NURSING CONCEPTS FOR PSYCHIATRIC & MENTAL HEALTH
EXAM 1 STUDY GUIDE & PRACTICE QUESTIONS 2026/2027
B. The expansion of the role assumed by professionally trained nurses. - Correct answer ✔✔
The primary impact that the development and use of psychotropic drugs had on nursing's role
in the care of clients with mental health disorders was:
A. The availability of mental health therapies as an outpatient service.
B. The expansion of the role assumed by professionally trained nurses.
C. Nurses were needed to fill the gap created by a lack of medical personnel.
D. More nurses were required to address the needs of the now treatable mental health clients.
C. Providing counseling - Correct answer ✔✔ Which nursing activity demonstrates the role of a
professional psychiatric nurse as identified by Hildegard Peplau?
A. Managing the milieu
B. Caring for the client's physiological needs
C. Providing counseling
D. Documenting client behaviors
A. Being a member of a client's multidisciplinary treatment team - Correct answer ✔✔ Which
nursing activity is a direct result of the Community Mental Health Centers Act of 1963?
A. Being a member of a client's multidisciplinary treatment team
B. Performing an extensive admissions assessment for each hospitalized client
C. Using physical restraints as only the last resort when client safety requires it
D. Educating a client on the role of neurotransmitters in chronic depression
B. The APRN-PMH exercises a greater degree of autonomy when providing care. - Correct
answer ✔✔ What differentiates the Psychiatric-Mental Health Registered Nurse (RN-PMH) from
the Psychiatric-Mental Health Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN-PMH)?
,A. Only the APRN-PMH is responsible for milieu management.
B. The APRN-PMH exercises a greater degree of autonomy when providing care.
C. Only the RN-PMH provides medication education to the client.
D. The RN-PMH has less experience working with the mentally ill.
D. Recognize the value of their understanding of the needs of the mentally ill. - Correct answer
✔✔ In order to become political advocates for the mentally ill, psychiatric nurses must first:
A. Be willing to learn the legislative and regulatory processes at both the federal and state
levels.
B. Recognize the need to work in partnership with the American Medical Association.
C. Be willing to put aside differences and unite for a common mental health cause.
D. Recognize the value of their understanding of the needs of the mentally ill.
A. Encouraging a client's adult children to accompany their parent to family group therapy
sessions. - Correct answer ✔✔ The nurse demonstrates an understanding of the first
assumption of Stuart's Stress Adaptation Model when:
A. Encouraging a client's adult children to accompany their parent to family group therapy
sessions.
B. Discussing with a client's health team which interventions should be included in the plan of
care.
C. Planning interventions based on a particular nursing theory that is relevant to the client's
problem.
D. Identifying community resources that will help a mentally ill client live in his own home.
C. "This way they can't find me and if they can't find me they can't hurt me." - Correct answer
✔✔ A young adult tells the nurse at the local free clinic that he is currently living in his car and
panhandling for money. The nurse asks the individual the reason for his decision to live as he
does. Which response will the nurse follow up on to determine if the individual is experiencing
mental health issues?
A. "I'll live in a house and get a job when the government gives everyone those opportunities."
,B. "I live like this for 3 months each year just to remind myself how much I really have."
C. "This way they can't find me and if they can't find me they can't hurt me."
D. "The law says I can live any way I want to as long as I'm not hurting anyone."
B. "I can't go hiking, but I still enjoy walking in the park in the afternoon." - Correct answer ✔✔
Which statement by an older adult who has recently had hip replacement surgery supports that
her positive attitude is contributing to her mental health wellness?
A. "I know I can't go hiking like I did, but I really miss it so much."
B. "I can't go hiking, but I still enjoy walking in the park in the afternoon."
C. "If I work really hard in rehab, I think I'll be able to hike again next spring."
D. "Hiking gave me such pleasure, but if I can't hike, I'll just have to get used to it."
A. "I couldn't survive if my boyfriend left me." - Correct answer ✔✔ Which statement made by a
teenager indicates an increased risk for poor stress management as a result of a psychosocial
factor?
A. "I couldn't survive if my boyfriend left me."
B. "My father tried to kill himself when I was 10 years old."
C. "Our religion does not accept homosexuality as a lifestyle choice."
D. "In my culture mental illness is thought of as a punishment not a sickness."
D. Confidence in one's ability to manage stress in the future is reinforced. - Correct answer ✔✔
What is the long-term benefit of successfully implementing a constructive coping mechanism?
A. Similar stressors will no longer have a negative affect in the future.
B. One's ability to avoid stressors in the future is greatly improved.
C. Stress is no longer viewed as a barrier to future happiness and success.
D. Confidence in one's ability to manage stress in the future is reinforced.
, C. Client states, "What do you mean 'it's raining cats and dogs'?" - Correct answer ✔✔ The
client's chart indicates that she has experienced trauma to the cerebral cortex as a result of
injuries sustained during an attempted suicide. Which observation is most likely the result of
this injury?
A. Client is often found crying into her pillow.
B. Client demonstrates involuntary twitching of facial muscles.
C. Client states, "What do you mean 'it's raining cats and dogs'?"
D. Client asks, "Can you address this letter to my mom; I forget her address?"
C. Allow the doctors to view the structures of his brain. - Correct answer ✔✔ A client suspected
of being schizophrenic is scheduled for a computed tomography (CT). The nurse informs the
client that the diagnostic test will:
A. Confirm the diagnosis of schizophrenia.
B. Trace the flow of blood through his brain.
C. Allow the doctors to view the structures of his brain.
D. Help determine the areas of his brain that are overreacting.
C. "Too much REM sleep deprives you of deep restoring sleep." - Correct answer ✔✔ A client
diagnosed with depression has reported fatigue and poor concentration. When she is told that
the results of her sleep study show that she has excessive REM sleep cycles, the client asks the
nurse to explain what those results mean. The nurse best answers the client's concerns by
replying:
A. "It means that you are sleep deprived."
B. "REM sleep stands for rapid eye movement sleep."
C. "Too much REM sleep deprives you of deep restoring sleep."
D. "Depressed individuals generally experience prolonged periods of REM sleep."
C. Medications will be designed so that they do not cause unwanted side effects. - Correct
answer ✔✔ The greatest benefit derived from current work being done related to
pharmacogenetics is that:
EXAM 1 STUDY GUIDE & PRACTICE QUESTIONS 2026/2027
B. The expansion of the role assumed by professionally trained nurses. - Correct answer ✔✔
The primary impact that the development and use of psychotropic drugs had on nursing's role
in the care of clients with mental health disorders was:
A. The availability of mental health therapies as an outpatient service.
B. The expansion of the role assumed by professionally trained nurses.
C. Nurses were needed to fill the gap created by a lack of medical personnel.
D. More nurses were required to address the needs of the now treatable mental health clients.
C. Providing counseling - Correct answer ✔✔ Which nursing activity demonstrates the role of a
professional psychiatric nurse as identified by Hildegard Peplau?
A. Managing the milieu
B. Caring for the client's physiological needs
C. Providing counseling
D. Documenting client behaviors
A. Being a member of a client's multidisciplinary treatment team - Correct answer ✔✔ Which
nursing activity is a direct result of the Community Mental Health Centers Act of 1963?
A. Being a member of a client's multidisciplinary treatment team
B. Performing an extensive admissions assessment for each hospitalized client
C. Using physical restraints as only the last resort when client safety requires it
D. Educating a client on the role of neurotransmitters in chronic depression
B. The APRN-PMH exercises a greater degree of autonomy when providing care. - Correct
answer ✔✔ What differentiates the Psychiatric-Mental Health Registered Nurse (RN-PMH) from
the Psychiatric-Mental Health Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN-PMH)?
,A. Only the APRN-PMH is responsible for milieu management.
B. The APRN-PMH exercises a greater degree of autonomy when providing care.
C. Only the RN-PMH provides medication education to the client.
D. The RN-PMH has less experience working with the mentally ill.
D. Recognize the value of their understanding of the needs of the mentally ill. - Correct answer
✔✔ In order to become political advocates for the mentally ill, psychiatric nurses must first:
A. Be willing to learn the legislative and regulatory processes at both the federal and state
levels.
B. Recognize the need to work in partnership with the American Medical Association.
C. Be willing to put aside differences and unite for a common mental health cause.
D. Recognize the value of their understanding of the needs of the mentally ill.
A. Encouraging a client's adult children to accompany their parent to family group therapy
sessions. - Correct answer ✔✔ The nurse demonstrates an understanding of the first
assumption of Stuart's Stress Adaptation Model when:
A. Encouraging a client's adult children to accompany their parent to family group therapy
sessions.
B. Discussing with a client's health team which interventions should be included in the plan of
care.
C. Planning interventions based on a particular nursing theory that is relevant to the client's
problem.
D. Identifying community resources that will help a mentally ill client live in his own home.
C. "This way they can't find me and if they can't find me they can't hurt me." - Correct answer
✔✔ A young adult tells the nurse at the local free clinic that he is currently living in his car and
panhandling for money. The nurse asks the individual the reason for his decision to live as he
does. Which response will the nurse follow up on to determine if the individual is experiencing
mental health issues?
A. "I'll live in a house and get a job when the government gives everyone those opportunities."
,B. "I live like this for 3 months each year just to remind myself how much I really have."
C. "This way they can't find me and if they can't find me they can't hurt me."
D. "The law says I can live any way I want to as long as I'm not hurting anyone."
B. "I can't go hiking, but I still enjoy walking in the park in the afternoon." - Correct answer ✔✔
Which statement by an older adult who has recently had hip replacement surgery supports that
her positive attitude is contributing to her mental health wellness?
A. "I know I can't go hiking like I did, but I really miss it so much."
B. "I can't go hiking, but I still enjoy walking in the park in the afternoon."
C. "If I work really hard in rehab, I think I'll be able to hike again next spring."
D. "Hiking gave me such pleasure, but if I can't hike, I'll just have to get used to it."
A. "I couldn't survive if my boyfriend left me." - Correct answer ✔✔ Which statement made by a
teenager indicates an increased risk for poor stress management as a result of a psychosocial
factor?
A. "I couldn't survive if my boyfriend left me."
B. "My father tried to kill himself when I was 10 years old."
C. "Our religion does not accept homosexuality as a lifestyle choice."
D. "In my culture mental illness is thought of as a punishment not a sickness."
D. Confidence in one's ability to manage stress in the future is reinforced. - Correct answer ✔✔
What is the long-term benefit of successfully implementing a constructive coping mechanism?
A. Similar stressors will no longer have a negative affect in the future.
B. One's ability to avoid stressors in the future is greatly improved.
C. Stress is no longer viewed as a barrier to future happiness and success.
D. Confidence in one's ability to manage stress in the future is reinforced.
, C. Client states, "What do you mean 'it's raining cats and dogs'?" - Correct answer ✔✔ The
client's chart indicates that she has experienced trauma to the cerebral cortex as a result of
injuries sustained during an attempted suicide. Which observation is most likely the result of
this injury?
A. Client is often found crying into her pillow.
B. Client demonstrates involuntary twitching of facial muscles.
C. Client states, "What do you mean 'it's raining cats and dogs'?"
D. Client asks, "Can you address this letter to my mom; I forget her address?"
C. Allow the doctors to view the structures of his brain. - Correct answer ✔✔ A client suspected
of being schizophrenic is scheduled for a computed tomography (CT). The nurse informs the
client that the diagnostic test will:
A. Confirm the diagnosis of schizophrenia.
B. Trace the flow of blood through his brain.
C. Allow the doctors to view the structures of his brain.
D. Help determine the areas of his brain that are overreacting.
C. "Too much REM sleep deprives you of deep restoring sleep." - Correct answer ✔✔ A client
diagnosed with depression has reported fatigue and poor concentration. When she is told that
the results of her sleep study show that she has excessive REM sleep cycles, the client asks the
nurse to explain what those results mean. The nurse best answers the client's concerns by
replying:
A. "It means that you are sleep deprived."
B. "REM sleep stands for rapid eye movement sleep."
C. "Too much REM sleep deprives you of deep restoring sleep."
D. "Depressed individuals generally experience prolonged periods of REM sleep."
C. Medications will be designed so that they do not cause unwanted side effects. - Correct
answer ✔✔ The greatest benefit derived from current work being done related to
pharmacogenetics is that:
