HESI A2 critical thinking questions, HESI A2 (Anatomy & Physiology)
V1/V2 , A&P HESI Practice Test Questions
The patient: A 65 yr old male
The situation: the family brings the patient to the emergency room because he just took an
entire bottle of pills.
The question: what action should the nurse take first? - correct answer determine the patients
level of consciousness
The patient: an 80 yr old male who has used continuous oxygen for the past 3 years.
The situation: while making a home visit, the wife tells the nurse that her husband was doing
well on 2 liters of oxygen per min until late last night when he developed severe shortness of
breath on the way to the bathroom.
The question: what action should the nurse take first? - correct answer assess the patients
oxygen saturation by pulse oximeter
The patient: 41 y/o male
The situation: the patient is complaining of severe stomach pain and states that he has been
"vomiting all the time".
The question: what should the nurse do first? - correct answer administer a prescribed pain
medication
The patient: the wife of a wealthy owner of towns bank.
The situation: the patient and her husband arrive on the unit. While orienting the patient to the
hospital room, the nurse notices that the patient has places a large amount of cash and some
expensive earrings in the drawer of the bedside table.
The question: what is the best action for the nurse to take? - correct answer advise the patient
to have her husband take the items home when he leaves
The patient: A 45 y/o female who is 5`2`` tall, weighs 200 lbs and has smoked since age 21
The situation: the patient comes to the clinic with a complaint of "leg pain"
The question: it is most important for the nurse to obtain information about which pervious
occurrence? - correct answer a pervious blood clot in the leg
The patient: 61 y/o female
situation: the patient has a fever of unknown origin. The nurse administered a fever-reducing
medication 30 mins ago. At this time there has been no decrease in the patients fever.
,The question: what action would be best for the nurse to take? - correct answer sponge the
patient with cool water
The patient: 70 y/o make who is relatively healthy
The situation: a liquid medication is prescribed for this patient
The question: prior to administering the prescribed medication, what intervention has the
highest priority? - correct answer determine if the patient is allergic to the medication
the patient: 58 y/o female
the situation: while the nurse is offering the patient her morning medication, she tells the nurse
she does not recall ever taking a pill that was pink colored.
The question: what should the nurse do in response to the patients comment? - correct answer
withhold the medication until the prescription is verified
The patients:
1. 63 y/o with burn on the left lower leg who is complaining of pain.
2. a 45 y/o with pneumonia, complaining of shortness of breath
3. 31 y/o with abdominal pain who has just vomited blood.
4. 88 y/o who has right sided paralysis and wants to be helped to the bathroom immediately
Situation: the nurse is caring for these patients
The questions: who should the nurse see 1st? - correct answer 45 y/o with pneumonia,
complaining of shortness of breath
(ABCs- Airway, Breathing, Circulation)
The patients
1. a 13 y/o female with a kidney infection who reports that there is "lots of blood in her urine".
2. 18 y/o male with acute alcohol poisoning who is seeing "bugs on the walls"
3. a 21 y/o female with inflammatory bowel disease who has soaked dressing 3 hrs after
surgery
4. a 25 y/o male who is sobbing in his room after being told that he has testicular cancer
Situation: the nurse is caring for these 4 patients
Question: who should the nurse see first? - correct answer the 21 y/o who is 3 hrs
postoperative and has a soaked dressing
, Patients:
1. a 42 y/o with diabetes who is blind and is asking to get up and moved to a chair
2. a 88 y/o with lower body paralysis who wants to be turned in bed
3. a 17 y/o with asthma who smokes and has been in the bathroom for 30 mins
4. 55 y/o with cardiac disease who tells the nurse " get the tv fixed or i am leaving this place"
Situation: the nurse is caring for these 4 patients
The questions: which patient should the nurse see 1st? - correct answer 17 y/o with asthma
and smokes and has been in the bathroom for 30 mins
Patient: an elderly female accompanied by her middle aged son.
Situation: the patient is being discharged after 15 day stay on medical unit, and the son offers a
box of candy as a gesture of thanks for caring for his mother.
Questions: what should the nurse do in response to the offer of this gift? - correct answer
sincerely thank the son, and share the candy with all staff members on the unit
Patient: 25 y/o female who has smoked since the age 12
Situation: the patient is complaint of "skipped heart beats".
The question: which instruction is most important for the nurse to provide this patient? -
correct answer call for assistance if she feels weak or dizzy when getting out of bed
Patient: a frail 88 y/o male who has recently become slightly confused.
The situation: the nurse is making a home visit and assesses the safety features of the home
environment.
The questions: which suggestion would be most important for the nurse to provide the family?
- correct answer eliminate any throw rugs from the floor
The patient: 55 y/o female with a family history of hypertension
Situation: the patient is concerned about her health and states " i have have severe headaches
for the last six month. I think I might have high blood pressure" The nurse determines the
woman's bp is 138/86 (high normal).
Question: what action would be best for the nurse to take? - correct answer ask the patient
about the frequency, timing and quality of her headaches
The Patient: A 35-year-old female with a history of asthma. The Situation: The patient has been
using a steroid inhaler because she is short of breath. However, she states that her shortness of
V1/V2 , A&P HESI Practice Test Questions
The patient: A 65 yr old male
The situation: the family brings the patient to the emergency room because he just took an
entire bottle of pills.
The question: what action should the nurse take first? - correct answer determine the patients
level of consciousness
The patient: an 80 yr old male who has used continuous oxygen for the past 3 years.
The situation: while making a home visit, the wife tells the nurse that her husband was doing
well on 2 liters of oxygen per min until late last night when he developed severe shortness of
breath on the way to the bathroom.
The question: what action should the nurse take first? - correct answer assess the patients
oxygen saturation by pulse oximeter
The patient: 41 y/o male
The situation: the patient is complaining of severe stomach pain and states that he has been
"vomiting all the time".
The question: what should the nurse do first? - correct answer administer a prescribed pain
medication
The patient: the wife of a wealthy owner of towns bank.
The situation: the patient and her husband arrive on the unit. While orienting the patient to the
hospital room, the nurse notices that the patient has places a large amount of cash and some
expensive earrings in the drawer of the bedside table.
The question: what is the best action for the nurse to take? - correct answer advise the patient
to have her husband take the items home when he leaves
The patient: A 45 y/o female who is 5`2`` tall, weighs 200 lbs and has smoked since age 21
The situation: the patient comes to the clinic with a complaint of "leg pain"
The question: it is most important for the nurse to obtain information about which pervious
occurrence? - correct answer a pervious blood clot in the leg
The patient: 61 y/o female
situation: the patient has a fever of unknown origin. The nurse administered a fever-reducing
medication 30 mins ago. At this time there has been no decrease in the patients fever.
,The question: what action would be best for the nurse to take? - correct answer sponge the
patient with cool water
The patient: 70 y/o make who is relatively healthy
The situation: a liquid medication is prescribed for this patient
The question: prior to administering the prescribed medication, what intervention has the
highest priority? - correct answer determine if the patient is allergic to the medication
the patient: 58 y/o female
the situation: while the nurse is offering the patient her morning medication, she tells the nurse
she does not recall ever taking a pill that was pink colored.
The question: what should the nurse do in response to the patients comment? - correct answer
withhold the medication until the prescription is verified
The patients:
1. 63 y/o with burn on the left lower leg who is complaining of pain.
2. a 45 y/o with pneumonia, complaining of shortness of breath
3. 31 y/o with abdominal pain who has just vomited blood.
4. 88 y/o who has right sided paralysis and wants to be helped to the bathroom immediately
Situation: the nurse is caring for these patients
The questions: who should the nurse see 1st? - correct answer 45 y/o with pneumonia,
complaining of shortness of breath
(ABCs- Airway, Breathing, Circulation)
The patients
1. a 13 y/o female with a kidney infection who reports that there is "lots of blood in her urine".
2. 18 y/o male with acute alcohol poisoning who is seeing "bugs on the walls"
3. a 21 y/o female with inflammatory bowel disease who has soaked dressing 3 hrs after
surgery
4. a 25 y/o male who is sobbing in his room after being told that he has testicular cancer
Situation: the nurse is caring for these 4 patients
Question: who should the nurse see first? - correct answer the 21 y/o who is 3 hrs
postoperative and has a soaked dressing
, Patients:
1. a 42 y/o with diabetes who is blind and is asking to get up and moved to a chair
2. a 88 y/o with lower body paralysis who wants to be turned in bed
3. a 17 y/o with asthma who smokes and has been in the bathroom for 30 mins
4. 55 y/o with cardiac disease who tells the nurse " get the tv fixed or i am leaving this place"
Situation: the nurse is caring for these 4 patients
The questions: which patient should the nurse see 1st? - correct answer 17 y/o with asthma
and smokes and has been in the bathroom for 30 mins
Patient: an elderly female accompanied by her middle aged son.
Situation: the patient is being discharged after 15 day stay on medical unit, and the son offers a
box of candy as a gesture of thanks for caring for his mother.
Questions: what should the nurse do in response to the offer of this gift? - correct answer
sincerely thank the son, and share the candy with all staff members on the unit
Patient: 25 y/o female who has smoked since the age 12
Situation: the patient is complaint of "skipped heart beats".
The question: which instruction is most important for the nurse to provide this patient? -
correct answer call for assistance if she feels weak or dizzy when getting out of bed
Patient: a frail 88 y/o male who has recently become slightly confused.
The situation: the nurse is making a home visit and assesses the safety features of the home
environment.
The questions: which suggestion would be most important for the nurse to provide the family?
- correct answer eliminate any throw rugs from the floor
The patient: 55 y/o female with a family history of hypertension
Situation: the patient is concerned about her health and states " i have have severe headaches
for the last six month. I think I might have high blood pressure" The nurse determines the
woman's bp is 138/86 (high normal).
Question: what action would be best for the nurse to take? - correct answer ask the patient
about the frequency, timing and quality of her headaches
The Patient: A 35-year-old female with a history of asthma. The Situation: The patient has been
using a steroid inhaler because she is short of breath. However, she states that her shortness of
