10 exam-style questions with answers and explanations, straight from our 1,030-question bank. Tap an answer to check yourself. When you're ready, take the scored version in the free practice test.
The CHUC exam has 120 questions and runs 2 hours 30 minutes.
These 10 free CHUC questions are organized by exam domain, so you can see how each part of the Certified Health Unit Coordinator blueprint is tested. Reveal the answer and explanation under each question.
At 08:10, a health unit coordinator finds two new signed orders for the same verified patient: "STAT portable chest radiograph" and "MS 2 mg IV now." Hospital policy requires clarification of abbreviated drug names before medication orders are transmitted. The assigned nurse is available. How should these orders be processed?
Correct answer: C - Route the STAT radiograph and ask the nurse to obtain clarification of the medication order.
An adult medical patient has an order for a bedside swallowing evaluation before the diet is advanced. The health unit coordinator needs to route the consult to the service responsible for evaluating swallowing function. The appropriate destination is:
Correct answer: D - Speech-language pathology
The laboratory telephones a result designated critical. Under hospital policy, the health unit coordinator accepts the call, reads back the patient identifiers and result, and obtains confirmation. The assigned nurse is off the unit; the designated covering nurse is at the desk. The result has also appeared in the electronic health record. Which action completes the immediate notification?
Correct answer: A - Relay the result directly to the covering nurse, confirm accurate receipt, and document the notification.
An accepting rehabilitation facility requests a patient's discharge summary and current medication list to continue treatment. The health unit coordinator has verified the patient, the requesting clinician, and the secure destination. The hospital authorizes the coordinator to transmit these records; no special legal or patient-directed restriction applies. A separate signed release-of-information form is not in the chart. What is the appropriate disposition of the request?
Correct answer: B - Send the requested records through the hospital's approved secure treatment-disclosure process.
A medical unit starts the shift with 21 patients. By the 19:00 census cutoff, three new admissions have arrived, one patient has left for home, and one has transferred to the intensive care unit in the same hospital. Another patient is temporarily in radiology, and a different patient has a discharge order but is still waiting on the unit for a ride. What patient count belongs in the medical unit's 19:00 census?
Correct answer: A - 22 patients
A patient on Airborne Precautions for suspected pulmonary tuberculosis needs a medically necessary CT examination that cannot be performed at the bedside. Nursing has confirmed readiness, radiology has arranged the required precautions, and the patient can tolerate a mask. While coordinating transport, the health unit coordinator should arrange to:
Correct answer: D - Provide a medical mask for the patient to wear during transport.
Today's signed admission consent is missing from a patient's current electronic encounter. A search finds the scanned image in the consents section of the same patient's admission from last year. The name, date of birth, and medical record number all match, and the image is complete and legible. Which error accounts for the missing document in the current admission?
Correct answer: C - The document was indexed to the wrong encounter.
"You said someone would update us, but we are still waiting," a visitor tells the health unit coordinator. The nurse is with another patient, and no reliable time for an update is available. The visitor is upset but makes no threat and reports no new clinical concern. Which reply offers a useful commitment without promising what the coordinator cannot control?
Correct answer: B - "I will check with the nurse and come back in ten minutes, even if I do not have an answer yet."
Mr. Lewis, an older adult with established expressive aphasia after a stroke, understands short questions and reliably points to written choices. He struggles to produce spoken answers. The health unit coordinator needs to confirm which of two listed contacts he wants notified about his transfer. His daughter is present. Select the approach that preserves his participation.
Correct answer: C - Show him both names, ask him to indicate his choice, and allow response time.
A health unit coordinator joins a small Plan-Do-Study-Act test of a transfer-packet checklist. The team predicts fewer missing documents without delaying departure. Its review finds fewer omissions but longer waits because staff must obtain the same verification twice. The team has identified where the duplication occurs. Which recommendation best addresses both findings?
Correct answer: D - Revise the duplicate verification step, then retest document completeness and departure time on a small scale.
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