session went ahead despite the nurse's concerns.

04. An older adult admitted with pneumonia is weak, is receiving a diuretic, and has been getting up unaided to use the bathroom during the night.
Which nursing action best reduces this patient's risk of falling?
a) Remind the patient at each round to call for assistance, and place the call bell in reach.
b) Place a fall-risk identifier at the bedside, on the chart, and on the wristband.
c) Raise all four side rails at night so the patient cannot leave the bed unaided.
d) Offer toileting at regular intervals and ensure a clear, lit path to the bathroom.

05. At the start of a shift the nurse receives handover on four patients on a medical-surgical unit.
Which patient should the nurse assess first?
a) A patient with heart failure who reports more ankle swelling and tighter shoes this morning.
b) A patient with diabetes waiting for teaching and a prescription before an afternoon discharge.
c) A patient with pneumonia who has become confused since the previous assessment.
d) A patient two days after bowel surgery whose incision is tender and who is asking for analgesia.

06. Shortly after a transfusion of packed red cells is started, a patient develops chills, low back pain, and a feeling that something is wrong.
Which action should the nurse take first?
a) Stop the transfusion and maintain the intravenous line with a separate saline infusion.
b) Slow the transfusion and observe whether the symptoms settle over the next several minutes.
c) Obtain a full set of vital signs and compare them with those recorded before the transfusion.
d) Notify the prescriber and the blood bank that a reaction is suspected during the transfusion.

07. The laboratory telephones the unit to report a critical value on one of the nurse's patients.
Which action should the nurse take first?
a) Ask the laboratory to send the result electronically so it appears in the record.
b) Record the value and read it back to the caller for confirmation before acting.
c) Notify the prescriber of the value so that orders can be obtained without delay.
d) Write the result on a note and take it to the patient's bedside for assessment.

08. While the nurse is changing a dressing, a patient stops speaking mid-sentence and begins to cry quietly.
Which response by the nurse is most therapeutic?
a) Ask what is wrong and encourage the patient to explain what has upset them.
b) Reassure the patient that the wound is healing well and that progress is being made.
c) Continue the dressing change quietly, and finish without comment, to avoid embarrassment.
d) Stop, remain present, and allow a pause before gently acknowledging the patient's distress.

09. The adult children of a patient awaiting biopsy results ask the nurse not to tell their parent if the news is bad, saying it would take away their hope.
Which response by the nurse is most appropriate?
a) Acknowledge the family's fear and explain that what the patient is told is theirs to decide.
b) Agree not to raise the results and leave any discussion of them to the family.
c) Explain that the patient has a legal right to the information and it cannot be withheld.
d) Tell the family the results will be discussed by the physician rather than the nurse.

10. During an admission interview on a medical unit, a patient discloses current thoughts of suicide and describes a specific method that would use medications kept at home.
Which nursing action takes priority?
a) Contract with the patient for safety and check on the patient at scheduled intervals.
b) Arrange continuous observation and secure the immediate environment while the risk is communicated.
c) Notify the family so that the identified medications can be removed from the home.
d) Complete the remaining sections of the admission history before acting on the disclosure.

Answers:

For full-length, timed, scenario-based practice aligned with the official exam framework - and to build pacing, consistency, and confidence - explore our Premium ANCC MEDSURG-BC Certification Practice Exam.

Note: These sample questions are not official exam questions and are intended only for familiarization and study purposes. If you find any typos or data entry errors in these ANCC Medical-Surgical Nursing Certification (MEDSURG-BC) sample questions, please let us know by emailing us at feedback@medicoexam.com