NURS 190 PHYSICAL ASSESSMENT
WEEK 1-14 COMPREHENSIVE EXAM
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
1. During a health history, a patient describes their pain as ‘dull and aching’ in the right lower
quadrant. Which type of data is the nurse collecting?
A. Subjective data
B. Secondary data
C. Objective data
D. Functional data
Answer: A
Conceptual Explanation: Subjective data is what the patient says about themselves during
the history-taking process. Objective data is what the health professional observes by
inspecting, percussing, palpating, and auscultating during the physical examination.
2. When assessing a patient for a pressure injury, the nurse notes a partial-thickness loss of
dermis presenting as a shallow open ulcer with a red-pink wound bed. How should this be
staged?
A. Stage III
,B. Stage I
C. Stage II
D. Stage IV
Answer: C
Conceptual Explanation: Stage II pressure injuries involve partial-thickness loss of dermis
presenting as a shallow open ulcer with a red-pink wound bed, without slough. Stage I is
intact skin with non-blanchable redness.
3. The ‘E’ in the ABCDE mnemonic for assessing suspicious skin lesions stands for:
A. Exudate
B. Evolution
C. Elevation
D. Erythema
Answer: B
Conceptual Explanation: The ABCDE mnemonic stands for Asymmetry, Border
irregularity, Color variation, Diameter (>6mm), and Evolution (change in size, shape, or
color over time).
4. A nurse performs a pupillary light reflex test and notes that when light is shone into the
right eye, the left pupil also constricts. This is known as:
A. Direct light reflex
, B. Consensual light reflex
C. Convergence
D. Accommodation
Answer: B
Conceptual Explanation: The consensual light reflex is the simultaneous constriction of
the other pupil when one eye is exposed to bright light. This occurs because the optic nerve
carries the sensory afferent impulse to both sides of the brain.
5. A patient’s vision is recorded as 20/40 using a Snellen chart. What does this finding
indicate?
A. The patient has 40% of normal vision.
B. The patient can read at 40 feet what a normal eye can read at 20 feet.
C. The patient can read at 20 feet what a normal eye can read at 40 feet.
D. The patient can see 20 letters out of 40 correctly.
Answer: C
Conceptual Explanation: The top number (numerator) indicates the distance the person
is standing from the chart, and the bottom number (denominator) gives the distance at
which a normal eye could have read that particular line.
6. To inspect the adult patient’s ear canal with an otoscope, the nurse should pull the pinna:
A. Down and back
WEEK 1-14 COMPREHENSIVE EXAM
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
1. During a health history, a patient describes their pain as ‘dull and aching’ in the right lower
quadrant. Which type of data is the nurse collecting?
A. Subjective data
B. Secondary data
C. Objective data
D. Functional data
Answer: A
Conceptual Explanation: Subjective data is what the patient says about themselves during
the history-taking process. Objective data is what the health professional observes by
inspecting, percussing, palpating, and auscultating during the physical examination.
2. When assessing a patient for a pressure injury, the nurse notes a partial-thickness loss of
dermis presenting as a shallow open ulcer with a red-pink wound bed. How should this be
staged?
A. Stage III
,B. Stage I
C. Stage II
D. Stage IV
Answer: C
Conceptual Explanation: Stage II pressure injuries involve partial-thickness loss of dermis
presenting as a shallow open ulcer with a red-pink wound bed, without slough. Stage I is
intact skin with non-blanchable redness.
3. The ‘E’ in the ABCDE mnemonic for assessing suspicious skin lesions stands for:
A. Exudate
B. Evolution
C. Elevation
D. Erythema
Answer: B
Conceptual Explanation: The ABCDE mnemonic stands for Asymmetry, Border
irregularity, Color variation, Diameter (>6mm), and Evolution (change in size, shape, or
color over time).
4. A nurse performs a pupillary light reflex test and notes that when light is shone into the
right eye, the left pupil also constricts. This is known as:
A. Direct light reflex
, B. Consensual light reflex
C. Convergence
D. Accommodation
Answer: B
Conceptual Explanation: The consensual light reflex is the simultaneous constriction of
the other pupil when one eye is exposed to bright light. This occurs because the optic nerve
carries the sensory afferent impulse to both sides of the brain.
5. A patient’s vision is recorded as 20/40 using a Snellen chart. What does this finding
indicate?
A. The patient has 40% of normal vision.
B. The patient can read at 40 feet what a normal eye can read at 20 feet.
C. The patient can read at 20 feet what a normal eye can read at 40 feet.
D. The patient can see 20 letters out of 40 correctly.
Answer: C
Conceptual Explanation: The top number (numerator) indicates the distance the person
is standing from the chart, and the bottom number (denominator) gives the distance at
which a normal eye could have read that particular line.
6. To inspect the adult patient’s ear canal with an otoscope, the nurse should pull the pinna:
A. Down and back
