Exam 1: NU 160 / NU160 (Latest 2026 / 2027) Mental Health Concepts | 100% Correct Questions & Answers – Galen

Exam 1: NU 160 / NU160 (Latest 2026 / 2027) Mental Health Concepts | 100% Correct Questions & Answers – Galen Question : Of the skills listed below, which is of primary importance to a nurse working as a member of a community mental health team that is striving to use a seamless continuum of care? Select one: Patients' rights advocacy Physical assessment skills Case management Diagnostic ability Answer Case Management Question : The nurse perceives that a patient is experiencing emotional pain. The remark that would be most therapeutic is: Select one: "Please tell me what you would like me to do to help you through this." "I hear how painful this is for vou. I would like to help vou deal with the situation." "I don't think this is as serious as vou believe it is." "I'm so very sorry that this has happened to you, adding to your burdens." Answer "I hear how painful this is for vou. I would like to help vou deal with the situation." Question : Which patient should be considered for involuntary commitment for psychiatric treatment? The patient who: Select one: threatens to harm self and others. is noncompliant with the treatment regimen. who fraudulently files for bankruptcy. sold and distrubuted illegal drugs. Answer threatens to harm self and others. Question : A client hospitalized under emergency commitment is being treated for chronic depression with suicidal ideation. After 3 days, the client demands to be released. The nurse should intervene by: Select one: Restricting the client to her room Allowing the client to leave the unit Informing the client that she must stay 15 days Offering information that the client can speak to a lawyer Answer Offering information that the client can speak to a lawyer Question : Order: Biaxin 75 mg p.o. q12h Available: 125 mg per 5 ml Answer:______ml Answer 3ml Question : During the mental status examination, the patient tells the nurse, "I am God's special messenger sent to show the world the cure for cancer." The nurse should assess the patient's statement as indicating the presence of: Select one: hvpervigilance. a phobia. a delusion loose associations Answer a delusion Question : During the performance of the mental status examination, the data the nurse should examine as being most pertinent for determining the patient's mood is (are): Select one: degree of cooperation or resistance to the interview. facial expression and statements about feelings. answers to iudgment guestions. observations about sensorium. Answer facial expression and statements about feelings. Question : Order: Morphine 8 mg subcut q4h prn for pain Available: Morphine 15 mg per mL a. How many milliliters will you administer? b. Shade in the dosage on the syringe. Answer 0.5 mL Question : Which interventions should be selected for inclusion in the care plan of a patient being restrained or secluded? (Select All That Apply) a. Seclusion instituted when verbal intervention ineffective in stopping assaultive behavior. b. Constant observation in effect while patient secluded. c. Medication administered prn when patient's hallucinations noted. d. Written medical order obtained. Answer Written medical order obtained. Seclusion instituted when verbal intervention ineffective in stopping assaultive behavior. Constant observation in effect while patient secluded. Question : A 30-year-old male client has been admitted for substance abuse detoxification. The nurse receives a call from a person who says he is the client's co-worker and is inquiring about the client's condition. The nurse's response should: Select one: Suggest that the co-worker call the client directly on the client's phone Invite the caller to contact the client's phvsician for information Not acknowledge that the client has been admitted to the unit Give only the information that the client's condition is stable Answer Not acknowledge that the client has been admitted to the unit When observing and interpreting a patient's nonverbal communication, an important nursing consideration to factor in is that: Select one: nonverbal cues have obvious meaning and are easily interpreted. verbal responses are more important than nonverbal cues. patients usually are very aware of their nonverbal cues. nonverbal cues provide significant information but must be validated. Answer nonverbal cues provide significant information but must be validated. A client says, "I have something really important I need to share with you." The nurse stands at the door with her arms crossed and states, "Go ahead. I'm all ears." What positive behaviors can the nurse can display? Select all that apply. a. Incongruent communication b. Congruent communication c. Therapeutic communication d. Ineffective responses e. Setting limits Answer Therapeutic communication Congruent communication Setting limits A client is agitated, using profanity, and verbally threatening other clients. Based on these behaviors, the nurse should initially plan to: Select one: Speak to the physician about reevaluating the client's medications Initiate verbal intervention and take the client to his or her room Secure enough staff members to place the client in seclusion Speak with the other clients about their feelings Initiate verbal intervention and take the client to his or her room A patient tells the nurse in confidence that he still has suicidal thoughts, but doesn't want anyone to know because he is to be discharged that afternoon. The nurse's best course of action is to: Select one: maintain the patient's right to confidentiality. encourage the patient to call his outpatient counselor. keep in touch with the patient after discharge to monitor progress. inform the phvsician and other appropriate health team members. inform the physician and other appropriate health team members. A patient says, "I've done a lot of cheating and manipulating in my relationships." A nonjudgmental response by the nurse would be: Select one: a. "Have vou outgrown that type of behavior?" b. "It's good that you realize this." c. "That's not a good way to behave." d. "How do you feel about that?" "How do you feel about that?" A patient has a high level of non-goal-directed motor activity and runs from chair to chair crying,"They're coming! They're coming!" The patient neither follows staff direction nor responds to verbal interventions. The initial nursing intervention of highest priority is to: Select one: a. increase environmental stimuli. b. respect the patient's personal space. c. provide for patient safety. d. encourage clarification of feelings. provide for patient safety. The nurse caring for a newly admitted patient knows that effective use of the nursing process is dependent on communication that: Select one: a. meets the needs of both patient and nurse. b. fosters emotional distance between patient and nurse. c. is structured and goal-directed. d. is spontaneous and affords mutual self-disclosure. is structured and goal-directed. Which individual can the nurse assess as being at highest risk for becoming homeless? Select one: a. An adolescent with obsessive-compulsive disorder who has two parents b. An elderlv sinale woman with mild dementia who lives in an adult home c. A married alcoholic woman who has two grown children d. A man with serious mental illness who has no familv A man with serious mental illness who has no familv A patient discloses several concerns and associated feelings. If the nurse wishes to seek clarification, which comment would be appropriate? Select one: a. "What are the common elements here?' b. "Tell me again about vour experiences." c. "Tell me evervthing from the beginning." d. "Am I correct in understanding that ...?" "Am I correct in understanding that ...?" A client admitted on an involuntary basis is being treated for an acute exacerbation of paranoid schizophrenia. He refuses his morning dose of fluphenazine (Prolixin). The most appropriate initial nursing response would be: Select one: "If you do not take your medication, you will be placed in seclusion." "If you do not take your medication, I must give you an injection." "Let's discuss why you do not want to take vour medication." "Involuntarily committed clients cannot refuse medications." "Let's discuss why you do not want to take your medication." The nurse caring for a withdrawn, highly suspicious patient will plan interventions that give priority to tasks of the phase of the nurse-patient relationship known as the: Select one: orientation stage. identification and exploration stage. working stage. resolution or termination stage. orientation stage. When one considers the roles and functions of psychiatric nursing, the overlap of communication and management roles is seen in the function of: Select one: collaboration. teaching. direct care. delegation. collaboration. To help preserve the patient's rights to freedom from restraint and seclusion, the most important interventions that the nurse can use are based on principles of: Select one: therapeutic management. effective use of ancillary personnel. confidentiality of documentation. realitv-based communication. therapeutic management. A psychiatric nurse working as a case manager in a community mental health center receives a call asking for information about a patient at the center. Under which of the following conditions can the nurse release information to the caller? Select one: The patient has given written consent for release of information. The caller is a mental health professional. The attending psychiatrist approves the request. The caller is related to the patient. The patient has given written consent for release of information. Order: Epinephrine 0.5 mg subcut stat Available: Epinephrine 1 mg per ml a. How man milliliters will vou administer? b. Shade in the dosage on the svringe. 0.5mg To formulate an opinion about a patient's judgment, which question should the nurse ask during the mental status examination? Select one: a. "Do your thoughts ever seem to be all jumbled up?" b. "Do vou ever hear voices?" c. "On a scale of 1 to 50, how stressed are you?" d. "If you found a stamped, addressed envelope on the street, what would you do with it?" is: "If you found a stamped, addressed envelope on the street, what would you do with it?" A teenage client is hospitalized after a serious suicide attempt related to feelings of hopelessness. The client comes from an upper-middle-class home in the suburbs and has never had psychiatric care before. Two hours after admission, when the nurse asks about the client's reaction to hospitalization, the client is most likely to label the experience as Select one: a. frightening. b. necessary. c. enjoyable. d. exciting. frightening. The nurse performing a mental status examination for a patient wishes to determine whether the patient has experienced hallucinations. The nurse should ask: Select one: "Do vour moods shift more than those of other people?" "Can vou tell me where vou are now?" "What would vou do if vou found a stamped, addressed letter Iving on the street?" "Do vou hear or see things when others don't?' "Do vou hear or see things when others don't?' When asked by a mentee for hints about use of therapeutic listening, the nurse should mention: (Select all that apply) avoid questioning. assume an attending posture. maintain unbroken eye contact. use empathy sparingly. validate and clarify. give feedback appropriately. validate and clarify assume an attending posture give feedback appropriately. A 52-year-old woman is admitted involuntarily with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Lithium 300 mg PO tid is prescribed. The patient refuses to take her morning dose. The nurse should: Select one: assemble adequate help to force the patient to take the medication by the oral route. contact the physician to get the order changed to the IM route. allow the patient to refuse the medication; document and notify the physician. inform the patient that unit privileges are contingent on taking prescribed medication. allow the patient to refuse the medication; document and notify the physician. A common mistake that nurses make when beginning to develop therapeutic communication techniaues is: Select one: using too many different techniques during an interaction. allowing the patient to become too anxious before changing the subject. giving advice rather than encouraging the patient to solve problems. focusing on what the patient is saving rather than on communication techniques. giving advice rather than encouraging the patient to solve problems. A patient is admitted to an inpatient psychiatric unit for severe depression. Knowing that the patient will be discharged after a short stay, it is a priority for the nurse to: Select one: focus on milieu management and psychopharmacology. keep the relationship goal-directed and problem-centered. choose a specific theoretical model as a basis for care. immediately begin to explore serious patient issues. keep the relationship goal-directed and problem-centered. During the orientation portion of a psychiatric nursing course, which would the instructor be most likelv to tell students? Select one: "Psvchiatric nursing has vet to be recognized as a core mental health discipline." "There is one approved theoretical framework for psvchiatric nursing practice." "Contemporary practice of psychiatric nursing is primarily focused on inpatient care." "The psychiatric nursing patient may be an individual, a family, a group, an organization, or a community." "The psychiatric nursing patient may be an individual, a family, a group, an organization, or a community." The nurse determines that it would be helpful to give a patient an opportunity to try out new, more assertive behaviors. This can be accomplished if the nurse uses the technique of: Select one: giving feedback. encouraging evaluation. clarifving. role playing. role playing. The nurse tells a patient, " noticed that you seemed to become irritated when we discussed vour relationship with vour husband." The nurse is using the communication technique known as: Select one: making observations. giving information. interpreting. clarifying. making observations. A 23-year-old man has identified the need for better anger management. He tells the nurse he is afraid that someday he might "explode." The best strategy for reducing a patient's fear of losing control over his or her feelings is to: Select one: discuss feelings in general without reference to the patient. avoid talking about the feelings until the patient feels comfortable. reassure the patient that he or she will feel better if feelings are expressed. talk about feelings openly and directly. talk about feelings openly and directlv. A patient has been in the hospital 6 davs and has made little progress toward outcomes written at the time of admission. The nurse should make the determination that lack of progress toward goals indicates that: Select one: a. the chosen nursing interventions were inadequate. b. nursing diagnoses were incorrectly identified. c. a need for reassessment exists. a need for reassessment exists. Which nursing intervention will initially be most helpful for trust building with a suspicious patient? Select one: Keeping appointments and promises Agreeing not to share patient revelations Enforcing rules requiring participation Openly challenging questionable patient statements Keeping appointments and promises A nurse and a patient who have developed a therapeutic nurse-patient relationship are about to enter the termination phase of the relationship. An important nursing intervention for the termination stage is for the nurse to: Select one: encourage the patient to describe his or her goals for change. discuss feelings about termination with the patient. provide structure and intensive support. inform the patient of the progress the she or he has made. discuss feelings about termination with the patient. Following the admission interview, a spouse asks the nurse, "Why did you ask my partner all those questions? Some of them had nothing to do with current problems." The best response for the nurse would be that "Those questions help us understand: Select one: the patient's past experiences." the patient's current status." what the patient's prognosis will be." the complete family history." the patient's current status." Nurse K. states, "I plan ways for patients assigned to me to participate in their own care and to be actively involved in all of the activities on the unit." Her approach demonstrates the concept of: Select one: social accountability. nurse-patient relationship. therapeutic community. multidisciplinary mental health team. therapeutic community. A patient tells the nurse, "When I get out, I'm going to get even with a lot of people." With respect to the nurse's duty to warn, the nurse should: Select one: take no action on a general threat. document and discuss the threat with the clinical team. warn onlv close relatives. warn all relatives and friends of the patient. document and discuss the threat with the clinical team. A 27-year-old patient with schizophrenia says to the nurse, "I feel really close to you. You're the only true friend I have." The most therapeutic response for the nurse to make is: Select one: "Because ours is a professional relationship, let's explore other opportunities for friendship in vour life." "I feel good that you trust me. Trust is important for the work we are doing together." "I'm sure that there are others in vour life who are vour friends." "We're really not friends. Our relationship is professional." "Because ours is a professional relationship, let's explore other opportunities for friendship in vour life." A mental health crisis team lead by a psychiatric nurse is called to a residence because a man with a history of chronic schizophrenia is standing on the front lawn shouting that the neighbors are poisoning his water. The nurse should advise the police officer member of the crisis team to institute procedures for: Select one: a probable cause hearina. short-term observation and treatment. emergency care. long-term commitment. emergency care. Planning for clients with mental illness is facilitated by understanding that under behavioral health managed care, inpatient hospitalization is generally reserved for clients who Select one: develop new symptoms during the course of the illness. present a clear danger to self or others. have no support systems in the community. are noncompliant with medication at home. present a clear danger to self or others. Upon voluntary admission, the nurse will inform the client about his or her rights. Select all rights that should be discussed. Select all that apply. Right to vote Right to enter into a contract Right to receive visitors Right to a private room Right to treatment Right to vote Right to enter into a contract Right to receive visitors Right to treatment During a nurse-patient interaction the patient stands up and shouts at the nurse, "You are a controlling bitch! You want me to do everything your way." In reality, the nurse had just invited the patient to consider what step he wished to take next in resolving an issue. What assessment can be made about the patient's behavior? It is probable that it is rooted in: Select one: emotional catharsis. projection. transference. dissociation. transference. Clinical rotations for nursing students include a psychiatric mental health rotation to give the student an opportunitv to: Select one: learn to care for patients who have emotional disorders. work with patients who have psychiatric as well as physical health issues. learn to work with patients with osvchiatric mental health issues and to become familiar become familiar with patients who have chronic psychiatric mental health issues. learn to work with patients with schiatric mental health issues and to become familiar with new information in the behavioral and psychiatric fields. A patient begins shouting at the nurse, "Stay away from me." He is waving his arms in the air and backing into the corner of the room. The initial nursing intervention in this situation should be to: Select one: administer a prn iniection of haloperidol. obtain an order for seclusion. call for assistance to restrain the patient physically. talk to the patient in a calm, nonthreatening manner. talk to the patient in a calm, nonthreatening manner