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NU 136 FUNDAMENTALS OF NURSING COMPREHENSIVE
EXAM ACTUAL EXAM [ QUESTION 1- 200] AND ANSWERS
UPDATED 2026/2027| 100% VERIFIED|DETAILED
RATIONALES –PASS GUARANTEED A+ GRADED |INSTANT
DOWNLOAD
Introduction:
This NU 136 Fundamentals of Nursing Comprehensive Exam practice set is designed to
strengthen foundational nursing knowledge, clinical judgment, and safe patient-care decision-
making across major fundamentals-of-nursing concepts. The questions emphasize assessment,
nursing process, infection prevention and control, communication, safety, medication
principles, mobility, nutrition, elimination, hygiene, documentation, patient education, ethical
practice, and prioritization. Rather than reproducing recalled examination questions, this set
provides original practice scenarios modeled on common nursing-school objectives and
competency expectations. Each item contains four answer choices with one best answer,
followed by a detailed rationale explaining the clinical reasoning behind the answer and why
alternative choices are less appropriate. Working through these questions can help candidates
identify knowledge gaps, improve application of nursing principles, and develop a structured
approach to clinical situations. Students should use the material alongside their course
resources, instructor guidance, institutional policies, and current evidence-based nursing
standards. Success on a fundamentals examination requires understanding why an
intervention is appropriate, not simply memorizing isolated facts. This practice set therefore
emphasizes safe, patient-centered, evidence-informed nursing judgment.
Core Domains Covered:
1. Nursing Process and Clinical Judgment — Assessment, nursing diagnoses, planning,
implementation, evaluation, prioritization, and clinical decision-making.
2. Safety and Infection Prevention — Standard precautions, transmission-based precautions,
fall prevention, aseptic technique, and environmental safety.
3. Communication and Therapeutic Relationships — Therapeutic communication,
documentation, confidentiality, cultural sensitivity, and professional boundaries.
4. Basic Patient Care — Hygiene, mobility, positioning, skin integrity, comfort, sleep, and
activities of daily living.
5. Nutrition, Hydration, and Elimination — Nutritional assessment, fluid balance, enteral
care, bowel function, urinary function, and related nursing interventions.
6. Medication and Treatment Safety — Medication administration principles, patient
identification, adverse reactions, medication reconciliation, and safe clinical procedures.
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7. Ethical, Legal, and Professional Nursing Practice — Consent, advocacy, confidentiality,
delegation, accountability, documentation, and scope of practice.
8. Patient Education and Health Promotion — Learning assessment, individualized teaching,
health literacy, prevention, discharge education, and evaluation of understanding.
QUESTIONS
Question 1: A nurse begins an admission assessment on a patient who reports severe shortness
of breath. Which action should the nurse take first?
A) Complete the patient's medication history
B) Assess respiratory rate, effort, oxygen saturation, and breath sounds
C) Ask the patient about previous hospitalizations
D) Obtain a detailed dietary history
Rationale: The correct answer is B because airway and breathing are immediate priorities. A
focused respiratory assessment determines the severity of the problem and guides urgent
intervention. A, C, and D address important admission information but should follow
stabilization of an immediate breathing concern.**
Question 2: Which finding requires the nurse's immediate attention?
A) Oral temperature of 37.2°C
B) Heart rate of 88 beats/minute
C) Respiratory rate of 30 breaths/minute with increasing effort
D) Blood pressure of 124/76 mmHg
Rationale: The correct answer is C because tachypnea accompanied by increased respiratory
effort may indicate respiratory compromise. The other findings are within commonly accepted
adult ranges and do not indicate an immediate threat when considered alone.**
Question 3: A nurse is developing a care plan for a patient with impaired mobility. Which
outcome is best written?
A) Patient will improve mobility
B) Nurse will encourage ambulation
C) Patient will ambulate safely 30 meters with assistance by the end of the shift
D) Patient needs physical therapy
Rationale: The correct answer is C because it is specific, measurable, patient-centered, and time
limited. A is vague, B describes a nursing intervention rather than an outcome, and D identifies
a need without establishing a measurable goal.**
Question 4: During assessment, a patient states, “I am afraid that something terrible will
happen.” Which response is most therapeutic?
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A) “You should try not to worry.”
B) “Everything will be fine.”
C) “Tell me more about what is making you feel afraid.”
D) “Other patients have experienced this too.”
Rationale: The correct answer is C because it uses an open-ended invitation that encourages
expression of feelings. A and B minimize the patient's concerns, while D shifts attention away
from the patient's individual experience.**
Question 5: Which nursing action best demonstrates the assessment phase of the nursing
process?
A) Administering prescribed analgesia
B) Establishing a mobility goal
C) Collecting information about pain characteristics and functional limitations
D) Determining whether the intervention was effective
Rationale: The correct answer is C because assessment involves systematic collection of
subjective and objective data. A is implementation, B is planning, and D represents
evaluation.**
Question 6: A patient is at high risk for falls. Which intervention is most appropriate?
A) Keep all four side rails raised
B) Encourage the patient to walk independently
C) Keep the call light within reach and ensure the bed is in its lowest safe position
D) Place personal belongings across the room
Rationale: The correct answer is C because it promotes accessibility and reduces environmental
hazards. Raising all four rails may constitute a restraint in some circumstances, while B and D
increase fall risk.**
Question 7: Which action is most effective for preventing healthcare-associated infection?
A) Wearing gloves for every patient interaction
B) Performing hand hygiene at appropriate points of patient care
C) Wearing a surgical mask for routine care
D) Cleaning equipment only at the end of the shift
Rationale: The correct answer is B because hand hygiene is a fundamental measure for
interrupting transmission of microorganisms. Gloves do not replace hand hygiene, and the other
measures do not provide universal protection against transmission.**
Question 8: A nurse prepares to enter the room of a patient on contact precautions. Which action
is appropriate?
, Page |4
A) Enter without protective equipment if the visit is brief
B) Follow the prescribed contact-precaution PPE requirements before patient contact
C) Use only a surgical mask
D) Ask the patient to leave the room
Rationale: The correct answer is B because contact precautions require appropriate PPE based
on the organism and institutional policy. Brief contact does not eliminate transmission risk, and
a mask alone is insufficient for contact precautions.**
Question 9: Which documentation entry is most appropriate?
A) “Patient seems much better today.”
B) “Patient had a bad night.”
C) “Patient reports pain 7/10 at incision site; guarding observed during repositioning.”
D) “Patient is difficult and uncooperative.”
Rationale: The correct answer is C because it records objective observations and the patient's
reported pain using specific, measurable information. The other statements are vague,
judgmental, or insufficiently descriptive.**
Question 10: A nurse discovers that a medication was administered to the wrong patient. What
is the priority action?
A) Alter the medication record
B) Wait until the next shift to report it
C) Assess the patient and immediately follow the facility's medication-error reporting
procedure
D) Ask another nurse to document the event
Rationale: The correct answer is C because patient assessment and prompt reporting allow
appropriate treatment and monitoring. Documentation must remain accurate and transparent;
errors should never be concealed or delayed.**
Question 11: Which patient should the nurse assess first?
A) Patient requesting assistance with bathing
B) Patient with chronic arthritis reporting mild discomfort
C) Patient with new confusion and oxygen saturation of 86%
D) Patient awaiting routine discharge instructions
Rationale: The correct answer is C because hypoxemia and acute mental-status change can
indicate significant physiological compromise. The other patients have needs that can safely be
addressed after the unstable patient.**
Question 12: A nurse is preparing to administer medication. Which identification method is
safest?
NU 136 FUNDAMENTALS OF NURSING COMPREHENSIVE
EXAM ACTUAL EXAM [ QUESTION 1- 200] AND ANSWERS
UPDATED 2026/2027| 100% VERIFIED|DETAILED
RATIONALES –PASS GUARANTEED A+ GRADED |INSTANT
DOWNLOAD
Introduction:
This NU 136 Fundamentals of Nursing Comprehensive Exam practice set is designed to
strengthen foundational nursing knowledge, clinical judgment, and safe patient-care decision-
making across major fundamentals-of-nursing concepts. The questions emphasize assessment,
nursing process, infection prevention and control, communication, safety, medication
principles, mobility, nutrition, elimination, hygiene, documentation, patient education, ethical
practice, and prioritization. Rather than reproducing recalled examination questions, this set
provides original practice scenarios modeled on common nursing-school objectives and
competency expectations. Each item contains four answer choices with one best answer,
followed by a detailed rationale explaining the clinical reasoning behind the answer and why
alternative choices are less appropriate. Working through these questions can help candidates
identify knowledge gaps, improve application of nursing principles, and develop a structured
approach to clinical situations. Students should use the material alongside their course
resources, instructor guidance, institutional policies, and current evidence-based nursing
standards. Success on a fundamentals examination requires understanding why an
intervention is appropriate, not simply memorizing isolated facts. This practice set therefore
emphasizes safe, patient-centered, evidence-informed nursing judgment.
Core Domains Covered:
1. Nursing Process and Clinical Judgment — Assessment, nursing diagnoses, planning,
implementation, evaluation, prioritization, and clinical decision-making.
2. Safety and Infection Prevention — Standard precautions, transmission-based precautions,
fall prevention, aseptic technique, and environmental safety.
3. Communication and Therapeutic Relationships — Therapeutic communication,
documentation, confidentiality, cultural sensitivity, and professional boundaries.
4. Basic Patient Care — Hygiene, mobility, positioning, skin integrity, comfort, sleep, and
activities of daily living.
5. Nutrition, Hydration, and Elimination — Nutritional assessment, fluid balance, enteral
care, bowel function, urinary function, and related nursing interventions.
6. Medication and Treatment Safety — Medication administration principles, patient
identification, adverse reactions, medication reconciliation, and safe clinical procedures.
,Page |2
7. Ethical, Legal, and Professional Nursing Practice — Consent, advocacy, confidentiality,
delegation, accountability, documentation, and scope of practice.
8. Patient Education and Health Promotion — Learning assessment, individualized teaching,
health literacy, prevention, discharge education, and evaluation of understanding.
QUESTIONS
Question 1: A nurse begins an admission assessment on a patient who reports severe shortness
of breath. Which action should the nurse take first?
A) Complete the patient's medication history
B) Assess respiratory rate, effort, oxygen saturation, and breath sounds
C) Ask the patient about previous hospitalizations
D) Obtain a detailed dietary history
Rationale: The correct answer is B because airway and breathing are immediate priorities. A
focused respiratory assessment determines the severity of the problem and guides urgent
intervention. A, C, and D address important admission information but should follow
stabilization of an immediate breathing concern.**
Question 2: Which finding requires the nurse's immediate attention?
A) Oral temperature of 37.2°C
B) Heart rate of 88 beats/minute
C) Respiratory rate of 30 breaths/minute with increasing effort
D) Blood pressure of 124/76 mmHg
Rationale: The correct answer is C because tachypnea accompanied by increased respiratory
effort may indicate respiratory compromise. The other findings are within commonly accepted
adult ranges and do not indicate an immediate threat when considered alone.**
Question 3: A nurse is developing a care plan for a patient with impaired mobility. Which
outcome is best written?
A) Patient will improve mobility
B) Nurse will encourage ambulation
C) Patient will ambulate safely 30 meters with assistance by the end of the shift
D) Patient needs physical therapy
Rationale: The correct answer is C because it is specific, measurable, patient-centered, and time
limited. A is vague, B describes a nursing intervention rather than an outcome, and D identifies
a need without establishing a measurable goal.**
Question 4: During assessment, a patient states, “I am afraid that something terrible will
happen.” Which response is most therapeutic?
,Page |3
A) “You should try not to worry.”
B) “Everything will be fine.”
C) “Tell me more about what is making you feel afraid.”
D) “Other patients have experienced this too.”
Rationale: The correct answer is C because it uses an open-ended invitation that encourages
expression of feelings. A and B minimize the patient's concerns, while D shifts attention away
from the patient's individual experience.**
Question 5: Which nursing action best demonstrates the assessment phase of the nursing
process?
A) Administering prescribed analgesia
B) Establishing a mobility goal
C) Collecting information about pain characteristics and functional limitations
D) Determining whether the intervention was effective
Rationale: The correct answer is C because assessment involves systematic collection of
subjective and objective data. A is implementation, B is planning, and D represents
evaluation.**
Question 6: A patient is at high risk for falls. Which intervention is most appropriate?
A) Keep all four side rails raised
B) Encourage the patient to walk independently
C) Keep the call light within reach and ensure the bed is in its lowest safe position
D) Place personal belongings across the room
Rationale: The correct answer is C because it promotes accessibility and reduces environmental
hazards. Raising all four rails may constitute a restraint in some circumstances, while B and D
increase fall risk.**
Question 7: Which action is most effective for preventing healthcare-associated infection?
A) Wearing gloves for every patient interaction
B) Performing hand hygiene at appropriate points of patient care
C) Wearing a surgical mask for routine care
D) Cleaning equipment only at the end of the shift
Rationale: The correct answer is B because hand hygiene is a fundamental measure for
interrupting transmission of microorganisms. Gloves do not replace hand hygiene, and the other
measures do not provide universal protection against transmission.**
Question 8: A nurse prepares to enter the room of a patient on contact precautions. Which action
is appropriate?
, Page |4
A) Enter without protective equipment if the visit is brief
B) Follow the prescribed contact-precaution PPE requirements before patient contact
C) Use only a surgical mask
D) Ask the patient to leave the room
Rationale: The correct answer is B because contact precautions require appropriate PPE based
on the organism and institutional policy. Brief contact does not eliminate transmission risk, and
a mask alone is insufficient for contact precautions.**
Question 9: Which documentation entry is most appropriate?
A) “Patient seems much better today.”
B) “Patient had a bad night.”
C) “Patient reports pain 7/10 at incision site; guarding observed during repositioning.”
D) “Patient is difficult and uncooperative.”
Rationale: The correct answer is C because it records objective observations and the patient's
reported pain using specific, measurable information. The other statements are vague,
judgmental, or insufficiently descriptive.**
Question 10: A nurse discovers that a medication was administered to the wrong patient. What
is the priority action?
A) Alter the medication record
B) Wait until the next shift to report it
C) Assess the patient and immediately follow the facility's medication-error reporting
procedure
D) Ask another nurse to document the event
Rationale: The correct answer is C because patient assessment and prompt reporting allow
appropriate treatment and monitoring. Documentation must remain accurate and transparent;
errors should never be concealed or delayed.**
Question 11: Which patient should the nurse assess first?
A) Patient requesting assistance with bathing
B) Patient with chronic arthritis reporting mild discomfort
C) Patient with new confusion and oxygen saturation of 86%
D) Patient awaiting routine discharge instructions
Rationale: The correct answer is C because hypoxemia and acute mental-status change can
indicate significant physiological compromise. The other patients have needs that can safely be
addressed after the unstable patient.**
Question 12: A nurse is preparing to administer medication. Which identification method is
safest?
