ONCC CPHON Certification Sample Questions

The ONCC Certified Pediatric Hematology Oncology Nurse Certification Sample Question Set on this page is designed to familiarize you with the actual ONCC CPHON 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 ONCC Certified Pediatric Hematology Oncology Nurse (CPHON) 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 Pediatric hematology/oncology registered nurses, nursing administrators and educators, nursing researchers and consultants working in settings such as Pediatric hematology/oncology clinical settings, nursing education and administration settings, research and consultation 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 ONCC Certified Pediatric Hematology Oncology Nurse exam, particularly in areas such as Symptom management and supportive care, treatment modalities and side effects, pediatric hematologic and oncologic emergency management. You can use these sample questions as a starting point, then progress to the ONCC CPHON 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.

ONCC CPHON Sample Questions:

01. While flushing a child's tunneled catheter, the nurse notices that the external portion has separated and that fluid is leaking. The child suddenly becomes breathless, coughs, and complains of chest pain.
Which action should the nurse take first?
a) Sit him upright, give oxygen, and observe him closely for further deterioration
b) Aspirate from the catheter to remove any air that may have entered the line, then clamp it and call for assistance
c) Apply a sterile dressing over the separation and take a full set of observations
d) Clamp the catheter close to the child's chest, position him on his left side with the head down, and call for help

02. The mother of a 9-year-old in maintenance therapy asks whether her daughter can go back to school full time. The child feels well, her counts have been recovering steadily, and her mother is worried that she is falling behind and losing touch with her friends.
Which response by the nurse is most appropriate?
a) Advise that she attend only on days when her counts have been checked and confirmed as adequate
b) Keep her at home until her treatment has finished, so that she is away from infections at school
c) Review her current counts and phase of treatment with the team, and plan attendance together with notification of outbreaks at school
d) Reassure the mother that she can return immediately, since children in maintenance are not at particular risk

03. An 11-year-old receiving therapy that includes corticosteroids and an immunosuppressant has had blood pressures well above her usual range for two days. She now has a severe headache, has told her mother that things look blurred, and has just had a brief generalized seizure. She is afebrile and her counts are normal.
Which interpretation should guide the nurse's report?
a) The combination of hypertension, headache, visual change, and seizure suggests a reversible encephalopathy and needs urgent escalation
b) The seizure most likely reflects an electrolyte disturbance and bloods should be sent before escalating
c) The presentation suggests disease spread to the brain and imaging should be requested routinely
d) The findings indicate a bleed into the brain, and she should be prepared for urgent imaging and possible surgery

04. A mother is being taught how to give her son's oral maintenance agent at home. She tells the nurse she plans to give it with his breakfast cereal and milk each morning so that she does not forget it.
Which instruction is most appropriate?
a) Any time of day is acceptable as long as the dose is given every day without fail
b) Give it with a full meal so that absorption from the stomach is more predictable
c) Give it at a consistent time each day, apart from food and dairy, as the team has directed
d) Giving the dose with milk is helpful, since it reduces the chance of stomach upset

05. A 9-year-old is part-way through a transfusion of red cells when he develops a temperature above his baseline and begins to shiver. He has no back or flank pain, his urine has been clear, and his blood pressure is unchanged.
Which action should the nurse take?
a) Slow the transfusion, give the ordered antipyretic, and inform the team, since fever alone points to a mild febrile reaction
b) Stop the transfusion, maintain intravenous access, and notify the provider, since a febrile and a hemolytic reaction cannot be told apart yet
c) Stop the transfusion and restart the same unit once his temperature returns to baseline
d) Continue and observe closely, since no back pain or dark urine has appeared so far

06. A 6-year-old finishing consolidation therapy is being discharged home with a tunneled central venous catheter and a plan for home infusion nursing visits. The mother works nights, and the grandmother, who speaks limited English, provides overnight care.
Which action should the nurse take before discharge?
a) Provide the grandmother with translated written instructions covering catheter care and emergency contacts
b) Confirm that the grandmother can demonstrate catheter care and emergency steps with interpretation available
c) Ask the mother to adjust her work schedule for the first two weeks after the child returns home
d) Arrange for the home infusion nurse to schedule the first visit during the overnight hours of care

07. A 3-year-old with sickle cell disease is brought to the clinic with a temperature of 39.1°C. He is alert, playing, and has no localizing symptoms. His mother says he seems his usual self apart from the fever.
Which action should the nurse take?
a) Assess for a source of the fever and treat according to what is found
b) Reassure the mother and advise her to return if the child becomes unwell or the fever persists
c) Give an antipyretic and observe him in the clinic before deciding
d) Treat the fever as an emergency and prepare for cultures and prompt antibiotics

08. A 16-year-old receiving immunotherapy calls the clinic. She has had several loose stools a day for the past four days, with some abdominal cramping. She is afebrile, her counts were normal last week, and no one else at home is ill.
Which action should the nurse take?
a) Arrange for a stool specimen to be collected and evaluated for an infectious cause
b) Instruct her to take an over-the-counter antidiarrheal agent and monitor how she responds to it
c) Report the symptoms, since immunotherapy can cause immune-mediated inflammation of the bowel
d) Advise clear fluids and a bland diet, and ask her to call again if the symptoms have not settled in a few days

09. A 14-year-old has returned to the unit after limb-salvage surgery for a bone tumor of the distal femur. The dressing is intact and the surgical drain is in place.
Which assessment is the priority in the first hours after surgery?
a) Neurovascular status of the affected limb distal to the surgical site
b) The adolescent's report of pain and his response to the ordered analgesia
c) The integrity of the surgical dressing and the appearance of the incision edges
d) The volume and character of the surgical drain output

10. A 12-year-old completed radiation to the right chest wall about three months ago. Two days after starting a new chemotherapy cycle, her mother reports a red, tender area on the chest with unusually sharp borders. The nurse notes that its edges correspond to the area that was irradiated. The child is afebrile.
Which interpretation should guide the nurse's report?
a) The area represents tumor recurring in and infiltrating the skin
b) The appearance suggests cellulitis and the child needs urgent antibiotic treatment
c) The finding is a delayed hypersensitivity reaction to an adhesive dressing on the chest
d) The reaction is likely a recall of the earlier radiation effect, triggered by the new chemotherapy

Answers:

For full-length, timed, scenario-based practice aligned with the official exam framework - and to build pacing, consistency, and confidence - explore our Premium ONCC CPHON 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 ONCC Certified Pediatric Hematology Oncology Nurse (CPHON) sample questions, please let us know by emailing us at feedback@medicoexam.com