Free practice test · no sign-up
AANPCB PMHNP-CFree Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner – Certified practice test
10 real AANPCB PMHNP-C practice questions with instant answers and explanations — no account, no credit card, no email. Score yourself, then unlock the full bank of 1,200questions whenever you’re ready. The AANPCB PMHNP-C passing score is 500 / 800 (scaled, AANPCB standard).
A 15-year-old girl with a known history of ADHD arrives at the clinic exhibiting unusual behavior, disorientation, elevated blood pressure of 133/90, and a heart rate of 72. Her parents report observing her repeatedly touching her abdomen and rapidly blinking her eyes over the past few weeks. During the visit, she appears confused and struggles to answer questions. Which condition most likely explains this presentation?
Answer key
All 10 AANPCB PMHNP-C questions & answers
Prefer to just read the answers and explanations? Here’s the full key for this free AANPCB PMHNP-C test.
Q1. A 15-year-old girl with a known history of ADHD arrives at the clinic exhibiting unusual behavior, disorientation, elevated blood pressure of 133/90, and a heart rate of 72. Her parents report observing her repeatedly touching her abdomen and rapidly blinking her eyes over the past few weeks. During the visit, she appears confused and struggles to answer questions. Which condition most likely explains this presentation?
Correct answer: C. Epilepsy
This patient's presentation is consistent with complex partial seizures, which typically feature sensory auras and automatisms. Before a seizure, the patient may report an unusual smell or taste. During the event, automatisms such as lip smacking, eye blinking, or repetitive touching can occur, accompanied by impaired consciousness. Hypoglycemia does not explain this constellation of findings, and neither OCD nor major depressive disorder would produce the observed alteration in consciousness.
Q2. A 16-year-old male with ASD is brought to the emergency department by residential care staff. He has a documented history of severe head trauma affecting the anterior frontal lobe from self-injurious behavior. He appears uninhibited and euphoric, demonstrates hypersexual behavior, and has prominent food-seeking drives particularly for carbohydrates. He is non-verbal and has become highly distractible with impaired object recognition. Which rare syndrome should be ruled out based on this history and presentation?
Correct answer: C. Kluver-Bucy syndrome
Kluver-Bucy syndrome is a rare behavioral condition resulting from bilateral damage to the anterior temporal lobes, often due to head trauma or encephalitis. Its hallmark features include hypersexuality, hyperorality, distractibility, visual agnosia, and potentially seizures. Pick's disease is an uncommon dementia marked by personality shifts and language difficulties. Huntington's disease is a progressive neurological disorder. Concussions are not considered a rare condition.
Q3. A 19-year-old woman visits your office at her parents' insistence, reporting pressure to maintain a perfect GPA in college. On examination, she is markedly thin, expresses pride in her low body weight, exercises approximately three hours daily, and wants to lose additional weight. She has not had a menstrual period in eight months. Which assessment would be most useful in establishing a diagnosis?
Correct answer: C. Height and weight
This patient's history and presentation are consistent with anorexia nervosa. Measuring height and weight to calculate BMI is essential for determining disease severity. Anorexia nervosa severity is classified based on BMI: Mild: BMI ≥ 17 Moderate: BMI 16–16.99 Severe: BMI 15–15.99 Extreme: BMI < 15
Q4. A 21-year-old athletic woman presents to her primary care provider with secondary amenorrhea. She is thin with noticeably poor dental hygiene and enamel erosion. Her weight is slightly below average but within the normal range. She describes having an unusual preoccupation with her body weight, occasionally engaging in heavy exercise following large meals. What laboratory result would you most likely expect in this patient?
Correct answer: D. Normal thyroid function
This patient's presentation is characteristic of a binge-purge eating disorder such as bulimia nervosa. Bulimia typically does not disrupt thyroid function, so normal thyroid levels would be expected. Other laboratory findings commonly associated with bulimia include: Hypokalemia Hypochloremia Elevated serum amylase Hypomagnesemia
Q5. A 21-year-old woman with no prior psychiatric history is brought in by her parents due to several weeks of not sleeping, not eating, and constant rapid speech. She says she has never felt this energized and is creating ten paintings per day. She denies any substance use. Before initiating treatment, what minimum set of laboratory tests should be ordered?
Correct answer: C. Serum creatinine, BUN and electrolytes, thyroid studies, and urinalysis
This patient is displaying a classic manic episode, which may be treated with lithium carbonate. Prior to initiating lithium, the minimum required baseline labs include serum creatinine, BUN and electrolytes, thyroid studies, and urinalysis. Since approximately 95% of lithium is renally excreted, kidney function must be evaluated via electrolytes, creatinine, BUN, and urinalysis. Because lithium impairs thyroid hormone synthesis, thyroid studies are also mandatory. A CBC is optional. Serum ammonia and coagulation studies are not required.
Q6. A 21-year-old man with no psychiatric history is brought to the emergency department by his girlfriend. For the past six weeks, he has been speaking to invisible individuals and claiming federal agents are surveilling him. Vital signs and neurological exam are unremarkable. What should be the first diagnostic test ordered?
Correct answer: A. Urine drug screen
Because this patient has no psychiatric history and symptoms of only six weeks' duration, substance-induced psychosis must be excluded before assigning a psychiatric diagnosis. A urine drug screen is the appropriate first step. Brain imaging may be warranted later in the workup but is not the initial priority.
Q7. A 22-year-old college student was evaluated in the emergency room for new-onset visual and auditory hallucinations. Friends acknowledged they had been at a party together over the weekend, noting the hallucinations began acutely. The patient had no psychiatric history. His parents arrived and his mother mentioned that her grandmother had once experienced a psychotic break. Which element of this patient's history most strongly suggests his psychosis may be reversible?
Correct answer: A. Substance-induced psychosis
Psychosis related to substance use frequently resolves once the substance is cleared from the system. Given the temporal relationship between the party and symptom onset, substance-induced psychosis is the most plausible explanation for a reversible course. A family history of schizophrenia, type 1 diabetes, or acute symptom onset alone do not predict reversibility.
Q8. A 24-year-old woman attempted suicide by ingesting the MAOI phenelzine and was stabilized in the hospital. Ten days later, she was started on venlafaxine. She then developed tachycardia, diaphoresis, and myoclonic jerks. Which condition does this represent?
Correct answer: A. Serotonin syndrome
This patient is exhibiting signs of mild serotonin syndrome. Mild presentations include tachycardia, flushing, fever, hypertension, ocular oscillations, and myoclonic jerks. Severe cases can progress to hyperthermia, coma, convulsions, autonomic instability, and death. Following MAOI use, a washout period of at least 14 days is required before introducing another serotonergic medication such as venlafaxine. Neuroleptic malignant syndrome is an antipsychotic-related complication. Akathisia and opisthotonos are extrapyramidal effects of antipsychotic agents.
Q9. A 24-year-old woman reports recurrent episodes of sudden, overwhelming terror with no identifiable trigger. Each episode involves intense anxiety, heart palpitations, and shortness of breath, lasting 5 to 10 minutes, with approximately 15 episodes over the past six months. She constantly fears the next episode. Which medical condition should be included in the differential diagnosis?
Correct answer: D. Pheochromocytoma
Pheochromocytoma is an important medical mimic of panic disorder, producing symptoms such as flushing, trembling, and tachycardia. Other conditions that may resemble panic disorder include: Hyperthyroidism Hyperparathyroidism Cardiac arrhythmias Hypertension, folate deficiency, and hypothyroidism are not typically associated with panic-like episodes.
Q10. A 26-month-old girl is brought in for evaluation of deficits in social interaction, communication, and behavior. Her prenatal and perinatal history were unremarkable, and she developed normally until approximately 5 months of age. At that point, her parents noticed progressive loss of previously acquired hand motor skills and increasing clumsiness. Language and social engagement also deteriorated. Which diagnosis does the PMHNP most likely suspect?
Correct answer: D. Rett syndrome
Rett syndrome, which predominantly affects girls, is characterized by a period of normal early development followed by progressive deterioration beginning around 5 months of age. A hallmark feature is the loss of purposeful hand motor skills, along with clumsiness. Intellectual disability often co-occurs with Rett syndrome but does not capture the regression pattern. ASD primarily involves social and communication deficits. Childhood disintegrative disorder typically manifests later, around ages 3–5.
Exam facts and objectives sourced from the official AANP Certification Board certification page. Last reviewed June 2026.
Ready for the full AANPCB PMHNP-C bank? Start free.
1,200 questions, timed mock exams, and missed-question review — 30 free questions, no card.
Start free trial