NURSING HESI FUNDAMENTALS ACTUAL
EXAM SCRIPT 2026 FULL QUESTIONS WITH
VERIFIED SOLUTIONS
⩥ As the nurse prepares the equipment to be used to start an IV on a 4-
year-old boy in the treatment room, he cries continuously. What
intervention should the nurse implement?
A) Take the child back to his room.
B) Recruit others to restrain the child.
C) Ask the mother to be present to soothe the child.
D) Show the child how to manipulate the equipment. Answer: Answer:
C
Rationale
A 4-year-old typically has a vivid imagination and lacks concrete
thinking abilities. The mother's assistance (C) can provide a stabilizing
presence to help soothe the preschooler, who may perceive the invasive
procedure as mutilating. To preserve the child's sense of security
associated with the hospital room, it is best to perform difficult or
painful procedures in another area (A). (B) may be necessary to prevent
injury if the child is unable to cooperate with the mother's coaxing. (D)
is best done before going to the treatment room when the child feels less
threatened.
,⩥ On the third postoperative day following thoracic surgery, a client
reports feeling constipated. Which intervention should the nurse
implement to promote bowel elimination?
A) Remind the client to turn every two hours while lying in bed.
B) Provide warm prune juice before the client goes to bed at night.
C) Teach the client to splint the incision while walking to the bathroom.
D) Administer an analgesic before the client attempts to defecate.
Answer: Answer: B
Rationale
Prune juice is a natural laxative that stimulates peristalsis, and warming
the prune juice (B) facilitates peristalsis. (A) is also helpful in promoting
peristalsis but is less likely to relieve the client's constipation. (C)
reduces discomfort during ambulation, but will not help relieve the
client's constipation. Defecation is not painful following most surgeries,
and many analgesics used postoperatively cause constipation, so (D) is
contraindicated.
⩥ To obtain the most complete assessment data for a client with chronic
pain, which information should the nurse obtain?
A) Can you describe where your pain is the most severe?
B) What is your pain intensity on a scale of 1 to 10?
C) Is your pain best described as aching, throbbing, or sharp?
,D) Which activities during a routine day are impacted by your pain?
Answer: Answer: D
Rationale
A client with chronic pain is more likely to have adapted physiologically
to vital sign changes, localization or intensity, so pain assessment should
focus on any interference with daily activities (D), such as sleep,
relationships with others, physical activity, and emotional well-being.
Exacerbation of acute symptoms, such as pain distribution, patterns,
intensity, and descriptors elicit specific assessment findings, whereas (A,
B, and C) are limiting, closed-end questions, and can be answered with a
yes, no, or a number.
⩥ A low-sodium, low-protein diet is prescribed for a 45-year-old client
with renal insufficiency and hypertension, who gained 3 pounds in the
last month. The nurse determines that the client has been noncompliant
with the diet, based on which report from the 24-hour dietary recall?
(Select all that apply.)
A) Snack of potato chips, and diet soda.
B) Lunch of tuna fish sandwich, carrot sticks, fresh fruit, and coffee.
C) Breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast, and coffee.
D) Dinner of vegetable lasagna, tossed salad, sherbet, and iced tea.
E) Bedtime snack of crackers and milk. Answer: Answers: A, C
Rationale
, Potato chips (A) are high in sodium. Tuna (B) is high in protein. Bacon
(C) and crackers (E) are high in sodium. Only (D) is a meal that is in
compliance with a low sodium, low protein diet.
⩥ A client provides the nurse with information about the reason for
seeking care. The nurse realizes that some information about past
hospitalizations is missing. How should the nurse obtain this
information?
A) Solicit information on hospitalization from the insurance company.
B) Look up previous medical records from archived hospital documents.
C) Ask the client to discuss previous hospitalizations in the last 5 years.
D) Elicit specific facts about past hospitalizations with direct questions.
Answer: Answer: D
Rationale
Direct questions should be used after the client's opening narrative to fill
in any details that have been left out or during the review of systems to
elicit specific facts about past health problems.
⩥ An older female client with rheumatoid arthritis is complaining of
severe joint pain that is caused by the weight of the linen on her legs.
What action should the nurse implement first?
A) Apply flannel pajamas to provide warmth.
B) Administer a PRN dose of ibuprofen.
EXAM SCRIPT 2026 FULL QUESTIONS WITH
VERIFIED SOLUTIONS
⩥ As the nurse prepares the equipment to be used to start an IV on a 4-
year-old boy in the treatment room, he cries continuously. What
intervention should the nurse implement?
A) Take the child back to his room.
B) Recruit others to restrain the child.
C) Ask the mother to be present to soothe the child.
D) Show the child how to manipulate the equipment. Answer: Answer:
C
Rationale
A 4-year-old typically has a vivid imagination and lacks concrete
thinking abilities. The mother's assistance (C) can provide a stabilizing
presence to help soothe the preschooler, who may perceive the invasive
procedure as mutilating. To preserve the child's sense of security
associated with the hospital room, it is best to perform difficult or
painful procedures in another area (A). (B) may be necessary to prevent
injury if the child is unable to cooperate with the mother's coaxing. (D)
is best done before going to the treatment room when the child feels less
threatened.
,⩥ On the third postoperative day following thoracic surgery, a client
reports feeling constipated. Which intervention should the nurse
implement to promote bowel elimination?
A) Remind the client to turn every two hours while lying in bed.
B) Provide warm prune juice before the client goes to bed at night.
C) Teach the client to splint the incision while walking to the bathroom.
D) Administer an analgesic before the client attempts to defecate.
Answer: Answer: B
Rationale
Prune juice is a natural laxative that stimulates peristalsis, and warming
the prune juice (B) facilitates peristalsis. (A) is also helpful in promoting
peristalsis but is less likely to relieve the client's constipation. (C)
reduces discomfort during ambulation, but will not help relieve the
client's constipation. Defecation is not painful following most surgeries,
and many analgesics used postoperatively cause constipation, so (D) is
contraindicated.
⩥ To obtain the most complete assessment data for a client with chronic
pain, which information should the nurse obtain?
A) Can you describe where your pain is the most severe?
B) What is your pain intensity on a scale of 1 to 10?
C) Is your pain best described as aching, throbbing, or sharp?
,D) Which activities during a routine day are impacted by your pain?
Answer: Answer: D
Rationale
A client with chronic pain is more likely to have adapted physiologically
to vital sign changes, localization or intensity, so pain assessment should
focus on any interference with daily activities (D), such as sleep,
relationships with others, physical activity, and emotional well-being.
Exacerbation of acute symptoms, such as pain distribution, patterns,
intensity, and descriptors elicit specific assessment findings, whereas (A,
B, and C) are limiting, closed-end questions, and can be answered with a
yes, no, or a number.
⩥ A low-sodium, low-protein diet is prescribed for a 45-year-old client
with renal insufficiency and hypertension, who gained 3 pounds in the
last month. The nurse determines that the client has been noncompliant
with the diet, based on which report from the 24-hour dietary recall?
(Select all that apply.)
A) Snack of potato chips, and diet soda.
B) Lunch of tuna fish sandwich, carrot sticks, fresh fruit, and coffee.
C) Breakfast of eggs, bacon, toast, and coffee.
D) Dinner of vegetable lasagna, tossed salad, sherbet, and iced tea.
E) Bedtime snack of crackers and milk. Answer: Answers: A, C
Rationale
, Potato chips (A) are high in sodium. Tuna (B) is high in protein. Bacon
(C) and crackers (E) are high in sodium. Only (D) is a meal that is in
compliance with a low sodium, low protein diet.
⩥ A client provides the nurse with information about the reason for
seeking care. The nurse realizes that some information about past
hospitalizations is missing. How should the nurse obtain this
information?
A) Solicit information on hospitalization from the insurance company.
B) Look up previous medical records from archived hospital documents.
C) Ask the client to discuss previous hospitalizations in the last 5 years.
D) Elicit specific facts about past hospitalizations with direct questions.
Answer: Answer: D
Rationale
Direct questions should be used after the client's opening narrative to fill
in any details that have been left out or during the review of systems to
elicit specific facts about past health problems.
⩥ An older female client with rheumatoid arthritis is complaining of
severe joint pain that is caused by the weight of the linen on her legs.
What action should the nurse implement first?
A) Apply flannel pajamas to provide warmth.
B) Administer a PRN dose of ibuprofen.
