Canadian Fundamentals of Nursing Review
200 Original Practice Questions and Answers
Original review questions covering core fundamentals of nursing topics across the full curriculum.
NURSING HISTORY, THEORY & PROFESSIONAL FOUNDATIONS
1. Who is widely regarded as the founder of modern nursing?
Answer: Florence Nightingale.
2. What is a nursing conceptual model or theory used for?
Answer: To guide nursing practice, education, and research by providing a framework for understanding the nurse-patient
relationship and goals of care.
3. What are the four core concepts of nursing's metaparadigm?
Answer: Person, environment, health, and nursing.
4. What organization regulates nursing practice and licensure in each Canadian province/territory?
Answer: The provincial or territorial college/regulatory body of nursing (e.g., the College of Nurses of Ontario).
5. What is the purpose of a code of ethics for nurses in Canada?
Answer: Provides a framework of professional values and standards that guide ethical nursing practice and decision-making.
6. What is the difference between an entry-to-practice Baccalaureate (BScN) education and a diploma pathway in Canadian
nursing education history?
Answer: Both have historically prepared individuals for registered nurse licensure; most Canadian provinces now require a
baccalaureate degree as the entry-to-practice standard for registered nurses.
7. What is evidence-informed practice in nursing?
Answer: The integration of best available research evidence, clinical expertise, and patient values/preferences into nursing
care decisions.
8. What is the significance of professional standards of practice set by nursing regulatory bodies?
Answer: Define the expected level of knowledge, skill, and judgment nurses must demonstrate to practice safely and
competently.
9. What is scope of practice, as it applies to registered nurses in Canada?
Answer: The activities and level of care a nurse is legally authorized to perform, based on education, competency, and
provincial/territorial legislation.
10. What is the significance of continuing competence requirements for registered nurses?
Answer: Ensures nurses maintain and update their knowledge and skills throughout their career to provide safe, current
practice.
CRITICAL THINKING & THE NURSING PROCESS
11. What are the five steps of the nursing process?
Answer: Assessment, Diagnosis, Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation (ADPIE).
12. What is the purpose of the assessment phase of the nursing process?
Answer: To systematically collect subjective and objective data about the patient's health status.
13. What is a nursing diagnosis, and how does it differ from a medical diagnosis?
Answer: A clinical judgment about a patient's response to actual or potential health problems, formulated by a nurse; a
medical diagnosis identifies a disease process, made by a physician or authorized provider.
14. What organization develops standardized nursing diagnosis terminology commonly used in Canada?
Answer: NANDA International (North American Nursing Diagnosis Association).
15. What characteristics should a well-written patient goal/outcome have?
, Answer: Specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound (SMART).
16. What is the purpose of the evaluation phase of the nursing process?
Answer: To determine whether patient goals were met and whether the plan of care needs to be revised.
17. What is critical thinking, and why is it essential in nursing practice?
Answer: A disciplined, reflective process of analyzing information to make sound clinical judgments; essential for safe,
individualized patient care.
18. What is clinical judgment, as it relates to nursing practice?
Answer: The ability to recognize relevant patient cues, interpret their significance, and take appropriate action based on that
analysis.
19. What is the difference between subjective and objective data in a nursing assessment?
Answer: Subjective data is what the patient reports (symptoms, feelings); objective data is measurable/observable
information gathered by the nurse (signs, vital signs, lab results).
20. What is a nursing care plan, and what is its general purpose?
Answer: A written plan outlining a patient's nursing diagnoses, goals, and planned interventions, providing a roadmap for
individualized, coordinated care.
HEALTH, WELLNESS & HEALTH PROMOTION
21. What is the World Health Organization's definition of health?
Answer: A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
22. What is the difference between health promotion and disease prevention?
Answer: Health promotion focuses on enhancing overall well-being and quality of life; disease prevention focuses specifically
on avoiding or reducing the risk of illness.
23. What are the three levels of prevention in health promotion, and give an example of each.
Answer: Primary prevention (e.g., immunization), secondary prevention (e.g., cancer screening), and tertiary prevention (e.g.,
cardiac rehabilitation).
24. What is the significance of the social determinants of health in the Canadian healthcare context?
Answer: Factors such as income, education, housing, and social support significantly influence health outcomes, often more
than healthcare access alone.
25. What is the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, and why is it significant in Canadian health promotion history?
Answer: A foundational international document developed in Canada in 1986 that outlined key strategies and prerequisites
for health promotion, influencing health policy globally.
26. What is holistic care, as a nursing philosophy?
Answer: An approach to care that considers the whole person — physical, emotional, social, and spiritual dimensions —
rather than focusing solely on the disease or symptom.
27. What is the health-illness continuum, as a conceptual model?
Answer: A model depicting health and illness as a dynamic, fluctuating spectrum rather than fixed, opposite states.
28. What is self-efficacy, and why is it relevant to health promotion and behavior change?
Answer: An individual's belief in their own ability to succeed in a specific task or behavior change; higher self-efficacy is
associated with greater likelihood of adopting and maintaining healthy behaviors.
29. What is the significance of culturally safe care in the context of health promotion for Indigenous populations in Canada?
Answer: Recognizes and addresses power imbalances, historical trauma, and systemic inequities to provide respectful, non-
discriminatory care that supports trust and improved health outcomes.
30. What is health literacy, and why is it important to assess in patient education?
Answer: An individual's ability to obtain, understand, and use health information to make informed decisions; low health
literacy is linked to poorer health outcomes.
COMMUNICATION & THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIPS
200 Original Practice Questions and Answers
Original review questions covering core fundamentals of nursing topics across the full curriculum.
NURSING HISTORY, THEORY & PROFESSIONAL FOUNDATIONS
1. Who is widely regarded as the founder of modern nursing?
Answer: Florence Nightingale.
2. What is a nursing conceptual model or theory used for?
Answer: To guide nursing practice, education, and research by providing a framework for understanding the nurse-patient
relationship and goals of care.
3. What are the four core concepts of nursing's metaparadigm?
Answer: Person, environment, health, and nursing.
4. What organization regulates nursing practice and licensure in each Canadian province/territory?
Answer: The provincial or territorial college/regulatory body of nursing (e.g., the College of Nurses of Ontario).
5. What is the purpose of a code of ethics for nurses in Canada?
Answer: Provides a framework of professional values and standards that guide ethical nursing practice and decision-making.
6. What is the difference between an entry-to-practice Baccalaureate (BScN) education and a diploma pathway in Canadian
nursing education history?
Answer: Both have historically prepared individuals for registered nurse licensure; most Canadian provinces now require a
baccalaureate degree as the entry-to-practice standard for registered nurses.
7. What is evidence-informed practice in nursing?
Answer: The integration of best available research evidence, clinical expertise, and patient values/preferences into nursing
care decisions.
8. What is the significance of professional standards of practice set by nursing regulatory bodies?
Answer: Define the expected level of knowledge, skill, and judgment nurses must demonstrate to practice safely and
competently.
9. What is scope of practice, as it applies to registered nurses in Canada?
Answer: The activities and level of care a nurse is legally authorized to perform, based on education, competency, and
provincial/territorial legislation.
10. What is the significance of continuing competence requirements for registered nurses?
Answer: Ensures nurses maintain and update their knowledge and skills throughout their career to provide safe, current
practice.
CRITICAL THINKING & THE NURSING PROCESS
11. What are the five steps of the nursing process?
Answer: Assessment, Diagnosis, Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation (ADPIE).
12. What is the purpose of the assessment phase of the nursing process?
Answer: To systematically collect subjective and objective data about the patient's health status.
13. What is a nursing diagnosis, and how does it differ from a medical diagnosis?
Answer: A clinical judgment about a patient's response to actual or potential health problems, formulated by a nurse; a
medical diagnosis identifies a disease process, made by a physician or authorized provider.
14. What organization develops standardized nursing diagnosis terminology commonly used in Canada?
Answer: NANDA International (North American Nursing Diagnosis Association).
15. What characteristics should a well-written patient goal/outcome have?
, Answer: Specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound (SMART).
16. What is the purpose of the evaluation phase of the nursing process?
Answer: To determine whether patient goals were met and whether the plan of care needs to be revised.
17. What is critical thinking, and why is it essential in nursing practice?
Answer: A disciplined, reflective process of analyzing information to make sound clinical judgments; essential for safe,
individualized patient care.
18. What is clinical judgment, as it relates to nursing practice?
Answer: The ability to recognize relevant patient cues, interpret their significance, and take appropriate action based on that
analysis.
19. What is the difference between subjective and objective data in a nursing assessment?
Answer: Subjective data is what the patient reports (symptoms, feelings); objective data is measurable/observable
information gathered by the nurse (signs, vital signs, lab results).
20. What is a nursing care plan, and what is its general purpose?
Answer: A written plan outlining a patient's nursing diagnoses, goals, and planned interventions, providing a roadmap for
individualized, coordinated care.
HEALTH, WELLNESS & HEALTH PROMOTION
21. What is the World Health Organization's definition of health?
Answer: A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
22. What is the difference between health promotion and disease prevention?
Answer: Health promotion focuses on enhancing overall well-being and quality of life; disease prevention focuses specifically
on avoiding or reducing the risk of illness.
23. What are the three levels of prevention in health promotion, and give an example of each.
Answer: Primary prevention (e.g., immunization), secondary prevention (e.g., cancer screening), and tertiary prevention (e.g.,
cardiac rehabilitation).
24. What is the significance of the social determinants of health in the Canadian healthcare context?
Answer: Factors such as income, education, housing, and social support significantly influence health outcomes, often more
than healthcare access alone.
25. What is the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, and why is it significant in Canadian health promotion history?
Answer: A foundational international document developed in Canada in 1986 that outlined key strategies and prerequisites
for health promotion, influencing health policy globally.
26. What is holistic care, as a nursing philosophy?
Answer: An approach to care that considers the whole person — physical, emotional, social, and spiritual dimensions —
rather than focusing solely on the disease or symptom.
27. What is the health-illness continuum, as a conceptual model?
Answer: A model depicting health and illness as a dynamic, fluctuating spectrum rather than fixed, opposite states.
28. What is self-efficacy, and why is it relevant to health promotion and behavior change?
Answer: An individual's belief in their own ability to succeed in a specific task or behavior change; higher self-efficacy is
associated with greater likelihood of adopting and maintaining healthy behaviors.
29. What is the significance of culturally safe care in the context of health promotion for Indigenous populations in Canada?
Answer: Recognizes and addresses power imbalances, historical trauma, and systemic inequities to provide respectful, non-
discriminatory care that supports trust and improved health outcomes.
30. What is health literacy, and why is it important to assess in patient education?
Answer: An individual's ability to obtain, understand, and use health information to make informed decisions; low health
literacy is linked to poorer health outcomes.
COMMUNICATION & THERAPEUTIC RELATIONSHIPS
