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 BCGP exam has 150 questions and runs 3 hours 45 minutes.
These 10 free BCGP questions are organized by exam domain, so you can see how each part of the Board Certified Geriatric Pharmacist blueprint is tested. Reveal the answer and explanation under each question.
Domain 1: Geriatric Patient Population 29% of exam
Question 1
Yesterday, an 88-year-old rehabilitation patient with mild Alzheimer disease followed conversations and participated in therapy. Today she repeatedly drifts to sleep, loses track of simple questions, and cannot sustain attention long enough to recite the days of the week backward. At lunch she briefly converses normally, then becomes withdrawn again. She is not agitated, and her medication administration record shows no sedative exposure. How should this change be characterized?
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Correct answer: C - Hypoactive delirium superimposed on dementia.
Question 2
During admission for pneumonia, an 85-year-old man temporarily requires help with all personal care. His daughter describes his usual function during the preceding month: he walked around the house with a cane and independently ate, used the toilet, and transferred from bed to chair. He needed hands-on help with bathing and dressing, and assistance with shopping, housework, transportation, and medications. Which Clinical Frailty Scale version 2.0 rating best represents his baseline?
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Correct answer: C - 6 - Living with moderate frailty.
Question 3
An 81-year-old woman scores 1/5 on the Mini-Cog and needs her daughter to organize her medicines. She declines an offered osteoporosis treatment after accurately explaining its purpose, the fracture risk of declining it, and the treatment burdens that matter to her. Her choice is consistent across visits, and there is no delirium or coercion. Her daughter, named as healthcare proxy only if the patient lacks capacity, asks to authorize treatment over her objection. Which conclusion is justified?
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Correct answer: D - She demonstrates capacity for this decision; her informed refusal should be respected.
Domain 2: Therapeutics and Patient Management 50% of exam
Question 4
An 84-year-old woman with newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, hypertension, and a previous transient ischemic attack agrees to start anticoagulation. She weighs 72 kg, has a stable serum creatinine of 1.2 mg/dL, and has no liver disease or clinically significant interacting medications. Six months ago, she tripped over a loose rug without injury; the rug has since been removed. There is no history of major bleeding. Which initial regimen offers appropriate stroke prevention for her?
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Correct answer: C - Apixaban 5 mg twice daily with routine bleeding-risk reassessment.
Question 5
A medication timeline for a 79-year-old man shows that amlodipine was increased from 5 to 10 mg daily six weeks ago. Painless bilateral ankle swelling appeared two weeks later, and furosemide was added. He now reports lightheadedness on standing. His weight is unchanged, lungs are clear, and there is no elevated jugular venous pressure, orthopnea, or history of heart failure. Renal function and serum albumin are normal. Which revision most directly addresses the sequence of problems?
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Correct answer: D - Reduce amlodipine to 5 mg and stop furosemide; reassess blood pressure and edema.
Question 6
The prescriber plans to increase immediate-release memantine from 5 mg twice daily to 10 mg twice daily in an 86-year-old woman with moderate Alzheimer disease. Her dosing weight is 58 kg, serum creatinine has remained 1.4 mg/dL for four months, and the laboratory reports an indexed eGFR of 37 mL/min/1.73 m². She is tolerating the current dose. Which renal assessment and dosing recommendation are consistent with the U.S. prescribing information?
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Correct answer: B - Use a Cockcroft-Gault clearance of approximately 26 mL/min and retain 5 mg twice daily.
Question 7
At a heart-failure follow-up, a 78-year-old man remains short of breath with ordinary activity despite maximally tolerated sacubitril/valsartan and carvedilol. He also takes furosemide. His left ventricular ejection fraction is 32%, blood pressure is 116/68 mmHg, and pulse is 56/min. Weight is stable, lungs are clear, and there is no peripheral edema. eGFR is 42 mL/min/1.73 m² and potassium is 5.3 mEq/L. He does not have diabetes. Which treatment change offers the strongest evidence-based improvement in heart-failure outcomes at this visit?
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Correct answer: A - Add dapagliflozin.
Question 8
An emergency-department pharmacist reviews an 82-year-old patient who developed weakness four days after trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole was added to lisinopril and spironolactone. Potassium is 6.8 mEq/L on a nonhemolyzed specimen, and the ECG shows peaked T waves with QRS widening. Cardiac monitoring and intravenous access are established. While therapies that shift or remove potassium are being prepared, which medication should be prioritized to stabilize the myocardium?
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Correct answer: D - Intravenous calcium gluconate.
Domain 3: Professional Practice 21% of exam
Question 9
A dispensing alert flags doxepin as a potentially inappropriate tricyclic antidepressant for a 76-year-old woman. She takes the 3-mg tablet nightly for persistent sleep-maintenance insomnia despite cognitive behavioral therapy. After six weeks, she reports meaningful improvement without daytime sedation, falls, constipation, or urinary symptoms. She has no other sedative or anticholinergic medications. Applying the 2023 AGS Beers Criteria, what is the most appropriate response to this alert?
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Correct answer: B - Continue doxepin 3 mg with periodic review of benefit and adverse effects.
Question 10
A 73-year-old woman brings a vaccination record showing one recombinant zoster vaccine dose 11 months ago. Rehabilitation after a fracture prevented her from returning for the second dose. She had shingles five years before vaccination and asks whether that episode, together with the first dose, provides sufficient protection. She is immunocompetent and has no current illness or vaccine contraindication. How should her series be completed?
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Correct answer: A - Give the second recombinant zoster vaccine dose now without restarting the series.
That's 10 of 1,030
The full bank has 1,020 more BCGP questions with explanations.