LEADING SAFE CERTIFICATION
COMPREHENSIVE STUDY GUIDE 2026
FULL QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS
GRADED A+
◍ Standards of care for mental health settings are set by....
Answer: American nurses associationAmerican psychiatric nurses
associationInternational society of psychiatric-mental health nurses
◍ Level of consciousness.
Answer: -Alert: responsive, opens eyes, attends to a normal tone of voice
and speech, answers questions spontaneously.-Lethargic: opens eyes,
responds but is drowsy.-Stuporous: Requires painful stimuli to get a
response. May not be able to respond verbally.-Comatose: unconscious,
does not respond to painful stimuli, and abnormal posturing (decorticate
rigidity or decerebrate rigidity).
◍ Assessment of cognitive and intellectual abilities.
Answer: -Orientation, -memory, -calculation, -abstract thinking, -objective
assessment of illness, -judgment, -assess the rate and volume of speech
-appropriateness of response.
◍ Mini-mental state examination (MMSE).
Answer: objectively assess: -orientation -attention span -recall -language
-calculation -ability to write
◍ Glasgow coma scale.
Answer: Used to obtain a baseline assessment of a client's level of
consciousness, and for ongoing assessment: eye, verbal, motor response.
The highest value is 15. 7 or less is coma.
, ◍ HEADSS.
Answer: -Home environment, -Education/employment, activities. -Drug and
substance use, -Suicide/ depression, -Savagery (abuse or violence).
◍ Assessing children and adolescents.
Answer: -Healthy: trusting, view the world as safe, accurately interpret the
environment, appropriate coping skills.-Assess for mood, anxiety,
developmental, behavioral, and eating disorders, the risk for self-injury, and
suicide. -Use HEADSS to assess risk factors.
◍ Assessing older adults.
Answer: -Also needs to assess functional ability, economic and social status,
environmental factors, physical assessment.-Assessment tools: geriatric
depression scale, Michigan alcoholism screening test, MMSE, pain
assessment.
◍ Steps to conduct an assessment.
Answer: -Use a private and quiet space with adequate lighting.-Make an
introduction and determine client's name preference.-Stand or sit at the
client's level-Use touch to communicate caring-Be sure to include questions
relating to difficulty sleeping, incontinence, falls or other injuries,
depression, dizziness, and loss of energy.-Include the family and significant
others-Obtain a detailed med history-Summarize and ask for feedback
◍ DSM-5 diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders.
Answer: -Published by APA. -Used to diagnose mental health.-Nurses use
this to identify diagnoses and diagnostic criteria to guide assessment,
diagnoses, plan, implement and evaluate.
◍ Serious mental illness.
Answer: -includes disorders classified as severe and persistent mental
illnesses. -Clients have difficulty with ADLs-Can be chronic or recurrent
◍ Therapeutic strategies.
Answer: -counseling -milieu therapy -promotion or self-care activities
-psychobiological interventions -cognitive and behavioral therapies -health
COMPREHENSIVE STUDY GUIDE 2026
FULL QUESTIONS AND SOLUTIONS
GRADED A+
◍ Standards of care for mental health settings are set by....
Answer: American nurses associationAmerican psychiatric nurses
associationInternational society of psychiatric-mental health nurses
◍ Level of consciousness.
Answer: -Alert: responsive, opens eyes, attends to a normal tone of voice
and speech, answers questions spontaneously.-Lethargic: opens eyes,
responds but is drowsy.-Stuporous: Requires painful stimuli to get a
response. May not be able to respond verbally.-Comatose: unconscious,
does not respond to painful stimuli, and abnormal posturing (decorticate
rigidity or decerebrate rigidity).
◍ Assessment of cognitive and intellectual abilities.
Answer: -Orientation, -memory, -calculation, -abstract thinking, -objective
assessment of illness, -judgment, -assess the rate and volume of speech
-appropriateness of response.
◍ Mini-mental state examination (MMSE).
Answer: objectively assess: -orientation -attention span -recall -language
-calculation -ability to write
◍ Glasgow coma scale.
Answer: Used to obtain a baseline assessment of a client's level of
consciousness, and for ongoing assessment: eye, verbal, motor response.
The highest value is 15. 7 or less is coma.
, ◍ HEADSS.
Answer: -Home environment, -Education/employment, activities. -Drug and
substance use, -Suicide/ depression, -Savagery (abuse or violence).
◍ Assessing children and adolescents.
Answer: -Healthy: trusting, view the world as safe, accurately interpret the
environment, appropriate coping skills.-Assess for mood, anxiety,
developmental, behavioral, and eating disorders, the risk for self-injury, and
suicide. -Use HEADSS to assess risk factors.
◍ Assessing older adults.
Answer: -Also needs to assess functional ability, economic and social status,
environmental factors, physical assessment.-Assessment tools: geriatric
depression scale, Michigan alcoholism screening test, MMSE, pain
assessment.
◍ Steps to conduct an assessment.
Answer: -Use a private and quiet space with adequate lighting.-Make an
introduction and determine client's name preference.-Stand or sit at the
client's level-Use touch to communicate caring-Be sure to include questions
relating to difficulty sleeping, incontinence, falls or other injuries,
depression, dizziness, and loss of energy.-Include the family and significant
others-Obtain a detailed med history-Summarize and ask for feedback
◍ DSM-5 diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders.
Answer: -Published by APA. -Used to diagnose mental health.-Nurses use
this to identify diagnoses and diagnostic criteria to guide assessment,
diagnoses, plan, implement and evaluate.
◍ Serious mental illness.
Answer: -includes disorders classified as severe and persistent mental
illnesses. -Clients have difficulty with ADLs-Can be chronic or recurrent
◍ Therapeutic strategies.
Answer: -counseling -milieu therapy -promotion or self-care activities
-psychobiological interventions -cognitive and behavioral therapies -health
