HISTORY FOCUSED EXAM 2026
COMPREHENSIVE EXAMINATION TEST
WITH FULL SOLUTIONS
⩥ What is the nurse's priority assessment for a patient receiving heparin
treatment?
- Assess for elevated liver enzymes
- Assess for inflammation at the injection site
- Assess for bruising or unusual bleeding
- Assess aPTT levels. Answer: - Assess for bruising or unusual bleeding
While all options are relevant assessments, bruising or unusual bleeding
can be a life threatening adverse effect of heparin treatment, and
therefore needs to be the nurse's priority.
⩥ A patient who has been receiving oxycodone therapy for chronic pain
reports no relief after a 10mg dose. The patient is exhibiting:
- Opioid addiction
- Opioid tolerance
,- Drug-seeking behaviour
- Paradoxical CNS stimulation. Answer: - Opioid tolerance
Prolonged use of opioid therapy can lead to tolerance, where a patient
requires a higher dose of the drug to achieve an analgesic effect.
⩥ Which meal choice exhibits a lack of understanding of atorvastatin's
drug-food interactions?
- Orange juice, banana, and toast
- Grapefruit juice and yogurt
- Orange juice, bacon, and eggs
- Coffee and croissant. Answer: - Grapefruit juice and yogurt
Grapefruit juice is contraindicated for patients on statin therapy and it
may increase drug levels in the blood and increase the likelihood of
rhabdomyolysis. None of the other choices interact harmfully with
atorvastatin.
⩥ Which statement indicates that the patient understood the nurse's
discharge information about his albuterol inhaler?
- I should use this inhaler five minutes after my beclomethasone inhaler
- I should use this inhaler regularly to manage my asthma
, - I should use this inhaler when I am having an acute attack
- I should use this inhaler to reduce inflammation in my airways.
Answer: - I should use this inhaler when I am having an acute attack
Inhaled albuterol is a rescue medication that reduces bronchoconstriction
that is present during acute attacks; it has no effect on inflammation.
⩥ A patient is taking promethazine for nausea and oxycodone for pain.
What is the nurse's priority assessment?
- Assess for breakthrough pain
- Assess sedation level
- Assess for constipation
- Assess for dizziness. Answer: - Assess sedation level
The nurse must assess sedation level as the additive sedative effect when
promethazine and oxycodone are administered together can lead to life-
threatening respiratory depression. The other side effects do not pose
immediate risk and are therefore lower-priority assessments.
⩥ Which information is essential to include when educating the patient
about clindamycin?
- Clindamycin is primarily bacteriostatic