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 NPTAE exam has 180 questions and runs 4 hours.
These 10 free NPTAE questions are organized by exam domain, so you can see how each part of the National Physical Therapist Assistant Examination (NPTAE) blueprint is tested. Reveal the answer and explanation under each question.
A patient in outpatient cardiac rehabilitation takes metoprolol daily. During treadmill walking the patient's heart rate stays at 88 bpm even as the PTA increases the speed and grade. Which method of monitoring exercise intensity is MOST appropriate for this patient?
Correct answer: C - Rating of perceived exertion
A PTA is teaching pursed-lip breathing to a patient with COPD who becomes short of breath during household ambulation. Which instruction is correct?
Correct answer: D - Breathe in through the nose and let the air out gently through pursed lips
A 60-year-old patient has a resting heart rate of 70 bpm. Using the Karvonen formula with an age-predicted maximal heart rate, the target heart rate at 60% of heart rate reserve is closest to:
Correct answer: C - 124 bpm
A PTA tests a patient's quadriceps femoris with the patient in short sitting. The patient completes the full available range of knee extension against gravity but cannot hold the position when the PTA applies even minimal resistance. The PTA should document this strength as:
Correct answer: B - 3/5
A patient is two weeks status post total hip arthroplasty performed through a direct anterior approach. Which combination of movements should the PTA instruct the patient to avoid?
Correct answer: C - Hip extension with external rotation and adduction
During a wheelchair mobility session, a patient with a complete T4 spinal cord injury reports a sudden pounding headache. The PTA observes profuse sweating and flushing of the face and neck, and blood pressure is 188/106 mm Hg compared with a baseline of 96/60 mm Hg. Which action should the PTA take FIRST?
Correct answer: B - Bring the patient to an upright sitting position and check for a kinked urinary catheter
A patient who sustained a right middle cerebral artery infarct is beginning gait training. The patient repeatedly stands and attempts to walk away without the walker, stating that no help is needed. This behavior is MOST consistent with:
Correct answer: D - Impaired safety awareness common after right hemisphere injury
A PTA is treating a patient in a skilled nursing facility who has a wound on the posterior heel covered by dry, hard, intact black eschar. The surrounding tissue shows no erythema, warmth, drainage, or fluctuance. Which action is MOST appropriate?
Correct answer: A - Leave the eschar intact, offload the heel, and monitor the wound for signs of infection
A patient who has used axillary crutches for three weeks reports tingling in the hand and new difficulty extending the wrist. Which action by the PTA is MOST appropriate?
Correct answer: D - Instruct the patient to bear weight through the handgrips and reassess crutch height
A PTA is preparing iontophoresis to deliver dexamethasone, a negatively charged medication, for a patient with lateral elbow tendinopathy. The medication should be placed under which electrode?
Correct answer: A - The cathode, because like charges repel the medication into the tissue
The NPTAE exam also covers these domains. Drill them in the full free practice test:
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