Exam 3: Review Questions and Answers_ Latest Fall 2026-2027.
1. A 15-month-old lives in a home with an in-ground pool. Which intervention is the single most effective way
to reduce drowning risk?
A. Rely on constant adult supervision alone.
B. Enroll the toddler in swim lessons as the primary protection.
C. Keep CPR training as the only household prevention strategy.
D. Install four-sided fencing with a self-closing, self-latching gate that isolates the pool.
Correct Answer: D. Install four-sided fencing with a self-closing, self-latching gate that isolates the pool.
Rationale: The notes identify four-sided pool fencing with a self-closing, self-latching gate as the most effective
environmental control; supervision and swim lessons alone are insufficient.
2. Which developmental feature most increases drowning risk in a 15-month-old?
A. Consistent ability to recognize water danger.
B. Reliable self-rescue motor skills.
C. Mature coordination that prevents falls into water.
D. New mobility without judgment or hazard awareness.
Correct Answer: D. New mobility without judgment or hazard awareness.
Rationale: Toddlers are newly mobile, curious, impulsive, and lack danger awareness; they can reach water quickly but
cannot reliably protect themselves.
3. According to the guided notes, what is the leading cause of death in children ages 1–4?
A. Drowning.
B. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia.
C. Osgood-Schlatter disease.
D. Uncomplicated UTI.
Correct Answer: A. Drowning.
Rationale: The notes state that unintentional injury is the major category and specifically identify drowning as the leading
cause of death in ages 1–4.
4. Parents of a 12-month-old report that the child is climbing on furniture and approaching stairs. What is the
highest-priority intervention?
A. Depend on verbal warnings because the child can understand danger.
B. Wait until independent walking is fully established before modifying the home.
C. Use swim lessons to improve balance and prevent falls.
D. Install safety gates and control climbing and stair hazards in the environment.
Correct Answer: D. Install safety gates and control climbing and stair hazards in the environment.
Rationale: At 12 months, mobility plus curiosity and lack of judgment creates a high fall risk; environmental safety measures
are more reliable than supervision alone.
5. Which firearm-storage plan best matches the safe-storage criteria in the notes for a home with a 3-year-
old?
A. Keep the firearm loaded but hidden on a high shelf.
B. Store the firearm unloaded but leave ammunition unlocked nearby.
C. Store the firearm unloaded and locked, with ammunition locked separately.
D. Teach the preschooler not to touch the firearm and rely on supervision.
Correct Answer: C. Store the firearm unloaded and locked, with ammunition locked separately.
Rationale: The notes specify four components: gun unloaded, gun locked, ammunition stored separately, and ammunition
also locked.
6. A 3-year-old has a spiral humerus fracture and the caregiver's story is inconsistent with the injury. What is
the NP's legal obligation?
A. Report reasonable suspicion of child abuse to Child Protective Services.
B. Wait until abuse is proven before reporting.
C. Ask the caregiver to investigate the mechanism at home.
D. Document only if the caregiver admits abuse.
Correct Answer: A. Report reasonable suspicion of child abuse to Child Protective Services.
, Rationale: Mandatory reporters do not need proof; reasonable suspicion is enough to require a report.
7. Why is a spiral fracture concerning when the history does not match the injury in a young child?
A. It always proves accidental injury.
B. It is expected in every minor fall from a couch.
C. A spiral fracture suggests a twisting mechanism that may indicate non-accidental trauma.
D. It rules out the need for objective documentation.
Correct Answer: C. A spiral fracture suggests a twisting mechanism that may indicate non-accidental trauma.
Rationale: The guided notes emphasize that a twisting mechanism plus an inconsistent history raises concern for non-
accidental trauma.
8. A non-mobile 9-month-old has a bruise on the lower back. How should this finding be regarded?
A. As a normal developmental bruise in a non-mobile infant.
B. As evidence that no further evaluation is needed.
C. As a finding that should be ignored unless there is a fracture.
D. As a sentinel injury that is highly suspicious for non-accidental trauma.
Correct Answer: D. As a sentinel injury that is highly suspicious for non-accidental trauma.
Rationale: The notes state that bruising in a non-mobile infant is a sentinel injury and should prompt a full non-accidental
trauma evaluation and reporting when indicated.
9. Which finding is included in the TEN-4-FACESp bruising rule?
A. Only bruises on the shins of running adolescents.
B. Bruising of the torso, ears, or neck, with FACESp facial/patterned areas also considered concerning.
C. Only bruises over the tibial tuberosity.
D. Only bruises associated with Osgood-Schlatter disease.
Correct Answer: B. Bruising of the torso, ears, or neck, with FACESp facial/patterned areas also considered
concerning.
Rationale: TEN-4-FACESp highlights torso, ears, neck, specific facial areas, and patterned bruising as concerning locations
or patterns.
10. A child says, 'My uncle plays games I don't like.' What is the best immediate response?
A. Ask repeated leading questions to obtain detailed evidence.
B. Stay calm and supportive, document the child's exact words, report the concern, and avoid conducting your own
investigation.
C. Promise the child that no one else will be told.
D. Confront the uncle before documenting the disclosure.
Correct Answer: B. Stay calm and supportive, document the child's exact words, report the concern, and avoid
conducting your own investigation.
Rationale: The notes direct the clinician to believe and support the child, document verbatim, report, and avoid leading
questions or an independent investigation.
11. A 6-month-old has a holosystolic murmur at the left lower sternal border and failure to thrive. What is the
most likely diagnosis?
A. Ventricular septal defect (VSD).
B. Atrial septal defect.
C. Patent ductus arteriosus.
D. Respiratory sinus arrhythmia.
Correct Answer: A. Ventricular septal defect (VSD).
Rationale: The guided notes identify holosystolic murmur at the left lower sternal border plus failure to thrive as classic for
VSD.
12. Why can a symptomatic VSD contribute to failure to thrive in an infant?
A. It decreases all pulmonary blood flow and lowers metabolic demand.
B. Left-to-right shunting causes pulmonary overcirculation, increased work of breathing, and increased metabolic
demand.
C. It causes only a normal respiratory sinus arrhythmia.
D. It improves feeding endurance and calorie retention.
Correct Answer: B. Left-to-right shunting causes pulmonary overcirculation, increased work of breathing, and
increased metabolic demand.
, Rationale: The notes link VSD-related left-to-right shunting to pulmonary overcirculation, greater breathing/circulatory work,
fatigue, poor feeding, and increased calorie use.
13. A 14-year-old faints during basketball. What is the most important immediate action?
A. Reassure and clear the adolescent for unrestricted sports.
B. Treat the episode as normal respiratory sinus arrhythmia.
C. Remove the adolescent from sports and obtain urgent cardiac evaluation with ECG and cardiology referral.
D. Delay evaluation unless syncope occurs at rest.
Correct Answer: C. Remove the adolescent from sports and obtain urgent cardiac evaluation with ECG and
cardiology referral.
Rationale: Exertional syncope is a red flag for life-threatening structural or electrical heart disease and should prevent
sports clearance until evaluated.
14. Which diagnosis is listed as the number-one test answer in the differential for exertional syncope in an
adolescent athlete?
A. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
B. Simple febrile seizure.
C. Nursemaid's elbow.
D. Poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis.
Correct Answer: A. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Rationale: The notes list hypertrophic cardiomyopathy first in the differential for syncope during exercise.
15. A child's heart rate increases with inspiration and decreases with expiration. How is this finding
classified?
A. A pathologic arrhythmia requiring immediate antiarrhythmic therapy.
B. Evidence of testicular torsion.
C. A sign of acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
D. Normal physiologic respiratory sinus arrhythmia.
Correct Answer: D. Normal physiologic respiratory sinus arrhythmia.
Rationale: Respiratory sinus arrhythmia is described as a normal autonomic response that is especially prominent in
children and adolescents.
16. What autonomic change explains the rise in heart rate during inspiration in respiratory sinus arrhythmia?
A. Vagal tone increases during inspiration.
B. There is no autonomic change with breathing.
C. Vagal tone decreases during inspiration.
D. The annular ligament slips over the radial head.
Correct Answer: C. Vagal tone decreases during inspiration.
Rationale: The notes state that inspiration decreases vagal tone and raises heart rate, while expiration increases vagal tone
and lowers heart rate.
17. Which murmur description best fits a VSD in the guided notes?
A. Fixed split S2 with left upper sternal border murmur.
B. Holosystolic murmur at the left lower sternal border.
C. Continuous machine murmur in the left upper chest.
D. Musical murmur in an otherwise healthy child.
Correct Answer: B. Holosystolic murmur at the left lower sternal border.
Rationale: The VSD case and the murmur review both identify a loud/holosystolic murmur at the left lower sternal border.
18. Which auscultatory finding is most characteristic of an atrial septal defect (ASD) in the review notes?
A. Continuous machine murmur with bounding pulses.
B. Fixed split S2 with a murmur at the left upper sternal border.
C. Holosystolic murmur at the left lower sternal border.
D. Harsh systolic murmur with tet spells and cyanosis.
Correct Answer: B. Fixed split S2 with a murmur at the left upper sternal border.
Rationale: The review section states that ASD produces a left-to-right shunt and is classically heard as a fixed split S2 with a
left upper sternal border murmur.