NUR 256 – EXAM 3 - MENTAL HEALTH PRACTICE QUESTIONS & VERIFIED ANSWERS |2026 UPDATE
1. A client diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease looks confused when the phone rings
and cannot recall many household objects by name. The nurse can document this
loss of function as
a. apraxia
b. aphasia
c. anhedonia
d. agnosia
2. Which event would a client with early-stage Alzheimer's disease have greatest
difficulty remembering?
a. His or her high school graduation
b. the births of his or her children
c. what he or she ate for breakfast
d. the story of a teenage escapade
3. As the community health nurse, you are asked to give a talk to your local
retirement community. What should you keep in mind?
a. make sure you speak loudly and handouts are in large print
b. make sure you keep eye contact with them and speak slowly
c. avoid discussing violent or depressing issues
d. stand to the side of the group and not directly in front, so you do not look
confrontational
4. Your client is experiencing delirium due to a medication reaction. During periods of
lucidity, what is your initial nursing intervention?
a. Use this time to get the client to take her medications.
b. Call the PCP to get new orders, since the delirium has subsided.
c. Just sit with the client to assure safety.
d. Reorient the client.
5. A client diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease has become more forgetful and has
difficulty performing familiar tasks like bathing and dressing. When handed the
washcloth, the client tries to wear it on their head. The nurse would assess the
client is exhibiting which symptom of the disease?
a. Anhedonia
i. Lack of pleasure or interest
b. Confabulation
i. Creation of false memories
c. apraxia.
d. Ataxia
i. Lack of coordination and balance
6. Which side effect of antipsychotic medication is generally nonreversible?
a. Anticholinergic effects
b. Pseudoparkinsonism
c. Dystonic reaction
d. Tardive dyskinesia
7. A depressed, socially withdrawn client tells the nurse, “There is no sense in trying. I
am never able to do anything right!” The nurse can best reply therapeutically by
saying....
a. suggesting, “Let’s look at what you just said, that you can ‘never do
anything right.’
b. asking, “Is this part of the reason you think no one likes you?”
c. querying, “Tell me what things you think you are not able to do correctly.”
https://www.stuvia.com/user/mboffin
, d. saying, “That is the most unrealistic thing I have ever heard.”
8. When the clinician mentions that a client has anhedonia, the nurse can expect that
the client will demonstrate what behavior?
a. Poor retention of recent events
b. No pleasure from previously enjoyed activities
c. A weight loss from anorexia
d. Difficulty with tasks requiring fine motor skills
9. Which of the following would be assessed as a negative symptom of
schizophrenia?
a. Agitation
b. Hostility
c. Hallucinations
d. Anhedonia
Negative symptoms refer to deficits that characterize schizophrenia. They include the
crippling symptoms of affective blunting (lack of facial expression), anergia (lack of
energy), anhedonia (inability to experience happiness), avolition (lack of motivation),
poverty of content of speech, poverty of speech, and thought blocking.
10. Assessment of the thought processes of a client diagnosed with depression is
most likely to reveal what characteristic?
a. Self-deprecating ideation
b. Sexual preoccupation
c. Delusions of persecution
d. Good memory and concentration
11. Which assessment finding best supports dissociative fugue? The patient
states
a. “I cannot recall why I’m living in this town.”
b. “I feel as if I’m living in a fuzzy dream state.”
c. “I feel like different parts of my body are at war.”
d. “I feel very anxious and worried about my problems.”
12. The nurse who is counseling a patient with dissociative identity disorder
should understand that the assessment of highest priority is
a. risk for self-harm.
b. cognitive function.
c. memory impairment.
d. condition of self-esteem.
13. Four teenagers died in an automobile accident. One week later, which
behavior by the parents of these teenagers most clearly demonstrates resilience?
The parents who
a. visit their teenager’s grave daily.
b. discuss the accident within the family only.
c. create a scholarship fund at their child’s high school.
d. return immediately to employment.
14. A nurse assessing a patient diagnosed with a somatic symptom disorder is
most likely to note that the patient
a. has little difficulty communicating emotional needs to others.
b. sees a relationship between symptoms and interpersonal conflicts.
c. rarely derives personal benefit from the symptoms.
d. has altered comfort and activity needs.
https://www.stuvia.com/user/mboffin
1. A client diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease looks confused when the phone rings
and cannot recall many household objects by name. The nurse can document this
loss of function as
a. apraxia
b. aphasia
c. anhedonia
d. agnosia
2. Which event would a client with early-stage Alzheimer's disease have greatest
difficulty remembering?
a. His or her high school graduation
b. the births of his or her children
c. what he or she ate for breakfast
d. the story of a teenage escapade
3. As the community health nurse, you are asked to give a talk to your local
retirement community. What should you keep in mind?
a. make sure you speak loudly and handouts are in large print
b. make sure you keep eye contact with them and speak slowly
c. avoid discussing violent or depressing issues
d. stand to the side of the group and not directly in front, so you do not look
confrontational
4. Your client is experiencing delirium due to a medication reaction. During periods of
lucidity, what is your initial nursing intervention?
a. Use this time to get the client to take her medications.
b. Call the PCP to get new orders, since the delirium has subsided.
c. Just sit with the client to assure safety.
d. Reorient the client.
5. A client diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease has become more forgetful and has
difficulty performing familiar tasks like bathing and dressing. When handed the
washcloth, the client tries to wear it on their head. The nurse would assess the
client is exhibiting which symptom of the disease?
a. Anhedonia
i. Lack of pleasure or interest
b. Confabulation
i. Creation of false memories
c. apraxia.
d. Ataxia
i. Lack of coordination and balance
6. Which side effect of antipsychotic medication is generally nonreversible?
a. Anticholinergic effects
b. Pseudoparkinsonism
c. Dystonic reaction
d. Tardive dyskinesia
7. A depressed, socially withdrawn client tells the nurse, “There is no sense in trying. I
am never able to do anything right!” The nurse can best reply therapeutically by
saying....
a. suggesting, “Let’s look at what you just said, that you can ‘never do
anything right.’
b. asking, “Is this part of the reason you think no one likes you?”
c. querying, “Tell me what things you think you are not able to do correctly.”
https://www.stuvia.com/user/mboffin
, d. saying, “That is the most unrealistic thing I have ever heard.”
8. When the clinician mentions that a client has anhedonia, the nurse can expect that
the client will demonstrate what behavior?
a. Poor retention of recent events
b. No pleasure from previously enjoyed activities
c. A weight loss from anorexia
d. Difficulty with tasks requiring fine motor skills
9. Which of the following would be assessed as a negative symptom of
schizophrenia?
a. Agitation
b. Hostility
c. Hallucinations
d. Anhedonia
Negative symptoms refer to deficits that characterize schizophrenia. They include the
crippling symptoms of affective blunting (lack of facial expression), anergia (lack of
energy), anhedonia (inability to experience happiness), avolition (lack of motivation),
poverty of content of speech, poverty of speech, and thought blocking.
10. Assessment of the thought processes of a client diagnosed with depression is
most likely to reveal what characteristic?
a. Self-deprecating ideation
b. Sexual preoccupation
c. Delusions of persecution
d. Good memory and concentration
11. Which assessment finding best supports dissociative fugue? The patient
states
a. “I cannot recall why I’m living in this town.”
b. “I feel as if I’m living in a fuzzy dream state.”
c. “I feel like different parts of my body are at war.”
d. “I feel very anxious and worried about my problems.”
12. The nurse who is counseling a patient with dissociative identity disorder
should understand that the assessment of highest priority is
a. risk for self-harm.
b. cognitive function.
c. memory impairment.
d. condition of self-esteem.
13. Four teenagers died in an automobile accident. One week later, which
behavior by the parents of these teenagers most clearly demonstrates resilience?
The parents who
a. visit their teenager’s grave daily.
b. discuss the accident within the family only.
c. create a scholarship fund at their child’s high school.
d. return immediately to employment.
14. A nurse assessing a patient diagnosed with a somatic symptom disorder is
most likely to note that the patient
a. has little difficulty communicating emotional needs to others.
b. sees a relationship between symptoms and interpersonal conflicts.
c. rarely derives personal benefit from the symptoms.
d. has altered comfort and activity needs.
https://www.stuvia.com/user/mboffin
