NRS 2012 FINAL EXAM COMPREHENSIVE
STUDY GUIDE 2026 Q&A OAKLAND
UNIVERSITY (ALL MODULES COVERED)
What is nursing?
The diagnosis and treatment of human responses to actual or potential health problems
What is the ANA definition of nursing?
The diagnosis and treatment of human responses and advocacy in the care of individuals,
families, groups, communities and populations in recognition of the connection of all
humnanity
Research Competencies at the Doctoral Level: Post-doctoral
- Implement a funded program of research
- Mentor other PhD prepared researchers
The use of evidence in nursing practice enables nurses to
provide the highest quality care
EBNP is an expectation, BUT
not all nurses understand how to do EBNP or have the education necessary to do it
EBNP de-emphasizes
habits and ritual as the basis for nursing care
What is evidence?
Knowledge generated by research
Who produces the evidence needed for EBNP?
NURSES!
Nurses are the only professionals who
know NURSING!
There are two scientific approaches to knowledge development. What are they?
Deductive and inductive
What is deductive reasoning?
The process of developing specific predictions from general principles (quantitative)
What is inductive reasoning?
,The process of developing generalizations from specific observations
Inductive nursing knowledge can be generated from
nursing practice
What is seen/done/learned during nursing practice can
generate new knowledge
Example of Inductive Nursing Knowledge
SPECIFIC - You are a pediatric nurse and you observe during your clinical experiences that the
children you care for get anxious when their parents leave
GENERALIZE - You conclude that all hospitalized children are anxious when separated from
their parents, and you plan accordingly
Deductive Nursing Knowledge is generated from
learned principles
In deduction, you:
- Use previously learned theoretical knowledge
- Compare it to what you see during practice to assess its congruence
Example of Deductive Nursing Knowledge
- GENERAL PRINCIPLE: You were taught in your nursing courses that children have separation
anxiety when separated from their parents
- SPECIFIC: During your pediatric clinical experiences, you look to see if the children you care
for show s/s consistent with this understanding
They are many different sources of evidence, but they are NOT all
credible, valid, reliable, etc.
Health care, historically, has had a bias toward
knowledge derived from science deductively
Health care presents knowledge in
academic journals as primary/original reports of research
Inductive approaches have not always been
valued as credible forms of evidence/research even when published in academic journals
Both approaches to knowledge development are
useful for understanding nursing phenomena
Neither approach to knowledge is
superior or w/o limitations when used as the basis for nursing practice/for providing patient-
centered nursing care
,What is nursing literature?
Literature written by, for, and about nurses/nursing practice/the professions of nursing and
reported in nursing journals
How to know a journal is a nursing journal:
With few exceptions, a nursing journal's title has the words nurse, nurses, or nursing in it
Where do you find the nursing literature?
CINAHL - Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature
What is CINAHL?
A database/index of nursing literature
Not every article found in CINAHL is from
the nursing literature
What level of education does the CNL require?
Master's
CNLs are NOT
considered APRNs
Drake: "Master's prepared clinical nurse leaders: 2 to 10 years post-graduation"
- CNLs were satisfied with their educational preparation
- Education included leadership courses in ethics, care environment management, and
research
- Clinical experiences and clinical courses were also provided; included different populations
and environments
Hulett & Shatto: "Clinical nurse leaders: illuminating and leading the future"
Roles/responsibilities include:
- Create collaborative programs for education and clinical experiences,
- Form strong leaders who will demonstrate willingness to form connections for best nursing
evidence-based practices
- Work to form advanced specialty training to secure leadership skills
- Resolve and improve nursing related issues r/t QI
- Refine competency in regard to cross-cultural advocacy
, Clavo-Hall: "Roles enacted by clinical nurse leaders across the healthcare spectrum: A
systematic literature review"
- CNLs work alongside the nursing staff to ensure optimal care for the patients
- Care plans are evaluated and compared to determine the effectiveness in achieving the
patient's desired outcome
- Facilitate and oversee smooth transitions of patient care and out of the hospital setting
- Facilitate and oversee the probability of reaching the patient's health care goals
- Improve safety, efficiency, and quality of care
- Evaluate the costs associated w/ their health care systems to determine what is necessary
for care interventions and what can be limited
"HOW CAN THIS BE IMPROVED?"
- Look @ all of the factors listed and identify how they can enhance each area to ensure an
optimal, well-oiled healthcare team
- Stay on top of EBP to support patient care
Clinical Nurse Leaders: Summary
- CNL graduates were highly satisfied with their education
- The role expansion for practicing CNLs allow them to enhance patient outcomes and improve
units
- CNLs help reduce costs due to quality improvement
Clinical Nurse Leaders: Nursing Implications
- Improve patient and healthcare system outcomes to decrease costs
3 METHODS
- Deliver safe and comprehensive patient care
- Utilize interdisciplinary collaboration
- Use evidence-based criteria to assess the quality of patient care and system functionality
within the healthcare microsystem
- CNL role was to help achieve better health, better care, and better value
- CNLs are not utilized to their full potential
Vitale & Lyons: "The State of Nurse Anesthesia Practice and Policy: An Integrative Review"
STUDY GUIDE 2026 Q&A OAKLAND
UNIVERSITY (ALL MODULES COVERED)
What is nursing?
The diagnosis and treatment of human responses to actual or potential health problems
What is the ANA definition of nursing?
The diagnosis and treatment of human responses and advocacy in the care of individuals,
families, groups, communities and populations in recognition of the connection of all
humnanity
Research Competencies at the Doctoral Level: Post-doctoral
- Implement a funded program of research
- Mentor other PhD prepared researchers
The use of evidence in nursing practice enables nurses to
provide the highest quality care
EBNP is an expectation, BUT
not all nurses understand how to do EBNP or have the education necessary to do it
EBNP de-emphasizes
habits and ritual as the basis for nursing care
What is evidence?
Knowledge generated by research
Who produces the evidence needed for EBNP?
NURSES!
Nurses are the only professionals who
know NURSING!
There are two scientific approaches to knowledge development. What are they?
Deductive and inductive
What is deductive reasoning?
The process of developing specific predictions from general principles (quantitative)
What is inductive reasoning?
,The process of developing generalizations from specific observations
Inductive nursing knowledge can be generated from
nursing practice
What is seen/done/learned during nursing practice can
generate new knowledge
Example of Inductive Nursing Knowledge
SPECIFIC - You are a pediatric nurse and you observe during your clinical experiences that the
children you care for get anxious when their parents leave
GENERALIZE - You conclude that all hospitalized children are anxious when separated from
their parents, and you plan accordingly
Deductive Nursing Knowledge is generated from
learned principles
In deduction, you:
- Use previously learned theoretical knowledge
- Compare it to what you see during practice to assess its congruence
Example of Deductive Nursing Knowledge
- GENERAL PRINCIPLE: You were taught in your nursing courses that children have separation
anxiety when separated from their parents
- SPECIFIC: During your pediatric clinical experiences, you look to see if the children you care
for show s/s consistent with this understanding
They are many different sources of evidence, but they are NOT all
credible, valid, reliable, etc.
Health care, historically, has had a bias toward
knowledge derived from science deductively
Health care presents knowledge in
academic journals as primary/original reports of research
Inductive approaches have not always been
valued as credible forms of evidence/research even when published in academic journals
Both approaches to knowledge development are
useful for understanding nursing phenomena
Neither approach to knowledge is
superior or w/o limitations when used as the basis for nursing practice/for providing patient-
centered nursing care
,What is nursing literature?
Literature written by, for, and about nurses/nursing practice/the professions of nursing and
reported in nursing journals
How to know a journal is a nursing journal:
With few exceptions, a nursing journal's title has the words nurse, nurses, or nursing in it
Where do you find the nursing literature?
CINAHL - Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature
What is CINAHL?
A database/index of nursing literature
Not every article found in CINAHL is from
the nursing literature
What level of education does the CNL require?
Master's
CNLs are NOT
considered APRNs
Drake: "Master's prepared clinical nurse leaders: 2 to 10 years post-graduation"
- CNLs were satisfied with their educational preparation
- Education included leadership courses in ethics, care environment management, and
research
- Clinical experiences and clinical courses were also provided; included different populations
and environments
Hulett & Shatto: "Clinical nurse leaders: illuminating and leading the future"
Roles/responsibilities include:
- Create collaborative programs for education and clinical experiences,
- Form strong leaders who will demonstrate willingness to form connections for best nursing
evidence-based practices
- Work to form advanced specialty training to secure leadership skills
- Resolve and improve nursing related issues r/t QI
- Refine competency in regard to cross-cultural advocacy
, Clavo-Hall: "Roles enacted by clinical nurse leaders across the healthcare spectrum: A
systematic literature review"
- CNLs work alongside the nursing staff to ensure optimal care for the patients
- Care plans are evaluated and compared to determine the effectiveness in achieving the
patient's desired outcome
- Facilitate and oversee smooth transitions of patient care and out of the hospital setting
- Facilitate and oversee the probability of reaching the patient's health care goals
- Improve safety, efficiency, and quality of care
- Evaluate the costs associated w/ their health care systems to determine what is necessary
for care interventions and what can be limited
"HOW CAN THIS BE IMPROVED?"
- Look @ all of the factors listed and identify how they can enhance each area to ensure an
optimal, well-oiled healthcare team
- Stay on top of EBP to support patient care
Clinical Nurse Leaders: Summary
- CNL graduates were highly satisfied with their education
- The role expansion for practicing CNLs allow them to enhance patient outcomes and improve
units
- CNLs help reduce costs due to quality improvement
Clinical Nurse Leaders: Nursing Implications
- Improve patient and healthcare system outcomes to decrease costs
3 METHODS
- Deliver safe and comprehensive patient care
- Utilize interdisciplinary collaboration
- Use evidence-based criteria to assess the quality of patient care and system functionality
within the healthcare microsystem
- CNL role was to help achieve better health, better care, and better value
- CNLs are not utilized to their full potential
Vitale & Lyons: "The State of Nurse Anesthesia Practice and Policy: An Integrative Review"
