Nursing Delegation, Legal & Ethical Practice
Exam Questions 2026 – NCLEX Management of
Care, SBAR & Prioritization Questions Complete
with A+ Graded Rationales Latest Updated
A nurse is planning to assign tasks for a group of clients. Which of the following tasks should
the nurse plan to assign to an assistive personnel (AP)? (Select all that apply.)
Ambulate an older adult client who has hypertension.
Provide discharge instructions for a client who has a new skin graft.
Perform an admission assessment on a client.
Check a blood product with another nurse prior to administration.
Weigh a client who has heart failure.
Ambulate an older adult client who has hypertension is correct. An AP can ambulate an older
adult client who has hypertension.
Weighing a client who has heart failure is correct. An AP can weigh a client who is stable
A client who fell and broke his hip while being assisted to the bathroom by a nurse states he
plans to sue the nurse. The nurse should know that, in a legal proceeding, the standard that
will be used to determine if the nurse was negligent is which of the following?
An expert nurse provides testimony that the nurse should have handled the situation differently.
Another staff nurse provides testimony about how a reasonable, prudent nurse would have
handled the situation.
The client's attorney states that injury to the client could have been prevented.
The client's provider testifies the nurse was at fault for the injury.
Another staff nurse provides testimony about how a reasonable, prudent nurse would have
handled the situation.
The definition of negligence is practice that is below the standard of care. The benchmark for
standard of care is what a reasonable, prudent person who has similar background and
experience would do. Another staff nurse who has similar background is the correct person to
provide testimony.
,An assistive personnel (AP) reports to the nurse that a client who is 3 days postoperative
following an abdominal hysterectomy has a dressing that is saturated with blood. Which of
the following tasks should the nurse delegate to the AP?
Change the abdominal dressing.
Obtain vital signs.
Palpate for possible bladder distention.
Observe the incision site.
Obtain vital signs.
Obtaining vital signs is a skill within the scope of practice for an AP; therefore, the nurse can
delegate this task to the AP.
A volunteer assigned to the pediatric unit reports to the charge nurse for an assignment.
Which of the following assignments is unsafe for the volunteer?
Transporting a school-age client who is in traction to another department
Playing a computer video game with an adolescent who has sickle cell disease
Reading a book to a preschool client who has AIDS
Rocking an infant who was admitted for croup
Transporting a school-age client who is in traction to another department
To ensure client safety, the nurse is responsible for delegating tasks to the right people. The
nurse should avoid assigning this task to the volunteer because the individual who performs this
task must understand the principles of traction. A volunteer does not have the requisite skill to
perform this task.
A nurse in an acute care setting is planning care for a group of clients at the beginning of the
shift. Which of the following tasks should the nurse assign to the assistive personnel (AP)?
Application of antibiotic ointment to the arm of a client who has dermatitis
Obtaining medical history information from a stable client who is being admitted
Monitoring vital signs of a client who had an appendectomy 12 hr ago
Removal of the nasogastric tube of a client who has been receiving enteral feedings
Monitoring vital signs of a client who had an appendectomy 12 hr ago
, Delegating the monitoring of vital signs of a stable client 12 hr after surgery is an appropriate
task for the AP because it does not involve assessment, specialized knowledge, or judgment.
A nurse is planning care for four clients and is assigning tasks to a licensed practical nurse
(LPN) and an assistive personnel (AP). Which of the following should the nurse assign to the
LPN?
Complete an admission assessment for a client who has COPD.
Measure I&O for a client who has an indwelling urinary catheter.
Reinforce teaching to a client to begin taking enoxaparin at home following a hip arthroplasty.
Develop a plan of care for a client who has cholecystitis.
Reinforce teaching to a client to begin taking enoxaparin at home following a hip arthroplasty.
Reinforcing teaching with a client is within the scope of practice of a LPN; therefore, the RN
should delegate this task to the LPN.
A nurse is planning to delegate tasks to a licensed practical nurse (LPN). Which of the
following entities is important for the nurse to understand when delegating tasks to the LPN?
The state Nurse Practice Act
The National Association for Practical Nurse Education and Services
The National Council of State Boards of Nursing Decision Tree
The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987
The state Nurse Practice Act
The state Nurse Practice Act identifies the skill or education level needed by a nurse to complete
a task, as well as indicating items that can and cannot be delegated from a legal perspective.
A nurse enters a client's room and finds the client pulseless. The family has requested a do-
not-resuscitate (DNR) order from the provider, but he has not written the order yet. Which of
the following actions should the nurse take?
Call the emergency response team.
Seek immediate help from the risk manager.
Call the provider for a stat DNR order.
Respect the family's wishes and do nothing.
Call the emergency response team.
Exam Questions 2026 – NCLEX Management of
Care, SBAR & Prioritization Questions Complete
with A+ Graded Rationales Latest Updated
A nurse is planning to assign tasks for a group of clients. Which of the following tasks should
the nurse plan to assign to an assistive personnel (AP)? (Select all that apply.)
Ambulate an older adult client who has hypertension.
Provide discharge instructions for a client who has a new skin graft.
Perform an admission assessment on a client.
Check a blood product with another nurse prior to administration.
Weigh a client who has heart failure.
Ambulate an older adult client who has hypertension is correct. An AP can ambulate an older
adult client who has hypertension.
Weighing a client who has heart failure is correct. An AP can weigh a client who is stable
A client who fell and broke his hip while being assisted to the bathroom by a nurse states he
plans to sue the nurse. The nurse should know that, in a legal proceeding, the standard that
will be used to determine if the nurse was negligent is which of the following?
An expert nurse provides testimony that the nurse should have handled the situation differently.
Another staff nurse provides testimony about how a reasonable, prudent nurse would have
handled the situation.
The client's attorney states that injury to the client could have been prevented.
The client's provider testifies the nurse was at fault for the injury.
Another staff nurse provides testimony about how a reasonable, prudent nurse would have
handled the situation.
The definition of negligence is practice that is below the standard of care. The benchmark for
standard of care is what a reasonable, prudent person who has similar background and
experience would do. Another staff nurse who has similar background is the correct person to
provide testimony.
,An assistive personnel (AP) reports to the nurse that a client who is 3 days postoperative
following an abdominal hysterectomy has a dressing that is saturated with blood. Which of
the following tasks should the nurse delegate to the AP?
Change the abdominal dressing.
Obtain vital signs.
Palpate for possible bladder distention.
Observe the incision site.
Obtain vital signs.
Obtaining vital signs is a skill within the scope of practice for an AP; therefore, the nurse can
delegate this task to the AP.
A volunteer assigned to the pediatric unit reports to the charge nurse for an assignment.
Which of the following assignments is unsafe for the volunteer?
Transporting a school-age client who is in traction to another department
Playing a computer video game with an adolescent who has sickle cell disease
Reading a book to a preschool client who has AIDS
Rocking an infant who was admitted for croup
Transporting a school-age client who is in traction to another department
To ensure client safety, the nurse is responsible for delegating tasks to the right people. The
nurse should avoid assigning this task to the volunteer because the individual who performs this
task must understand the principles of traction. A volunteer does not have the requisite skill to
perform this task.
A nurse in an acute care setting is planning care for a group of clients at the beginning of the
shift. Which of the following tasks should the nurse assign to the assistive personnel (AP)?
Application of antibiotic ointment to the arm of a client who has dermatitis
Obtaining medical history information from a stable client who is being admitted
Monitoring vital signs of a client who had an appendectomy 12 hr ago
Removal of the nasogastric tube of a client who has been receiving enteral feedings
Monitoring vital signs of a client who had an appendectomy 12 hr ago
, Delegating the monitoring of vital signs of a stable client 12 hr after surgery is an appropriate
task for the AP because it does not involve assessment, specialized knowledge, or judgment.
A nurse is planning care for four clients and is assigning tasks to a licensed practical nurse
(LPN) and an assistive personnel (AP). Which of the following should the nurse assign to the
LPN?
Complete an admission assessment for a client who has COPD.
Measure I&O for a client who has an indwelling urinary catheter.
Reinforce teaching to a client to begin taking enoxaparin at home following a hip arthroplasty.
Develop a plan of care for a client who has cholecystitis.
Reinforce teaching to a client to begin taking enoxaparin at home following a hip arthroplasty.
Reinforcing teaching with a client is within the scope of practice of a LPN; therefore, the RN
should delegate this task to the LPN.
A nurse is planning to delegate tasks to a licensed practical nurse (LPN). Which of the
following entities is important for the nurse to understand when delegating tasks to the LPN?
The state Nurse Practice Act
The National Association for Practical Nurse Education and Services
The National Council of State Boards of Nursing Decision Tree
The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987
The state Nurse Practice Act
The state Nurse Practice Act identifies the skill or education level needed by a nurse to complete
a task, as well as indicating items that can and cannot be delegated from a legal perspective.
A nurse enters a client's room and finds the client pulseless. The family has requested a do-
not-resuscitate (DNR) order from the provider, but he has not written the order yet. Which of
the following actions should the nurse take?
Call the emergency response team.
Seek immediate help from the risk manager.
Call the provider for a stat DNR order.
Respect the family's wishes and do nothing.
Call the emergency response team.
