LEADERSHIP ROLES AND MANAGEMENT
FUNCTIONS IN NURSING
THEORY AND APPLICATION
11TH EDITION
• AUTHOR(S)CAROL J. HUSTON
TEST BANK
1. Reference
Ch. 1 — Decision Making, Problem Solving, Critical
Thinking, and Clinical Reasoning
Stem
A charge nurse on a medical unit notices rising fall rates over
the past month. She gathers the team for a problem-solving
meeting and must choose an initial approach that will both
diagnose the causes and engage staff. Which first step should
she take?
,Options
A. Implement a standing order for bed alarms for all high-risk
patients.
B. Collect and analyze fall incident data to identify patterns
before acting.
C. Schedule mandatory re-training for all staff on fall
prevention.
D. Increase nursing rounds to hourly for all patients.
Correct answer
B
Rationales
Correct: Collecting and analyzing incident data aligns with
evidence-based problem solving—define objectives, gather
data, and identify patterns before selecting interventions. This
avoids premature solutions and targets root causes.
A: Bed alarms may help but are an intervention before
understanding causes and may not address system issues.
C: Retraining might be useful later but is resource-intensive and
may miss system/process contributors.
D: Increased rounds could reduce falls but is a resource decision
made without data to justify sustainability.
Teaching point
Diagnose patterns with data before implementing unit-wide
interventions.
,Citation
Huston, C. J. (2024). Leadership Roles and Management
Functions in Nursing (11th ed.). Ch. 1.
2. Reference
Ch. 1 — Decision Making, Problem Solving, Critical
Thinking, and Clinical Reasoning
Stem
During evening shift change, the nurse manager must reassign
an RN to cover a sudden single-staff shortage. The available
staff include an experienced RN unfamiliar with the specialty
unit, a new RN who knows the unit, and an LPN with stable
patient assignments. Which reassignment best balances safety
and efficiency?
Options
A. Assign the experienced RN to the unfamiliar unit because
clinical skill transfers across specialties.
B. Assign the new RN who knows the unit to cover because
immediate unit familiarity reduces risk.
C. Reassign the LPN to take on the additional acute patients to
keep RNs in management tasks.
D. Cancel nonessential procedures and redistribute workload
among original assignments.
Correct answer
B
, Rationales
Correct: Prioritizing unit familiarity for immediate coverage
reduces risk and supports safe patient care—applies clinical
reasoning and delegation principles.
A: Experience matters but unfamiliarity with unit routines and
protocols increases risk.
C: Delegating higher-acuity tasks to an LPN exceeds scope and
may be unsafe.
D: Canceling procedures may be necessary later, but immediate
safe coverage requires staff with unit knowledge.
Teaching point
Prioritize staff familiarity with unit-specific care during sudden
shortages.
Citation
Huston, C. J. (2024). Leadership Roles and Management
Functions in Nursing (11th ed.). Ch. 1.
3. Reference
Ch. 1 — Vicarious Learning; Case Studies, Simulation, and
Problem-Based Learning
Stem
A nurse educator must prepare new charge nurses for rare but
critical rapid-response scenarios. Time and resources are
limited. Which educational strategy best develops decision-
making and clinical reasoning under realistic stress?
FUNCTIONS IN NURSING
THEORY AND APPLICATION
11TH EDITION
• AUTHOR(S)CAROL J. HUSTON
TEST BANK
1. Reference
Ch. 1 — Decision Making, Problem Solving, Critical
Thinking, and Clinical Reasoning
Stem
A charge nurse on a medical unit notices rising fall rates over
the past month. She gathers the team for a problem-solving
meeting and must choose an initial approach that will both
diagnose the causes and engage staff. Which first step should
she take?
,Options
A. Implement a standing order for bed alarms for all high-risk
patients.
B. Collect and analyze fall incident data to identify patterns
before acting.
C. Schedule mandatory re-training for all staff on fall
prevention.
D. Increase nursing rounds to hourly for all patients.
Correct answer
B
Rationales
Correct: Collecting and analyzing incident data aligns with
evidence-based problem solving—define objectives, gather
data, and identify patterns before selecting interventions. This
avoids premature solutions and targets root causes.
A: Bed alarms may help but are an intervention before
understanding causes and may not address system issues.
C: Retraining might be useful later but is resource-intensive and
may miss system/process contributors.
D: Increased rounds could reduce falls but is a resource decision
made without data to justify sustainability.
Teaching point
Diagnose patterns with data before implementing unit-wide
interventions.
,Citation
Huston, C. J. (2024). Leadership Roles and Management
Functions in Nursing (11th ed.). Ch. 1.
2. Reference
Ch. 1 — Decision Making, Problem Solving, Critical
Thinking, and Clinical Reasoning
Stem
During evening shift change, the nurse manager must reassign
an RN to cover a sudden single-staff shortage. The available
staff include an experienced RN unfamiliar with the specialty
unit, a new RN who knows the unit, and an LPN with stable
patient assignments. Which reassignment best balances safety
and efficiency?
Options
A. Assign the experienced RN to the unfamiliar unit because
clinical skill transfers across specialties.
B. Assign the new RN who knows the unit to cover because
immediate unit familiarity reduces risk.
C. Reassign the LPN to take on the additional acute patients to
keep RNs in management tasks.
D. Cancel nonessential procedures and redistribute workload
among original assignments.
Correct answer
B
, Rationales
Correct: Prioritizing unit familiarity for immediate coverage
reduces risk and supports safe patient care—applies clinical
reasoning and delegation principles.
A: Experience matters but unfamiliarity with unit routines and
protocols increases risk.
C: Delegating higher-acuity tasks to an LPN exceeds scope and
may be unsafe.
D: Canceling procedures may be necessary later, but immediate
safe coverage requires staff with unit knowledge.
Teaching point
Prioritize staff familiarity with unit-specific care during sudden
shortages.
Citation
Huston, C. J. (2024). Leadership Roles and Management
Functions in Nursing (11th ed.). Ch. 1.
3. Reference
Ch. 1 — Vicarious Learning; Case Studies, Simulation, and
Problem-Based Learning
Stem
A nurse educator must prepare new charge nurses for rare but
critical rapid-response scenarios. Time and resources are
limited. Which educational strategy best develops decision-
making and clinical reasoning under realistic stress?
