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MEDICAL ASSISTING: ADMINISTRATIVE & CLINICAL COMPETENCIES, 9TH
EDITION (BLESI) EXAM QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS LATEST
EDITION 2026
Medical Assisting: Administrative & Clinical Competencies, 9th Edition (Blesi) —
Representative Questions
Chapter 1: The Medical Assistant, Health Care Team, and Medical Environment
1. Medical assisting is probably right for you if you:
A) Like to work alone, completing tasks independently
B) Are more comfortable completing a consistent task daily
C) Do not like variety in your job
D) Are interested in a career in an expanding field
Answer: D
Rationale: Medical assisting offers career growth and variety. According to the U.S. Department
of Labor, employment of medical assistants is expected to grow 23 percent from 2018 to 2028 .
2. The Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) is a team-based model of care led by:
A) A surgeon
B) A patient
C) A personal provider
D) A health insurance company representative
Answer: C
Rationale: PCMH is a team-based model led by a personal provider who provides continuous
and coordinated care throughout a patient's lifetime .
3. Which category of skills includes those that keep medical assistants practicing within their
scope of practice?
A) Communication
B) Legal and ethical concepts
C) Instruction
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D) Operational functions
Answer: B
Rationale: Legal and ethical concepts define the boundaries of practice and ensure medical
assistants stay within their scope .
4. Which of these is an example of an administrative skill?
A) Performing vital signs
B) Scheduling appointments
C) Collecting blood specimens
D) Administering injections
Answer: B
Rationale: Administrative skills include scheduling appointments, medical record preparation,
coding, and insurance claims. Clinical skills include vital signs, specimen collection, and
injections .
5. The primary purpose of the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) was to:
A) Be the only professional organization for medical assistants
B) Raise the standards of the medical assistant profession
C) Provide professional membership and certification for several allied health occupations
D) Provide pathways to lifelong learning in related health care disciplines
Answer: B
Rationale: The AAMA was established to raise the standards of the medical assistant profession
.
Chapter 2: Professionalism
6. What are the four steps in applying critical thinking skills to a particular problem?
A) Determine the problem, gather facts, list possible decisions, prioritize and test decisions
B) Identify the problem, ignore facts, guess at solutions, accept results
C) Ask a colleague, follow their advice, document the outcome, move on
D) Report to the provider, wait for instructions, implement orders, evaluate
Answer: A
Rationale: Critical thinking involves determining the problem, gathering facts, listing possible
decisions with outcomes, and prioritizing decisions until results are satisfactory .
7. What does it mean to be assertive when communicating in the medical office?
A) Being aggressive to get your point across
B) Clearly stating opinions and feelings while respecting others' rights
C) Avoiding conflict by staying silent
D) Letting others make all the decisions
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Answer: B
Rationale: Assertive communication involves clearly stating opinions and feelings while firmly
advocating for rights without violating the rights of others .
Chapter 3: Legal and Ethical Issues
8. Why is it important for medical assistants to know the role of other health care providers?
A) To perform their jobs when they are absent
B) To direct patients to the right professional and speak intelligently with others
C) To bill insurance correctly
D) To prescribe medications when needed
Answer: B
Rationale: Knowing the roles of other health care professionals enables medical assistants to
direct patients to the right professional and communicate intelligently with others in the
medical field .
9. What is a patient advocate?
A) A legal representative for the patient
B) Someone who promotes and protects the rights of patients
C) A family member who makes decisions
D) The physician's assistant
Answer: B
Rationale: Advocacy is the promotion and protection of patient rights, assisting patients with
matters affecting their health, legal, or financial status .
10. A medical assistant who performs a procedure outside their scope of practice may face:
A) A promotion
B) Loss of certification and legal consequences
C) No consequences
D) Increased pay
Answer: B
Rationale: Performing outside scope of practice is illegal and unethical, and can result in loss of
medical assistant certification .
Chapter 4: Applying Communication Skills
11. Which communication style involves repeating clear, concise instructions to confirm
patient understanding?
A) Aggressive communication
B) Passive communication
C) Reflective (mirror) communication
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D) Assertive communication
Answer: C
Rationale: Reflective (mirrored) communication is helpful for patients requiring special
attention and confirms understanding .
12. When providing patient education, the first step is to:
A) Hand the patient a pamphlet
B) Assess the patient's ability to comprehend instructions
C) Refer the patient to a specialist
D) Provide electronic materials
Answer: B
Rationale: You must first assess the patient's ability to comprehend instructions before
providing education .
Chapter 5: Introduction to Medical Terminology
13. The word part that provides the fundamental meaning of a medical term is the:
A) Prefix
B) Suffix
C) Word root
D) Combining vowel
Answer: C
Rationale: The word root provides the fundamental meaning of the term. Prefixes and suffixes
modify that meaning .
14. The suffix "-itis" means:
A) Surgical removal
B) Inflammation
C) Pain
D) Enlargement
Answer: B
Rationale: "-itis" is a common suffix indicating inflammation (e.g., arthritis, dermatitis).
Chapter 6: Anatomic Descriptors and Fundamental Body Structure
15. The directional term that means "toward the head" is:
A) Caudal
B) Cephalad
C) Lateral
D) Medial
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MEDICAL ASSISTING: ADMINISTRATIVE & CLINICAL COMPETENCIES, 9TH
EDITION (BLESI) EXAM QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS LATEST
EDITION 2026
Medical Assisting: Administrative & Clinical Competencies, 9th Edition (Blesi) —
Representative Questions
Chapter 1: The Medical Assistant, Health Care Team, and Medical Environment
1. Medical assisting is probably right for you if you:
A) Like to work alone, completing tasks independently
B) Are more comfortable completing a consistent task daily
C) Do not like variety in your job
D) Are interested in a career in an expanding field
Answer: D
Rationale: Medical assisting offers career growth and variety. According to the U.S. Department
of Labor, employment of medical assistants is expected to grow 23 percent from 2018 to 2028 .
2. The Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH) is a team-based model of care led by:
A) A surgeon
B) A patient
C) A personal provider
D) A health insurance company representative
Answer: C
Rationale: PCMH is a team-based model led by a personal provider who provides continuous
and coordinated care throughout a patient's lifetime .
3. Which category of skills includes those that keep medical assistants practicing within their
scope of practice?
A) Communication
B) Legal and ethical concepts
C) Instruction
1|Page
,Page 2 of 71
D) Operational functions
Answer: B
Rationale: Legal and ethical concepts define the boundaries of practice and ensure medical
assistants stay within their scope .
4. Which of these is an example of an administrative skill?
A) Performing vital signs
B) Scheduling appointments
C) Collecting blood specimens
D) Administering injections
Answer: B
Rationale: Administrative skills include scheduling appointments, medical record preparation,
coding, and insurance claims. Clinical skills include vital signs, specimen collection, and
injections .
5. The primary purpose of the American Association of Medical Assistants (AAMA) was to:
A) Be the only professional organization for medical assistants
B) Raise the standards of the medical assistant profession
C) Provide professional membership and certification for several allied health occupations
D) Provide pathways to lifelong learning in related health care disciplines
Answer: B
Rationale: The AAMA was established to raise the standards of the medical assistant profession
.
Chapter 2: Professionalism
6. What are the four steps in applying critical thinking skills to a particular problem?
A) Determine the problem, gather facts, list possible decisions, prioritize and test decisions
B) Identify the problem, ignore facts, guess at solutions, accept results
C) Ask a colleague, follow their advice, document the outcome, move on
D) Report to the provider, wait for instructions, implement orders, evaluate
Answer: A
Rationale: Critical thinking involves determining the problem, gathering facts, listing possible
decisions with outcomes, and prioritizing decisions until results are satisfactory .
7. What does it mean to be assertive when communicating in the medical office?
A) Being aggressive to get your point across
B) Clearly stating opinions and feelings while respecting others' rights
C) Avoiding conflict by staying silent
D) Letting others make all the decisions
2|Page
,Page 3 of 71
Answer: B
Rationale: Assertive communication involves clearly stating opinions and feelings while firmly
advocating for rights without violating the rights of others .
Chapter 3: Legal and Ethical Issues
8. Why is it important for medical assistants to know the role of other health care providers?
A) To perform their jobs when they are absent
B) To direct patients to the right professional and speak intelligently with others
C) To bill insurance correctly
D) To prescribe medications when needed
Answer: B
Rationale: Knowing the roles of other health care professionals enables medical assistants to
direct patients to the right professional and communicate intelligently with others in the
medical field .
9. What is a patient advocate?
A) A legal representative for the patient
B) Someone who promotes and protects the rights of patients
C) A family member who makes decisions
D) The physician's assistant
Answer: B
Rationale: Advocacy is the promotion and protection of patient rights, assisting patients with
matters affecting their health, legal, or financial status .
10. A medical assistant who performs a procedure outside their scope of practice may face:
A) A promotion
B) Loss of certification and legal consequences
C) No consequences
D) Increased pay
Answer: B
Rationale: Performing outside scope of practice is illegal and unethical, and can result in loss of
medical assistant certification .
Chapter 4: Applying Communication Skills
11. Which communication style involves repeating clear, concise instructions to confirm
patient understanding?
A) Aggressive communication
B) Passive communication
C) Reflective (mirror) communication
3|Page
, Page 4 of 71
D) Assertive communication
Answer: C
Rationale: Reflective (mirrored) communication is helpful for patients requiring special
attention and confirms understanding .
12. When providing patient education, the first step is to:
A) Hand the patient a pamphlet
B) Assess the patient's ability to comprehend instructions
C) Refer the patient to a specialist
D) Provide electronic materials
Answer: B
Rationale: You must first assess the patient's ability to comprehend instructions before
providing education .
Chapter 5: Introduction to Medical Terminology
13. The word part that provides the fundamental meaning of a medical term is the:
A) Prefix
B) Suffix
C) Word root
D) Combining vowel
Answer: C
Rationale: The word root provides the fundamental meaning of the term. Prefixes and suffixes
modify that meaning .
14. The suffix "-itis" means:
A) Surgical removal
B) Inflammation
C) Pain
D) Enlargement
Answer: B
Rationale: "-itis" is a common suffix indicating inflammation (e.g., arthritis, dermatitis).
Chapter 6: Anatomic Descriptors and Fundamental Body Structure
15. The directional term that means "toward the head" is:
A) Caudal
B) Cephalad
C) Lateral
D) Medial
4|Page
