Brunner & Suddarth's Textbook of Medical-Surgical
Nursing (15th Edition) Complete Test Bank Q&A
Study Guide 2026-2027
Chapter 1: Health Care Delivery and Nursing Practice
Q1: A nurse is caring for a patient who recently had a stroke and
requires ongoing physical therapy and assistance with activities of daily
living (ADLs). The nurse advocates for the patient to be transferred to
which type of healthcare facility?
A) Acute care hospital
B) Skilled nursing facility (SNF)
C) Assisted living facility
D) Hospice care
CORRECT ANSWER>B) Skilled nursing facility (SNF).
Rationale: A skilled nursing facility provides continuous, 24-hour skilled
nursing care as well as rehabilitation services (physical, occupational,
and speech therapy) for patients recovering from an illness or injury,
such as a stroke.
Q2: Which of the following is the primary focus of tertiary prevention in
healthcare?
A) Preventing disease through immunizations
B) Screening for early disease detection
C) Preventing complications and disability from an existing disease
,D) Promoting health and wellness in the community
CORRECT ANSWER>C) Preventing complications and disability from an
existing disease.
Rationale: Primary prevention aims to prevent disease onset. Secondary
prevention focuses on early detection (screenings). Tertiary prevention
focuses on rehabilitation and preventing further complications or
disability in a patient who already has a disease.
Chapter 2: Community-Based Nursing Practice
Q3: A community health nurse is conducting a neighborhood
assessment. Which of the following is an example of assessing the
"social environment" of the community?
A) The availability of public transportation
B) The crime rate and neighborhood safety
C) The quality of the air and water
D) The presence of industrial factories
CORRECT ANSWER>B) The crime rate and neighborhood safety.
Rationale: The social environment includes factors such as crime rates,
education levels, employment opportunities, and community cohesion.
Air/water quality and factories are part of the physical environment.
Chapter 3: Critical Thinking in Nursing Practice
,Q4: A nurse is using the nursing process and has formulated a nursing
diagnosis of "Impaired Gas Exchange related to alveolar-capillary
membrane changes." Which phase of the nursing process does this
represent?
A) Assessment
B) Diagnosis
C) Planning
D) Implementation
CORRECT ANSWER>B) Diagnosis.
Rationale: Formulating a nursing diagnosis based on assessed data is
the second step of the nursing process. It involves identifying the
patient's actual or potential health problems that nurses can treat
independently.
Q5: When setting priorities for patient care, the nurse should prioritize
which of the following patients first?
A) A patient requesting pain medication for a headache.
B) A patient with a respiratory rate of 8 breaths/min after receiving
morphine.
C) A patient who needs a dressing change for a chronic wound.
D) A patient scheduled for a diagnostic test in 2 hours.
CORRECT ANSWER>B) A patient with a respiratory rate of 8 breaths/min
after receiving morphine.
, Rationale: Using the ABC (Airway, Breathing, Circulation) framework
and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, a respiratory rate of 8 (bradypnea)
indicates life-threatening respiratory depression that requires
immediate intervention.
Chapter 4: The Health History and Physical Assessment
Q6: During a physical assessment, the nurse auscultates the abdomen
and hears high-pitched, rushing, tinkling bowel sounds. The patient
complains of severe abdominal pain and vomiting. How should the
nurse document this finding?
A) Normoactive bowel sounds
B) Hypoactive bowel sounds
C) Hyperactive bowel sounds indicating a possible bowel obstruction
D) Absent bowel sounds
CORRECT ANSWER>C) Hyperactive bowel sounds indicating a possible
bowel obstruction.
Rationale: High-pitched, rushing, tinkling sounds above the area of an
obstruction are a classic sign of hyperactive peristalsis as the bowel
attempts to push contents past a blockage (intestinal obstruction).
Chapter 5: Documenting and Reporting
Q7: A nurse makes a medication error but the patient suffers no harm.
According to professional standards and legal guidelines, how should
the nurse document this event?
Nursing (15th Edition) Complete Test Bank Q&A
Study Guide 2026-2027
Chapter 1: Health Care Delivery and Nursing Practice
Q1: A nurse is caring for a patient who recently had a stroke and
requires ongoing physical therapy and assistance with activities of daily
living (ADLs). The nurse advocates for the patient to be transferred to
which type of healthcare facility?
A) Acute care hospital
B) Skilled nursing facility (SNF)
C) Assisted living facility
D) Hospice care
CORRECT ANSWER>B) Skilled nursing facility (SNF).
Rationale: A skilled nursing facility provides continuous, 24-hour skilled
nursing care as well as rehabilitation services (physical, occupational,
and speech therapy) for patients recovering from an illness or injury,
such as a stroke.
Q2: Which of the following is the primary focus of tertiary prevention in
healthcare?
A) Preventing disease through immunizations
B) Screening for early disease detection
C) Preventing complications and disability from an existing disease
,D) Promoting health and wellness in the community
CORRECT ANSWER>C) Preventing complications and disability from an
existing disease.
Rationale: Primary prevention aims to prevent disease onset. Secondary
prevention focuses on early detection (screenings). Tertiary prevention
focuses on rehabilitation and preventing further complications or
disability in a patient who already has a disease.
Chapter 2: Community-Based Nursing Practice
Q3: A community health nurse is conducting a neighborhood
assessment. Which of the following is an example of assessing the
"social environment" of the community?
A) The availability of public transportation
B) The crime rate and neighborhood safety
C) The quality of the air and water
D) The presence of industrial factories
CORRECT ANSWER>B) The crime rate and neighborhood safety.
Rationale: The social environment includes factors such as crime rates,
education levels, employment opportunities, and community cohesion.
Air/water quality and factories are part of the physical environment.
Chapter 3: Critical Thinking in Nursing Practice
,Q4: A nurse is using the nursing process and has formulated a nursing
diagnosis of "Impaired Gas Exchange related to alveolar-capillary
membrane changes." Which phase of the nursing process does this
represent?
A) Assessment
B) Diagnosis
C) Planning
D) Implementation
CORRECT ANSWER>B) Diagnosis.
Rationale: Formulating a nursing diagnosis based on assessed data is
the second step of the nursing process. It involves identifying the
patient's actual or potential health problems that nurses can treat
independently.
Q5: When setting priorities for patient care, the nurse should prioritize
which of the following patients first?
A) A patient requesting pain medication for a headache.
B) A patient with a respiratory rate of 8 breaths/min after receiving
morphine.
C) A patient who needs a dressing change for a chronic wound.
D) A patient scheduled for a diagnostic test in 2 hours.
CORRECT ANSWER>B) A patient with a respiratory rate of 8 breaths/min
after receiving morphine.
, Rationale: Using the ABC (Airway, Breathing, Circulation) framework
and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, a respiratory rate of 8 (bradypnea)
indicates life-threatening respiratory depression that requires
immediate intervention.
Chapter 4: The Health History and Physical Assessment
Q6: During a physical assessment, the nurse auscultates the abdomen
and hears high-pitched, rushing, tinkling bowel sounds. The patient
complains of severe abdominal pain and vomiting. How should the
nurse document this finding?
A) Normoactive bowel sounds
B) Hypoactive bowel sounds
C) Hyperactive bowel sounds indicating a possible bowel obstruction
D) Absent bowel sounds
CORRECT ANSWER>C) Hyperactive bowel sounds indicating a possible
bowel obstruction.
Rationale: High-pitched, rushing, tinkling sounds above the area of an
obstruction are a classic sign of hyperactive peristalsis as the bowel
attempts to push contents past a blockage (intestinal obstruction).
Chapter 5: Documenting and Reporting
Q7: A nurse makes a medication error but the patient suffers no harm.
According to professional standards and legal guidelines, how should
the nurse document this event?
