Nursing 101 Exam UPDATED ACTUAL
Questions and CORRECT Answers
Define Clinical Judgment - CORRECT ANSWER -The concept of clinical judgment in general
refers to interpretations and inferences that influence actions in clinical practice.
Holistic view of the patient situation - CORRECT ANSWER -Clinical judgment is inherently
complex and influenced by many factors related to the particular patient and caregiving situation, and it
therefore requires a holistic view.
Process orientation - CORRECT ANSWER -Clinical judgment is circular, interactive, and moves
fluidly between and among all of the aspects of the process.
Reasoning and interpretation - CORRECT ANSWER -Clinical judgment involves reasoning and
interpretation. As described previously, reasoning is the process that leads to clinical judgments. At least
three types of reasoning are used: analytic, intuitive, and narrative.
How Nurses make Judgments - CORRECT ANSWER -Noticing, Interpreting, Responding,
Reflecting (IRRN)
Clinical Judgement - CORRECT ANSWER -The concept of clinical judgment in general refers to
interpretations and inferences that influence actions in clinical practice.
Define clinical reasoning - CORRECT ANSWER -Clinical reasoning is the thinking process by
which a nurse reaches a clinical judgment. It is defined as "an iterative process of noticing, interpreting,
and responding—reasoning in transition with a fine attunement to the patient and how the patient
responds to the nurse's actions." Encompassed in clinical reasoning is the ability to perceive the relevance
of scientific evidence and its fit with the specific patient situation.
Evidence-Based Practice and Clinical Judgment - CORRECT ANSWER -All clinicians are
expected to use the best evidence to inform practice.
Using the interpretivist perspective of clinical judgment and clinical reasoning from the nursing literature,
clinical judgment has three significant defining attributes that are useful to understand the concept: -
,CORRECT ANSWER -1) Holistic view of the patient situation: Clinical judgment is inherently
complex and influenced by many factors related to the particular patient and caregiving situation, and it
therefore requires a holistic view. Making excellent clinical judgments requires a willingness to consider
all factors involved in patient care, including certain characteristics of the nurse, and is much more than
simply a combination of the individual aspects.
2) Process orientation: Clinical judgment is circular, interactive, and moves fluidly between and among
all of the aspects of the process. To make clinical judgments, the nurse employs a deep understanding of
the individual patient situation and his or her own background, experience, and values. Patients and
nurses are unique and bring different backgrounds to the caregiving situation. The nurse notices salient
(or relevant) features of a situation based on these factors and intervenes. While the nurse observes the
patient response, he or she determines what the next steps are going to be. After the caregiving situation,
the nurse connects the patient outcomes in a way that enhances further understanding of future patients'
care, utilizing reflection. These aspects do not have a linear relationship but, rather, continuously
influence each other in complex ways.
3) Reasoning and interpretation: Clinical judgment involves reasoning and interpretation. As described
previously, reasoning is the process that leads to clinical judgments. At least three types of reasoning are
used: analytic, intuitive, and narrative.9 The type of reasoning used depends on the caregiving situation
and the nurse's previous experience. When a situation is unfamiliar, the nurse (expert and novice alike)
tends to rely on analytic reasoning processes, consider the possibilities, and deduce the solution. At othe
What are the 4 ways nurses make Clinical judgments? - CORRECT ANSWER -1) Noticing
2) Interpreting
3) Responding
4) Reflecting
How Nurses Make Judgments - CORRECT ANSWER -1) Notice - Noticing is most often the
impetus for clinical reasoning and is critical to making an effective judgment to address a patient issue.
Several important factors impact what the nurse notices. In fact, Tanner asserts that the factors behind the
nurse's eyes are as important as what is in front. These include the background of the nurse (including
intrapersonal characteristics, ethical grounding for what is right, previous experiences, and theoretical
knowledge), the nurse's relationship with the patient, and the context of care (for more detail about these
precursors to noticing,
2) Interpret - Using the particular patient data as well as germane theoretical and experiential knowledge,
the nurse begins to assemble all the information to make sense of it. For the expert nurse, certain data
carry more weight than others with respect to the patient. For example, in the long-term care setting, a
, patient's age and kidney function may well impact the nurse's clinical judgment about using ibuprofen for
pain relief even though the drug may be ordered. The nurse uses reasoning to make that determination.
3) Respond - Once the patient data have been sorted and interpreted, the nurse uses his or her
interpretation to respond to the particular patient issue through one or more nursing interventions.
Depending on the level of expertise, the nurse may or may not be able to judge the effectiveness of the
intervention before initiating it. For example, the nurse knows that the ordered pain medication is likely to
help the newly admitted postoperative patient with a pain level of 8 out of 10. What the nurse may not
know is what dose will be effective or the level to which it will reduce the patient's pain. The nurse's past
experience with and knowledge about the effects of the pain medication will initially direct the dosag
Clinical Judgment and Interrelated Concepts - CORRECT ANSWER -Patient Education,
Professional Identity, Care Coordination, Leadership, Safety, Health Care Quality, Evidence
Chain of Infection - CORRECT ANSWER -The presence of a pathogen does not mean that an
infection will occur. Infection occurs in a cycle that depends on the presence of all of the following
elements:
• An infectious agent or pathogen: Microorganisms include bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa.
Microorganisms on the skin are either resident or transient flora. Resident organisms (normal flora) are
permanent residents of the skin and within the body, where they survive and multiply without causing
illness
• A reservoir or source for pathogen growth: A reservoir is a place where microorganisms survive,
multiply, and await transfer to a susceptible host. Common reservoirs are humans and animals (hosts),
insects, food, water, and organic matter on inanimate surfaces (fomites). Frequent reservoirs for HAIs
include health care workers, especially their hands; patients; equipment; and the environment. Food,
Oxygen, Water, Temperature, pH, Light.
• A port of exit from the reservoir: After microorganisms find a site to grow and multiply, they need to
find a portal of exit if they are to enter another host and cause disease. Portals of exit include sites such as
blood, skin and mucous membranes, respiratory tract, genitourinary (GU) tract, gastrointestinal (GI) tract,
and transplacental (mother to fetus). Some viruses such as Ebola virus are transmitted through direct
contact with the blood or body fluids of a person who is sick with Ebola. However, droplets (e.g.,
splashes or sprays) of respiratory or other secretions from a person who is sick with Ebola could also be
infectious. Therefore certain precautions (called standard, contact, and droplet precautions) are
recommended for use in health care settings to prevent the transmission of the virus from patients who are
sick with Ebola to health care personnel and other patients or family members. Skin and Muc
Questions and CORRECT Answers
Define Clinical Judgment - CORRECT ANSWER -The concept of clinical judgment in general
refers to interpretations and inferences that influence actions in clinical practice.
Holistic view of the patient situation - CORRECT ANSWER -Clinical judgment is inherently
complex and influenced by many factors related to the particular patient and caregiving situation, and it
therefore requires a holistic view.
Process orientation - CORRECT ANSWER -Clinical judgment is circular, interactive, and moves
fluidly between and among all of the aspects of the process.
Reasoning and interpretation - CORRECT ANSWER -Clinical judgment involves reasoning and
interpretation. As described previously, reasoning is the process that leads to clinical judgments. At least
three types of reasoning are used: analytic, intuitive, and narrative.
How Nurses make Judgments - CORRECT ANSWER -Noticing, Interpreting, Responding,
Reflecting (IRRN)
Clinical Judgement - CORRECT ANSWER -The concept of clinical judgment in general refers to
interpretations and inferences that influence actions in clinical practice.
Define clinical reasoning - CORRECT ANSWER -Clinical reasoning is the thinking process by
which a nurse reaches a clinical judgment. It is defined as "an iterative process of noticing, interpreting,
and responding—reasoning in transition with a fine attunement to the patient and how the patient
responds to the nurse's actions." Encompassed in clinical reasoning is the ability to perceive the relevance
of scientific evidence and its fit with the specific patient situation.
Evidence-Based Practice and Clinical Judgment - CORRECT ANSWER -All clinicians are
expected to use the best evidence to inform practice.
Using the interpretivist perspective of clinical judgment and clinical reasoning from the nursing literature,
clinical judgment has three significant defining attributes that are useful to understand the concept: -
,CORRECT ANSWER -1) Holistic view of the patient situation: Clinical judgment is inherently
complex and influenced by many factors related to the particular patient and caregiving situation, and it
therefore requires a holistic view. Making excellent clinical judgments requires a willingness to consider
all factors involved in patient care, including certain characteristics of the nurse, and is much more than
simply a combination of the individual aspects.
2) Process orientation: Clinical judgment is circular, interactive, and moves fluidly between and among
all of the aspects of the process. To make clinical judgments, the nurse employs a deep understanding of
the individual patient situation and his or her own background, experience, and values. Patients and
nurses are unique and bring different backgrounds to the caregiving situation. The nurse notices salient
(or relevant) features of a situation based on these factors and intervenes. While the nurse observes the
patient response, he or she determines what the next steps are going to be. After the caregiving situation,
the nurse connects the patient outcomes in a way that enhances further understanding of future patients'
care, utilizing reflection. These aspects do not have a linear relationship but, rather, continuously
influence each other in complex ways.
3) Reasoning and interpretation: Clinical judgment involves reasoning and interpretation. As described
previously, reasoning is the process that leads to clinical judgments. At least three types of reasoning are
used: analytic, intuitive, and narrative.9 The type of reasoning used depends on the caregiving situation
and the nurse's previous experience. When a situation is unfamiliar, the nurse (expert and novice alike)
tends to rely on analytic reasoning processes, consider the possibilities, and deduce the solution. At othe
What are the 4 ways nurses make Clinical judgments? - CORRECT ANSWER -1) Noticing
2) Interpreting
3) Responding
4) Reflecting
How Nurses Make Judgments - CORRECT ANSWER -1) Notice - Noticing is most often the
impetus for clinical reasoning and is critical to making an effective judgment to address a patient issue.
Several important factors impact what the nurse notices. In fact, Tanner asserts that the factors behind the
nurse's eyes are as important as what is in front. These include the background of the nurse (including
intrapersonal characteristics, ethical grounding for what is right, previous experiences, and theoretical
knowledge), the nurse's relationship with the patient, and the context of care (for more detail about these
precursors to noticing,
2) Interpret - Using the particular patient data as well as germane theoretical and experiential knowledge,
the nurse begins to assemble all the information to make sense of it. For the expert nurse, certain data
carry more weight than others with respect to the patient. For example, in the long-term care setting, a
, patient's age and kidney function may well impact the nurse's clinical judgment about using ibuprofen for
pain relief even though the drug may be ordered. The nurse uses reasoning to make that determination.
3) Respond - Once the patient data have been sorted and interpreted, the nurse uses his or her
interpretation to respond to the particular patient issue through one or more nursing interventions.
Depending on the level of expertise, the nurse may or may not be able to judge the effectiveness of the
intervention before initiating it. For example, the nurse knows that the ordered pain medication is likely to
help the newly admitted postoperative patient with a pain level of 8 out of 10. What the nurse may not
know is what dose will be effective or the level to which it will reduce the patient's pain. The nurse's past
experience with and knowledge about the effects of the pain medication will initially direct the dosag
Clinical Judgment and Interrelated Concepts - CORRECT ANSWER -Patient Education,
Professional Identity, Care Coordination, Leadership, Safety, Health Care Quality, Evidence
Chain of Infection - CORRECT ANSWER -The presence of a pathogen does not mean that an
infection will occur. Infection occurs in a cycle that depends on the presence of all of the following
elements:
• An infectious agent or pathogen: Microorganisms include bacteria, viruses, fungi, and protozoa.
Microorganisms on the skin are either resident or transient flora. Resident organisms (normal flora) are
permanent residents of the skin and within the body, where they survive and multiply without causing
illness
• A reservoir or source for pathogen growth: A reservoir is a place where microorganisms survive,
multiply, and await transfer to a susceptible host. Common reservoirs are humans and animals (hosts),
insects, food, water, and organic matter on inanimate surfaces (fomites). Frequent reservoirs for HAIs
include health care workers, especially their hands; patients; equipment; and the environment. Food,
Oxygen, Water, Temperature, pH, Light.
• A port of exit from the reservoir: After microorganisms find a site to grow and multiply, they need to
find a portal of exit if they are to enter another host and cause disease. Portals of exit include sites such as
blood, skin and mucous membranes, respiratory tract, genitourinary (GU) tract, gastrointestinal (GI) tract,
and transplacental (mother to fetus). Some viruses such as Ebola virus are transmitted through direct
contact with the blood or body fluids of a person who is sick with Ebola. However, droplets (e.g.,
splashes or sprays) of respiratory or other secretions from a person who is sick with Ebola could also be
infectious. Therefore certain precautions (called standard, contact, and droplet precautions) are
recommended for use in health care settings to prevent the transmission of the virus from patients who are
sick with Ebola to health care personnel and other patients or family members. Skin and Muc
