BURNS CONTENT POST TEST – HURST QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS | COMPLETE
HURST BURNS NCLEX STUDY GUIDE 2026/2027
While performing wound care to a donor skin graft site, the nurse notes some scabbing around the
edges and a dark collection of blood. What is the nurse's next action?
Choose One
1. Leave the scabbing area alone and apply extra ointment.
2. Notify the primary healthcare provider.
3. Gently remove the debris and re-dress the wound.
4. Apply skin softening lotion for 3 hours and then re-dress. - correct answer ✔✔3
Rationale
3. Correct: What likes to live in the scabs and dried blood? Bacteria. That is why it is important to remove
the debris to prevent infection.
1. Incorrect: This is not appropriate because bacteria is in the scabbing area and ointment would trap it,
enhance reproduction of the germs, and increase infection.
2. Incorrect: There is no need to notify primary healthcare provider at this time. This is not the best
option for the nurse to fix the problem.
4. Incorrect: We don't put lotion in the wound because this would cause infection of the wound.
What information on burn prevention strategies should the nurse include when providing an education
program at a community center?
Select All That Apply
1. Have chimney professionally inspected every 5 years.
2. Clean the lint trap on the clothes dryer after each use.
3. Keep anything that can burn at least 1 foot (0.30 meters) away from space heaters.
4. Do not hold a child while holding a hot drink.
5. Home hot water heater should be set at a maximum of 120°F (48.8°C). - correct answer ✔✔2, 4, 5
Rationale
2., 4., & 5. Correct: Lint that accumulates in the lint trap of a dryer can cause a fire, so the lint trap should
be cleaned after each use. A hot beverage can easily spill on a child by accident when trying to handle
both the beverage and child at the same time. Home hot water heater should be set at a maximum of
120°F (48.8°C), especially when small children, the elderly, or diabetics are in the home.
1. Incorrect: A chimney should be professionally inspected every year prior to use. It should also be
cleaned if necessary.
3. Incorrect: Space heaters need space at least three feet (0.91 meters) away from anything that can
burn.
A client arrives at the emergency department after sustaining full thickness burns. What does the nurse
estimate the total body surface area (TBSA) burned to be when using the rule of nines?
TRUNK + ARM - correct answer ✔✔Posterior trunk = 18
Posterior arm = 4.5
TBSA burned = 22.5%
, What immediate action should the occupational health nurse take once flames have been extinguished
from a burned victim?
Choose One.
1. Remove jewelry.
2. Wrap in a clean blanket.
3. Cover burns with clean, dry cloth.
4. Briefly soak burned area in cool water. - correct answer ✔✔4
Rationale
4. Correct: Although all options are correct, the priority is to stop the burning process. Just putting out
the flames is not enough to stop the burning process. You need to apply cool water briefly (no more than
10 minutes) to soak the burn area. Any longer can cause extensive heat loss.
1. Incorrect: Removing jewelry is important but stop the burning process first. Swelling occurs with
burns, so jewlrey must be removed or you will not get it off. This can result in constriction of the
extemity. Additionally, metal burns.
2. Incorrect: Wrapping the client in a clean or preferably a sterile blanket will help to hold in body heat.
Remember, they have lost skin, the number one way to hold in body heat.
3. Incorrect: Applying a clean, dry cloth to the burn area will help prevent infection, but the priority is to
stop the burning process.
What sign/symptom would indictate to the nurse that a client has had an inhalation injury?
Select All That Apply
1. stridor
2. Swallowing difficulty
3. Singed nasal hair
4. Blisters to upper arms
5. Wheezing - correct answer ✔✔1, 2, 3, 5
Rationale
1., 2., 3., & 5. Correct: Substernal/intercostal retraction and stridor are bad signs. Remember you will see
difficulty swallowing, singed nasal and facial hair, and wheezing.
4. Incorrect: Blisters found on the oral/pharyngeal mucosa is more likely to indicate a smoke or
inhalation injury.
An elderly client with partial and full-thickness burns has begun receiving fluids at 600 ml/hour, as
determined by the Parkland (Consensus) Formula. Based on the assessment data for the first four hours,
what should the nurse report to the primary healthcare provider?
Choose One
1. The cardiovascular system is becoming seriously overloaded
2. The speed of the IV should be reduced since CVP is now normal
3. The changes in vital signs indicate an expected response to fluids
4. The client is deteriorating because of age and extent of the burns - correct answer ✔✔3
Rationale
3. CORRECT. The purpose of infusing large amounts of fluid into burn victims during the first 24 hours is
to help maintain perfusion until the body's physiology returns to normal functioning. The serial vital
signs indicate the cardiovascular system is stabilizing, as evidenced by pulse decreasing to the normal
HURST BURNS NCLEX STUDY GUIDE 2026/2027
While performing wound care to a donor skin graft site, the nurse notes some scabbing around the
edges and a dark collection of blood. What is the nurse's next action?
Choose One
1. Leave the scabbing area alone and apply extra ointment.
2. Notify the primary healthcare provider.
3. Gently remove the debris and re-dress the wound.
4. Apply skin softening lotion for 3 hours and then re-dress. - correct answer ✔✔3
Rationale
3. Correct: What likes to live in the scabs and dried blood? Bacteria. That is why it is important to remove
the debris to prevent infection.
1. Incorrect: This is not appropriate because bacteria is in the scabbing area and ointment would trap it,
enhance reproduction of the germs, and increase infection.
2. Incorrect: There is no need to notify primary healthcare provider at this time. This is not the best
option for the nurse to fix the problem.
4. Incorrect: We don't put lotion in the wound because this would cause infection of the wound.
What information on burn prevention strategies should the nurse include when providing an education
program at a community center?
Select All That Apply
1. Have chimney professionally inspected every 5 years.
2. Clean the lint trap on the clothes dryer after each use.
3. Keep anything that can burn at least 1 foot (0.30 meters) away from space heaters.
4. Do not hold a child while holding a hot drink.
5. Home hot water heater should be set at a maximum of 120°F (48.8°C). - correct answer ✔✔2, 4, 5
Rationale
2., 4., & 5. Correct: Lint that accumulates in the lint trap of a dryer can cause a fire, so the lint trap should
be cleaned after each use. A hot beverage can easily spill on a child by accident when trying to handle
both the beverage and child at the same time. Home hot water heater should be set at a maximum of
120°F (48.8°C), especially when small children, the elderly, or diabetics are in the home.
1. Incorrect: A chimney should be professionally inspected every year prior to use. It should also be
cleaned if necessary.
3. Incorrect: Space heaters need space at least three feet (0.91 meters) away from anything that can
burn.
A client arrives at the emergency department after sustaining full thickness burns. What does the nurse
estimate the total body surface area (TBSA) burned to be when using the rule of nines?
TRUNK + ARM - correct answer ✔✔Posterior trunk = 18
Posterior arm = 4.5
TBSA burned = 22.5%
, What immediate action should the occupational health nurse take once flames have been extinguished
from a burned victim?
Choose One.
1. Remove jewelry.
2. Wrap in a clean blanket.
3. Cover burns with clean, dry cloth.
4. Briefly soak burned area in cool water. - correct answer ✔✔4
Rationale
4. Correct: Although all options are correct, the priority is to stop the burning process. Just putting out
the flames is not enough to stop the burning process. You need to apply cool water briefly (no more than
10 minutes) to soak the burn area. Any longer can cause extensive heat loss.
1. Incorrect: Removing jewelry is important but stop the burning process first. Swelling occurs with
burns, so jewlrey must be removed or you will not get it off. This can result in constriction of the
extemity. Additionally, metal burns.
2. Incorrect: Wrapping the client in a clean or preferably a sterile blanket will help to hold in body heat.
Remember, they have lost skin, the number one way to hold in body heat.
3. Incorrect: Applying a clean, dry cloth to the burn area will help prevent infection, but the priority is to
stop the burning process.
What sign/symptom would indictate to the nurse that a client has had an inhalation injury?
Select All That Apply
1. stridor
2. Swallowing difficulty
3. Singed nasal hair
4. Blisters to upper arms
5. Wheezing - correct answer ✔✔1, 2, 3, 5
Rationale
1., 2., 3., & 5. Correct: Substernal/intercostal retraction and stridor are bad signs. Remember you will see
difficulty swallowing, singed nasal and facial hair, and wheezing.
4. Incorrect: Blisters found on the oral/pharyngeal mucosa is more likely to indicate a smoke or
inhalation injury.
An elderly client with partial and full-thickness burns has begun receiving fluids at 600 ml/hour, as
determined by the Parkland (Consensus) Formula. Based on the assessment data for the first four hours,
what should the nurse report to the primary healthcare provider?
Choose One
1. The cardiovascular system is becoming seriously overloaded
2. The speed of the IV should be reduced since CVP is now normal
3. The changes in vital signs indicate an expected response to fluids
4. The client is deteriorating because of age and extent of the burns - correct answer ✔✔3
Rationale
3. CORRECT. The purpose of infusing large amounts of fluid into burn victims during the first 24 hours is
to help maintain perfusion until the body's physiology returns to normal functioning. The serial vital
signs indicate the cardiovascular system is stabilizing, as evidenced by pulse decreasing to the normal
