NATIONAL BOARD FOR CERTIFICATION OF SCHOOL NURSES
(NBCSN) EXAM STUDY GUIDE | QUESTIONS & ANSWERS | NEW
2026/ 2027 UPDATE | GRADED A+| 100% CORRECT (VERIFIED
SOLUTIONS)
. A third-grade student's family has recently experienced stressful events. The parents have been
unemployed for six months and one of the student's young siblings has a health impairment. The
parents have exhibited periods of depression. The school nurse should be alert to the fact that these
factors are likely to influence the student's development most significantly in which of the following
areas?
receptive language
higher-order thinking
social relationships
motor development -
CORRECT|ANSWER
Objective 0001 Understand human growth and development, the learning process, and factors that
affect development and learning of different school-age populations.
Correct Response: C. Unemployment and depression in a family place a couple at risk for marital
conflict, which is associated with adjustment problems for children in the family, including
impairments in social and academic functioning. Parental/guardian depression is specifically
associated with greater child emotional insecurity. Research has shown that children whose parents
have been diagnosed with depression are more likely than children whose parents have never been
diagnosed with depression to experience interpersonal and social conflicts and school failure.
A school nurse who serves elementary and middle school populations believes that many students
and families in the district would benefit from resources available through family health and human
services agencies. Which of the following strategies is likely to be most effective for the school nurse
to use to facilitate families' use of these resources?
A. requesting that health and human services agencies maintain a sign-up sheet at the school for
families to request assistance
,B. asking health and human services agencies to provide information that the nurse can share and
discuss with all families
C. educating students about the types of support their families are eligible to receive through health
and human services agencies
D. providing relevant health and human services agencies with contact information for families who
appear to be in the greatest need -
CORRECT|ANSWER
Objective 0002 Understand the roles and responsibilities of the school nurse as a health expert and
resource person in the school community.
Correct Response: B.
Key roles of a school nurse include providing students and families with information about available
health-related community and government resources, and assisting families in accessing resources to
meet the physical, mental, and emotional health needs of students. Establishing and maintaining
partnerships with local agencies, physicians, and health advocacy organizations allows the school
nurse to immediately respond and connect families to needed services. For example, school nurses
may assist families enrolling in state or federal health insurance programs or locate advocacy
organizations for students with health impairments or physical disabilities.
Which of the following approaches is likely to be most effective for a school nurse to use in working
with families in a respectful and nondiscriminatory manner?
A. being professional and sensitive to factors related to socioeconomic, ethnic, and cultural
backgrounds
B. attempting to discover pertinent characteristics of families' backgrounds before meeting with
them
C. acknowledging obvious differences in background right away and using humor to put families at
ease
D. remaining friendly and curious while asking specific questions about families' backgrounds and
living situations -
, CORRECT|ANSWER
Objective 0003 Understand diversity among students, families, and communities; the influence of
diversity; and strategies for communicating effectively in a diverse school community.
Correct Response: A.
Families play an integral role in the well-being and development of their children. A school nurse's
initial interactions with families should support the goal of establishing a productive and culturally
sensitive rapport that supports effective communication and collaboration, which is essential if a
difficult health-related situation occurs. A school nurse who is culturally competent understands that
culture may include values, occupation, where a person lives or lived, life experiences, religion,
gender identity, language, dietary and health practices, and social order. While recognizing and
remaining sensitive to these cultural characteristics, a school nurse can work toward establishing
rapport, building understanding, and promoting collaboration with the families of students with
health needs.
A high school student has a seizure disorder that is characterized by frequent absence seizures.
Which of the following statements accurately describes the most important implication of this
condition for the student's learning?
A. The student's ability to regulate his or her mood and behavior may be diminished due to a limited
attention span.
B. Additional reinforcement may be needed to ensure the student maintains focus on personal and
academic interests.
C. The student may be at risk for low academic achievement due to gaps in concentration and missed
information.
D. Additional social support may be needed to facilitate positive peer relationships for the student. -
CORRECT|ANSWER
Objective 0004 Understand the characteristics and needs of students with disabilities and factors
that affect their development and learning.
Correct Response: C.
In general, students with epilepsy show weaker performance on attention, concentration, and short-
term (working) memory tasks than peers without epilepsy. Absence seizures (formerly petit mal) are
(NBCSN) EXAM STUDY GUIDE | QUESTIONS & ANSWERS | NEW
2026/ 2027 UPDATE | GRADED A+| 100% CORRECT (VERIFIED
SOLUTIONS)
. A third-grade student's family has recently experienced stressful events. The parents have been
unemployed for six months and one of the student's young siblings has a health impairment. The
parents have exhibited periods of depression. The school nurse should be alert to the fact that these
factors are likely to influence the student's development most significantly in which of the following
areas?
receptive language
higher-order thinking
social relationships
motor development -
CORRECT|ANSWER
Objective 0001 Understand human growth and development, the learning process, and factors that
affect development and learning of different school-age populations.
Correct Response: C. Unemployment and depression in a family place a couple at risk for marital
conflict, which is associated with adjustment problems for children in the family, including
impairments in social and academic functioning. Parental/guardian depression is specifically
associated with greater child emotional insecurity. Research has shown that children whose parents
have been diagnosed with depression are more likely than children whose parents have never been
diagnosed with depression to experience interpersonal and social conflicts and school failure.
A school nurse who serves elementary and middle school populations believes that many students
and families in the district would benefit from resources available through family health and human
services agencies. Which of the following strategies is likely to be most effective for the school nurse
to use to facilitate families' use of these resources?
A. requesting that health and human services agencies maintain a sign-up sheet at the school for
families to request assistance
,B. asking health and human services agencies to provide information that the nurse can share and
discuss with all families
C. educating students about the types of support their families are eligible to receive through health
and human services agencies
D. providing relevant health and human services agencies with contact information for families who
appear to be in the greatest need -
CORRECT|ANSWER
Objective 0002 Understand the roles and responsibilities of the school nurse as a health expert and
resource person in the school community.
Correct Response: B.
Key roles of a school nurse include providing students and families with information about available
health-related community and government resources, and assisting families in accessing resources to
meet the physical, mental, and emotional health needs of students. Establishing and maintaining
partnerships with local agencies, physicians, and health advocacy organizations allows the school
nurse to immediately respond and connect families to needed services. For example, school nurses
may assist families enrolling in state or federal health insurance programs or locate advocacy
organizations for students with health impairments or physical disabilities.
Which of the following approaches is likely to be most effective for a school nurse to use in working
with families in a respectful and nondiscriminatory manner?
A. being professional and sensitive to factors related to socioeconomic, ethnic, and cultural
backgrounds
B. attempting to discover pertinent characteristics of families' backgrounds before meeting with
them
C. acknowledging obvious differences in background right away and using humor to put families at
ease
D. remaining friendly and curious while asking specific questions about families' backgrounds and
living situations -
, CORRECT|ANSWER
Objective 0003 Understand diversity among students, families, and communities; the influence of
diversity; and strategies for communicating effectively in a diverse school community.
Correct Response: A.
Families play an integral role in the well-being and development of their children. A school nurse's
initial interactions with families should support the goal of establishing a productive and culturally
sensitive rapport that supports effective communication and collaboration, which is essential if a
difficult health-related situation occurs. A school nurse who is culturally competent understands that
culture may include values, occupation, where a person lives or lived, life experiences, religion,
gender identity, language, dietary and health practices, and social order. While recognizing and
remaining sensitive to these cultural characteristics, a school nurse can work toward establishing
rapport, building understanding, and promoting collaboration with the families of students with
health needs.
A high school student has a seizure disorder that is characterized by frequent absence seizures.
Which of the following statements accurately describes the most important implication of this
condition for the student's learning?
A. The student's ability to regulate his or her mood and behavior may be diminished due to a limited
attention span.
B. Additional reinforcement may be needed to ensure the student maintains focus on personal and
academic interests.
C. The student may be at risk for low academic achievement due to gaps in concentration and missed
information.
D. Additional social support may be needed to facilitate positive peer relationships for the student. -
CORRECT|ANSWER
Objective 0004 Understand the characteristics and needs of students with disabilities and factors
that affect their development and learning.
Correct Response: C.
In general, students with epilepsy show weaker performance on attention, concentration, and short-
term (working) memory tasks than peers without epilepsy. Absence seizures (formerly petit mal) are
