HESI A2 V1- Critical Thinking Questions With
Complete Solutions
Graded A+
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
The Patient: A 65-year-old man.
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? ANSWER -Determine the patient's
level of consciousness.
The Patient: An 80-year-old male who has used continuous oxygen for the past three 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 minute until late night when he developed severe
shortness of breath on the way to the bathroom.
The Question: What action should the nurse take first? ANSWER -Assess the patient's
oxygen saturation by pulse oximeter.
The Patient: A 41-year-old 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? ANSWER -Administer a prescribed pain
medication.
The Patient: The wife of a wealthy owner of the town's 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 placed 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? ANSWER -Advise the patient
to have her husband take the items home when he leaves.
The Patient: A 45-year-old female who is 5'2" tall, weighs 200 pounds, 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 do obtain information about which
previous occurrence? ANSWER -A previous blood clot in the leg.
The Patient: A 61-year-old female.
The Situation: The patient has a fever of unknown origin. The nurse administered a fever-
reducing medication 30 minutes ago. At this time there has been no decrease in the patient's
fever.
The Question: What action would be best for the nurse to take? ANSWER -Sponge the
patient with cool water.
The Patient: A 70-year-old male 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? ANSWER -Determine if the patient is allergic to the medication.
The Patient: A 50-year-old female.
The Situation: While the nurse is offering the patient her morning medications, she tells the
nurse that she does not recall ever taking a pill that was pink-colored.
The Question: What should the nurse do in response to this patient's comment? ANSWER
-Withhold the medication until the patient's prescription if verified.
The Patients:
1. A 63-year-old with a burn on the left lower leg who is complaining of pain.
2. A 45-year-old with pneumonia, complaining of shortness of breath.
3. A 31-year-old with abdominal pain who has just vomited blood.
4. A 88-year-old who has right-sided paralysis and wants to be helped to the bathroom
immediately.
The Situation: The nurse is caring for these patients.
The Question: Who should the nurse see first? ANSWER -The 45-year-old with
pneumonia and shortness of breath
The Patients:
1. A 13-year-old female with a kidney infection who reports that there is "lots of blood" in
her urine.
Complete Solutions
Graded A+
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
The Patient: A 65-year-old man.
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? ANSWER -Determine the patient's
level of consciousness.
The Patient: An 80-year-old male who has used continuous oxygen for the past three 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 minute until late night when he developed severe
shortness of breath on the way to the bathroom.
The Question: What action should the nurse take first? ANSWER -Assess the patient's
oxygen saturation by pulse oximeter.
The Patient: A 41-year-old 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? ANSWER -Administer a prescribed pain
medication.
The Patient: The wife of a wealthy owner of the town's 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 placed 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? ANSWER -Advise the patient
to have her husband take the items home when he leaves.
The Patient: A 45-year-old female who is 5'2" tall, weighs 200 pounds, 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 do obtain information about which
previous occurrence? ANSWER -A previous blood clot in the leg.
The Patient: A 61-year-old female.
The Situation: The patient has a fever of unknown origin. The nurse administered a fever-
reducing medication 30 minutes ago. At this time there has been no decrease in the patient's
fever.
The Question: What action would be best for the nurse to take? ANSWER -Sponge the
patient with cool water.
The Patient: A 70-year-old male 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? ANSWER -Determine if the patient is allergic to the medication.
The Patient: A 50-year-old female.
The Situation: While the nurse is offering the patient her morning medications, she tells the
nurse that she does not recall ever taking a pill that was pink-colored.
The Question: What should the nurse do in response to this patient's comment? ANSWER
-Withhold the medication until the patient's prescription if verified.
The Patients:
1. A 63-year-old with a burn on the left lower leg who is complaining of pain.
2. A 45-year-old with pneumonia, complaining of shortness of breath.
3. A 31-year-old with abdominal pain who has just vomited blood.
4. A 88-year-old who has right-sided paralysis and wants to be helped to the bathroom
immediately.
The Situation: The nurse is caring for these patients.
The Question: Who should the nurse see first? ANSWER -The 45-year-old with
pneumonia and shortness of breath
The Patients:
1. A 13-year-old female with a kidney infection who reports that there is "lots of blood" in
her urine.
