West Coast University NURS 110 Assessment 1 (pdf) |
2026/2027 | Introduction to Professional Nursing Q&A |
Nursing
1. Which nursing theorist developed the "Science of Unitary Human Beings," viewing humans
as irreducible whole energy fields?
A) Martha Rogers
B) Dorothea Orem
C) Sister Callista Roy
D) Imogene King
Correct Answer: Martha Rogers
Rationale: Martha Rogers proposed the Science of Unitary Human Beings, emphasizing humans as
dynamic energy fields coexisting within the environment. This theory views individuals as irreducible
wholes rather than collections of separate parts. Orem developed Self-Care Deficit Theory, Roy
created the Adaptation Model, and King formulated the Theory of Goal Attainment, each addressing
different aspects of nursing practice.
2. When applying the nursing process, which stage is characterized by the nurse setting
priorities and establishing measurable outcomes?
A) Assessment
B) Planning
C) Implementation
D) Evaluation
Correct Answer: Planning
Rationale: Planning involves the prioritization of nursing diagnoses and the formulation of SMART
goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. During this phase, nurses
determine appropriate interventions and expected outcomes. Assessment involves data collection,
implementation involves executing the care plan, and evaluation determines whether goals were
achieved.
3. A nurse provides patient education regarding medication side effects before discharge. This
action primarily fulfills which ethical principle?
A) Autonomy
B) Beneficence
C) Justice
D) Nonmaleficence
Correct Answer: Autonomy
,Rationale: Autonomy refers to the patient's right to make informed decisions about their healthcare.
Providing education empowers patients to exercise this right by understanding their treatment
options and potential risks. Beneficence relates to doing good, justice concerns fairness, and
nonmaleficence means avoiding harm, none of which are the primary principle demonstrated by
providing information for informed decision-making.
4. What is the primary purpose of the Nurse Practice Act in each state?
A) To define the curriculum for nursing schools
B) To provide a salary scale for registered nurses
C) To protect the public from unskilled or unsafe nursing practice
D) To advocate for nurses' rights in the workplace
Correct Answer: To protect the public from unskilled or unsafe nursing practice
Rationale: The Nurse Practice Act is legislation designed to protect the health, safety, and welfare of
the public by regulating nursing practice. It establishes the scope of practice, licensure requirements,
and standards for competent nursing care. Defining educational curricula, establishing salaries, and
advocating for workplace rights fall outside the primary protective purpose of the NPA.
5. In the PICO(T) format for evidence-based practice, what does the "I" represent?
A) Implementation
B) Intervention
C) Investigation
D) Integration
Correct Answer: Intervention
Rationale: PICO(T) stands for Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, and Time. The "I"
specifically represents the intervention or treatment being considered in the clinical question.
Implementation, investigation, and integration are not components of the PICO(T) framework, which
structures clinical inquiries to support evidence-based nursing practice.
6. Which historical figure is credited with establishing the first secular nursing school and
professionalizing nursing through sanitation?
A) Clara Barton
B) Florence Nightingale
C) Dorothea Dix
D) Mary Seacole
Correct Answer: Florence Nightingale
Rationale: Florence Nightingale is known for her work during the Crimean War and for establishing
the Nightingale Training School for Nurses at St. Thomas' Hospital. She emphasized sanitation and
hygiene as critical factors in patient recovery, fundamentally professionalizing nursing as a discipline.
,Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross, while Dorothea Dix advocated for mental health
reform.
7. Which level of prevention is a nurse performing when conducting a screening for scoliosis in
a middle school?
A) Primary prevention
B) Secondary prevention
C) Tertiary prevention
D) Quaternary prevention
Correct Answer: Secondary prevention
Rationale: Secondary prevention focuses on early detection and screening to limit the impact of
disease or condition progression. Scoliosis screening identifies spinal curvature early, allowing for
intervention before the condition worsens. Primary prevention prevents disease before it occurs,
tertiary prevention manages existing disease, and quaternary prevention addresses
overmedicalization.
8. According to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, which of the following needs must be addressed
first for a patient experiencing acute respiratory distress?
A) Self-esteem
B) Safety and security
C) Physiological needs
D) Love and belonging
Correct Answer: Physiological needs
Rationale: Physiological needs, including oxygen, food, and water, form the foundation of Maslow's
hierarchy and must be met before higher-level needs. Acute respiratory distress represents an
immediate threat to oxygenation, making it the priority intervention. Safety, love and belonging, and
self-esteem become relevant only after basic physiological requirements are satisfied.
9. A nurse is evaluating a research study comparing two interventions for postoperative pain
management. The study uses a randomized controlled trial design with a crossover
component. Which factor most critically threatens the internal validity of this design?
A) Selection bias due to non-random assignment
B) Carryover effects from the first intervention to the second
C) Maturation of participants over the study period
D) Hawthorne effect from increased attention during the study
Correct Answer: Carryover effects from the first intervention to the second
Rationale: In crossover designs, carryover effects occur when the effect of the first treatment persists
into the second period, confounding the results. This is a primary threat to internal validity because
the residual effects of one intervention contaminate the measurement of the other. Selection bias is
, minimized by randomization, maturation is less concerning in short-term pain studies, and the
Hawthorne effect affects both periods equally.
10. A nursing unit is implementing a quality improvement initiative to reduce catheter-
associated urinary tract infections. The team uses the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle. After
implementing a new insertion checklist, they observe a 20% reduction in CAUTI rates over
three months. Which action should the team take next to ensure sustained improvement?
A) Declare the intervention successful and discontinue data collection
B) Expand the checklist to other units without further testing
C) Analyze the data for variation and refine the checklist based on feedback
D) Replace the checklist with a different intervention to compare effectiveness
Correct Answer: Analyze the data for variation and refine the checklist based on feedback
Rationale: The PDSA cycle emphasizes iterative testing and refinement. After initial success, the team
should study the data to understand variability and use feedback to improve the checklist before
spreading it. Declaring success prematurely or expanding without refinement risks failure, while
replacing the intervention abandons a promising change without full analysis.
11. A nurse is caring for a patient with a do-not-resuscitate order who develops respiratory
distress. The family requests that the nurse initiate mechanical ventilation despite the DNR.
Which ethical principle most directly conflicts with the family's request?
A) Autonomy
B) Beneficence
C) Nonmaleficence
D) Justice
Correct Answer: Autonomy
Rationale: The principle of autonomy respects the patient's self-determination and right to refuse
treatment, as documented in the DNR order. The family's request overrides this autonomy by
contradicting the patient's previously expressed wishes. Beneficence and nonmaleficence are relevant
but secondary considerations, while justice concerns fairness in resource allocation rather than this
specific conflict.
12. A nurse leader is restructuring a unit to improve interprofessional collaboration. Which
model of care delivery best supports shared decision-making and collective accountability
among nurses, physicians, and allied health professionals?
A) Primary nursing
B) Team nursing
C) Interprofessional collaborative practice
D) Functional nursing
Correct Answer: Interprofessional collaborative practice
2026/2027 | Introduction to Professional Nursing Q&A |
Nursing
1. Which nursing theorist developed the "Science of Unitary Human Beings," viewing humans
as irreducible whole energy fields?
A) Martha Rogers
B) Dorothea Orem
C) Sister Callista Roy
D) Imogene King
Correct Answer: Martha Rogers
Rationale: Martha Rogers proposed the Science of Unitary Human Beings, emphasizing humans as
dynamic energy fields coexisting within the environment. This theory views individuals as irreducible
wholes rather than collections of separate parts. Orem developed Self-Care Deficit Theory, Roy
created the Adaptation Model, and King formulated the Theory of Goal Attainment, each addressing
different aspects of nursing practice.
2. When applying the nursing process, which stage is characterized by the nurse setting
priorities and establishing measurable outcomes?
A) Assessment
B) Planning
C) Implementation
D) Evaluation
Correct Answer: Planning
Rationale: Planning involves the prioritization of nursing diagnoses and the formulation of SMART
goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. During this phase, nurses
determine appropriate interventions and expected outcomes. Assessment involves data collection,
implementation involves executing the care plan, and evaluation determines whether goals were
achieved.
3. A nurse provides patient education regarding medication side effects before discharge. This
action primarily fulfills which ethical principle?
A) Autonomy
B) Beneficence
C) Justice
D) Nonmaleficence
Correct Answer: Autonomy
,Rationale: Autonomy refers to the patient's right to make informed decisions about their healthcare.
Providing education empowers patients to exercise this right by understanding their treatment
options and potential risks. Beneficence relates to doing good, justice concerns fairness, and
nonmaleficence means avoiding harm, none of which are the primary principle demonstrated by
providing information for informed decision-making.
4. What is the primary purpose of the Nurse Practice Act in each state?
A) To define the curriculum for nursing schools
B) To provide a salary scale for registered nurses
C) To protect the public from unskilled or unsafe nursing practice
D) To advocate for nurses' rights in the workplace
Correct Answer: To protect the public from unskilled or unsafe nursing practice
Rationale: The Nurse Practice Act is legislation designed to protect the health, safety, and welfare of
the public by regulating nursing practice. It establishes the scope of practice, licensure requirements,
and standards for competent nursing care. Defining educational curricula, establishing salaries, and
advocating for workplace rights fall outside the primary protective purpose of the NPA.
5. In the PICO(T) format for evidence-based practice, what does the "I" represent?
A) Implementation
B) Intervention
C) Investigation
D) Integration
Correct Answer: Intervention
Rationale: PICO(T) stands for Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome, and Time. The "I"
specifically represents the intervention or treatment being considered in the clinical question.
Implementation, investigation, and integration are not components of the PICO(T) framework, which
structures clinical inquiries to support evidence-based nursing practice.
6. Which historical figure is credited with establishing the first secular nursing school and
professionalizing nursing through sanitation?
A) Clara Barton
B) Florence Nightingale
C) Dorothea Dix
D) Mary Seacole
Correct Answer: Florence Nightingale
Rationale: Florence Nightingale is known for her work during the Crimean War and for establishing
the Nightingale Training School for Nurses at St. Thomas' Hospital. She emphasized sanitation and
hygiene as critical factors in patient recovery, fundamentally professionalizing nursing as a discipline.
,Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross, while Dorothea Dix advocated for mental health
reform.
7. Which level of prevention is a nurse performing when conducting a screening for scoliosis in
a middle school?
A) Primary prevention
B) Secondary prevention
C) Tertiary prevention
D) Quaternary prevention
Correct Answer: Secondary prevention
Rationale: Secondary prevention focuses on early detection and screening to limit the impact of
disease or condition progression. Scoliosis screening identifies spinal curvature early, allowing for
intervention before the condition worsens. Primary prevention prevents disease before it occurs,
tertiary prevention manages existing disease, and quaternary prevention addresses
overmedicalization.
8. According to Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, which of the following needs must be addressed
first for a patient experiencing acute respiratory distress?
A) Self-esteem
B) Safety and security
C) Physiological needs
D) Love and belonging
Correct Answer: Physiological needs
Rationale: Physiological needs, including oxygen, food, and water, form the foundation of Maslow's
hierarchy and must be met before higher-level needs. Acute respiratory distress represents an
immediate threat to oxygenation, making it the priority intervention. Safety, love and belonging, and
self-esteem become relevant only after basic physiological requirements are satisfied.
9. A nurse is evaluating a research study comparing two interventions for postoperative pain
management. The study uses a randomized controlled trial design with a crossover
component. Which factor most critically threatens the internal validity of this design?
A) Selection bias due to non-random assignment
B) Carryover effects from the first intervention to the second
C) Maturation of participants over the study period
D) Hawthorne effect from increased attention during the study
Correct Answer: Carryover effects from the first intervention to the second
Rationale: In crossover designs, carryover effects occur when the effect of the first treatment persists
into the second period, confounding the results. This is a primary threat to internal validity because
the residual effects of one intervention contaminate the measurement of the other. Selection bias is
, minimized by randomization, maturation is less concerning in short-term pain studies, and the
Hawthorne effect affects both periods equally.
10. A nursing unit is implementing a quality improvement initiative to reduce catheter-
associated urinary tract infections. The team uses the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle. After
implementing a new insertion checklist, they observe a 20% reduction in CAUTI rates over
three months. Which action should the team take next to ensure sustained improvement?
A) Declare the intervention successful and discontinue data collection
B) Expand the checklist to other units without further testing
C) Analyze the data for variation and refine the checklist based on feedback
D) Replace the checklist with a different intervention to compare effectiveness
Correct Answer: Analyze the data for variation and refine the checklist based on feedback
Rationale: The PDSA cycle emphasizes iterative testing and refinement. After initial success, the team
should study the data to understand variability and use feedback to improve the checklist before
spreading it. Declaring success prematurely or expanding without refinement risks failure, while
replacing the intervention abandons a promising change without full analysis.
11. A nurse is caring for a patient with a do-not-resuscitate order who develops respiratory
distress. The family requests that the nurse initiate mechanical ventilation despite the DNR.
Which ethical principle most directly conflicts with the family's request?
A) Autonomy
B) Beneficence
C) Nonmaleficence
D) Justice
Correct Answer: Autonomy
Rationale: The principle of autonomy respects the patient's self-determination and right to refuse
treatment, as documented in the DNR order. The family's request overrides this autonomy by
contradicting the patient's previously expressed wishes. Beneficence and nonmaleficence are relevant
but secondary considerations, while justice concerns fairness in resource allocation rather than this
specific conflict.
12. A nurse leader is restructuring a unit to improve interprofessional collaboration. Which
model of care delivery best supports shared decision-making and collective accountability
among nurses, physicians, and allied health professionals?
A) Primary nursing
B) Team nursing
C) Interprofessional collaborative practice
D) Functional nursing
Correct Answer: Interprofessional collaborative practice
