Nursing
The most important nursing intervention to correct skin dryness is:
A. Consult the dietitian about increasing the patient’s fat intake, and take necessary measures to prevent infection.
B. Ask the physician to refer the patient to a dermatologist, and suggest that the patient wear home-laundered sleepwear.
C. Encourage the patient to increase his fluid intake, use non-irritating soap when bathing the patient, and apply lotion to the involved areas.
D. Avoid bathing the patient until the condition is remedied, and notify the physician.
C. Encourage the patient to increase his fluid intake, use non-irritating soap when bathing the patient, and apply lotion to the involved areas.
Kubler-Ross’s five successive stages of death and dying are:
A. Anger, bargaining, denial, depression, acceptance
B. Denial, anger, depression, bargaining, acceptance
C. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression acceptance
D. Bargaining, denial, anger, depression, acceptance
C. Denial, anger, bargaining, depression acceptance
A patient has just received 30 mg of codeine by mouth for pain. Five minutes later he vomits. What should the nurse do first?
A. Call the physician
B. Remedicate the patient
C. Observe the emesis
D. Explain to the patient that she can do nothing to help him.
C. Observe the emesis.
Before administering the evening dose of a prescribed medication, the nurse on the evening shift finds an unlabeled, filled syringe in the patient’s medication drawer. What should the nurse in charge do?
A. Discard the syringe to avoid a medication error.
B. Obtain a label for the syringe from the pharmacy.
C. Use the syringe because it looks like it contains the same medication the nurse was prepared to give.
D. Call the day nurse to verify the contents of the syringe.
A. Discard the syringe to avoid a medication error.
The nurse uses a stethoscope to auscultate a male patient’s chest. Which statement about a stethoscope with a bell and diaphragm is true?
A. The bell detects high-pitched sounds best.
B. The diaphragm detects high-pitched sounds best.
C. The bell detects thrills best.
D. The diaphragm detects low-pitched sounds best.
B. The diaphragm detects high-pitched sounds best.
When bathing a patient’s extremities, the nurse should use long, firm strokes from the distal to the proximal areas. This technique:
A. Provides an opportunity for skin assessment.
B. Avoids undue strain on the nurse.
C. Increases venous blood return.
D. Causes vasoconstriction and increases circulation.
C. Increases venous blood return.
Which of the following symptoms is the best indicator of imminent death?
A. A weak, slow pulse
B. Increased muscle tone
C. Fixed, dilated pupils
D. Slow, shallow respirations
C. Fixed, dilated pupils
Fixed, dilated pupils are a sign of imminent death.
Option A: Pulse becomes weak but rapid.
Option B: Muscles become weak and atonic.
Option D: In the late stages, an altered respiratory pattern which can be periods of apnea alternated with hyperpnea or irregular breathing can be noticed.
When examining a patient with abdominal pain the nurse in charge should assess:
A. Any quadrant first
B. The symptomatic quadrant first
C. The symptomatic quadrant last
D. The symptomatic quadrant either second or third
C. The symptomatic quadrant last
The nurse should systematically assess all areas of the abdomen, if time and the patient’s condition permit, concluding with the symptomatic area. Otherwise, the nurse may elicit pain in the symptomatic area, causing the muscles in other areas to tighten. This would interfere with further assessment.
A female patient is being discharged after cataract surgery. After providing medication teaching, the nurse asks the patient to repeat the instructions. The nurse is performing which professional role?
A. Manager
B. Educator
C. Caregiver
D. Patient advocate
B. Educator
An employer establishes a physical exercise area in the workplace and encourages all employees to use it. This is an example of which level of health promotion?
A. Primary prevention
B. Secondary prevention
C. Tertiary prevention
D. Passive prevention
A. Primary prevention
Wrong answers:
Option B: Secondary prevention focuses on patients who have health problems and are at risk for developing complications.
Option C: Tertiary prevention enables patients to gain health from others’ activities without doing anything themselves.
Option D: Prevention, as it relates to health, is really about avoiding disease before it starts. It has been defined as the plans for, and the measures taken, to prevent the onset of a disease or other health problem before the occurrence of the undesirable health event.
Nursing interventions that can help the patient to relax and sleep restfully include all of the following except:
A. Have the patient take a 30- to 60-minute nap in the afternoon.
B. Turn on the television in the patient’s room.
C. Provide quiet music and interesting reading material.
D. Massage the patient’s back with long strokes.
A. Have the patient take a 30- to 60-minute nap in the afternoon.
Napping in the afternoon is not conducive to nighttime sleeping.
A nurse caring for a patient with an infectious disease who requires isolation should refers to guidelines published by the:
A. National League for Nursing (NLN)
B. Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
C. American Medical Association (AMA)
D. American Nurses Association (ANA)
B. Centers for Disease Control (CDC)
Wrong answers:
Option A: The National League of Nursing’s (NLN’s) major function is accrediting nursing education programs in the United States.
Option C: The American Medical Association (AMA) is a national organization of physicians.
Option D: The American Nurses’ Association (ANA) is a national organization of registered nurses. ANA guides the profession on issues of nursing practice, health policy, and social concerns that impact patient wellbeing.
The nurse is assessing a postoperative adult patient. Which of the following should the nurse document as subjective data?
A. Vital signs
B. Laboratory test result
C. Patient’s description of pain
D. Electrocardiographic (ECG) waveforms
C. Patient’s description of pain
A female patient exhibits signs of heightened anxiety. Which response by the nurse is most likely to reduce the patient’s anxiety?
A. “Everything will be fine. Don’t worry.”
B. “Read this manual and then ask me any questions you may have.”
C. “Why don’t you listen to the radio?”
D. “Let’s talk about what’s bothering you.”
D. “Let’s talk about what’s bothering you.”
Which nursing action is essential when providing continuous enteral feeding?
A. Elevating the head of the bed.
B. Positioning the patient on the left side.
C. Warming the formula before administering it.
D. Hanging a full day’s worth of formula at one time.
A. Elevating the head of the bed.
Restraints can be used for all of the following purposes except to:
A. Prevent a confused patient from removing tubes, such as feeding tubes, I.V. lines, and urinary catheters.
B. Prevent a patient from falling out of bed or a chair.
C. Discourage a patient from attempting to ambulate alone when he requires assistance for his safety.
D. Prevent a patient from becoming confused or disoriented.
D. Prevent a patient from becoming confused or disoriented.
By restricting a patient’s movements, restraints may increase stress and lead to confusion, rather than prevent it.
Which is the correct procedure for collecting a sputum specimen for culture and sensitivity testing?
A. Have the patient place the specimen in a container and enclose the container in a plastic bag.
B. Have the patient expectorate the sputum while the nurse holds the container.
C. Have the patient expectorate the sputum into a sterile container.
D. Offer the patient an antiseptic mouthwash just before he expectorate the sputum.
C. Have the patient expectorate the sputum into a sterile container
The nurse in charge is transferring a patient from the bed to a chair. Which action does the nurse take during this patient transfer?
A. Position the head of the bed flat.
B. Helps the patient dangle the legs.
C. Stands behind the patient.
D. Place the chair facing away from the bed.
B. Helps the patient dangle the legs.
A patient is in the bathroom when the nurse enters to give a prescribed medication. What should the nurse in charge do?
A. Leave the medication at the patient’s bedside.
B. Tell the patient to be sure to take the medication. And then leave it at the bedside.
C. Return shortly to the patient’s room and remain there until the patient takes the medication.
D. Wait for the patient to return to bed, and then leave the medication at the bedside.
C. Return shortly to the patient’s room and remain there until the patient takes the medication.
A female patient undergoes a total abdominal hysterectomy. When assessing the patient 10 hours later, the nurse identifies which finding as an early sign of shock?
A. Restlessness
B. Pale, warm, dry skin
C. Heart rate of 110 beats/minute
D. Urine output of 30 ml/hour
A. Restlessness
Which of the following is the nurse’s legal responsibility when applying restraints?
A. Document the patient’s behavior.
B. Document the type of restraint used.
C. Obtain a written order from the physician except in an emergency, when the patient must be protected from injury to himself or others.
D. All of the above.
D. All of the above
When applying restraints, the nurse must document the type of behavior that prompted her to use them, document the type of restraints used, and obtain a physician’s written order for the restraints.
An autoclave is used to sterilize hospital supplies because:
A. More articles can be sterilized at a time.
B. Steam causes less damage to the materials.
C. A lower temperature can be obtained.
D. Pressurized steam penetrates the supplies better.
D. Pressurized steam penetrates the supplies better.
A female patient who speaks a little English has emergency gallbladder surgery, during discharge preparation, which nursing action would best help this patient understand wound care instruction?
A. Asking frequently if the patient understands the instruction.
B. Asking an interpreter to replay the instructions to the patient.
C. Writing out the instructions and having a family member read them to the patient.
D. Demonstrating the procedure and having the patient return the demonstration.
D. Demonstrating the procedure and having the patient return the demonstration
Wrong answers:
Option A: Patients may claim to understand discharge instruction when they do not.
Option B: An interpreter of family members may communicate verbal or written instructions inaccurately.
Option C: Internet-based apps for smartphones and tablets help medical professionals interpret information quickly so they can be used in emergency settings.
To evaluate a patient for hypoxia, the physician is most likely to order which laboratory test?
A. Red blood cell count
B. Sputum culture
C. Total hemoglobin
D. Arterial blood gas (ABG) analysis
D. Arterial blood gas (ABG) analysis
Clients should be taught that repeatedly ignoring the sensation of needing to defecate could result in which of the following?
A. Constipation
B. Diarrhea
C. Incontinence
D. Hemorrhoids
A. Constipation
Wrong answers:
Option B: Diarrhea will not result-if anything, there is increased opportunity for water reabsorption because the stool remains in the colon, leading to firmer stool.
Option C: Ignoring the urge shows a strong voluntary sphincter, not a weak one that could result in incontinence.
Option D: Hemorrhoids would only occur only if severe drying out of the stool occurs, and thus repeated need to strain to pass stool.