Fundamentals of nursing exam
1
The nurse is preparing a client to be turned in bed. In what position would the nurse
place the client to begin this procedure?
lying flat
sitting up
lying flat with feet raised slightly
lying prone - answers-lying flat
The nurse and an assistant are preparing to move a client up in bed. Arrange the
following steps in the correct order.
1. Adjust the head of the bed to a flat position.
2. Place a friction-reducing sheet under the client.
3. Ask the client to bend legs and place the chin on the chest.
4. Position the assistant on the side opposite you.
5. Remove all pillows from under the client.
6. Grasp the sheet and move the client on the count of 3.
A)
3, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6
B)
1, 2, 4, 3, 5, 6
C)
,1, 5, 4, 2, 3, 6
D)
3, 2, 1, 4, 6, 5
E)
1, 3, 2, 4, 5, 6 - answers-Ans:
C
What nursing organization first legitimized the use of the nursing process?
A)
National League for Nursing
B)
American Nurses Association
C)
International Council of Nursing
D)
State Board of Nursing - answers-B)
American Nurses Association
A female patient who is receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer tells the nurse, "The
treatment for this cancer is worse than the disease itself. I'm not going to come for my
therapy anymore." The nurse responds by using critical thinking skills to address this
patient problem. Which action is the first step the nurse would take in this process?
a. The nurse judges whether the patient database is adequate to address the problem.
b. The nurse considers whether or not to suggest a counseling session for the patient.
c. The nurse reassesses the patient and decides how best to intervene in her care.
d. The nurse identifies several options for intervening in the patient's care and critiques
the merit of each option. - answers-c. The first step when thinking critically about a
situation is to identify the purpose or goal of your thinking. Reassessing the patient
helps to discipline thinking by directing all thoughts toward the goal. Once the problem
is addressed, it is important for the nurse to judge the adequacy of the knowledge,
identify potential problems, use helpful resources, and critique the decision.
,The nursing process ensures that nurses are person centered rather than task
centered. Rather than simply approaching a patient to take vital signs, the nurse thinks,
"How is Mrs. Barclay today? Are our nursing actions helping her to achieve her goals?
How can we better help her?" This demonstrates which characteristic of the nursing
process?
a. Systematic
b. Interpersonal
c. Dynamic
d. Universally applicable in nursing situations - answers-b. Interpersonal. All of the other
options are characteristics of the nursing process, but the conversation and thinking
quoted best illustrates the interpersonal dimension of the nursing process
An experienced nurse tells a beginning nurse not to bother studying too hard, since
most clinical reasoning becomes "second nature" and "intuitive" once you start
practicing. What thinking below should underlie the beginning nurse's response?
a. Intuitive problem solving comes with years of practice and observation, and novice
nurses should base their care on scientific problem solving.
b. For nursing to remain a science, nurses must continue to be vigilant about stamping
out intuitive reasoning.
c. The emphasis on logical, scientific, evidence-based reasoning has held nursing back
for years; it is time to champion intuitive, creative thinking!
d. It is simply a matter of preference; some nurses are logical, scientific thinkers, and
some are intuitive, creative thinkers. - answers-a. Beginning nurses must use nursing
knowledge and scientific problem solving as the basis of care they give; intuitive
problem solving comes with years of practice and observation
The nurse uses blended competencies when caring for patients in a rehabilitation
facility. Which examples of interventions involve cognitive skills? Select all that apply.
a. The nurse uses critical thinking skills to plan care for a patient.
b. The nurse correctly administers IV saline to a patient who is dehydrated.
c. The nurse assists a patient to fill out an informed consent form.
d. The nurse learns the correct dosages for patient pain medications.
e. The nurse comforts a mother whose baby was born with Down syndrome.
f. The nurse uses the proper procedure to catheterize a female patient. - answers-a, d.
Using critical thinking and learning medication dosages are cognitive competencies.
Performing procedures correctly is a technical skill, helping a patient with an informed
consent form is a legal/ethical issue, and comforting a patient is an interpersonal skill.
A nurse uses critical thinking skills to focus on the care plan of an older adult who has
dementia and needs placement in a long-term care facility. Which statements describe
characteristics of this type of critical thinking applied to clinical reasoning? Select all that
apply.
a. It functions independently of nursing standards, ethics, and state practice acts.
b. It is based on the principles of the nursing process, problem solving, and the scientific
method.
, c. It is driven by patient, family, and community needs as well as nurses' needs to give
competent, efficient care.
d. It is not designed to compensate for problems created by human nature, such as
medication errors.
e. it is constantly re-evaluating, self-correcting, and striving for improvement.
f. It focuses on the big picture rather than identifying the key problems, issues, and risks
involved with patient care - answers-b, c, e. Critical thinking applied to clinical reasoning
and judgment in nursing practice is guided by standards, policies and procedures, and
ethics codes.
A nurse is caring for a patient who has complications related to type 2 diabetes mellitus.
The nurse researches new procedures to care for foot ulcers when developing a care
plan for this patient. Which QSEN competency does this action represent?
a. Patient-centered care
b. Evidence-based practice
c. Quality improvement
d. Informatics - answers-c. Quality improvement involves routinely updating nursing
policies and procedures. Providing patient-centered care involves listening to the patient
and demonstrating respect and compassion. Evidence-based practice is used when
adhering to internal policies and standardized skills. The nurse is employing informatics
by using information and technology to communicate, manage knowledge, and support
decision making.
A nurse is assessing a patient who is diagnosed with anorexia. Following the
assessment, the nurse recommends that the patient meet with a nutritionist. This action
best exemplifies the use of:
a. Clinical judgment
b. Clinical reasoning
c. Critical thinking
d. Blended competencies - answers-a. Although all the options refer to the skills used
by nurses in practice, the best choice is clinical judgment as it refers to the result or
outcome of critical thinking or clinical reasoning—in this case, the recommendation to
meet with a nutritionist.
A nurse working in a long-term care facility bases patient care on five caring processes:
knowing, being with, doing for, enabling, and maintaining belief. This approach to
patient care best describes whose theory?
a. Travelbee's
b. Watson's
c. Benner's
d. Swanson's - answers-d. Swanson (1991) identifies five caring processes and defines
caring as "a nurturing way of relating to a valued other toward whom one feels a
personal sense of commitment and responsibility."
The nurse practices using critical thinking indicators (CTIs) when caring for patients in
the hospital setting. The best description of CTIs is:
1
The nurse is preparing a client to be turned in bed. In what position would the nurse
place the client to begin this procedure?
lying flat
sitting up
lying flat with feet raised slightly
lying prone - answers-lying flat
The nurse and an assistant are preparing to move a client up in bed. Arrange the
following steps in the correct order.
1. Adjust the head of the bed to a flat position.
2. Place a friction-reducing sheet under the client.
3. Ask the client to bend legs and place the chin on the chest.
4. Position the assistant on the side opposite you.
5. Remove all pillows from under the client.
6. Grasp the sheet and move the client on the count of 3.
A)
3, 1, 2, 4, 5, 6
B)
1, 2, 4, 3, 5, 6
C)
,1, 5, 4, 2, 3, 6
D)
3, 2, 1, 4, 6, 5
E)
1, 3, 2, 4, 5, 6 - answers-Ans:
C
What nursing organization first legitimized the use of the nursing process?
A)
National League for Nursing
B)
American Nurses Association
C)
International Council of Nursing
D)
State Board of Nursing - answers-B)
American Nurses Association
A female patient who is receiving chemotherapy for breast cancer tells the nurse, "The
treatment for this cancer is worse than the disease itself. I'm not going to come for my
therapy anymore." The nurse responds by using critical thinking skills to address this
patient problem. Which action is the first step the nurse would take in this process?
a. The nurse judges whether the patient database is adequate to address the problem.
b. The nurse considers whether or not to suggest a counseling session for the patient.
c. The nurse reassesses the patient and decides how best to intervene in her care.
d. The nurse identifies several options for intervening in the patient's care and critiques
the merit of each option. - answers-c. The first step when thinking critically about a
situation is to identify the purpose or goal of your thinking. Reassessing the patient
helps to discipline thinking by directing all thoughts toward the goal. Once the problem
is addressed, it is important for the nurse to judge the adequacy of the knowledge,
identify potential problems, use helpful resources, and critique the decision.
,The nursing process ensures that nurses are person centered rather than task
centered. Rather than simply approaching a patient to take vital signs, the nurse thinks,
"How is Mrs. Barclay today? Are our nursing actions helping her to achieve her goals?
How can we better help her?" This demonstrates which characteristic of the nursing
process?
a. Systematic
b. Interpersonal
c. Dynamic
d. Universally applicable in nursing situations - answers-b. Interpersonal. All of the other
options are characteristics of the nursing process, but the conversation and thinking
quoted best illustrates the interpersonal dimension of the nursing process
An experienced nurse tells a beginning nurse not to bother studying too hard, since
most clinical reasoning becomes "second nature" and "intuitive" once you start
practicing. What thinking below should underlie the beginning nurse's response?
a. Intuitive problem solving comes with years of practice and observation, and novice
nurses should base their care on scientific problem solving.
b. For nursing to remain a science, nurses must continue to be vigilant about stamping
out intuitive reasoning.
c. The emphasis on logical, scientific, evidence-based reasoning has held nursing back
for years; it is time to champion intuitive, creative thinking!
d. It is simply a matter of preference; some nurses are logical, scientific thinkers, and
some are intuitive, creative thinkers. - answers-a. Beginning nurses must use nursing
knowledge and scientific problem solving as the basis of care they give; intuitive
problem solving comes with years of practice and observation
The nurse uses blended competencies when caring for patients in a rehabilitation
facility. Which examples of interventions involve cognitive skills? Select all that apply.
a. The nurse uses critical thinking skills to plan care for a patient.
b. The nurse correctly administers IV saline to a patient who is dehydrated.
c. The nurse assists a patient to fill out an informed consent form.
d. The nurse learns the correct dosages for patient pain medications.
e. The nurse comforts a mother whose baby was born with Down syndrome.
f. The nurse uses the proper procedure to catheterize a female patient. - answers-a, d.
Using critical thinking and learning medication dosages are cognitive competencies.
Performing procedures correctly is a technical skill, helping a patient with an informed
consent form is a legal/ethical issue, and comforting a patient is an interpersonal skill.
A nurse uses critical thinking skills to focus on the care plan of an older adult who has
dementia and needs placement in a long-term care facility. Which statements describe
characteristics of this type of critical thinking applied to clinical reasoning? Select all that
apply.
a. It functions independently of nursing standards, ethics, and state practice acts.
b. It is based on the principles of the nursing process, problem solving, and the scientific
method.
, c. It is driven by patient, family, and community needs as well as nurses' needs to give
competent, efficient care.
d. It is not designed to compensate for problems created by human nature, such as
medication errors.
e. it is constantly re-evaluating, self-correcting, and striving for improvement.
f. It focuses on the big picture rather than identifying the key problems, issues, and risks
involved with patient care - answers-b, c, e. Critical thinking applied to clinical reasoning
and judgment in nursing practice is guided by standards, policies and procedures, and
ethics codes.
A nurse is caring for a patient who has complications related to type 2 diabetes mellitus.
The nurse researches new procedures to care for foot ulcers when developing a care
plan for this patient. Which QSEN competency does this action represent?
a. Patient-centered care
b. Evidence-based practice
c. Quality improvement
d. Informatics - answers-c. Quality improvement involves routinely updating nursing
policies and procedures. Providing patient-centered care involves listening to the patient
and demonstrating respect and compassion. Evidence-based practice is used when
adhering to internal policies and standardized skills. The nurse is employing informatics
by using information and technology to communicate, manage knowledge, and support
decision making.
A nurse is assessing a patient who is diagnosed with anorexia. Following the
assessment, the nurse recommends that the patient meet with a nutritionist. This action
best exemplifies the use of:
a. Clinical judgment
b. Clinical reasoning
c. Critical thinking
d. Blended competencies - answers-a. Although all the options refer to the skills used
by nurses in practice, the best choice is clinical judgment as it refers to the result or
outcome of critical thinking or clinical reasoning—in this case, the recommendation to
meet with a nutritionist.
A nurse working in a long-term care facility bases patient care on five caring processes:
knowing, being with, doing for, enabling, and maintaining belief. This approach to
patient care best describes whose theory?
a. Travelbee's
b. Watson's
c. Benner's
d. Swanson's - answers-d. Swanson (1991) identifies five caring processes and defines
caring as "a nurturing way of relating to a valued other toward whom one feels a
personal sense of commitment and responsibility."
The nurse practices using critical thinking indicators (CTIs) when caring for patients in
the hospital setting. The best description of CTIs is:
