Test Writing Tune Up

1. Test Writing Tune Up How to turn ho-hum questions into high-octane performers

2. Test Writing Tune Up Question #1: OK 1. Patient age is an example of: A.     demographic data. B.     Payer information C.     Epidemiological data D. Aggregate data

3. Test Writing Tune Up Question #1: Better Which of the items listed below is an example of demographic data? A. Age B. Diagnosis C. Treatment D. Insurance

4. Test Writing Tune Up Question #1: High Performance Which of the following items contains demographic data? A. The patient is a 49 year old male admitted with cancer of the lung, stage II. B. The patient was treated with surgery and radiation therapy. C. The patient’s insurance is Blue Cross/Blue Shield. D. The patient was discharged after 5 days to continue treatment as an outpatient.

5. Test Writing Tune Up Question #2: OK Objective symptoms of an illness are also called: A. Diseases B. Signs C. Impressions D. Diagnoses

6. Test Writing Tune Up Question #2: Better Abdominal pain is an example of: A. An objective symptom B. A subjective symptom C. A syndrome D. A sign

7. Test Writing Tune Up Question #2: High Performance The patient was admitted with the complaints of headache, chest pain, and fever. The patient took aspirin which did not relieve the pain, however, after taking the aspirin he experienced nausea, and had one episode of vomiting, after which he said he felt somewhat dizzy and had blurring of vision. No loss of consciousness. The patient stated he has been under a lot of stress recently. What are the patient’s objective symptoms? A. Headache and chest pain B. Stress and nausea C. Fever and vomiting 4. Dizziness and blurred vision

8. Test Writing Tune Up Avoid these potholes! • The correct answer is much longer than the distractors. Which of the following could be called reference data? A. ICD-9-CM codes B. Laboratory results for an individual patient C. An American Hospital Formulary Service drug listing used in a hospital pharmacy D. Birth and death certificates

9. Test Writing Tune Up Avoid these potholes! • The stem of the question is ambiguous, such that more than one choice could be correct. Which of the following represents documentation of the patient’s current and past health status? A. Physical Exam B. Medical History C. Physician Orders D.Face Sheet

10. Test Writing Tune Up Avoid these potholes! • A catch-all response, with more than one correct distractor. The first step in planning an in-service should be to: A. Identify the audience and then select the topic B. Select a topic and then identify the appropriate audience C. Design a program to respond to an organizational change D. Any of the above, depending on the specific circumstances

11. Test Writing Tune Up Avoid these potholes! • Grammatical constructions in the stem that favor a specific response. Redness, swelling, pain and heat are signs of an: A. Infection B. Tumor C. Seizure disorder D. Keratoma

12. Test Writing Tune Up Take these questions to the shop Turn these knowledge-recall question into an application or analysis-level question. When a patient develops symptoms as the result of the interaction of two prescribed drugs this is called: A. An accident B. An adverse effect C. A late effect D. Poisoning

13. Test Writing Tune Up A condition that is passed from parent to child through genetic inheritance is most correctly called: A. A congenital disease B. A hereditary disease C. A familiar disease D. A blood disease

14. Test Writing Tune Up When a patient is admitted to the hospital for an acute condition, and also has a previously-existing chronic condition, this is called: A. A complication B. A co-syndrome C. A codiagnosis D. A comorbidity

15. Test Writing Tune Up For questions, comments or feedback please contact: Pat Hertel, MA, RHIT Education Specialist pat.hertel@ahima.org