PTC (AMCA) Practice Questions (2026) — Free Sample Questions with Answers

Answer: A

The Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA): Correct. CLIA, administered by CMS, regulates all US laboratory testing on human specimens, including waived tests, which require a CLIA Certificate of Waiver.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA): OSHA protects worker safety (for example, bloodborne pathogens) but does not certify laboratory testing quality.

The Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI): CLSI publishes voluntary consensus standards, such as order of draw, but it is not a federal regulatory program.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA): HIPAA governs privacy and security of health information, not test quality.

CLIA (run by CMS) = lab testing quality and certification; OSHA = worker safety; HIPAA = privacy; CLSI = voluntary technical standards.

Answer: A

Immediately, before the needle is set down or disposed of: Correct. The safety device is activated right away, typically with one hand, and the entire assembly goes into the sharps container.

After the tubes are labeled and the patient has left: Leaving an exposed needle on the tray while labeling creates a needlestick risk.

Only if the needle is to be recapped and reused later: Needles are never reused, and two-handed recapping is prohibited by OSHA.

When the sharps container is full and ready for removal: The safety feature protects the user at the point of use, not at container disposal.

Activate the safety device immediately after withdrawal, never recap by hand, and dispose of the needle and holder as one unit in a sharps container.

Answer: D

Basilic vein: The basilic vein lies near the brachial artery and median nerve, so it is the last choice in the antecubital area.

Cephalic vein: The cephalic vein is a good second choice but tends to roll and is harder to palpate in many patients.

Dorsal metacarpal vein: Hand veins are used only when the antecubital veins are unsuitable.

Median cubital vein: Correct. The median cubital vein is usually large, stable and away from major nerves and arteries.

Antecubital H-pattern preference: median cubital → cephalic → basilic (last, because of the brachial artery and median nerve).

Answer: A

Draw a discard tube first so the air in the tubing does not underfill the citrate tube: Correct. The tubing holds air that would be pulled into the first tube, underfilling it; a non-additive or citrate discard tube is drawn first to maintain the 9:1 blood-to-citrate ratio.

Draw the citrate tube first, because coagulation tubes are always the first tube in the order: With a winged set, a discard tube must precede the citrate tube when it is the first tube collected.

Draw a lavender EDTA tube first to prime the tubing and then fill the citrate tube: EDTA drawn before citrate would cause additive carryover and invalidate coagulation results.

Tap the tubing to release the trapped air and then draw the citrate tube directly: Tapping does not remove the air volume in the tubing; the citrate tube would still be underfilled.

Winged set + light-blue tube first = draw a discard tube to fill the tubing dead space so the citrate tube fills completely (9:1 ratio).

Answer: D

Serum, lithium heparin, EDTA: Serum is collected last in capillary collection; collecting EDTA late allows platelet clumping and clotting in the hematology sample.

Lithium heparin, serum, EDTA: This follows neither the capillary order nor sound practice; the EDTA tube should be filled first.

EDTA, serum, lithium heparin: Other additive tubes (heparin) are filled before serum containers in capillary collection.

EDTA, lithium heparin, serum: Correct. CLSI capillary order is blood gases, then EDTA, then other additive containers, then serum — EDTA first because platelets begin to clump quickly at a puncture site.

Capillary order differs from venous: blood gas → EDTA → other additives → serum.

Answer: C

Keep it in an ice slurry: Chilling is used for analytes such as ammonia and lactate, not for bilirubin.

Keep it at body temperature: Warming at 37 °C is required for cold agglutinins and cryoglobulins, not bilirubin.

Shield it from light exposure: Correct. Bilirubin breaks down in light, so the specimen is wrapped in foil or collected in an amber container.

Shake it to prevent clotting: Specimens are gently inverted, never shaken, which causes hemolysis.

Light-sensitive: bilirubin, vitamins A, B12, B6, folate and carotene. Chilled: ammonia, lactate, ABGs (per lab). Body temperature: cold agglutinins, cryoglobulins.