Free CCN Practice Questions

Question 1

An officer finds a 29-year-old man unresponsive in his cell, activates emergency medical services, and gives intranasal naloxone. On arrival, the nurse finds a definite carotid pulse of 64/min and shallow respirations at 4/min. The area is secure, and a bag-mask device with oxygen is available. What must the nurse do without waiting for the naloxone response?

Accepted Answer

Assist ventilation with the bag-mask device at one breath every 6 seconds.

Answer

Begin chest compressions and apply the automated external defibrillator.

Answer

Position him on his side with supplemental oxygen until the naloxone takes effect.

Answer

Check capillary glucose before deciding whether respiratory support other than oxygen is needed.

Question 2

At a jail subject to HIPAA, a transport officer requests the complete health record of a patient with epilepsy who is going to an outside appointment. The officer says the information is needed to keep the trip safe. The patient has no other condition affecting transport, and no stricter disclosure rule applies. Which disclosure is appropriate without obtaining a signed patient authorization?

Accepted Answer

Share only the seizure precautions and medication timing needed for safe transport.

Answer

Send the full record because the officer has lawful custody.

Answer

Withhold the seizure-response instructions until the patient signs an authorization to release them.

Answer

Provide the diagnosis but withhold medication timing because the officer is not a clinician.

Question 3

A prison resident who uses a wheelchair has three missed wound-care visits recorded as “refused.” During rounds, the patient says, “I asked to go, but nobody could get me down the stairs.” The nurse confirms that the clinic route was inaccessible and no alternative escort was arranged. Which response addresses both the record and the missed care?

Accepted Answer

Add a dated clarification of the access barrier and arrange an accessible wound-care visit.

Answer

Document nonadherence and repeat the instructions for requesting sick call.

Answer

Retain the refusal classification until custody formally corrects the information in its housing log.

Answer

Delete the original refusal entries and reschedule the patient through the usual appointment system.

Question 4

Eighteen hours after his last drink, a 41-year-old man in a jail medical unit has tremor, sweating, anxiety, and a CIWA-Ar score of 13. He is fully oriented, drinks fluids, and has no hallucinations, significant comorbidity, or history of complicated withdrawal. His pulse is 102/min and blood pressure is 142/86 mmHg. The unit has round-the-clock nursing, prescriber coverage, and an authorized withdrawal-treatment protocol. Which plan matches his current findings and the available resources?

Accepted Answer

Give the ordered benzodiazepine, provide supportive care, and reassess both withdrawal and sedation.

Answer

Transfer him to the emergency department solely because the CIWA-Ar score exceeds 10.

Answer

Provide fluids and observation, reserving medication for a CIWA-Ar score in the severe range.

Answer

Use clonidine alone to control tremor and tachycardia without a benzodiazepine.

Question 5

A jail medication audit finds that 8 of 2,000 administered doses had an administration error in January, compared with 6 of 1,200 in February. Both audits use the same definitions and exclude refusals and intercepted near misses. A colleague concludes that February was safer because fewer doses had errors. Which interpretation should the nurse bring to the review?

Accepted Answer

The rate rose from 4 to 5 per 1,000 administrations; fewer errors do not establish safer care.

Answer

The rate fell from 4 to 3 per 1,000 administrations, supporting improved medication safety in February.

Answer

The error rate fell by 25%, so the lower number of affected doses demonstrates improvement in February.

Answer

The rate rose from 0.4 to 0.5 per 1,000 administrations; the change warrants continued review of the process.

Question 6

At the end of a prison wound clinic, two nurses repeat the instrument inventory and confirm that one pair of pointed scissors is missing. All patients have returned to housing. There is no evidence identifying who last handled the scissors. The nurse is responsible for the clinic’s instruments but does not direct custody operations. What response is required now?

Accepted Answer

Secure the other instruments and immediately notify custody and the nursing supervisor.

Answer

Order a facility-wide lockdown and direct searches of all clinic attendees.

Answer

Reconcile the issue and disposal records before involving security in the confirmed discrepancy.

Answer

Record the reduced instrument count and report the discrepancy during the next shift handoff.

Question 7

A juvenile detention facility uses the NIMH Ask Suicide-Screening Questions (ASQ). At intake, a 16-year-old reports wishing to be dead during the past few weeks but denies thoughts of killing himself during the past week or right now. He has never attempted suicide, and no additional immediate safety concern is identified. This screening result calls for which follow-up?

Accepted Answer

Arrange a brief suicide safety assessment to guide further evaluation and observation.

Answer

Document a negative screen because current suicidal thoughts are absent.

Answer

Begin one-to-one observation and arrange hospital transfer for an acute-risk screening result.

Answer

Repeat screening with the PHQ-9 before deciding whether further assessment is needed.

Question 8

A patient who is 22 weeks pregnant enters jail while receiving methadone for opioid use disorder. Her treatment program verifies the dose and confirms that yesterday’s scheduled dose was the last one administered. She is alert, has a respiratory rate of 16/min, and shows no intoxication. The jail prescriber authorizes continuation of the verified regimen. A colleague suggests withholding it until tomorrow’s prenatal appointment. Which plan is supported by current correctional-health guidance?

Accepted Answer

Continue the verified methadone regimen and coordinate the patient’s ongoing prenatal care.

Answer

Begin a supervised methadone taper to reduce neonatal opioid withdrawal.

Answer

Withhold methadone until the patient develops objective signs of opioid withdrawal.

Answer

Switch directly to buprenorphine to reduce fetal exposure to a full opioid agonist.

Question 9

Several prescribed evening medication doses have been late because medication rounds overlap with the institutional count. There is no current emergency. At a joint nursing-custody meeting, a staff nurse needs to address the conflict without assuming authority to change medication orders or security procedures. Which statement best moves the teams toward a workable solution?

Accepted Answer

“Four doses were late during count last week. Could we agree on a medication-access window that preserves ordered timing and count security?”

Answer

“Health care takes priority over routine counts, so nursing should bring patients to the clinic whenever their medications are due.”

Answer

“Please file a security incident report for each future delay so nursing can distinguish custody delays from nursing medication errors.”

Answer

“Both teams are short-staffed, so nursing will move the evening doses until after count and assess whether the new timing causes problems.”

Question 10

A 36-year-old jail resident with HIV has a tuberculin skin test read 60 hours after placement. The nurse measures 8 mm of induration and 16 mm of erythema. The patient received BCG vaccine in childhood and currently reports no cough, fever, night sweats, or weight loss. How should the result be classified and followed up?

Accepted Answer

Positive infection test; arrange medical evaluation to determine whether TB disease is present.

Answer

Negative; an 8 mm result is below the threshold used for correctional-facility residents.

Answer

Active pulmonary TB; a positive skin test establishes contagious disease and warrants airborne isolation.

Answer

Negative; childhood BCG vaccination makes 8 mm of induration clinically insignificant.

Free CCN Practice Questions

Domain 1: Optimal Human Nutrition

Question 1

Domain 2: Cognition & Sensory Overload

Question 2

Domain 3: Detoxification, Herbology and Homeopathic Therapy

Question 3

Domain 4: Laboratory Assessment

Question 4

Question 5

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