NUR256 EXAM 1 Study Questions With Correct Answers Latest Update 2026

NUR256 EXAM 1 Study Questions With Correct Answers Latest Update 2026 CODE OF ETHICS FOR NURSES - ANSWER • Practice with compassion and respect the individual's uniqueness, worth and dignity • Primary Commitment is to the patient • Promote, advocates and strives to protect the patient's rights, health and safety • The nurse has the duty to promote health and provide optimal care • The nurse owes the same duty to self; (promote health, safety, promote competency) voluntary admission - ANSWER Pt understands the need for tx. Willing to be admitted involuntary admission - ANSWER • Court ordered admission • Mentally ill, Danger to self or others, unable to provide for basic needs, In need of tx and the mental illness prevents the pt from seeking tx Conditional release - ANSWER Requires tx for a specified amount of time Unconditional release - ANSWER Termination of patient-institution relationship Release Against Medical Advice - ANSWER Tx would be beneficial but, no reason to seek an involuntary commitment Patient Rights - ANSWER Right to treatment Right to refuse treatment Right to informed consent Rights regarding Psychiatric Advance Directives Rights Regarding Restraint and Seclusion Rights Regarding Confidentiality Restraints - ANSWER ONLY utilized in emergency situations, when the patient is danger to self or others and less-restrictive interventions have failed ** least restrictive interventions are always tried first ** • Manual hold, mechanical restraint, chemical restraint, seclusion Intentional Tort - ANSWER • Willful or intentional act that violates another person's rights or property • Assault---Intentional threat to make another fearful you will cause harm • Verbal threats • Battery---Actual harmful or offensive touching another • False Imprisonment---Inappropriate Seclusion or restraint unintentional tort - ANSWER • Unintended acts against another that cause harm or injury • Negligence---Failure to use ordinary care in a situation when you have the duty to do so • Malpractice Professional Negligence (5 elements): • Duty • Breach of duty • Cause in fact • Proximate cause • Damages Documentation - ANSWER • Accurate and complete information• Descriptive of the patient's behavior, thought process, etc... • Should demonstrate the patient's reaction to treatment - improvement, decline Dysfunction of the brain - ANSWER • Misinterpreting external sensations • Medications/Conditions can stimulate or suppress respiratory function, affect speech • Inappropriate response to internal stimuli (BP, fluid balance, HR) • Sexual dysfunction, sleep disturbances, increased or decreased appetite • Alterations in problem solving, memory issues, speech/thought disturbances • Difficulty with interpersonal relationships - Social Skills Serotonin - ANSWER • Plays role in sleep regulation, sexual function, hunger, mood, pain • Plays a role in aggression • 90% in the gut - GI side effects Serotonin Syndrome - ANSWER Serotonin Deficiency - ANSWER Depression (Sx sleep disturbance, change in appetite, mood, motivation alterations in sexual function) Dopamine - ANSWER • Pleasure neurotransmitter • Involved in fine motor muscle movement, emotions, thought, pleasure, motivation, Decision making Excess dopamine - ANSWER Schizophrenia, Mania Dopamine deficiency - ANSWER Parkinson's disease, Depression Norepinephrine - ANSWER • Affects mood, attention, arousal • Fight or Flight Response Excess Norepinephrine - ANSWER Anxiety, Schizophrenia, Mania Deficient Norepinephrine - ANSWER Depression GABA - Off switch - ANSWER • Plays a role in inhibition • Reduces aggression, excitation and anxiety • Has anticonvulsant and muscle-relaxing properties • May impair cognition and psychomotor functioning Excess GABA - ANSWER Reduction of Anxiety (Depressant) Deficient GABA - ANSWER Anxiety disorders, Schizophrenia, Mania, Huntington's Disease Glutamate - On Switch - ANSWER • Excitatory • Plays a role in learning and memory Excess glutamate - ANSWER Alzheimer's, improvement of cognitive performance Deficient glutamate - ANSWER Psychosis Brainstem - ANSWER Most primitive area, central to survival (HR, Digestion, Breathing, Sleeping) Hypothalamus - ANSWER • Controls basic drives (hunger, thirst and sex) • Thoughts & emotions • Processing sensory information