Nurse Leadership Exam 1 - Comprehensive Questions & Verified Answers
What is leadership? The ability to inspire others to achieve a desired outcome
What is management? The process of planning, organizing, directing, & coordinating the work within an
organization
Usually possess good leadership skills
Effective leaders are not always in management
What is the authoritative leadership style? Makes decisions for the group
Motivates by coercion
Communication occurs down chain of command
Work output high
Good for crisis situations
Effective for employees w/ little or no formal education
What is the democratic leadership style? Includes group when decisions are made
Motivates by supporting staff achievements
Communication up & down chain of command
Work output good
Good when cooperating & collaborating
What is the laissez-faire leadership style? Makes very few decisions, does little planning
Motivation is the responsibility of individual staff members
Communication up & down, or b/t group members
Work output low unless informal leader evolves
Effective w/ professional employees
What are the differences b/t a transformational leader vs. a Transformational
transactional leader? - Leaders empower followers to assume responsibility for communal vision
- Personal development is a secondary outcome
Actional
- Focus on immediate problems
- Maintain status quo
- Uses rewards to motivate followers
What is emotional intelligence? Ability of an individual to perceive & manage emotions of self & others
What are the five major management functions? Planning - what needs to be done, who is doing it
Organizing - lines of authority, communication, decisions
Staffing- adequate staff & staffing mix
Directing - manager influences & motivates staff
Controlling - evaluation of staff & goals to make sure outcomes are being made
What is critical thinking? Interpretation
Analysis
Evaluation
Inference
Explanation
Skills that assist the nurse to determine the most appropriate action to take -
"thinking outside the box"
What is clinical reasoning? Process of assessing & compiling data
Selecting & discarding data used on relevance
Using knowledge to make decisions about client care
Problem solving (part of making a decision)
Mental process used when analyzing the elements of a clinical situation & using
analysis to make a decision
Stuvia 2026-2027 | Latest Version
, Nurse Leadership Exam 1 - Comprehensive Questions & Verified Answers
What is clinical judgement? Analyze data & related evidence
Ascertain the meaning of the data & evidence
Determine client outcomes desired &/or achieved as indicated by EBP
Decision made requiring the course of action based off a critical analysis of data
when using knowledge applied to clinical situation
What should be prioritized? Systemic before local
- "Life before limb"
- Client in shock over client w/ localized limb injury
Acute before chronic
- Mental confusion, chest pain over a client w/ chronic long-term illness
Actual problems before potential future problems
- Admin of med to client w/ acute pain over ambulation of a client at risk for
thrombophlebitis
Listen to clients carefully, don't assume
- Post op pain could be due to pain in another location rather than expected surgical
pain
Recognize & respond to trends vs. transient findings
- Gradual deterioration of LOC/GSC
Recognize signs of medical emergencies & comps vs. "expected findings"
- Signs of increasing ICP on pt w/ newly diagnosed stroke vs. clinical findings
expected following a stroke
Apply clinical knowledge to procedural standards to determine the priority action
- Timing of admin of anti diabetic & antimicrobial meds is more important than admin
of some other meds
What should you think about when trying to manage your What must be done immediately?
time? - Analgesics ir antiemetic admin
- Assessment of an unstable client
What must be done by a specific time to ensure safety, quality care, & compliance?
- Med admin
- Vitals
- Blood glucose
What must be done by the end of shift?
- Ambulation of the client
- Diacharge &/or discharge teaching
- Dressing change
What can be delegated?
- What can only be done by RN?
- What can be delegated to LPN or AP?
- How can scheduled client activities most efficiently be shared by these two groups
of care providers?
What is assigning? Process of transferring authority, accountability, & responsibility of the client care to
another member of the health care team
Assigning downward or lateral manner
Client factors:
- Condition, level of care needed
- Specific care needs (cardiac monitoring, vent)
- Need for precautions (isolation, fall, seizure)
- Procedures requiring significant time commitment
Team member factors:
- Knowledge & skill level
- Amount of supervision necessary
- Staffing mix
- Nurse-to-client ratio
- Experience
- Familiarity with unit
Stuvia 2026-2027 | Latest Version
, Nurse Leadership Exam 1 - Comprehensive Questions & Verified Answers
What is delegating? Process of transferring authority & responsibility to another team member to
complete a task, while retaining the accountability
CANNOT DELEGATE:
- Nursing process
- Client education
- Tasks requiring clinical judgment
Consider:
- Predictability of outcome (routine or new tx?)
- Potential for harm (bleeding, aspiration risk?)
- Complexity of care (delegatee legally able?)
- Need for problem solving & innovation (judgement?)
- Level of interaction w/ the client (psychosocial?)
Delegatee factors
- Education, training, experience
- Knowledge of skill or task
- Level of critical thinking needed to complete task
- Ability to communicate w/ others
- Competence
- Delegatee's culture
- Agency policy & procedures (state nurse practice acts)
What can be delegated to LPN vs. UAP? LPN:
- Monitor findings (input to RN's ongoing assessment)
- Reinforce teaching
- Trach care
- Suctioning
- Check NG tube patency
- Admin enteral feedings
- Insertion of cath
- Med admin
UAP:
- All ADLs
- Specimen collection
- I&O
- Vitals on stable clients
What are the five rights of delegation? Right task
- Repetitive, little supervision, noninvasive are good
Right circumstance
- Match complexity of care w/ skill level
- Consider workload of team member
Right person
- Assess team member's performance based on standards
- Remediate a failure to meet standards
Right direction/communication
- Communicate in writing or orally
- Method & time line for reporting
- Specific tasks to be performed
- Expected results
- Expectations for follow-up communication
Right supervision/evaluation
- Clear directions
- Monitor performance, give feedback
- Intervene if necessary
What is supervising? Process of directing, monitoring, & evaluating the performance of tasks by another
member of the health care team
RNs are responsible for the supervision of client care tasks delegates to AP & LPNs
Occurs after delegation
Determine if the task is on schedule, performance level, findings were documented,
assistance needed, timely manner, re-evaluated assignment
Stuvia 2026-2027 | Latest Version
What is leadership? The ability to inspire others to achieve a desired outcome
What is management? The process of planning, organizing, directing, & coordinating the work within an
organization
Usually possess good leadership skills
Effective leaders are not always in management
What is the authoritative leadership style? Makes decisions for the group
Motivates by coercion
Communication occurs down chain of command
Work output high
Good for crisis situations
Effective for employees w/ little or no formal education
What is the democratic leadership style? Includes group when decisions are made
Motivates by supporting staff achievements
Communication up & down chain of command
Work output good
Good when cooperating & collaborating
What is the laissez-faire leadership style? Makes very few decisions, does little planning
Motivation is the responsibility of individual staff members
Communication up & down, or b/t group members
Work output low unless informal leader evolves
Effective w/ professional employees
What are the differences b/t a transformational leader vs. a Transformational
transactional leader? - Leaders empower followers to assume responsibility for communal vision
- Personal development is a secondary outcome
Actional
- Focus on immediate problems
- Maintain status quo
- Uses rewards to motivate followers
What is emotional intelligence? Ability of an individual to perceive & manage emotions of self & others
What are the five major management functions? Planning - what needs to be done, who is doing it
Organizing - lines of authority, communication, decisions
Staffing- adequate staff & staffing mix
Directing - manager influences & motivates staff
Controlling - evaluation of staff & goals to make sure outcomes are being made
What is critical thinking? Interpretation
Analysis
Evaluation
Inference
Explanation
Skills that assist the nurse to determine the most appropriate action to take -
"thinking outside the box"
What is clinical reasoning? Process of assessing & compiling data
Selecting & discarding data used on relevance
Using knowledge to make decisions about client care
Problem solving (part of making a decision)
Mental process used when analyzing the elements of a clinical situation & using
analysis to make a decision
Stuvia 2026-2027 | Latest Version
, Nurse Leadership Exam 1 - Comprehensive Questions & Verified Answers
What is clinical judgement? Analyze data & related evidence
Ascertain the meaning of the data & evidence
Determine client outcomes desired &/or achieved as indicated by EBP
Decision made requiring the course of action based off a critical analysis of data
when using knowledge applied to clinical situation
What should be prioritized? Systemic before local
- "Life before limb"
- Client in shock over client w/ localized limb injury
Acute before chronic
- Mental confusion, chest pain over a client w/ chronic long-term illness
Actual problems before potential future problems
- Admin of med to client w/ acute pain over ambulation of a client at risk for
thrombophlebitis
Listen to clients carefully, don't assume
- Post op pain could be due to pain in another location rather than expected surgical
pain
Recognize & respond to trends vs. transient findings
- Gradual deterioration of LOC/GSC
Recognize signs of medical emergencies & comps vs. "expected findings"
- Signs of increasing ICP on pt w/ newly diagnosed stroke vs. clinical findings
expected following a stroke
Apply clinical knowledge to procedural standards to determine the priority action
- Timing of admin of anti diabetic & antimicrobial meds is more important than admin
of some other meds
What should you think about when trying to manage your What must be done immediately?
time? - Analgesics ir antiemetic admin
- Assessment of an unstable client
What must be done by a specific time to ensure safety, quality care, & compliance?
- Med admin
- Vitals
- Blood glucose
What must be done by the end of shift?
- Ambulation of the client
- Diacharge &/or discharge teaching
- Dressing change
What can be delegated?
- What can only be done by RN?
- What can be delegated to LPN or AP?
- How can scheduled client activities most efficiently be shared by these two groups
of care providers?
What is assigning? Process of transferring authority, accountability, & responsibility of the client care to
another member of the health care team
Assigning downward or lateral manner
Client factors:
- Condition, level of care needed
- Specific care needs (cardiac monitoring, vent)
- Need for precautions (isolation, fall, seizure)
- Procedures requiring significant time commitment
Team member factors:
- Knowledge & skill level
- Amount of supervision necessary
- Staffing mix
- Nurse-to-client ratio
- Experience
- Familiarity with unit
Stuvia 2026-2027 | Latest Version
, Nurse Leadership Exam 1 - Comprehensive Questions & Verified Answers
What is delegating? Process of transferring authority & responsibility to another team member to
complete a task, while retaining the accountability
CANNOT DELEGATE:
- Nursing process
- Client education
- Tasks requiring clinical judgment
Consider:
- Predictability of outcome (routine or new tx?)
- Potential for harm (bleeding, aspiration risk?)
- Complexity of care (delegatee legally able?)
- Need for problem solving & innovation (judgement?)
- Level of interaction w/ the client (psychosocial?)
Delegatee factors
- Education, training, experience
- Knowledge of skill or task
- Level of critical thinking needed to complete task
- Ability to communicate w/ others
- Competence
- Delegatee's culture
- Agency policy & procedures (state nurse practice acts)
What can be delegated to LPN vs. UAP? LPN:
- Monitor findings (input to RN's ongoing assessment)
- Reinforce teaching
- Trach care
- Suctioning
- Check NG tube patency
- Admin enteral feedings
- Insertion of cath
- Med admin
UAP:
- All ADLs
- Specimen collection
- I&O
- Vitals on stable clients
What are the five rights of delegation? Right task
- Repetitive, little supervision, noninvasive are good
Right circumstance
- Match complexity of care w/ skill level
- Consider workload of team member
Right person
- Assess team member's performance based on standards
- Remediate a failure to meet standards
Right direction/communication
- Communicate in writing or orally
- Method & time line for reporting
- Specific tasks to be performed
- Expected results
- Expectations for follow-up communication
Right supervision/evaluation
- Clear directions
- Monitor performance, give feedback
- Intervene if necessary
What is supervising? Process of directing, monitoring, & evaluating the performance of tasks by another
member of the health care team
RNs are responsible for the supervision of client care tasks delegates to AP & LPNs
Occurs after delegation
Determine if the task is on schedule, performance level, findings were documented,
assistance needed, timely manner, re-evaluated assignment
Stuvia 2026-2027 | Latest Version
