West Coast University NURS 110 Assessment 3 (pdf) |
2026/2027 | Introduction to Professional Nursing Q&A |
Nursing
1. What is the primary focus of the nursing profession according to the course description?
A) Technical skill acquisition only
B) Caring, ethics, and professional practice
C) Medical diagnosis and treatment
D) Administrative hospital management
Correct Answer: Caring, ethics, and professional practice
Rationale: The course introduces students to a theoretical foundation for professional nursing
practice, focusing on nursing as a caring profession along with ethics, standards, and legal aspects.
Technical skills and medical diagnosis are components of nursing but not the central focus of this
foundational course. Administrative management is outside the scope of professional nursing
practice as defined in the course description.
2. Which organization is primarily responsible for licensing nurses at the state level?
A) American Nurses Association
B) State Board of Nursing
C) The Joint Commission
D) World Health Organization
Correct Answer: State Board of Nursing
Rationale: State Boards of Nursing administer nursing licensure and regulate nursing practice within
their jurisdictions. The American Nurses Association is a professional organization that promotes
standards and advocacy rather than licensing. The Joint Commission evaluates healthcare
organizations for quality and safety accreditation, not individual licensure.
3. According to the nursing process, which phase involves systematic collection of patient
information?
A) Planning
B) Assessment
C) Implementation
D) Evaluation
Correct Answer: Assessment
Rationale: Assessment is the first phase of the nursing process and involves systematic collection and
organization of subjective and objective patient information. Planning establishes priorities and
interventions based on assessment data. Implementation carries out the planned interventions, while
evaluation determines whether goals were achieved.
4. A nurse ensures that limited healthcare resources are allocated fairly among eligible
patients. Which ethical principle is being applied?
A) Veracity
B) Justice
, C) Fidelity
D) Autonomy
Correct Answer: Justice
Rationale: Justice concerns fairness and equitable distribution of benefits, risks, and resources in
healthcare. Veracity requires truthful communication with patients. Fidelity involves keeping
promises and maintaining loyalty, while autonomy respects the patient's right to self-determination.
5. What is the primary purpose of a Nurse Practice Act?
A) To establish hospital meal schedules
B) To define the legal scope of nursing practice and protect the public
C) To determine the salary of nurses
D) To establish federal insurance eligibility
Correct Answer: To define the legal scope of nursing practice and protect the public
Rationale: State Nurse Practice Acts establish the legal framework for nursing practice, including
scope of practice, licensure requirements, and regulatory oversight designed to protect the public.
These laws do not address hospital operational schedules, salary determination, or federal insurance
programs, which fall under different regulatory and administrative domains.
6. Which communication approach is most therapeutic when interacting with patients?
A) Giving false reassurance
B) Asking open-ended questions and listening actively
C) Changing the subject when the patient becomes emotional
D) Giving personal opinions about the patient's choices
Correct Answer: Asking open-ended questions and listening actively
Rationale: Open-ended questions and active listening encourage patient expression, improve
information gathering, and support the therapeutic relationship. False reassurance minimizes patient
concerns and interferes with honest communication. Changing the subject dismisses the patient's
emotional experience, while giving personal opinions shifts focus away from the patient's needs.
7. A nurse identifies that a patient has impaired mobility related to weakness. Which phase of
the nursing process is primarily represented?
A) Assessment
B) Nursing diagnosis
C) Planning
D) Evaluation
Correct Answer: Nursing diagnosis
Rationale: Nursing diagnosis involves identifying actual or potential patient responses to health
problems based on assessment findings. Assessment collects the initial data, while planning
establishes goals and interventions. Evaluation determines whether the interventions produced the
intended outcomes.
8. Which contribution is most strongly associated with Florence Nightingale?
A) Development of modern professional nursing and emphasis on sanitation
B) Development of Medicare
, C) Creation of electronic health records
D) Discovery of antibiotics
Correct Answer: Development of modern professional nursing and emphasis on sanitation
Rationale: Florence Nightingale helped establish professional nursing and emphasized sanitation,
environmental factors, systematic observation, and hospital reform. Medicare is a federal health
insurance program established in 1965, not associated with Nightingale. Electronic health records
and antibiotics emerged from later technological and scientific developments unrelated to her work.
9. What does the term "evidence-based practice" mean in nursing?
A) Using nursing research findings to develop nursing theory only
B) Applying research findings, patient preferences, and nursing expertise to practice
C) Studying research from social sciences and applying it exclusively to practice
D) Integrating the research process into nursing administration only
Correct Answer: Applying research findings, patient preferences, and nursing expertise to practice
Rationale: Evidence-based practice integrates the best available research evidence with clinical
expertise and patient values and preferences to guide nursing decisions. Using research only to
develop theory or applying it exclusively to administration fails to capture the full scope of EBP.
Patient preferences are an essential component that cannot be omitted.
10. Which response is an example of nontherapeutic communication?
A) "Tell me more about your concern."
B) "What worries you most about going home?"
C) "Don't worry. Everything will be fine."
D) "I can see that this is upsetting."
Correct Answer: "Don't worry. Everything will be fine."
Rationale: False reassurance can minimize patient concerns and interfere with open communication
by dismissing the patient's expressed worries. Open-ended invitations like "Tell me more about your
concern" encourage expression. Asking about specific worries and acknowledging emotions are
therapeutic techniques that support the nurse-patient relationship.
11. Which organization evaluates healthcare organizations against recognized standards for
quality and safety?
A) The Joint Commission
B) American Nurses Association
C) Medicaid
D) State Department of Transportation
Correct Answer: The Joint Commission
Rationale: The Joint Commission accredits and evaluates healthcare organizations against
established standards related to safety and quality. The American Nurses Association is a professional
organization focused on nursing standards and advocacy. Medicaid is a federal-state health
insurance program, and the Department of Transportation has no role in healthcare accreditation.
12. Which principle requires healthcare providers to avoid unnecessary harm and minimize risks
associated with care?
A) Nonmaleficence
2026/2027 | Introduction to Professional Nursing Q&A |
Nursing
1. What is the primary focus of the nursing profession according to the course description?
A) Technical skill acquisition only
B) Caring, ethics, and professional practice
C) Medical diagnosis and treatment
D) Administrative hospital management
Correct Answer: Caring, ethics, and professional practice
Rationale: The course introduces students to a theoretical foundation for professional nursing
practice, focusing on nursing as a caring profession along with ethics, standards, and legal aspects.
Technical skills and medical diagnosis are components of nursing but not the central focus of this
foundational course. Administrative management is outside the scope of professional nursing
practice as defined in the course description.
2. Which organization is primarily responsible for licensing nurses at the state level?
A) American Nurses Association
B) State Board of Nursing
C) The Joint Commission
D) World Health Organization
Correct Answer: State Board of Nursing
Rationale: State Boards of Nursing administer nursing licensure and regulate nursing practice within
their jurisdictions. The American Nurses Association is a professional organization that promotes
standards and advocacy rather than licensing. The Joint Commission evaluates healthcare
organizations for quality and safety accreditation, not individual licensure.
3. According to the nursing process, which phase involves systematic collection of patient
information?
A) Planning
B) Assessment
C) Implementation
D) Evaluation
Correct Answer: Assessment
Rationale: Assessment is the first phase of the nursing process and involves systematic collection and
organization of subjective and objective patient information. Planning establishes priorities and
interventions based on assessment data. Implementation carries out the planned interventions, while
evaluation determines whether goals were achieved.
4. A nurse ensures that limited healthcare resources are allocated fairly among eligible
patients. Which ethical principle is being applied?
A) Veracity
B) Justice
, C) Fidelity
D) Autonomy
Correct Answer: Justice
Rationale: Justice concerns fairness and equitable distribution of benefits, risks, and resources in
healthcare. Veracity requires truthful communication with patients. Fidelity involves keeping
promises and maintaining loyalty, while autonomy respects the patient's right to self-determination.
5. What is the primary purpose of a Nurse Practice Act?
A) To establish hospital meal schedules
B) To define the legal scope of nursing practice and protect the public
C) To determine the salary of nurses
D) To establish federal insurance eligibility
Correct Answer: To define the legal scope of nursing practice and protect the public
Rationale: State Nurse Practice Acts establish the legal framework for nursing practice, including
scope of practice, licensure requirements, and regulatory oversight designed to protect the public.
These laws do not address hospital operational schedules, salary determination, or federal insurance
programs, which fall under different regulatory and administrative domains.
6. Which communication approach is most therapeutic when interacting with patients?
A) Giving false reassurance
B) Asking open-ended questions and listening actively
C) Changing the subject when the patient becomes emotional
D) Giving personal opinions about the patient's choices
Correct Answer: Asking open-ended questions and listening actively
Rationale: Open-ended questions and active listening encourage patient expression, improve
information gathering, and support the therapeutic relationship. False reassurance minimizes patient
concerns and interferes with honest communication. Changing the subject dismisses the patient's
emotional experience, while giving personal opinions shifts focus away from the patient's needs.
7. A nurse identifies that a patient has impaired mobility related to weakness. Which phase of
the nursing process is primarily represented?
A) Assessment
B) Nursing diagnosis
C) Planning
D) Evaluation
Correct Answer: Nursing diagnosis
Rationale: Nursing diagnosis involves identifying actual or potential patient responses to health
problems based on assessment findings. Assessment collects the initial data, while planning
establishes goals and interventions. Evaluation determines whether the interventions produced the
intended outcomes.
8. Which contribution is most strongly associated with Florence Nightingale?
A) Development of modern professional nursing and emphasis on sanitation
B) Development of Medicare
, C) Creation of electronic health records
D) Discovery of antibiotics
Correct Answer: Development of modern professional nursing and emphasis on sanitation
Rationale: Florence Nightingale helped establish professional nursing and emphasized sanitation,
environmental factors, systematic observation, and hospital reform. Medicare is a federal health
insurance program established in 1965, not associated with Nightingale. Electronic health records
and antibiotics emerged from later technological and scientific developments unrelated to her work.
9. What does the term "evidence-based practice" mean in nursing?
A) Using nursing research findings to develop nursing theory only
B) Applying research findings, patient preferences, and nursing expertise to practice
C) Studying research from social sciences and applying it exclusively to practice
D) Integrating the research process into nursing administration only
Correct Answer: Applying research findings, patient preferences, and nursing expertise to practice
Rationale: Evidence-based practice integrates the best available research evidence with clinical
expertise and patient values and preferences to guide nursing decisions. Using research only to
develop theory or applying it exclusively to administration fails to capture the full scope of EBP.
Patient preferences are an essential component that cannot be omitted.
10. Which response is an example of nontherapeutic communication?
A) "Tell me more about your concern."
B) "What worries you most about going home?"
C) "Don't worry. Everything will be fine."
D) "I can see that this is upsetting."
Correct Answer: "Don't worry. Everything will be fine."
Rationale: False reassurance can minimize patient concerns and interfere with open communication
by dismissing the patient's expressed worries. Open-ended invitations like "Tell me more about your
concern" encourage expression. Asking about specific worries and acknowledging emotions are
therapeutic techniques that support the nurse-patient relationship.
11. Which organization evaluates healthcare organizations against recognized standards for
quality and safety?
A) The Joint Commission
B) American Nurses Association
C) Medicaid
D) State Department of Transportation
Correct Answer: The Joint Commission
Rationale: The Joint Commission accredits and evaluates healthcare organizations against
established standards related to safety and quality. The American Nurses Association is a professional
organization focused on nursing standards and advocacy. Medicaid is a federal-state health
insurance program, and the Department of Transportation has no role in healthcare accreditation.
12. Which principle requires healthcare providers to avoid unnecessary harm and minimize risks
associated with care?
A) Nonmaleficence
