ATI RN Comprehensive Predictor Exam 2026: REAL EXAM QUESTIONS & VERIFIED ANSWERS - PASS FIRST ATTEMPT GUARANTEED UPDATED QUESTIONS AND 100% ACCURATE ANSWERS | HIGH-LEVEL EXIT EXAM

A nurse is developing a plan of care for a newborn whose mother tested positive for heroin during pregnancy. The newborn is experiencing neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS). Which of the following actions should the nurse include in the plan? • A) Maintain continuous eye contact with the newborn during feedings. • B) Swaddle the newborn with his legs tightly extended. • C) Minimize noise and dim the lights in the newborn's environment. • D) Administer naloxone immediately to the newborn. Correct Answer: C) Minimize noise and dim the lights in the newborn's environment. Rationale: Newborns experiencing central nervous system hypersensitivity from opioid withdrawal are highly sensitive to external stimuli. Reducing environmental noise and dimming lights helps decrease sensory overload, stress, and irritability. Naloxone is strictly contraindicated in opioid-dependent newborns as it can precipitate acute, severe, lifethreatening withdrawal seizures. 2. Cystic Fibrosis and Postural Drainage Q: A nurse is caring for a child who has cystic fibrosis and requires postural drainage. Which of the following actions should the nurse take? • A) Perform the procedure twice each day after meals. • B) Hold the hand completely flat to perform percussions on the child. • C) Administer a prescribed bronchodilator immediately after the procedure. • D) Perform the procedure prior to meals or at least 2 hours after. Correct Answer: D) Perform the procedure prior to meals or at least 2 hours after. Rationale: Postural drainage and chest physiotherapy should be performed before meals or well after eating to minimize the risk of vomiting or aspirating mobilized respiratory secretions. Hands should be cupped (not flat) during percussion, and bronchodilators are administered before (not after) the therapy to open airways and maximize mucus clearance. 3. Medication Reconciliation Process Q: A nurse is admitting a client to a medical-surgical unit. When performing medication reconciliation for the client, which of the following actions should the nurse take? • A) Include any potential adverse effects of the medications the client might develop. • B) Exclude over-the-counter herbal and nutritional supplements from the list. • C) Encourage the client to compile their own list after they return home. • D) Compare new prescriptions with a comprehensive list of all medications the client currently reports taking. Correct Answer: D) Compare new prescriptions with a comprehensive list of all medications the client currently reports taking. Rationale: Medication reconciliation is a safety process designed to prevent errors, omissions, duplications, and dosing discrepancies. It involves creating a complete list of everything the patient takes (including over-the-counter drugs and supplements) and systematically comparing it against newly ordered admission medications. 4. Clinical Features of Absence Seizures Q: A school nurse is teaching a parent about absence seizures. Which of the following information should the nurse include? • A) "The child usually experiences a distinct sensory aura prior to onset." • B) "This type of seizure can easily be mistaken for daydreaming." • C) "This type of seizure typically lasts 30 to 60 seconds." • D) "This type of seizure exhibits a very gradual onset." Correct Answer: B) "This type of seizure can easily be mistaken for daydreaming." Rationale: Absence seizures involve brief, sudden lapses in consciousness lasting only a few seconds ($5text{ to }10$ seconds). Because there is no loss of postural tone and the child simply stares blankly, these episodes are frequently misidentified as daydreaming or inattentiveness. They begin and end abruptly without a postictal state or preceding aura. 5. Evidence-Based Dementia Care Planning Q: A nurse is planning care for an older adult client who has dementia. Which of the following interventions should the nurse include in the plan of care? (Select all that apply.) • A) Reinforce orientation to time, place, and person gently. • B) Allow the client to choose among a wide variety of activities each day. • C) Give the client one simple direction at a time. • D) Establish direct eye contact when communicating with the client. • E) Refute the client's delusions using structured logic. Correct Answers: A), C), and D) Rationale: Direct eye contact ensures the client's attention is focused on the speaker, while single, clear directions prevent cognitive overload. Gentle reorientation can reduce confusion in early-to-moderate stages. Providing too many daily choices (B) or arguing logically against structured delusions (E) triggers frustration and catastrophic agitation. 6. Antepartum Warning Symptoms Q: A nurse is providing teaching to a client who is at 14 weeks of gestation about findings that must be reported to the provider. Which of the following findings should the nurse include in the teaching? • A) Bleeding gums during brushing • B) Faintness upon rising quickly • C) Swelling of the face and fingers • D) Increased urinary frequency Correct Answer: C) Swelling of the face and fingers Rationale: While ankle edema can be benign later in pregnancy, facial and digital swelling can indicate fluid retention secondary to preeclampsia and requires immediate blood pressure and urine evaluation. Gums bleed easily due to estrogen-induced hypervascularity, postural faintness is common due to vena cava adjustments, and urinary frequency is an expected firsttrimester tracking finding. 7. Scope of Practice and Task Delegation Q: A charge nurse is delegating care for a group of clients. Which of the following tasks should the charge nurse assign to a licensed practical nurse (LPN)? • A) Perform a sterile dressing change for a client who has an abdominal wound. • B) Complete discharge teaching for a client who has a new diagnosis of diabetes mellitus. • C) Perform an initial admission assessment for a client who is scheduled for surgery. • D) Complete the Glasgow Coma Scale for a client who has an evolving stroke. Correct Answer: A) Perform a sterile dressing change for a client who has an abdominal wound. Rationale: LPNs are safely trained to perform sterile technical tasks, such as wound care and dressing changes, on stable clients. Initial assessments (C), comprehensive discharge teaching (B), and monitoring highly unstable patients with acute neurological changes (D) require advanced clinical judgment reserved exclusively for the Registered Nurse (RN). 8. Troubleshooting Complications of Nasogastric (NG) Tubes Q: A nurse is caring for a client who has a vented nasogastric (NG) tube set to low intermittent suction and notes that the client has just vomited. Which of the following actions should the nurse perform first? • A) Provide oral hygiene care. • B) Administer an emergency antiemetic medication. • C) Remove and replace the NG tube entirely. • D) Evaluate the mechanical functioning and patency of the suction device. Correct Answer: D) Evaluate the mechanical functioning and patency of the suction device. Rationale: Under the nursing process framework, assessment is the priority action. If a patient with a decompression NG tube vomits, the tube is likely kinked, misplaced, or experiencing suction failure. Checking device function and checking tube patency addresses the root cause of the problem directly. 9. Alternative Blood Pressure Assessment Methods Q: A nurse is obtaining a client's manual blood pressure and is having difficulty auscultating the Korotkoff sounds. Which of the following actions should the nurse take? • A) Apply the largest blood pressure cuff available on the unit. • B) Place the arm slightly above the level of the client's heart. • C) Deflate the cuff rapidly at a rate of 10 mmHg per second. • D) Use the palpatory method to determine the systolic blood pressure. Correct Answer: D) Use the palpatory method to determine the systolic blood pressure. Rationale: When sounds are too faint to hear clearly, inflating the cuff while palpating the radial or brachial artery allows the nurse to determine the exact point where the pulse disappears and reappears, providing an accurate baseline estimate of the systolic blood pressure. 10. Communicating via an Interpreter Q: A nurse is providing discharge teaching about home care of a surgical incision to a client who speaks a different language from the nurse. The nurse is communicating with the client using a qualified medical interpreter. Which of the following actions should the nurse take? • A) Use animated hand gestures to help convey meaning. • B) Speak slowly and alter tone when talking directly to the interpreter. • C) Speak directly to the client using a normal conversation style. • D) Pause abruptly in the middle of sentences to allow for instant translation. Correct Answer: C) Speak directly to the client using a normal conversation style. Rationale: To maintain client-centered care, eye contact and communication should be directed entirely at the patient rather than at the interpreter. Sentences should be delivered in complete, clear phrases without breaking them up awkwardly mid-thought. 11. Public Health Nursing in Rural Communities Q: A public health nurse working in a rural area is developing a program to improve health outcomes for the local population. Which of the following actions should the nurse plan to take? • A) Encourage rural residents to focus health spending on tertiary health interventions. • B) Launch a localized media campaign to increase awareness about industrial pollution. • C) Have an outside consultant nurse provide health lectures at the county hospital. • D) Provide anticipatory guidance classes to parents through local public schools. Correct Answer: D) Provide anticipatory guidance classes to parents through local public schools. Rationale: Rural public health initiatives are most effective when they prioritize primary prevention and leverage established local resources like public schools. This fosters trust and improves community engagement compared to utilizing outside lecturers. 12. Management of Postoperative Low Urinary Output Q: A nurse is assessing a client who is postoperative following abdominal surgery and has an indwelling urinary catheter that is draining dark yellow urine at 25 mL/hr over the past two hours. Which of the following interventions should the nurse anticipate? • A) Clamp the catheter tubing securely for 30 minutes. • B) Obtain a urine specimen for culture and sensitivity. • C) Initiate continuous bladder irrigation (CBI). • D) Administer a prescribed IV fluid bolus. Correct Answer: D) Administer a prescribed IV fluid bolus. Rationale: Normal adult urine output should be at least $30text{ mL/hr}$. Postoperative output of 25 mL/hr combined with concentrated, dark yellow urine indicates hypovolemia and reduced renal perfusion, which is common after blood loss or fluid shifts during surgery. The nurse should anticipate an IV fluid bolus to restore intravascular volume and protect renal function. 13. Application of Ethical Principles Q: A nurse is caring for a client whose partner recently died. The nurse sits quietly with the client to provide emotional comfort and support. Which of the following ethical principles is the nurse demonstrating? • A) Beneficence • B) Autonomy • C) Fidelity • D) Veracity Correct Answer: A) Beneficence Rationale: Beneficence is the ethical duty to act in a way that benefits others, promotes their well-being, and provides compassion or comfort. Autonomy relates to self-determination, fidelity is keeping promises, and veracity means telling the truth. 14. Priority Assessments for Barrier Contraceptives Q: A nurse is caring for a female client who requests a prescription for a contraceptive diaphragm. Which of the following actions should the nurse take first? • A) Document the client's level of understanding about potential adverse effects. • B) Teach the client how to properly insert and remove the diaphragm. • C) Determine the client's baseline knowledge about diaphragm use. • D) Supervise a return demonstration of diaphragm placement. Correct Answer: C) Determine the client's knowledge about diaphragm use. Rationale: Under the nursing process, assessment must occur before planning or implementing client education. Determining the client's baseline knowledge allows the nurse to tailor the instruction effectively. 15. Crisis Management During a Panic Attack Q: A nurse is caring for a client who is experiencing an acute panic attack. Which of the following actions should the nurse take? • A) Encourage the client to watch television to distract themselves. • B) Sit quietly with the client to provide a continuous sense of security. • C) Administer a dose of atomoxetine to quickly decrease acute anxiety. • D) Teach the client how to perform deep meditation exercises. Correct Answer: B) Sit quietly with the client to provide a continuous sense of security. Rationale: During a panic attack, the client experiences overwhelming terror and cannot process complex information. Remaining with the client in a quiet, non-threatening environment provides structural safety and reassurance. Atomoxetine is a stimulant used for ADHD and would worsen anxiety. 16. Prioritizing Actions Following a Medication Error Q: A nurse inadvertently administered 160 mg of valsartan PO to a client who was scheduled to receive 80 mg. Which of the following actions is the priority for the nurse to take? • A) Evaluate the client for orthostatic hypotension. • B) Check the client for nasal congestion. • C) Obtain the client's scheduled laboratory results. • D) Monitor the client's hourly urine output. Correct Answer: A) Evaluate the client for orthostatic hypotension. Rationale: Valsartan is an Angiotensin II Receptor Blocker (ARB) that lowers blood pressure. Giving a double dose increases the risk of severe hypotension and dizziness. According to the nursing process, the immediate priority following a medication error is to assess the patient for adverse physiological effects. 17. Security Protocols for Electronic Medical Records Q: A charge nurse is teaching a newly licensed nurse about the facility's computerized documentation system. Which of the following information should the nurse include? • A) "Documentation of sensitive materials is performed only by the charge nurse." • B) You will be given access to the medical records of every client in the facility. • C) You will be asked to change your login password at least once per year. • D) "Information Technology will maintain active firewalls to secure client information." Correct Answer: D) "Information Technology will maintain active firewalls to secure client information." Rationale: Firewalls are a mandatory network security standard used to protect sensitive electronic health records from unauthorized external access. Staff members only have access to records of patients directly under their care (B), and facility policies typically require password changes every 60 to 90 days rather than once a year (C).