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 APHN-BC exam has 250 questions and runs 4 hours.
These 10 free APHN-BC questions are organized by exam domain, so you can see how each part of the Advanced Practice Holistic Nurse Board Certified blueprint is tested. Reveal the answer and explanation under each question.
Domain 1: Holistic Philosophy, Theories, and Ethics 12% of exam
Question 1
Rather than organizing an encounter around a list of deficits, a nurse invites a patient with progressive neurologic disease to describe significant relationships and turning points. Together they recognize a recurring pattern of withdrawing from others whenever independence is threatened. The patient begins to see new possibilities for connection even though the disease is progressing. This encounter most directly exemplifies:
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Correct answer: A - Newman's theory of health as expanding consciousness.
Domain 2: Holistic Nurse Self-Reflection, Self-Development, and Self-Care 3% of exam
Question 2
After caring for a recently widowed patient, a nurse notices an urge to offer personal, after-hours availability. The patient's story closely resembles the nurse's own bereavement. Care remains safe, but the nurse is spending increasing time thinking about this patient between visits. What is the most constructive use of this self-awareness?
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Correct answer: C - Explore the reaction in supervision and maintain the agreed professional contact boundaries.
Domain 3: Holistic Caring Process 43% of exam
Question 3
A 54-year-old with primary hypothyroidism has taken the same levothyroxine dose for several years. Over the past two months, fatigue has returned and TSH has increased from 2.1 to 7.8 mIU/L (reference range 0.4-4.0). The patient reports no missed doses and recently began taking calcium carbonate with the morning levothyroxine. The first adjustment to the plan should be to:
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Correct answer: B - Separate calcium by at least four hours and reassess before increasing levothyroxine.
Question 4
A patient taking sertraline, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, added St. John's wort several days ago. At an urgent visit, the patient is agitated and sweating, reports diarrhea, and has a temperature of 38.6°C and pulse of 118/min. Examination reveals hyperreflexia and inducible ankle clonus. Which assessment and disposition fit these findings?
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Correct answer: C - Serotonin toxicity; withhold serotonergic agents and arrange emergency assessment.
Question 5
Eight weeks into a plan combining graded activity and relaxation for chronic back pain, a patient's PEG mean score has decreased from 7.0 to 4.0. The PEG averages pain intensity and interference with enjoyment of life and general activity; higher scores indicate greater burden. Average pain intensity remains 6/10, but the patient has reached the goal of gardening for 20 minutes and reports no adverse effects or new symptoms. Which interpretation should guide follow-up?
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Correct answer: D - Recognize reduced interference with life and continue the agreed plan while monitoring function and safety.
Question 6
New hypertension and muscle weakness accompany a potassium concentration of 2.9 mmol/L (reference range 3.5-5.0). The patient denies vomiting, diarrhea, and diuretic use. Which product in the daily supplement history most specifically accounts for this combination?
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Correct answer: A - Licorice-root tea containing glycyrrhizin.
Domain 4: Holistic Communication, Therapeutic Relationships, Healing Environments, and Cultural Care 25% of exam
Question 7
During tobacco counseling, a patient says, 'I miss being able to hike with my daughter. But smoking breaks are the only time I connect with coworkers, and I am not ready to set a quit date.' The nurse wants to acknowledge the ambivalence without moving prematurely into an action plan. Which reply serves that purpose?
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Correct answer: B - 'Those breaks give you connection, and you also want smoking to stop limiting time with your daughter.'
Question 8
Before a relaxation session, a veteran explains that closing the eyes and focusing on internal sensations has previously brought on distressing memories. The veteran is comfortable and oriented now, wants to participate, and asks whether there is another way to practice. How can the nurse preserve both safety and the patient's agency?
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Correct answer: A - Offer an eyes-open, externally focused practice with permission to pause or stop.
Question 9
Before an oncology consultation, an adult patient's son asks the team to discuss prognosis with him but not with his mother. He says this would protect her hope. The patient has decision-making capacity, and no one has yet asked how she wishes to receive information or involve her family. What should the nurse establish with the patient before acting on the son's request?
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Correct answer: B - How she wants health information shared and whom she wants involved in decisions.
Domain 5: Holistic Education and Research 17% of exam
Question 10
A community clinic is appraising a 12-month randomized trial of a balance program added to usual care. All participants completed follow-up. In the program group, 16 of 160 participants fell at least once, with 24 falls in total. In the usual-care group, 40 of 200 participants fell at least once, with 60 falls in total. Using the risk of a person having at least one fall, what does the point estimate of the number needed to treat mean?
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Correct answer: D - About 10 people need the program for 12 months to prevent one additional person from falling, on average.
That's 10 of 1,030
The full bank has 1,020 more APHN-BC questions with explanations.