Administrative and Personnel Practice Questions for the CST
Administrative and Personnel is 7 of the 150 scored questions. It covers professional duties beyond the scrub role: preference cards and cost, disaster plans and safety hazards, electrical safety, legal and ethical practice, communication and teamwork.
175 questions across every content area in 4 hours, with a score for administrative and personnel and your total against the 98-of-150 passing score.
Free administrative and personnel drill- 31 original administrative and personnel questions, each explained
- 7 of 150 scored questions on the real exam (outline II.A)
- Ancillary Duties content area (15% of the exam)
A surgical technologist has a disagreement with a coworker about how instruments are set up. What is the best first step?
What our administrative and personnel questions cover
- Creating and revising preference cards; cost containment
- Hospital and national disaster plans
- Safety and environmental hazards: fire, chemical spills, lasers, surgical smoke and radiation
- Basic principles of electricity and electrical safety
- Legal and ethical practice, communication, cultural diversity, and death and dying
- Precepting students, mentoring new staff and helping other rooms
This list is our own summary of the outline tasks, written for practice. NBSTSA publishes the full task list in the CST Examination Content Outline.
Drill administrative and personnel, then sit the full exam
175 questions across every content area in 4 hours, with a score for administrative and personnel and your total against the 98-of-150 passing score.
Free administrative and personnel drillIdeas the questions test most
- Radiation exposure falls with less time, more distance and more shielding.
- Laser eyewear must match the laser’s wavelength, for everyone in the room.
- Res ipsa loquitur means “the thing speaks for itself,” as with a retained sponge.
Start the free administrative and personnel drill · Ancillary Duties drill · Full 175-question mock exam
Common questions
Does the CST exam test law and ethics?
Yes. Applying ethical and legal practices related to surgical patient care is an outline task in Administrative and Personnel. Expect questions on consent, negligence, documentation, privacy and surgical conscience.
What safety hazards does the CST cover?
The outline names fire, chemical spills, lasers and smoke, plus basic electricity and electrical safety. We also include radiation safety and bone cement fumes, which fall under the same task.
175 questions across every content area in 4 hours, with a score for administrative and personnel and your total against the 98-of-150 passing score.
Free administrative and personnel drillMore CST subject areas
- Preoperative Preparation · Perioperative Care
- Intraoperative Procedures · Perioperative Care
- Postoperative Procedures · Perioperative Care
- Sterilization and Equipment · Ancillary Duties
- Anatomy and Physiology · Basic Science
- Microbiology · Basic Science
- Surgical Pharmacology · Basic Science
- Surgical Instruments · Perioperative Care
Content areas, subject areas, item counts and tasks: NBSTSA: CST certification (format, passing score, content areas) · NBSTSA: CST Examination Content Outline, checked November 2026.
CST® and Certified Surgical Technologist® are registered marks of the National Board of Surgical Technology and Surgical Assisting (NBSTSA). Independent practice, not affiliated with or endorsed by NBSTSA, the Association of Surgical Technologists (AST) or PSI. Our questions are original and are not taken from the CST exam.