Complete Blood Count (CBC) Practice Question 1 (Nursing)

00:01 Hi. Welcome to our video series on interpreting lab values.

00:05 Now, this is going to be really fun. I want to go through some practice questions with you for CBC.

00:10 Now this is where you're going to see both what you learned about CBC, and how you can change your test-taking strategies to raise your test scores.

00:19 Ready? Okay, let's look at question 1. Now, this is just a warm up question, right? So, "Which of the following cells represent the largest number of cells in the blood and are responsible for oxygen transport to the tissues?" Okay, so pause right there.

00:34 Stop looking at the answer choices.

00:37 That's the first thing you can do for yourself to raise your test scores.

00:40 Let's look at the stem of the question.

00:42 Those are the words before the answer choices.

00:45 Okay, so, "Which one of the following cells represents the largest number of cells--" That's the first criteria, " -- and are responsible for oxygen transport to the tissues?" So, I'm going to take that question and put it in my own words.

01:00 So I'm looking for the largest number of cells in the blood and the ones that carry oxygen to the tissues.

01:07 Now let's look at our answer choices.

01:09 Okay, red blood cells. Okay, I know they carry oxygen, so I'm going to leave that one in.

01:16 Let's look at the next option, neutrophils.

01:19 That's a white blood cell. White blood cells don't carry oxygen, so I'm going to eliminate that one.

01:25 Now, you see what I'm doing? I recommend that you take a piece of scratch paper.

01:30 I'll wait. Go ahead and get one.

01:33 Okay, scratch paper and something you like to write with.

01:36 Write down A, B, C, D, on your scratch paper.

01:41 Now, as we go through this, this is the number 1 strategy that I've seen change people's test scores.

01:48 Because we're going to teach your brain to focus on the stem of the question and to force yourself to eliminate answers and say why.

01:56 So write down A, B, C, and D.

02:01 Now we can already cross through B because we eliminated neutrophils, but remember I said "Why?" So I got rid of neutrophils because I know that's a white blood cell, and it doesn't carry oxygen. Now looking at option C, well that just says "White blood cell." I know that white blood cells help us fight infection and stuff, so I'm going to eliminate number C. So you cross through number C on your paper.

02:27 Now keep in mind, this is a warm up question.

02:30 This is a simple one. It's not like a high level, NCLEX level question, because I just want you to get the idea of the habits that if you start and keep working on, it really will help you raise your test scores.

02:41 Last option, D, platelets.

02:44 Okay, I know platelets are involved in clotting. They don't carry oxygen, so I can cross off D.

02:50 So the answer I'm left with is red blood cells.

02:53 Now, I thought that was the right answer at the beginning, but I did the work of walking through every 1 of the other answers, eliminating them, and making myself say why I'm eliminating them.

03:06 This will help you with making sure you've clarified the question and getting the correct answer.

03:12 I can't tell you how many times I have met with students and talked with them after exams, and when I asked them the question, and I asked them why they picked their answer, they say, "I have no idea why I picked that answer." Because really, it didn't even make sense to them afterwards.

03:31 The reason that happens is because we often rush through the question too quickly, because everyone wants test to be done with.

03:38 Nobody likes taking a test. But if you'll slow down in the stem of the question, make sure you're very clear on what it's asking you, and then force yourself to think through every answer, even when you think you know the right answer without eliminating the other ones, will help you catch errors that you're probably missing.

03:56 So you're going to gain points on your very next exam if you'll just do this 1 simple step.