ANCC PMHNP PSYCH-MENTAL HEALTH NP LATEST
TEST 1 ,2,& 3
EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS PLUS
RATIONALE
LATEST 2026-2027
TEST 1
Your patient, whose wife died a few months ago, appears to be very unkempt and
apathetic. Although several months have passed since his wife's death he has not
progressed at all through his grieving. You assess this condition as which of the
following? disenfranchised grief panic disorder complicated grief physiologic grief - -
Correct Answer: complicated grief
RATIONALE: A person has uncomplicated grief when he or she has normal physical,
psychological, cognitive and spiritual responses to the death of a significant other. But when the
person shows persistent maladaptive behaviors such as not taking care of personal hygiene
and/or appearance and does not progress through the mourning process, this is complicated
grief.
If a patient has had a myocardial infarction, which of the following atypical
antidepressants should not be prescribed within the recovery phase? Trazodone
Duloxetine
Bupropion
Desvenlafaxine - -Correct
Answer: Trazodone
RATIONALE: If a patient has had a myocardial infarction, during the recovery phase, the patient
should not be prescribed this medication. Trazodone (Desyrel) can cause the patient to
develop orthostatic hypotension and priapism.
To get your teaching ideas and concepts across to a poor reader which of the following would be
most appropriate?
Use longer sentences.
Use abstract concepts.
Discourage questioning.
, Use examples and review. - -Correct Answer: Use
examples and review.
RATIONALE: To get the idea across to a poor reader use examples and review. The other choices
are not helpful. You should use short sentences and easy to read layouts; be concrete rather
than abstract; and teach them how to ask questions about their health. Also, tell context first
and use visual, use common words and examples, and explain meaning.
A 21-year old woman presents with complaints of milky discharge from her breasts. She doesn't
have any other symptoms and is not pregnant, nor has been before. She tells the nurse about
each medication that she takes. Which of these drugs may be implicated as the cause of the
symptom?
aspirin
Lamotrigine Risperidone
sertraline - -Correct
Answer: Risperidone
RATIONALE: Risperidone can cause the greatest prolactin elevation among atypical psychotics. A
milky white discharge known as galactorrhea could be a sign of an underlying condition. The fact
that the woman takes Risperidone, an atypical antipsychotic, would likely point to the cause and
should be switched with one less likely to have that same side effect.
Which of the following would be considered one of the main things that is responsible for about
2/3 of psychiatric hospital readmissions?
Not sufficient care.
Medication noncompliance
Biophysical assessments
None of the above - -Correct Answer:
Medication noncompliance
RATIONALE: Medication noncompliance is a major problem with the psychiatric mental health
patients. The home health nurses assists by helping the patients
to see the relationship between their compliance with their medication regimen and control of
their symptoms.
Which of the following would be considered an important form of communication that
can help to promote consistency in the care of the patient at the same time that it
justifies their stay in the hospital? Review of care.
Documentation
Verbal reporting
None of the above - -Correct Answer:
Documentation
RATIONALE: The other 3 options above are incorrect.
,One of the most important aspects of nursing is documentation. Documentation can promote
consistency in the care of the patient and is also used to help justify the patient remaining in the
hospital.
Effects of an overdose of LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide) can include all of the following
except?
Vomiting
Respiratory failure
Hypertensive crisis
Seizures - -Correct Answer:
Hypertensive
crisis
RATIONALE: Hypertensive crisis would be considered a symptom of PCP overdose.
Vomiting, respiratory failure and seizures would be considered an effect of LSD
overdose.
Symptoms of serotonin syndrome include all of the following EXCEPT: insomnia
nausea loss of coordination
sweating or shivering with goose bumps - -Correct Answer: nausea
Symptoms of serotonin syndrome can present in patients that have drug combinations that are
contraindicated. They can vary from restlessness and agitation to tremors, chills, headaches, and
insomnia as well as loss of coordination. Nausea has not been implicated in serotonin syndrome.
What is the rate of suicide attempts for patients having dissociative identity disorder?
30%
45%
70%
60% - -Correct
Answer: 70%
RATIONALE: People with dissociative identity disorder have one of the highest risks for suicide.
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM- 5),more than 70%
of outpatients with DID have attempted suicide, and multiple suicide attempts are common.
Of the following, which would not be considered a phase of schizophrenia treatment?
Maintenance
Acute
Cognitive
Stabilization - -Correct
Answer: Cognitive
RATIONALE: Cognitive is not one of the three phases of schizophrenia treatment. The
three phases are: Phase 1: acute Phase 2: stabilization Phase 3: maintenance
, The patient should be monitored for effects of psychotropic medications which can
impact cardiac rhythms. Which of the following could be a potential cardiac side effect?
A prolonged QT interval
Narrowing of the QRS
Both A and B
None of the above - -Correct
Answer: A prolonged QT interval
RATIONALE: With antipsychotic drugs, the triclyclic action can cause problems. These
medications can cause a widening of the QRS or a prolonged QT interval.
This is a measure of the ventricular repolarization.
Sullivan described three developmental cognitive modes of experience and believed that
mental disorders are related to the persistence of one of the early modes. The mode that
begins in early childhood as the child begins to connect experiences in sequence is which of
the following? prototaxic mode parataxic mode syntaxic mode
composite mode - -Correct Answer:
parataxic mode
RATIONALE: The parataxic mode begins in early childhood. The child may not make logical sense
of the experiences and may see them as coincidence or chance events. The child seeks to relieve
anxiety by repeating familiar experiences, although he or she may not understand what he or
she is doing.
Which of the following acts have provided the greatest protection for the
individual not to lose or be denied health insurance coverage?
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
OSHA
ISPN
None of the above - -Correct
Answer: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
RATIONALE: The other 3 options above are incorrect.
For several decades now, the ANA (American Nurses Association) has been working and
advocating for reforms that will help to guarantee the access
of high-quality health care. This act has helped millions of people, but ANA
recognizes the fact that this debate is far from being over. The ANA is dedicated
to educating the nursing public about the changing systems and their impacts
on people's lives and the nursing profession.
Which of the following is an example of Western alternative medical systems? TCM (traditional
Chinese medicine) naturopathy ayurveda
acupuncture - -Correct answer:
naturopathy
TEST 1 ,2,& 3
EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS PLUS
RATIONALE
LATEST 2026-2027
TEST 1
Your patient, whose wife died a few months ago, appears to be very unkempt and
apathetic. Although several months have passed since his wife's death he has not
progressed at all through his grieving. You assess this condition as which of the
following? disenfranchised grief panic disorder complicated grief physiologic grief - -
Correct Answer: complicated grief
RATIONALE: A person has uncomplicated grief when he or she has normal physical,
psychological, cognitive and spiritual responses to the death of a significant other. But when the
person shows persistent maladaptive behaviors such as not taking care of personal hygiene
and/or appearance and does not progress through the mourning process, this is complicated
grief.
If a patient has had a myocardial infarction, which of the following atypical
antidepressants should not be prescribed within the recovery phase? Trazodone
Duloxetine
Bupropion
Desvenlafaxine - -Correct
Answer: Trazodone
RATIONALE: If a patient has had a myocardial infarction, during the recovery phase, the patient
should not be prescribed this medication. Trazodone (Desyrel) can cause the patient to
develop orthostatic hypotension and priapism.
To get your teaching ideas and concepts across to a poor reader which of the following would be
most appropriate?
Use longer sentences.
Use abstract concepts.
Discourage questioning.
, Use examples and review. - -Correct Answer: Use
examples and review.
RATIONALE: To get the idea across to a poor reader use examples and review. The other choices
are not helpful. You should use short sentences and easy to read layouts; be concrete rather
than abstract; and teach them how to ask questions about their health. Also, tell context first
and use visual, use common words and examples, and explain meaning.
A 21-year old woman presents with complaints of milky discharge from her breasts. She doesn't
have any other symptoms and is not pregnant, nor has been before. She tells the nurse about
each medication that she takes. Which of these drugs may be implicated as the cause of the
symptom?
aspirin
Lamotrigine Risperidone
sertraline - -Correct
Answer: Risperidone
RATIONALE: Risperidone can cause the greatest prolactin elevation among atypical psychotics. A
milky white discharge known as galactorrhea could be a sign of an underlying condition. The fact
that the woman takes Risperidone, an atypical antipsychotic, would likely point to the cause and
should be switched with one less likely to have that same side effect.
Which of the following would be considered one of the main things that is responsible for about
2/3 of psychiatric hospital readmissions?
Not sufficient care.
Medication noncompliance
Biophysical assessments
None of the above - -Correct Answer:
Medication noncompliance
RATIONALE: Medication noncompliance is a major problem with the psychiatric mental health
patients. The home health nurses assists by helping the patients
to see the relationship between their compliance with their medication regimen and control of
their symptoms.
Which of the following would be considered an important form of communication that
can help to promote consistency in the care of the patient at the same time that it
justifies their stay in the hospital? Review of care.
Documentation
Verbal reporting
None of the above - -Correct Answer:
Documentation
RATIONALE: The other 3 options above are incorrect.
,One of the most important aspects of nursing is documentation. Documentation can promote
consistency in the care of the patient and is also used to help justify the patient remaining in the
hospital.
Effects of an overdose of LSD (Lysergic acid diethylamide) can include all of the following
except?
Vomiting
Respiratory failure
Hypertensive crisis
Seizures - -Correct Answer:
Hypertensive
crisis
RATIONALE: Hypertensive crisis would be considered a symptom of PCP overdose.
Vomiting, respiratory failure and seizures would be considered an effect of LSD
overdose.
Symptoms of serotonin syndrome include all of the following EXCEPT: insomnia
nausea loss of coordination
sweating or shivering with goose bumps - -Correct Answer: nausea
Symptoms of serotonin syndrome can present in patients that have drug combinations that are
contraindicated. They can vary from restlessness and agitation to tremors, chills, headaches, and
insomnia as well as loss of coordination. Nausea has not been implicated in serotonin syndrome.
What is the rate of suicide attempts for patients having dissociative identity disorder?
30%
45%
70%
60% - -Correct
Answer: 70%
RATIONALE: People with dissociative identity disorder have one of the highest risks for suicide.
According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM- 5),more than 70%
of outpatients with DID have attempted suicide, and multiple suicide attempts are common.
Of the following, which would not be considered a phase of schizophrenia treatment?
Maintenance
Acute
Cognitive
Stabilization - -Correct
Answer: Cognitive
RATIONALE: Cognitive is not one of the three phases of schizophrenia treatment. The
three phases are: Phase 1: acute Phase 2: stabilization Phase 3: maintenance
, The patient should be monitored for effects of psychotropic medications which can
impact cardiac rhythms. Which of the following could be a potential cardiac side effect?
A prolonged QT interval
Narrowing of the QRS
Both A and B
None of the above - -Correct
Answer: A prolonged QT interval
RATIONALE: With antipsychotic drugs, the triclyclic action can cause problems. These
medications can cause a widening of the QRS or a prolonged QT interval.
This is a measure of the ventricular repolarization.
Sullivan described three developmental cognitive modes of experience and believed that
mental disorders are related to the persistence of one of the early modes. The mode that
begins in early childhood as the child begins to connect experiences in sequence is which of
the following? prototaxic mode parataxic mode syntaxic mode
composite mode - -Correct Answer:
parataxic mode
RATIONALE: The parataxic mode begins in early childhood. The child may not make logical sense
of the experiences and may see them as coincidence or chance events. The child seeks to relieve
anxiety by repeating familiar experiences, although he or she may not understand what he or
she is doing.
Which of the following acts have provided the greatest protection for the
individual not to lose or be denied health insurance coverage?
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
OSHA
ISPN
None of the above - -Correct
Answer: Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
RATIONALE: The other 3 options above are incorrect.
For several decades now, the ANA (American Nurses Association) has been working and
advocating for reforms that will help to guarantee the access
of high-quality health care. This act has helped millions of people, but ANA
recognizes the fact that this debate is far from being over. The ANA is dedicated
to educating the nursing public about the changing systems and their impacts
on people's lives and the nursing profession.
Which of the following is an example of Western alternative medical systems? TCM (traditional
Chinese medicine) naturopathy ayurveda
acupuncture - -Correct answer:
naturopathy
