Don’t sit for exams before reading
these!! HESI A2 - Critical Thinking
questions and answers
A nurse enters a patient’s room and finds the patient confused, trying to remove an IV line. What
is the nurse’s first action?
A) Restrain the patient immediately
B) Call the physician
C) Assess the patient and ensure safety ✔️✔️
D) Document the behavior
A newly admitted patient reports chest pain. What should the nurse do first?
A) Administer pain medication
B) Take a full health history
C) Assess pain characteristics and vital signs ✔️✔️
D) Notify family members
A nurse must prioritize care for four patients. Which patient should be seen first?
A) Patient requesting discharge instructions
B) Patient with stable diabetes
C) Patient with acute shortness of breath ✔️✔️
D) Patient scheduled for routine medication
A nurse hears a colleague giving incorrect medication instructions to a patient. What is the best
action?
A) Ignore it
B) Report immediately to supervisor ✔️✔️
C) Correct the colleague in front of the patient
D) Document later
A patient refuses a life-saving blood transfusion. What should the nurse do first?
A) Respect the patient’s decision ✔️✔️
B) Convince the patient to accept
C) Call security
D) Administer anyway
A nurse notices a postoperative patient has sudden swelling and pain in the calf. What is the
priority action?
A) Massage the leg
B) Apply heat
C) Assess for deep vein thrombosis ✔️✔️
D) Encourage walking immediately
1
,A nurse is assigned too many patients. What should she do first?
A) Quit the shift
B) Prioritize patient acuity ✔️✔️
C) Ignore new admissions
D) Delay all care
A patient suddenly becomes unresponsive. What is the first action?
A) Call family
B) Check airway, breathing, circulation ✔️✔️
C) Document event
D) Call housekeeping
A nurse is delegating tasks to a CNA. Which task is appropriate?
A) Initial patient assessment
B) Administer IV medication
C) Assist patient with bathing ✔️✔️
D) Interpret lab results
A patient with diabetes has a blood glucose of 45 mg/dL. What should the nurse do first?
A) Give insulin
B) Give fast-acting carbohydrates ✔️✔️
C) Recheck in 2 hours
D) Document only
A nurse suspects a medication error occurred. What is the priority action?
A) Hide the error
B) Assess patient for adverse effects ✔️✔️
C) Wait for symptoms
D) Inform other patients
A patient is experiencing difficulty breathing after surgery. What is the priority?
A) Encourage coughing and deep breathing ✔️✔️
B) Offer water
C) Reduce IV fluids
D) Remove oxygen
A nurse is caring for a patient with infection control precautions. What is most important?
A) Use gloves only sometimes
B) Follow hand hygiene protocol ✔️✔️
C) Avoid patient contact
D) Wear gown outside room
A patient asks about a new diagnosis but appears anxious. What is the best response?
A) Provide clear, simple explanations ✔️✔️
B) Avoid answering
2
,C) Tell them to ask doctor only
D) Change subject
A nurse is reviewing lab results. Which value is most concerning?
A) Normal sodium
B) Low potassium
C) Extremely high potassium ✔️✔️
D) Slightly elevated glucose
A nurse observes a coworker skipping hand hygiene. What should she do?
A) Report or remind immediately ✔️✔️
B) Ignore
C) Document later
D) Wait for infection
A patient reports severe headache and stiff neck. What is priority action?
A) Give pain medication
B) Assess for meningitis ✔️✔️
C) Encourage fluids
D) Rest only
A nurse is caring for multiple unstable patients. What guides priority?
A) Order of admission
B) Physician preference
C) ABCs (airway, breathing, circulation) ✔️✔️
D) Family request
A patient refuses medication. What is the nurse’s first response?
A) Force administration
B) Explore reason for refusal ✔️✔️
C) Ignore refusal
D) Document only
A nurse finds a patient on the floor. What is first action?
A) Call family
B) Assess for injuries ✔️✔️
C) Move patient immediately
D) Document incident
A patient is scheduled for surgery and expresses fear. What is best response?
A) “Don’t worry”
B) Encourage expression of feelings ✔️✔️
C) Cancel surgery
D) Ignore concerns
3
, A nurse is giving shift report. What is most important?
A) Personal opinions
B) Relevant patient safety information ✔️✔️
C) Social issues
D) Lunch breaks
A patient develops rash after antibiotic. What is priority?
A) Continue medication
B) Stop medication and assess ✔️✔️
C) Increase dose
D) Ignore rash
A nurse must choose which patient to discharge first. Which is safest?
A) Unstable oxygen levels
B) Stable post-op patient ✔️✔️
C) Patient in pain
D) New admission
A nurse finds confusion in elderly patient suddenly worsening. What should she do?
A) Reassure only
B) Assess for infection or delirium ✔️✔️
C) Ignore
D) Give sedative immediately
A patient is choking. What is first action?
A) Call doctor
B) Perform abdominal thrusts ✔️✔️
C) Offer water
D) Lay patient down
A nurse sees low urine output in ICU patient. What is priority?
A) Document only
B) Assess kidney function and perfusion ✔️✔️
C) Increase oral fluids
D) Wait 24 hours
A patient expresses suicidal thoughts. What is priority action?
A) Leave patient alone
B) Ensure immediate safety ✔️✔️
C) Ignore statement
D) Document later
A nurse is teaching discharge instructions. What is key?
A) Complex terminology
B) Patient understanding ✔️✔️
4
these!! HESI A2 - Critical Thinking
questions and answers
A nurse enters a patient’s room and finds the patient confused, trying to remove an IV line. What
is the nurse’s first action?
A) Restrain the patient immediately
B) Call the physician
C) Assess the patient and ensure safety ✔️✔️
D) Document the behavior
A newly admitted patient reports chest pain. What should the nurse do first?
A) Administer pain medication
B) Take a full health history
C) Assess pain characteristics and vital signs ✔️✔️
D) Notify family members
A nurse must prioritize care for four patients. Which patient should be seen first?
A) Patient requesting discharge instructions
B) Patient with stable diabetes
C) Patient with acute shortness of breath ✔️✔️
D) Patient scheduled for routine medication
A nurse hears a colleague giving incorrect medication instructions to a patient. What is the best
action?
A) Ignore it
B) Report immediately to supervisor ✔️✔️
C) Correct the colleague in front of the patient
D) Document later
A patient refuses a life-saving blood transfusion. What should the nurse do first?
A) Respect the patient’s decision ✔️✔️
B) Convince the patient to accept
C) Call security
D) Administer anyway
A nurse notices a postoperative patient has sudden swelling and pain in the calf. What is the
priority action?
A) Massage the leg
B) Apply heat
C) Assess for deep vein thrombosis ✔️✔️
D) Encourage walking immediately
1
,A nurse is assigned too many patients. What should she do first?
A) Quit the shift
B) Prioritize patient acuity ✔️✔️
C) Ignore new admissions
D) Delay all care
A patient suddenly becomes unresponsive. What is the first action?
A) Call family
B) Check airway, breathing, circulation ✔️✔️
C) Document event
D) Call housekeeping
A nurse is delegating tasks to a CNA. Which task is appropriate?
A) Initial patient assessment
B) Administer IV medication
C) Assist patient with bathing ✔️✔️
D) Interpret lab results
A patient with diabetes has a blood glucose of 45 mg/dL. What should the nurse do first?
A) Give insulin
B) Give fast-acting carbohydrates ✔️✔️
C) Recheck in 2 hours
D) Document only
A nurse suspects a medication error occurred. What is the priority action?
A) Hide the error
B) Assess patient for adverse effects ✔️✔️
C) Wait for symptoms
D) Inform other patients
A patient is experiencing difficulty breathing after surgery. What is the priority?
A) Encourage coughing and deep breathing ✔️✔️
B) Offer water
C) Reduce IV fluids
D) Remove oxygen
A nurse is caring for a patient with infection control precautions. What is most important?
A) Use gloves only sometimes
B) Follow hand hygiene protocol ✔️✔️
C) Avoid patient contact
D) Wear gown outside room
A patient asks about a new diagnosis but appears anxious. What is the best response?
A) Provide clear, simple explanations ✔️✔️
B) Avoid answering
2
,C) Tell them to ask doctor only
D) Change subject
A nurse is reviewing lab results. Which value is most concerning?
A) Normal sodium
B) Low potassium
C) Extremely high potassium ✔️✔️
D) Slightly elevated glucose
A nurse observes a coworker skipping hand hygiene. What should she do?
A) Report or remind immediately ✔️✔️
B) Ignore
C) Document later
D) Wait for infection
A patient reports severe headache and stiff neck. What is priority action?
A) Give pain medication
B) Assess for meningitis ✔️✔️
C) Encourage fluids
D) Rest only
A nurse is caring for multiple unstable patients. What guides priority?
A) Order of admission
B) Physician preference
C) ABCs (airway, breathing, circulation) ✔️✔️
D) Family request
A patient refuses medication. What is the nurse’s first response?
A) Force administration
B) Explore reason for refusal ✔️✔️
C) Ignore refusal
D) Document only
A nurse finds a patient on the floor. What is first action?
A) Call family
B) Assess for injuries ✔️✔️
C) Move patient immediately
D) Document incident
A patient is scheduled for surgery and expresses fear. What is best response?
A) “Don’t worry”
B) Encourage expression of feelings ✔️✔️
C) Cancel surgery
D) Ignore concerns
3
, A nurse is giving shift report. What is most important?
A) Personal opinions
B) Relevant patient safety information ✔️✔️
C) Social issues
D) Lunch breaks
A patient develops rash after antibiotic. What is priority?
A) Continue medication
B) Stop medication and assess ✔️✔️
C) Increase dose
D) Ignore rash
A nurse must choose which patient to discharge first. Which is safest?
A) Unstable oxygen levels
B) Stable post-op patient ✔️✔️
C) Patient in pain
D) New admission
A nurse finds confusion in elderly patient suddenly worsening. What should she do?
A) Reassure only
B) Assess for infection or delirium ✔️✔️
C) Ignore
D) Give sedative immediately
A patient is choking. What is first action?
A) Call doctor
B) Perform abdominal thrusts ✔️✔️
C) Offer water
D) Lay patient down
A nurse sees low urine output in ICU patient. What is priority?
A) Document only
B) Assess kidney function and perfusion ✔️✔️
C) Increase oral fluids
D) Wait 24 hours
A patient expresses suicidal thoughts. What is priority action?
A) Leave patient alone
B) Ensure immediate safety ✔️✔️
C) Ignore statement
D) Document later
A nurse is teaching discharge instructions. What is key?
A) Complex terminology
B) Patient understanding ✔️✔️
4
