NUR 345 Critical Thinking and Nursing Process Practice Exam | 120
Multiple-Choice Questions with Answers and Explanations
Critical thinking and professional reasoning
1. What best describes critical thinking in nursing?
A. Purposeful evaluation of evidence and reasoning
B. Following routines without considering context
C. Choosing actions solely from personal preference
D. Accepting the first explanation
2. A nurse questions an unexpected result before acting on it. Which skill is
shown?
A. Avoidance
B. Premature closure
C. Delegation
D. Validation
3. What is clinical judgment?
A. A diagnosis made without assessment
B. An informed conclusion guiding patient care
C. A task completed without evaluation
D. A list of memorized facts
4. What is confirmation bias?
A. Comparing several explanations fairly
B. Favoring information that supports an initial belief
C. Checking a measurement method
D. Seeking contrary evidence
5. What is premature closure?
A. Reassessing after an intervention
B. Reviewing possible causes
C. Consulting an appropriate colleague
D. Stopping inquiry after accepting an explanation too early
6. A nurse says a patient is difficult without asking about barriers. What should
the nurse do?
A. Assume refusal proves poor judgment
B. Examine assumptions and gather the patient's perspective
C. Use the label in every handoff
D. Exclude the patient from planning
NUR 345 original practice exam | 1
,7. What demonstrates intellectual humility?
A. Recognizing limits and seeking appropriate help
B. Concealing uncertainty
C. Avoiding decisions indefinitely
D. Claiming every decision is correct
8. Which action reflects reflective practice?
A. Avoiding discussion of errors
B. Focusing only on whether others approved
C. Reviewing a decision and its effects to improve future care
D. Defending every decision automatically
9. How should a nurse respond when new evidence contradicts a working
hypothesis?
A. Wait until the end of the shift
B. Ignore the new information
C. Change the documentation to match the hypothesis
D. Reconsider the hypothesis and reassess priorities
10. What best supports evidence-based nursing decisions?
A. Research alone regardless of feasibility
B. Research, expertise, patient preferences, and context
C. Experience alone regardless of evidence
D. Patient preference without considering safety
Assessment and data validation
11. Which finding is subjective data?
A. A wound is observed
B. Blood pressure is measured
C. Respiratory rate is counted
D. The patient reports dizziness
12. Which finding is objective data?
A. The nurse measures a temperature
B. A family member reports poor sleep
C. The patient describes nausea
D. The patient reports anxiety
13. What is usually the primary source of a capable patient's symptoms?
A. A relative's assumption
B. A previous discharge summary
C. The patient
D. A room assignment sheet
NUR 345 original practice exam | 2
, 14. What is the purpose of a focused assessment?
A. Replace all comprehensive assessments forever
B. Collect every historical detail first
C. Examine a specific concern and related findings
D. Record only a diagnosis label
15. What is the purpose of a comprehensive assessment?
A. Address only one symptom
B. Confirm one laboratory value
C. Establish a broad picture of health and care needs
D. Replace ongoing reassessment
16. A stable patient has an unexpectedly low reading on a poorly positioned
device. What is appropriate?
A. Ignore it because the patient looks well
B. Treat the number as unquestionably accurate
C. Assess the patient and promptly verify the reading
D. Record a normal number instead
17. Why compare current findings with baseline?
A. Reference ranges have no value
B. Baseline replaces current assessment
C. A change may be significant even within a reference range
D. Any change proves a new disease
18. What should an assessment include beyond physical findings?
A. Only the assigned treatment
B. Only the nurse's expectations
C. Only the medical diagnosis
D. Relevant psychosocial, functional, and preference information
19. What is an appropriate way to clarify an unclear symptom report?
A. Ask specific follow-up questions without leading the answer
B. Use a diagnosis label immediately
C. Assume what the patient means
D. Suggest the desired answer
20. When should reassessment occur?
A. Only at discharge
B. Only after the patient complains repeatedly
C. Only at admission
D. When condition changes and after relevant interventions
NUR 345 original practice exam | 3
Multiple-Choice Questions with Answers and Explanations
Critical thinking and professional reasoning
1. What best describes critical thinking in nursing?
A. Purposeful evaluation of evidence and reasoning
B. Following routines without considering context
C. Choosing actions solely from personal preference
D. Accepting the first explanation
2. A nurse questions an unexpected result before acting on it. Which skill is
shown?
A. Avoidance
B. Premature closure
C. Delegation
D. Validation
3. What is clinical judgment?
A. A diagnosis made without assessment
B. An informed conclusion guiding patient care
C. A task completed without evaluation
D. A list of memorized facts
4. What is confirmation bias?
A. Comparing several explanations fairly
B. Favoring information that supports an initial belief
C. Checking a measurement method
D. Seeking contrary evidence
5. What is premature closure?
A. Reassessing after an intervention
B. Reviewing possible causes
C. Consulting an appropriate colleague
D. Stopping inquiry after accepting an explanation too early
6. A nurse says a patient is difficult without asking about barriers. What should
the nurse do?
A. Assume refusal proves poor judgment
B. Examine assumptions and gather the patient's perspective
C. Use the label in every handoff
D. Exclude the patient from planning
NUR 345 original practice exam | 1
,7. What demonstrates intellectual humility?
A. Recognizing limits and seeking appropriate help
B. Concealing uncertainty
C. Avoiding decisions indefinitely
D. Claiming every decision is correct
8. Which action reflects reflective practice?
A. Avoiding discussion of errors
B. Focusing only on whether others approved
C. Reviewing a decision and its effects to improve future care
D. Defending every decision automatically
9. How should a nurse respond when new evidence contradicts a working
hypothesis?
A. Wait until the end of the shift
B. Ignore the new information
C. Change the documentation to match the hypothesis
D. Reconsider the hypothesis and reassess priorities
10. What best supports evidence-based nursing decisions?
A. Research alone regardless of feasibility
B. Research, expertise, patient preferences, and context
C. Experience alone regardless of evidence
D. Patient preference without considering safety
Assessment and data validation
11. Which finding is subjective data?
A. A wound is observed
B. Blood pressure is measured
C. Respiratory rate is counted
D. The patient reports dizziness
12. Which finding is objective data?
A. The nurse measures a temperature
B. A family member reports poor sleep
C. The patient describes nausea
D. The patient reports anxiety
13. What is usually the primary source of a capable patient's symptoms?
A. A relative's assumption
B. A previous discharge summary
C. The patient
D. A room assignment sheet
NUR 345 original practice exam | 2
, 14. What is the purpose of a focused assessment?
A. Replace all comprehensive assessments forever
B. Collect every historical detail first
C. Examine a specific concern and related findings
D. Record only a diagnosis label
15. What is the purpose of a comprehensive assessment?
A. Address only one symptom
B. Confirm one laboratory value
C. Establish a broad picture of health and care needs
D. Replace ongoing reassessment
16. A stable patient has an unexpectedly low reading on a poorly positioned
device. What is appropriate?
A. Ignore it because the patient looks well
B. Treat the number as unquestionably accurate
C. Assess the patient and promptly verify the reading
D. Record a normal number instead
17. Why compare current findings with baseline?
A. Reference ranges have no value
B. Baseline replaces current assessment
C. A change may be significant even within a reference range
D. Any change proves a new disease
18. What should an assessment include beyond physical findings?
A. Only the assigned treatment
B. Only the nurse's expectations
C. Only the medical diagnosis
D. Relevant psychosocial, functional, and preference information
19. What is an appropriate way to clarify an unclear symptom report?
A. Ask specific follow-up questions without leading the answer
B. Use a diagnosis label immediately
C. Assume what the patient means
D. Suggest the desired answer
20. When should reassessment occur?
A. Only at discharge
B. Only after the patient complains repeatedly
C. Only at admission
D. When condition changes and after relevant interventions
NUR 345 original practice exam | 3
