PN PRACTICE EXAM: CHAPTER 28-34
QUESTIONS AND ACTUAL ANSWERS
(2025) UPDATED.
Which of the following mechanisms results in inhalation?
a. The intercostal muscles relax.
b. The ribs move inward.
c. The diaphragm contracts.
d. Pressure within the lungs raises above atmospheric pressure. - Answer The diaphragm
contracts
A nurse is caring for a patient with a high blood level of carbon dioxide. The nurse would expect
which of the following responses by the body's respiratory system?
a. The breathing rate increases.
b. The breathing rate slows.
c. The breathing rate will not be affected.
d. The breathing stops. - Answer The breathing rate increases
A nurse is caring for an African American individual with a long history of lung disease. The
nurse would be most concerned if
a. The patient's respiratory rate is 22.
b. The patient's oxygen saturation was 96%.
c. The patient's skin is warm and moist.
d. The patient's mucous membranes are ashen. - Answer The patient's mucous membranes
are ashen.
A student nurse is providing care for a patient who becomes short of breath while ambulating to
the bathroom. The best way for the student to document this finding is to write:
a. Patient cyanotic with ambulation.
b. Dyspnea noted after walking 15 feet.
c. Patient complains that he can't catch his breath.
d. Hypoxemia present after walking to the bathroom. - Answer Dyspnea noted after walking
,a. Greenish yellow.
b. Frothy and pink-tinged.
c. Thick and white.
d. Rusty in color. - Answer Frothy and pink-tinged
While caring for a patient with pneumonia, a nurse notes that the patient's sputum is greenish
and very thick. The highest priority in the patient's plan of care is to
a. Encourage the use of the incentive spirometer.
b. Provide pain medication every 4 hours as ordered.
c. Provide a bedside commode.
d. Encourage the patient to increase oral intake. - Answer Encourage the patient to increase
oral intake
A nurse is caring for a patient with a chest tube who has notable crepitus at the chest tube site,
extending across the chest about 3 inches. The best statement the nurse can make is:
a. Don't worry. That happens with a lot of chest tubes. We'll simply mark this and keep an eye
on it.
b. That is a local swelling caused by the trauma of having the tube placed. It will go down a few
days after the tube comes out.
c. There are some new, small pockets of air under your skin that I'd like to have the doctor
examine.
d. You may be developing an infection. I'd like to check your temperature and change the chest
tube dressing so that I can see the site. - Answer There are some new, small pockets of air
under your skin that I'd like to have the doctor examine.
A nurse is caring for a number of patients on a medical unit. The patient of the highest priority is
a. A 22-year-old with pneumonia who is restless and confused.
b. A 41-year-old with a chest tube who has noted tidaling.
c. A 58-year-old with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with a nonproductive cough.
d. A 72-year-old with pneumonia who has rusty-colored sputum. - Answer A 22-year-old with
pneumonia who is restless and confused.
A nurse notes a new order for sputum specimen for culture to be collected on a 91-year-old.
The patient has a weak cough. The best action by the nurse is to
,d. Encourage the patient to limit fluid intake so that sputum can be more readily collected. -
Answer Explain the order to the patient and plan sputum collection for the following morning.
A nurse working in a pediatrician's office is preparing to do a throat culture for a 5-year-old. The
child's parent asks, "Why do we have to do this?" The best statement the nurse could make to
the child's parent is:
a. It is important to identify and treat a <i>Streptococcus</i> infection quickly to prevent major
illness.
b. We need to test every sick child for whooping cough
c. Doctors have really cut down on how many antibiotics are given because the insurance
companies won't pay for them.
d. Throat cultures are primarily used to test children for the mumps. - Answer It is important
to identify and treat a <i>Streptococcus</i> infection quickly to prevent major illness.
A nurse is reinforcing instructions to use the incentive spirometer. Further teaching is necessary
if the patient states:
a. was able to get the ball up to the marked level today.
b. I blew into that thing 10 times a little while ago.
c. I've been using the incentive spirometer every hour.
d. I feel so tired when I finish using the incentive spirometer. - Answer I blew into that thing 10
times a little while ago.
A nurse enters the room of a patient who is taking a nebulizer treatment set up by the
respiratory therapist. The nurse should intervene if
a. The patient is breathing in and out through the nose.
b. Mist is coming out of the end of the nebulizer hose.
c. The nebulizer is connected to compressor tubing.
d. Liquid is seen in the nebulizer cup. - Answer The patient is breathing in and out through the
nose.
Which type of airway would not be used on a conscious patient?
a. Tracheostomy
b. Nasal trumpet
c. Oropharyngeal airway
, While preparing to feed a patient with a tracheostomy tube connected to mechanical
ventilation, a nurse notes that the cuff is deflated. Which of the following actions should the
nurse take first?
a. No action is required.
b. The nurse should check the most recent ABG (arterial blood gas) results.
c. The nurse should inflate the cuff.
d. The nurse should listen to breath sounds. - Answer The nurse should inflate the cuff
While observing a student nurse perform open tracheostomy suctioning, a nurse recognizes
that further instruction is required if
a. The student dons sterile gloves before touching the suction catheter.
b. The student suctions the patient's mouth and then uses the same catheter to suction the
tracheostomy.
c. The student discards the suction catheter and other supplies into the patient's bedside
biohazard trashcan.
d. The student lubricates the suction catheter with sterile normal saline. - Answer The student
suctions the patient's mouth and then uses the same catheter to suction the tracheostomy.
A nurse is caring for a patient with a tracheostomy collar who has a weak cough and has rattling
sounds in her throat. The best action by the nurse is to
a. Reduce the humidity of the oxygen.
b. Replace the obturator.
c. Remove the outer cannula.
d. Suction the patient. - Answer Suction the patient
A student nurse is observing care given to a patient who had cardiothoracic surgery and who
now has two chest tubes in the left chest connected by Y tubing. One of the patient's family
members asks why the lower chest tube has a great deal of drainage while the upper chest tube
has minimal drainage. The best response by the student nurse is:
a. The upper chest tube is being used to drain air from the chest while the lower one drains
blood and fluid.
b. The upper chest tube is there in case the fluid accumulates near the level of the heart.
c. The lower chest tube serves as the first drainage system, and if it fills up, the upper tube will
begin to drain.
d. How much drainage is seen in each tube really depends on the type of surgery done.
QUESTIONS AND ACTUAL ANSWERS
(2025) UPDATED.
Which of the following mechanisms results in inhalation?
a. The intercostal muscles relax.
b. The ribs move inward.
c. The diaphragm contracts.
d. Pressure within the lungs raises above atmospheric pressure. - Answer The diaphragm
contracts
A nurse is caring for a patient with a high blood level of carbon dioxide. The nurse would expect
which of the following responses by the body's respiratory system?
a. The breathing rate increases.
b. The breathing rate slows.
c. The breathing rate will not be affected.
d. The breathing stops. - Answer The breathing rate increases
A nurse is caring for an African American individual with a long history of lung disease. The
nurse would be most concerned if
a. The patient's respiratory rate is 22.
b. The patient's oxygen saturation was 96%.
c. The patient's skin is warm and moist.
d. The patient's mucous membranes are ashen. - Answer The patient's mucous membranes
are ashen.
A student nurse is providing care for a patient who becomes short of breath while ambulating to
the bathroom. The best way for the student to document this finding is to write:
a. Patient cyanotic with ambulation.
b. Dyspnea noted after walking 15 feet.
c. Patient complains that he can't catch his breath.
d. Hypoxemia present after walking to the bathroom. - Answer Dyspnea noted after walking
,a. Greenish yellow.
b. Frothy and pink-tinged.
c. Thick and white.
d. Rusty in color. - Answer Frothy and pink-tinged
While caring for a patient with pneumonia, a nurse notes that the patient's sputum is greenish
and very thick. The highest priority in the patient's plan of care is to
a. Encourage the use of the incentive spirometer.
b. Provide pain medication every 4 hours as ordered.
c. Provide a bedside commode.
d. Encourage the patient to increase oral intake. - Answer Encourage the patient to increase
oral intake
A nurse is caring for a patient with a chest tube who has notable crepitus at the chest tube site,
extending across the chest about 3 inches. The best statement the nurse can make is:
a. Don't worry. That happens with a lot of chest tubes. We'll simply mark this and keep an eye
on it.
b. That is a local swelling caused by the trauma of having the tube placed. It will go down a few
days after the tube comes out.
c. There are some new, small pockets of air under your skin that I'd like to have the doctor
examine.
d. You may be developing an infection. I'd like to check your temperature and change the chest
tube dressing so that I can see the site. - Answer There are some new, small pockets of air
under your skin that I'd like to have the doctor examine.
A nurse is caring for a number of patients on a medical unit. The patient of the highest priority is
a. A 22-year-old with pneumonia who is restless and confused.
b. A 41-year-old with a chest tube who has noted tidaling.
c. A 58-year-old with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with a nonproductive cough.
d. A 72-year-old with pneumonia who has rusty-colored sputum. - Answer A 22-year-old with
pneumonia who is restless and confused.
A nurse notes a new order for sputum specimen for culture to be collected on a 91-year-old.
The patient has a weak cough. The best action by the nurse is to
,d. Encourage the patient to limit fluid intake so that sputum can be more readily collected. -
Answer Explain the order to the patient and plan sputum collection for the following morning.
A nurse working in a pediatrician's office is preparing to do a throat culture for a 5-year-old. The
child's parent asks, "Why do we have to do this?" The best statement the nurse could make to
the child's parent is:
a. It is important to identify and treat a <i>Streptococcus</i> infection quickly to prevent major
illness.
b. We need to test every sick child for whooping cough
c. Doctors have really cut down on how many antibiotics are given because the insurance
companies won't pay for them.
d. Throat cultures are primarily used to test children for the mumps. - Answer It is important
to identify and treat a <i>Streptococcus</i> infection quickly to prevent major illness.
A nurse is reinforcing instructions to use the incentive spirometer. Further teaching is necessary
if the patient states:
a. was able to get the ball up to the marked level today.
b. I blew into that thing 10 times a little while ago.
c. I've been using the incentive spirometer every hour.
d. I feel so tired when I finish using the incentive spirometer. - Answer I blew into that thing 10
times a little while ago.
A nurse enters the room of a patient who is taking a nebulizer treatment set up by the
respiratory therapist. The nurse should intervene if
a. The patient is breathing in and out through the nose.
b. Mist is coming out of the end of the nebulizer hose.
c. The nebulizer is connected to compressor tubing.
d. Liquid is seen in the nebulizer cup. - Answer The patient is breathing in and out through the
nose.
Which type of airway would not be used on a conscious patient?
a. Tracheostomy
b. Nasal trumpet
c. Oropharyngeal airway
, While preparing to feed a patient with a tracheostomy tube connected to mechanical
ventilation, a nurse notes that the cuff is deflated. Which of the following actions should the
nurse take first?
a. No action is required.
b. The nurse should check the most recent ABG (arterial blood gas) results.
c. The nurse should inflate the cuff.
d. The nurse should listen to breath sounds. - Answer The nurse should inflate the cuff
While observing a student nurse perform open tracheostomy suctioning, a nurse recognizes
that further instruction is required if
a. The student dons sterile gloves before touching the suction catheter.
b. The student suctions the patient's mouth and then uses the same catheter to suction the
tracheostomy.
c. The student discards the suction catheter and other supplies into the patient's bedside
biohazard trashcan.
d. The student lubricates the suction catheter with sterile normal saline. - Answer The student
suctions the patient's mouth and then uses the same catheter to suction the tracheostomy.
A nurse is caring for a patient with a tracheostomy collar who has a weak cough and has rattling
sounds in her throat. The best action by the nurse is to
a. Reduce the humidity of the oxygen.
b. Replace the obturator.
c. Remove the outer cannula.
d. Suction the patient. - Answer Suction the patient
A student nurse is observing care given to a patient who had cardiothoracic surgery and who
now has two chest tubes in the left chest connected by Y tubing. One of the patient's family
members asks why the lower chest tube has a great deal of drainage while the upper chest tube
has minimal drainage. The best response by the student nurse is:
a. The upper chest tube is being used to drain air from the chest while the lower one drains
blood and fluid.
b. The upper chest tube is there in case the fluid accumulates near the level of the heart.
c. The lower chest tube serves as the first drainage system, and if it fills up, the upper tube will
begin to drain.
d. How much drainage is seen in each tube really depends on the type of surgery done.
