PMHNP ANCC REVIEW EXAM
WITH ACTUAL CORRECT
QUESTIONS AND VERIFIED
DETAILED ANSWERS|FREQUENTLY
TESTED QUESTIONS AND
SOLUTIONS|NEWEST|GUARANTEED
PASS 2026/2027
Defense mechanisms are best viewed as a function of the ego
a. To alert us to harm and danger
b. To alert us to problems
c. Used to resolve a conflict
d. Used to protect the id
C. Defense mechanisms are a function of the ego used to resolve a conflict.
One of the health care changes that has occurred as a result of the affordable care act (ACA) is that
doctors/hospitals/clinic groups or health systems are coming together and assuming the responsibility
for quality care to large groups of individuals insured by Medicare. The health care clinics/systems
doctors or hospitals that join together are called which of the following?
a. Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)
b. Preferred Provider Network (PPO)
c. Accountable Care Organization (ACO)
d. Individual Health Plan (IHP)
C. ACO's are groups of doctors or other health care providers who voluntarily come together and
assume the care provided to Medicare patients.
Health care economics is concerned with making decisions so the benefits outweigh the cost of resource
utilization. What are two concepts that healthcare economics is concerned with in regard to fair
distribution of resources and allocation?
a. Equity and efficiency
b. Cost and benefits
c. Opportunity and waste
d. Affordable and quality
A. Health care efficiency is making risk and benefit decision about how care resources are allocated and
equity is ensuring that there is a fair distribution of the resources.
1|Page
,What four elements need to be present for a malpractice lawsuit to be filed?
a. Beneficence, Non-Maleficence, Truthfulness, and Justice
b. Duty of care, Breach of standard of care, Injury, and Injury must be related to breach of the standard
of care
c. Abandonment, Breach of care, Violation of ethics, and Reimbursement for poor care
d. Breach of standard of care, Injury, Deceit, and Malpractice
B. The four elements that must be satisfied for malpractice to have occurred are a duty of care between
clinician and patient, breach of standard of care, an injury to the patient, and the patient's injury must
be related to the clinician's breach of care.
Mary is a Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) who is working in a hospitalist role.
Mary has encountered over five incidences in which attending psychiatrists and medical residents have
been demeaning to nursing staff and not answering calls in the middle of the night or telling the nursing
staff to write orders and the MD would sign off in the a.m. Mary is concerned about errors and wants to
improve quality, reduce errors to promote safety. What concept is Mary employing?
a. Bullying
b. Abuse
c. Civil Disobedience
d. Just Culture
D. The ANA has a position statement that nurses are responsible for developing health care settings that
include just culture initiatives understanding that human error can cause error and harm by creating an
open and fair environment.
The role of neurotransmitters in the central nervous system is to function as
a. A communication medium
b. A gatekeeper for transmissions
c. A building block for amino acids
d. An agent to break down enzymes
A. Neurotransmitters in the central nervous system function as a communication medium.
Serotonin is produced in which of the following locations:
a. Locus ceruleus
b. Nucleus basalis
c. Raphe nuclei
d. Substantia nigra
C. Serotonin is produced in the raphe nuclei.
Dopamine is produced in which of the following locations:
a. Locus ceruleus
b. Nucleus basalis
c. Raphe nuclei
d. Substantia nigra
D. Dopamine is produced in the substantia nigra.
2|Page
, A client presents with complaints of changes in appetite, feeling fatigued, problems with sleep-rest
cycle, and changes in libido. What is the neuroanatomical area of the brain that is responsible for the
normal regulation of these functions?
a. Thalamus
b. Hypothalamus
c. Limbic system
d. Hippocampus
B. Appetite, sleep, and libido are regulated by the hypothalamus.
In considering whether to order an MRI of the head for a client, which of the following
would be a contraindication to this diagnostic test?
a. Prosthetic limb
b. History of head trauma
c. Pacemaker
d. Pregnancy
C. A client with a pacemaker should not receive an MRI of the head.
The primary excitatory neurotransmitter is
a. GABA
b. Serotonin
c. Dopamine
d. Glutamate
D. Glutamate is the primary excitatory neurotransmitter.
A client who is experiencing difficulties with working memory, planning and prioritizing, insight into his
problems, and impulse control presents for assessment. In planning his care, the PMHNP should apply
his or her knowledge that these symptoms represent problems with the
a. Frontal lobe
b. Temporal lobe
c. Parietal lobe
d. Occipital lobe
A. Problems with working memory, planning and prioritizing, insight into problems, and impulse control
indicate a problem in the frontal lobe.
The concept of target symptom identification is best explained as
a. Identification of the major clinical presentation of the client
b. Identification of specific, precise, and individualized symptoms reasonably expected to improve with
medication
c. Identification of the secondary messenger system syndrome
d. Intentional modulation of synaptic pathways
B. Target symptom identification is the identification of specific, precise, and individualized symptoms
reasonably expected to improve with a given medication.
3|Page
WITH ACTUAL CORRECT
QUESTIONS AND VERIFIED
DETAILED ANSWERS|FREQUENTLY
TESTED QUESTIONS AND
SOLUTIONS|NEWEST|GUARANTEED
PASS 2026/2027
Defense mechanisms are best viewed as a function of the ego
a. To alert us to harm and danger
b. To alert us to problems
c. Used to resolve a conflict
d. Used to protect the id
C. Defense mechanisms are a function of the ego used to resolve a conflict.
One of the health care changes that has occurred as a result of the affordable care act (ACA) is that
doctors/hospitals/clinic groups or health systems are coming together and assuming the responsibility
for quality care to large groups of individuals insured by Medicare. The health care clinics/systems
doctors or hospitals that join together are called which of the following?
a. Health Maintenance Organization (HMO)
b. Preferred Provider Network (PPO)
c. Accountable Care Organization (ACO)
d. Individual Health Plan (IHP)
C. ACO's are groups of doctors or other health care providers who voluntarily come together and
assume the care provided to Medicare patients.
Health care economics is concerned with making decisions so the benefits outweigh the cost of resource
utilization. What are two concepts that healthcare economics is concerned with in regard to fair
distribution of resources and allocation?
a. Equity and efficiency
b. Cost and benefits
c. Opportunity and waste
d. Affordable and quality
A. Health care efficiency is making risk and benefit decision about how care resources are allocated and
equity is ensuring that there is a fair distribution of the resources.
1|Page
,What four elements need to be present for a malpractice lawsuit to be filed?
a. Beneficence, Non-Maleficence, Truthfulness, and Justice
b. Duty of care, Breach of standard of care, Injury, and Injury must be related to breach of the standard
of care
c. Abandonment, Breach of care, Violation of ethics, and Reimbursement for poor care
d. Breach of standard of care, Injury, Deceit, and Malpractice
B. The four elements that must be satisfied for malpractice to have occurred are a duty of care between
clinician and patient, breach of standard of care, an injury to the patient, and the patient's injury must
be related to the clinician's breach of care.
Mary is a Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) who is working in a hospitalist role.
Mary has encountered over five incidences in which attending psychiatrists and medical residents have
been demeaning to nursing staff and not answering calls in the middle of the night or telling the nursing
staff to write orders and the MD would sign off in the a.m. Mary is concerned about errors and wants to
improve quality, reduce errors to promote safety. What concept is Mary employing?
a. Bullying
b. Abuse
c. Civil Disobedience
d. Just Culture
D. The ANA has a position statement that nurses are responsible for developing health care settings that
include just culture initiatives understanding that human error can cause error and harm by creating an
open and fair environment.
The role of neurotransmitters in the central nervous system is to function as
a. A communication medium
b. A gatekeeper for transmissions
c. A building block for amino acids
d. An agent to break down enzymes
A. Neurotransmitters in the central nervous system function as a communication medium.
Serotonin is produced in which of the following locations:
a. Locus ceruleus
b. Nucleus basalis
c. Raphe nuclei
d. Substantia nigra
C. Serotonin is produced in the raphe nuclei.
Dopamine is produced in which of the following locations:
a. Locus ceruleus
b. Nucleus basalis
c. Raphe nuclei
d. Substantia nigra
D. Dopamine is produced in the substantia nigra.
2|Page
, A client presents with complaints of changes in appetite, feeling fatigued, problems with sleep-rest
cycle, and changes in libido. What is the neuroanatomical area of the brain that is responsible for the
normal regulation of these functions?
a. Thalamus
b. Hypothalamus
c. Limbic system
d. Hippocampus
B. Appetite, sleep, and libido are regulated by the hypothalamus.
In considering whether to order an MRI of the head for a client, which of the following
would be a contraindication to this diagnostic test?
a. Prosthetic limb
b. History of head trauma
c. Pacemaker
d. Pregnancy
C. A client with a pacemaker should not receive an MRI of the head.
The primary excitatory neurotransmitter is
a. GABA
b. Serotonin
c. Dopamine
d. Glutamate
D. Glutamate is the primary excitatory neurotransmitter.
A client who is experiencing difficulties with working memory, planning and prioritizing, insight into his
problems, and impulse control presents for assessment. In planning his care, the PMHNP should apply
his or her knowledge that these symptoms represent problems with the
a. Frontal lobe
b. Temporal lobe
c. Parietal lobe
d. Occipital lobe
A. Problems with working memory, planning and prioritizing, insight into problems, and impulse control
indicate a problem in the frontal lobe.
The concept of target symptom identification is best explained as
a. Identification of the major clinical presentation of the client
b. Identification of specific, precise, and individualized symptoms reasonably expected to improve with
medication
c. Identification of the secondary messenger system syndrome
d. Intentional modulation of synaptic pathways
B. Target symptom identification is the identification of specific, precise, and individualized symptoms
reasonably expected to improve with a given medication.
3|Page
