Walden University | NURS 6540 Advanced Practice Care of Frail Elders
NURS 6540 Advanced Practice Care of Frail
Elders Final Comprehensive Examination
2026/2027 | Verified Questions
Walden University | NURS 6540 Advanced Practice Care of Frail Elders | University-Level Advanced
Practice Nursing Students
100 Verified Questions | 4 Core Domains | Academic Year 2026/2027
Prepared by
Walden University | NURS 6540 Advanced Practice Care of Frail Elders
Final Comprehensive Examination Actual Exam | Academic Year 2026/2027
NURS 6540 Advanced Practice Care of Frail Elders Final Comprehensive Examination 2026/2027 | Verified Questions
,INTRODUCTION
This Final Comprehensive Examination contains 100 verified questions designed for university-level
advanced nursing students enrolled in NURS 6540 Advanced Practice Care of Frail Elders at Walden
University. The questions are distributed equally across four core domains: Comprehensive Geriatric
Assessment and Functionality (25 questions), Chronic Disease Management in Older Adults (25
questions), Pharmacology and Polypharmacy in the Elderly (25 questions), and Psychosocial, Cognitive,
and End-of-Life Care (25 questions). All content is original and constructed to reinforce the official NURS
6540 course objectives for actual exam readiness and clinical proficiency, aligned to the 2026/2027
academic year. Each item emphasizes geriatric assessment, chronic disease management, safe
pharmacotherapy, and psychosocial care drawn from foundational gerontological nursing methodology.
ACTUAL QUESTIONS
Domain 1: Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment and Functionality
Question 1. Which instrument is most widely used to assess basic activities of daily living
(ADLs) in older adults?
A. Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale
B. Mini-Mental State Examination
C. Katz Index of Independence in Activities of Daily Living
D. Geriatric Depression Scale
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The Katz Index evaluates six basic ADLs (bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring,
continence, and feeding) and is a standard tool for measuring functional independence in frail elders.
Question 2. What does the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test primarily assess?
A. Mobility, balance, and fall risk
B. Cognitive processing speed
C. Fine motor coordination of the hands
D. Visual acuity
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The TUG test measures the time required to rise from a chair, walk a short distance, turn,
return, and sit. Prolonged times correlate with increased fall risk and impaired mobility.
Question 3. Which component is essential in a comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA)?
A. Only laboratory values and imaging
B. Only medication list review
C. Only vital signs and physical examination
D. Medical, functional, cognitive, psychological, social, and environmental domains
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: CGA is a multidimensional, interdisciplinary diagnostic process that evaluates medical
conditions, functional status, cognition, mood, social support, and environment to develop a
coordinated care plan.
Question 4. An older adult scores 24/30 on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE).
How is this result interpreted?
A. Normal cognition
B. Possible cognitive impairment requiring further evaluation
C. Severe dementia
NURS 6540 Advanced Practice Care of Frail Elders Final Comprehensive Examination 2026/2027 | Verified Questions
, D. Delirium only
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Scores of 24–30 are generally considered normal, but a score of 24 lies at the lower
boundary and warrants clinical correlation and possible additional cognitive testing, especially in
highly educated individuals.
Question 5. Which finding on the Get Up and Go test indicates the highest fall risk?
A. Inability to complete the test or time greater than 30 seconds
B. Completion in less than 10 seconds
C. Completion in 10–14 seconds
D. Completion in exactly 12 seconds
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Inability to complete the test or times exceeding approximately 30 seconds indicate severe
mobility impairment and high fall risk, prompting immediate safety interventions.
Question 6. What is the primary purpose of the Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily
Living (IADL) scale?
A. To measure basic self-care abilities only
B. To diagnose dementia
C. To assess higher-level functions necessary for independent living such as managing finances,
medications, transportation, and housekeeping
D. To evaluate only physical strength
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: IADLs reflect the complex skills required to live independently in the community. Decline in
IADLs often precedes loss of basic ADLs and signals increasing need for support.
Question 7. Which screening tool is specifically designed to detect depression in older
adults?
A. Confusion Assessment Method
B. Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS)
C. Clock Drawing Test
D. Berg Balance Scale
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The Geriatric Depression Scale is validated for use in older adults and avoids somatic items
that may be confounded by physical illness, improving specificity for depressive symptoms.
Question 8. An older adult has lost 10% of body weight unintentionally over the past 6
months. What is the clinical significance?
A. Normal age-related change
B. Evidence of successful dieting
C. Irrelevant if the patient feels well
D. A red-flag finding that warrants evaluation for underlying medical, social, or psychiatric causes of
malnutrition or failure to thrive
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Unintentional weight loss of 5–10% or more in 6–12 months is a marker of frailty and
potential serious underlying disease and requires thorough investigation.
Question 9. Which assessment is most appropriate for evaluating orthostatic hypotension
in a frail elder?
NURS 6540 Advanced Practice Care of Frail Elders Final Comprehensive Examination 2026/2027 | Verified Questions
NURS 6540 Advanced Practice Care of Frail
Elders Final Comprehensive Examination
2026/2027 | Verified Questions
Walden University | NURS 6540 Advanced Practice Care of Frail Elders | University-Level Advanced
Practice Nursing Students
100 Verified Questions | 4 Core Domains | Academic Year 2026/2027
Prepared by
Walden University | NURS 6540 Advanced Practice Care of Frail Elders
Final Comprehensive Examination Actual Exam | Academic Year 2026/2027
NURS 6540 Advanced Practice Care of Frail Elders Final Comprehensive Examination 2026/2027 | Verified Questions
,INTRODUCTION
This Final Comprehensive Examination contains 100 verified questions designed for university-level
advanced nursing students enrolled in NURS 6540 Advanced Practice Care of Frail Elders at Walden
University. The questions are distributed equally across four core domains: Comprehensive Geriatric
Assessment and Functionality (25 questions), Chronic Disease Management in Older Adults (25
questions), Pharmacology and Polypharmacy in the Elderly (25 questions), and Psychosocial, Cognitive,
and End-of-Life Care (25 questions). All content is original and constructed to reinforce the official NURS
6540 course objectives for actual exam readiness and clinical proficiency, aligned to the 2026/2027
academic year. Each item emphasizes geriatric assessment, chronic disease management, safe
pharmacotherapy, and psychosocial care drawn from foundational gerontological nursing methodology.
ACTUAL QUESTIONS
Domain 1: Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment and Functionality
Question 1. Which instrument is most widely used to assess basic activities of daily living
(ADLs) in older adults?
A. Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living Scale
B. Mini-Mental State Examination
C. Katz Index of Independence in Activities of Daily Living
D. Geriatric Depression Scale
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The Katz Index evaluates six basic ADLs (bathing, dressing, toileting, transferring,
continence, and feeding) and is a standard tool for measuring functional independence in frail elders.
Question 2. What does the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test primarily assess?
A. Mobility, balance, and fall risk
B. Cognitive processing speed
C. Fine motor coordination of the hands
D. Visual acuity
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: The TUG test measures the time required to rise from a chair, walk a short distance, turn,
return, and sit. Prolonged times correlate with increased fall risk and impaired mobility.
Question 3. Which component is essential in a comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA)?
A. Only laboratory values and imaging
B. Only medication list review
C. Only vital signs and physical examination
D. Medical, functional, cognitive, psychological, social, and environmental domains
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: CGA is a multidimensional, interdisciplinary diagnostic process that evaluates medical
conditions, functional status, cognition, mood, social support, and environment to develop a
coordinated care plan.
Question 4. An older adult scores 24/30 on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE).
How is this result interpreted?
A. Normal cognition
B. Possible cognitive impairment requiring further evaluation
C. Severe dementia
NURS 6540 Advanced Practice Care of Frail Elders Final Comprehensive Examination 2026/2027 | Verified Questions
, D. Delirium only
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Scores of 24–30 are generally considered normal, but a score of 24 lies at the lower
boundary and warrants clinical correlation and possible additional cognitive testing, especially in
highly educated individuals.
Question 5. Which finding on the Get Up and Go test indicates the highest fall risk?
A. Inability to complete the test or time greater than 30 seconds
B. Completion in less than 10 seconds
C. Completion in 10–14 seconds
D. Completion in exactly 12 seconds
Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Inability to complete the test or times exceeding approximately 30 seconds indicate severe
mobility impairment and high fall risk, prompting immediate safety interventions.
Question 6. What is the primary purpose of the Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily
Living (IADL) scale?
A. To measure basic self-care abilities only
B. To diagnose dementia
C. To assess higher-level functions necessary for independent living such as managing finances,
medications, transportation, and housekeeping
D. To evaluate only physical strength
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: IADLs reflect the complex skills required to live independently in the community. Decline in
IADLs often precedes loss of basic ADLs and signals increasing need for support.
Question 7. Which screening tool is specifically designed to detect depression in older
adults?
A. Confusion Assessment Method
B. Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS)
C. Clock Drawing Test
D. Berg Balance Scale
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The Geriatric Depression Scale is validated for use in older adults and avoids somatic items
that may be confounded by physical illness, improving specificity for depressive symptoms.
Question 8. An older adult has lost 10% of body weight unintentionally over the past 6
months. What is the clinical significance?
A. Normal age-related change
B. Evidence of successful dieting
C. Irrelevant if the patient feels well
D. A red-flag finding that warrants evaluation for underlying medical, social, or psychiatric causes of
malnutrition or failure to thrive
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Unintentional weight loss of 5–10% or more in 6–12 months is a marker of frailty and
potential serious underlying disease and requires thorough investigation.
Question 9. Which assessment is most appropriate for evaluating orthostatic hypotension
in a frail elder?
NURS 6540 Advanced Practice Care of Frail Elders Final Comprehensive Examination 2026/2027 | Verified Questions
