CEN Exam Review Questions: Emergency Nursing Practice Test with Answers & Rationales for
Certification Prep
A 3-year-old is brought in by caregivers with a history of intermittent episodes of abdominal
pain where the child screams, vomits, and flexes their knees up to the chest. On exam, there is
no tenderness or guarding in the abdomen, but a sausage-shaped mass is palpated in the right
abdomen. Blood is noted in the stool. The nurse should prepare for which intervention?
A: oil-retention enema
B: plain radiographs of the abdomen
C: CT of the abdomen
D: barium enema - correct answer ✔✔Answer: D, barium enema
Rationale:
This patient is exhibiting signs of intussusception, which include episodes of acute, colicky
abdominal pain in which the child screams and flexes knees up towards the chest. The child
usually vomits, and you may feel a "sausage-shaped" mass in the right upper quadrant. Rectal
blood or "currant jelly" stools (blood and mucus in the stools) may be present. The appropriate
intervention for a child with a probable intussusception and no signs of bowel
perforation/peritonitis is a contrast or air enema, which usually reduces the mass
What is the best way to promote a successful family presence practice?
A: ensure that social services leads the practice
B: allow only immediate family to be present
C: secure administrative support
D: make it a facility requirement - correct answer ✔✔Answer: C, secure administrative support
Rationale:
Once a clear and concise policy, procedure, or standard of care has been approved,
administrative support is recommended to ensure that the practice is a success. Monitoring of
the practice and its outcomes will provide evidence of its effectiveness
,Which of the following interventions would be appropriate for a patient who has just been
diagnosed with renal calculi?
A: apply ice to the flank area
B: surgical intervention
C: administer antiemetics
D: limit fluid intake - correct answer ✔✔Answer: C, administer antiemetics
Rationale:
Patients with renal calculi tend to present with nausea and vomiting. Antiemetics affects the
vomiting center in the brain to decrease nausea and vomiting
A child presents complaining of difficulty urinating. During triage, the mother begins speaking in
Spanish and the adolescent sibling begins to translate for the mother. Which of the following is
the most appropriate nursing intervention to complete the patient assessment?
A: ask a spanish-speaking bilingual nurse to translate
B: allow the sibling to continue translating
C: access an internet translation service to type in questions
D: use the hospital phone translation service - correct answer ✔✔Answer: D, use the hospital
phone translation services
Rationale:
A professional resource, such as a language phone line or hospital-approved interpreter is the
best method for achieving effective and accurate communication. Professional interpreters have
been evaluated for skill and fluency and have received additional training in the techniques
involved in accurate and culturally appropriate intepretation. Even though the interaction will
be on the phone, not in person, the medical interpretation will be more accurate
A patient brought by emergency medical services presents with aggression, making clear
homicidal threats. Which immediate intervention would be the priority for the staff?
A: administer antipsychotics to patient
B: place patient in one-to-one observation
, C: place patient in a seclusion room
D: place patient on restraints - correct answer ✔✔Answer: C, place patient in a seclusion room
Rationale:
For violent and homicidal patients, it is prudent to remove them from the waiting room, from
other patients, and place them in a safe environment in order to decrease external stimuli. Once
in this seclusion room, the patient can then be undressed and searched for contraband and
other dangerous items. Once the patient is deemed safe, the nurse may begin the assessment
process with therapeutic interventions, which will include de-escalation techniques as needed
An adult patient complains of a papular, scaly, itchy rash that is most prominent in the webbing
of the fingers, groin, and axilla. Permethrin cream has been prescribed. How will the nurse
instruct the patient to apply the cream?
A: to affected areas once per day for three days
B: from head-to-toe only if the rash persists beyond a week
C: from head-to-toe, with a second application one week later
D: to affected areas as needed for itching - correct answer ✔✔Answer: C, from head-to-toe,
with a second application one week later
Rationale:
This presentation is consistent with scabies, for which permethrin cream should be applied from
head-to-toe with two applications, one week apart
A patient presents following an incident with an acid splash to the eye. They report severe eye
pain, being unable to open their eye, with constant tearing. What is the nurse's first priority?
A: patch the affected eye
B: irrigation
C: visual acuity testing
D: test the eye for pH - correct answer ✔✔Answer: B, irrigation
Rationale:
Certification Prep
A 3-year-old is brought in by caregivers with a history of intermittent episodes of abdominal
pain where the child screams, vomits, and flexes their knees up to the chest. On exam, there is
no tenderness or guarding in the abdomen, but a sausage-shaped mass is palpated in the right
abdomen. Blood is noted in the stool. The nurse should prepare for which intervention?
A: oil-retention enema
B: plain radiographs of the abdomen
C: CT of the abdomen
D: barium enema - correct answer ✔✔Answer: D, barium enema
Rationale:
This patient is exhibiting signs of intussusception, which include episodes of acute, colicky
abdominal pain in which the child screams and flexes knees up towards the chest. The child
usually vomits, and you may feel a "sausage-shaped" mass in the right upper quadrant. Rectal
blood or "currant jelly" stools (blood and mucus in the stools) may be present. The appropriate
intervention for a child with a probable intussusception and no signs of bowel
perforation/peritonitis is a contrast or air enema, which usually reduces the mass
What is the best way to promote a successful family presence practice?
A: ensure that social services leads the practice
B: allow only immediate family to be present
C: secure administrative support
D: make it a facility requirement - correct answer ✔✔Answer: C, secure administrative support
Rationale:
Once a clear and concise policy, procedure, or standard of care has been approved,
administrative support is recommended to ensure that the practice is a success. Monitoring of
the practice and its outcomes will provide evidence of its effectiveness
,Which of the following interventions would be appropriate for a patient who has just been
diagnosed with renal calculi?
A: apply ice to the flank area
B: surgical intervention
C: administer antiemetics
D: limit fluid intake - correct answer ✔✔Answer: C, administer antiemetics
Rationale:
Patients with renal calculi tend to present with nausea and vomiting. Antiemetics affects the
vomiting center in the brain to decrease nausea and vomiting
A child presents complaining of difficulty urinating. During triage, the mother begins speaking in
Spanish and the adolescent sibling begins to translate for the mother. Which of the following is
the most appropriate nursing intervention to complete the patient assessment?
A: ask a spanish-speaking bilingual nurse to translate
B: allow the sibling to continue translating
C: access an internet translation service to type in questions
D: use the hospital phone translation service - correct answer ✔✔Answer: D, use the hospital
phone translation services
Rationale:
A professional resource, such as a language phone line or hospital-approved interpreter is the
best method for achieving effective and accurate communication. Professional interpreters have
been evaluated for skill and fluency and have received additional training in the techniques
involved in accurate and culturally appropriate intepretation. Even though the interaction will
be on the phone, not in person, the medical interpretation will be more accurate
A patient brought by emergency medical services presents with aggression, making clear
homicidal threats. Which immediate intervention would be the priority for the staff?
A: administer antipsychotics to patient
B: place patient in one-to-one observation
, C: place patient in a seclusion room
D: place patient on restraints - correct answer ✔✔Answer: C, place patient in a seclusion room
Rationale:
For violent and homicidal patients, it is prudent to remove them from the waiting room, from
other patients, and place them in a safe environment in order to decrease external stimuli. Once
in this seclusion room, the patient can then be undressed and searched for contraband and
other dangerous items. Once the patient is deemed safe, the nurse may begin the assessment
process with therapeutic interventions, which will include de-escalation techniques as needed
An adult patient complains of a papular, scaly, itchy rash that is most prominent in the webbing
of the fingers, groin, and axilla. Permethrin cream has been prescribed. How will the nurse
instruct the patient to apply the cream?
A: to affected areas once per day for three days
B: from head-to-toe only if the rash persists beyond a week
C: from head-to-toe, with a second application one week later
D: to affected areas as needed for itching - correct answer ✔✔Answer: C, from head-to-toe,
with a second application one week later
Rationale:
This presentation is consistent with scabies, for which permethrin cream should be applied from
head-to-toe with two applications, one week apart
A patient presents following an incident with an acid splash to the eye. They report severe eye
pain, being unable to open their eye, with constant tearing. What is the nurse's first priority?
A: patch the affected eye
B: irrigation
C: visual acuity testing
D: test the eye for pH - correct answer ✔✔Answer: B, irrigation
Rationale:
