The Ten-Minute Drill and the One Card
A ten-minute drill ladder of six rungs left to right, each carrying a block name, a hundred-second marker, and three stacked tick boxes for three dated attempts, with a progress channel running beneath the rungs and the critical-values rung outlined in critical red rather than amber.
THE DRILL · six blocks, one hundred seconds each
| # | Block | Attempt 1 | Attempt 2 | Attempt 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hematology and coagulation | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| 2 | Chemistry and renal | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| 3 | The six electrolytes, by direction | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| 4 | Cardiac markers and drug levels | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| 5 | Critical values, each with its call | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
| 6 | One gas, with its compensation status | ☐ | ☐ | ☐ |
Write from memory, closed book, then check against pages 5 through 9. Block 5 is scored for accuracy, not speed. The other five are scored for both.
THE RECALL CARD · ten values, no more
| Value | Range |
|---|---|
| Potassium | 3.5–5.0 mEq/L |
| Sodium | 135–145 mEq/L |
| Calcium, total | 9.0–10.5 mg/dL |
| Magnesium | 1.3–2.1 mEq/L |
| Platelets | 150,000–400,000/mm³ |
| INR, untreated | 0.8–1.1 |
| pH | 7.35–7.45 |
| PaCO₂ | 35–45 mm Hg |
| HCO₃⁻ | 22–26 mEq/L |
| Anion gap | 8–12 mEq/L |
Plus one sequence: verify, assess, notify, read back, recheck.
SCORE STRIP
| Block | Target | Attempt 1 | Attempt 2 | Attempt 3 | Retry on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 8 of 10 | ||||
| 2 | 8 of 10 | ||||
| 3 | 10 of 12 | ||||
| 4 | 8 of 10 | ||||
| 5 | 10 of 10 | ||||
| 6 | 3 of 3 |
CROSS-LINKS
→ BOOK 05 · P7 drugs · → BOOK 06 · P4 calculation · → BOOK 08 · P4 cardiac · → BOOK 09 · P8 respiratory and shock · → BOOK 10 · P5 renal and endocrine · → BOOK 11 · P7 heme · → BOOK 01 · P31 master cards
Margin noteif you can do this cold, you are done with this book.
Takeawayten values and one escalation sequence carry most of what this exam asks about the laboratory.
Disclaimer. Reference ranges and critical-value thresholds vary between institutions and between reference laboratories, and each laboratory sets its own critical callback list. Every value printed in this book is a study standard for examination preparation, and in practice the nurse follows the ranges posted by the employing facility and its local protocol. These books are examination preparation and are not clinical decision support.