,Chapter 2. Critical Thinking & Nursing Process
Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
____ 1. Which characteristics do the various definitions of critical thinking have in common?
1. Requires reasonable thought
2. Asks the questions “why” or “how”
3. Is a hierarchical process
4. Demands specialized thinking skills
____ 2. A few nurses on a unit have proposed to the nurse manager changes in the process for
documenting care on the unit. The nurses describe a completely new system. For which reason is it
important for the nurse manager to have a critical attitude?
1. All the possible advantages and disadvantages must be considered.
2. An open mind about the proposed change needs to be maintained.
3. The nursing process needs to be applied to the proposed change.
4. Past experience with documentation needs to be applied to the decision.
____ 3. The nurse is assigned to the clinical care of a newly admitted patient. To know how best to care for
the patient, the nurse develops a plan of care. Which action will the nurse initially perform?
1. Make an assessment
2. Make a diagnosis
3. Plan outcomes
4. Plan interventions
____ 4. Nurses are constantly confronted by situations and conditions requiring the application of various
types of knowledge. Which is an example of practical knowledge?
1. The tricuspid valve is located between the right atrium and the ventricle.
2. The pancreas does not produce enough insulin in type 1 diabetes.
3. When assessing the abdomen, you should auscultate before palpating.
4. Pain medication given intravenously acts faster than medication given by other
routes.
____ 5. Nursing education does not override or diminish self-knowledge. Which is the most important
reason for nurses to develop an awareness about individual self-knowledge?
1. Can be used to hide personal cultural biases
2. Assists in directing patients to self-understanding
3. Helps identify errors in the nurse’s thinking
4. Aids the nurse in protecting personal beliefs
____ 6. Which is the most important reason for nurses to be critical thinkers?
1. Nurses need to follow policies and procedures.
2. Nurses work with other healthcare team members.
3. Nurses care for clients who have multiple health problems.
4. Nurses have to be flexible and work variable schedules.
Copyright © 2020 F. A. Davis Company
,____ 7. The nurse is administering pain medication to an assigned patient every 4 hours as prescribed and
based on patient-stated pain levels. The nurse’s actions are an example of which aspect of patient
care?
1. Assessment data
2. Nursing diagnosis
3. Patient outcome
4. Nursing intervention
____ 8. The nurse is aware that nursing diagnoses are different from medical diagnoses. In which way does
a nursing diagnosis differ from a medical diagnosis? A nursing diagnosis:
1. Utilizes terminology for the patient’s disease or injury.
2. Is integrated as part of the patient’s medical diagnosis.
3. Defines the patient’s presenting signs and symptoms.
4. Is based on a patient’s response to a health problem.
____ 9. Which commonality is share by both critical thinking and the nursing process?
1. They are both linear processes used to guide one’s thinking.
2. They are both thinking methods used to solve a problem.
3. They both use specific steps to solve a problem.
4. They both use similar steps to solve a problem.
____ 10. A nurse admits a patient to the unit after completing a comprehensive interview and physical
examination. Which action does the nurse take to develop a nursing diagnosis?
1. Analyze the assessment data.
2. Refer to the standards of patient care.
3. Select appropriate patient care interventions.
4. Ask the client’s perceptions of the health problem.
____ 11. The nurse develops a plan of care for a patient who is at risk for impaired skin integrity.
Interventions include changing the patient’s position every 2 hours and keeping the skin clean and
dry. During the evaluation phase of the nursing process, which finding validates the effectiveness
of the plan of care?
1. Documentation reflects the performance of care interventions.
2. Reassessment indicates maintenance or improvement of the condition.
3. Intervention performance is verbally validated by the assigned personnel.
4. Patient states that care was provided in an effective and timely manner.
____ 12. The nurse is caring for a patient with diabetes mellitus and impaired skin integrity. When
preparing a plan of care, the nurse uses knowledge of the patient’s medical condition and the latest
guidelines for providing skin care. Appropriate interventions are initiated, and the nurse begins
regular monitoring for intervention effectiveness. Which nursing concept is being used?
1. Full-spectrum nursing
2. Critical thinking
3. Nursing Process
4. Nursing knowledge
____ 13. Why is it important for nurses to be critical thinkers?
1. All clients are unique and have individual needs and differences.
Copyright © 2020 F. A. Davis Company
, 2. All nursing actions are based on theoretical knowledge.
3. Nurses choose their actions primarily from professional guidelines.
4. Nurses provide care based on individual client preferences.
____ 14. The nurse uses full-spectrum nursing and a critical-thinking model to organize patient care. If the
nurse lacks facts about the patient’s pathophysiology, a credible source is used for the information.
The nurse considers alternative actions, for implementing care, taking into consideration the
personal uniqueness of the patient. Which critical-thinking concept is the nurse demonstrating?
1. Following model guidelines for specific interventions
2. Using linear processes to promote critical thinking
3. Moving appropriately back and forth between steps
4. Using self-knowledge in the decision-making process
____ 15. The nurse works on a postsurgical unit with a broad and rapidly changing patient census. Which
critical-thinking attitude is most likely to best serve this nurse?
1. Possesses an extensive knowledge of principles and theories
2. Has a lively curiosity and enjoys learning new ways to do things
3. Applies the problem-solving process taught in nursing school
4. Responds to patients on the basis of what is socially approved
____ 16. Which is the best description of the Nursing Process?
1. A way to create nursing knowledge for use in practice
2. A systematic view of a specific phenomenon in nursing
3. A linear process for providing nursing care
4. A systematic process for the delivery of nursing care
____ 17. The nurse is providing caring for a client with heart failure. The nurse obtains the client’s medical
and personal histories, measures vital signs, and then auscultates breath sounds. Which aspect of
the nursing process is the nurse demonstrating?
1. Assessment
2. Planning interventions
3. Planning outcomes
4. Evaluation
____ 18. The nurse is providing care for a client with skin breakdown in the coccyx area. The physician has
prescribed a medication to be applied to the area. The nursing plan of care states, “Give all
medications as prescribed.” Which specific aspect of the nursing process is the nurse performing?
1. Assessment
2. Planning interventions
3. Implementation
4. Evaluation
____ 19. The nurse documents in a client’s plan of care that wound treatment to the client’s left foot resulted
in wound healing. The nurse then removes the skin integrity diagnosis from the plan of care.
Which aspect of the nursing process is the nurse performing?
1. Assessment
2. Evaluation
3. Planning outcomes
Copyright © 2020 F. A. Davis Company
Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
____ 1. Which characteristics do the various definitions of critical thinking have in common?
1. Requires reasonable thought
2. Asks the questions “why” or “how”
3. Is a hierarchical process
4. Demands specialized thinking skills
____ 2. A few nurses on a unit have proposed to the nurse manager changes in the process for
documenting care on the unit. The nurses describe a completely new system. For which reason is it
important for the nurse manager to have a critical attitude?
1. All the possible advantages and disadvantages must be considered.
2. An open mind about the proposed change needs to be maintained.
3. The nursing process needs to be applied to the proposed change.
4. Past experience with documentation needs to be applied to the decision.
____ 3. The nurse is assigned to the clinical care of a newly admitted patient. To know how best to care for
the patient, the nurse develops a plan of care. Which action will the nurse initially perform?
1. Make an assessment
2. Make a diagnosis
3. Plan outcomes
4. Plan interventions
____ 4. Nurses are constantly confronted by situations and conditions requiring the application of various
types of knowledge. Which is an example of practical knowledge?
1. The tricuspid valve is located between the right atrium and the ventricle.
2. The pancreas does not produce enough insulin in type 1 diabetes.
3. When assessing the abdomen, you should auscultate before palpating.
4. Pain medication given intravenously acts faster than medication given by other
routes.
____ 5. Nursing education does not override or diminish self-knowledge. Which is the most important
reason for nurses to develop an awareness about individual self-knowledge?
1. Can be used to hide personal cultural biases
2. Assists in directing patients to self-understanding
3. Helps identify errors in the nurse’s thinking
4. Aids the nurse in protecting personal beliefs
____ 6. Which is the most important reason for nurses to be critical thinkers?
1. Nurses need to follow policies and procedures.
2. Nurses work with other healthcare team members.
3. Nurses care for clients who have multiple health problems.
4. Nurses have to be flexible and work variable schedules.
Copyright © 2020 F. A. Davis Company
,____ 7. The nurse is administering pain medication to an assigned patient every 4 hours as prescribed and
based on patient-stated pain levels. The nurse’s actions are an example of which aspect of patient
care?
1. Assessment data
2. Nursing diagnosis
3. Patient outcome
4. Nursing intervention
____ 8. The nurse is aware that nursing diagnoses are different from medical diagnoses. In which way does
a nursing diagnosis differ from a medical diagnosis? A nursing diagnosis:
1. Utilizes terminology for the patient’s disease or injury.
2. Is integrated as part of the patient’s medical diagnosis.
3. Defines the patient’s presenting signs and symptoms.
4. Is based on a patient’s response to a health problem.
____ 9. Which commonality is share by both critical thinking and the nursing process?
1. They are both linear processes used to guide one’s thinking.
2. They are both thinking methods used to solve a problem.
3. They both use specific steps to solve a problem.
4. They both use similar steps to solve a problem.
____ 10. A nurse admits a patient to the unit after completing a comprehensive interview and physical
examination. Which action does the nurse take to develop a nursing diagnosis?
1. Analyze the assessment data.
2. Refer to the standards of patient care.
3. Select appropriate patient care interventions.
4. Ask the client’s perceptions of the health problem.
____ 11. The nurse develops a plan of care for a patient who is at risk for impaired skin integrity.
Interventions include changing the patient’s position every 2 hours and keeping the skin clean and
dry. During the evaluation phase of the nursing process, which finding validates the effectiveness
of the plan of care?
1. Documentation reflects the performance of care interventions.
2. Reassessment indicates maintenance or improvement of the condition.
3. Intervention performance is verbally validated by the assigned personnel.
4. Patient states that care was provided in an effective and timely manner.
____ 12. The nurse is caring for a patient with diabetes mellitus and impaired skin integrity. When
preparing a plan of care, the nurse uses knowledge of the patient’s medical condition and the latest
guidelines for providing skin care. Appropriate interventions are initiated, and the nurse begins
regular monitoring for intervention effectiveness. Which nursing concept is being used?
1. Full-spectrum nursing
2. Critical thinking
3. Nursing Process
4. Nursing knowledge
____ 13. Why is it important for nurses to be critical thinkers?
1. All clients are unique and have individual needs and differences.
Copyright © 2020 F. A. Davis Company
, 2. All nursing actions are based on theoretical knowledge.
3. Nurses choose their actions primarily from professional guidelines.
4. Nurses provide care based on individual client preferences.
____ 14. The nurse uses full-spectrum nursing and a critical-thinking model to organize patient care. If the
nurse lacks facts about the patient’s pathophysiology, a credible source is used for the information.
The nurse considers alternative actions, for implementing care, taking into consideration the
personal uniqueness of the patient. Which critical-thinking concept is the nurse demonstrating?
1. Following model guidelines for specific interventions
2. Using linear processes to promote critical thinking
3. Moving appropriately back and forth between steps
4. Using self-knowledge in the decision-making process
____ 15. The nurse works on a postsurgical unit with a broad and rapidly changing patient census. Which
critical-thinking attitude is most likely to best serve this nurse?
1. Possesses an extensive knowledge of principles and theories
2. Has a lively curiosity and enjoys learning new ways to do things
3. Applies the problem-solving process taught in nursing school
4. Responds to patients on the basis of what is socially approved
____ 16. Which is the best description of the Nursing Process?
1. A way to create nursing knowledge for use in practice
2. A systematic view of a specific phenomenon in nursing
3. A linear process for providing nursing care
4. A systematic process for the delivery of nursing care
____ 17. The nurse is providing caring for a client with heart failure. The nurse obtains the client’s medical
and personal histories, measures vital signs, and then auscultates breath sounds. Which aspect of
the nursing process is the nurse demonstrating?
1. Assessment
2. Planning interventions
3. Planning outcomes
4. Evaluation
____ 18. The nurse is providing care for a client with skin breakdown in the coccyx area. The physician has
prescribed a medication to be applied to the area. The nursing plan of care states, “Give all
medications as prescribed.” Which specific aspect of the nursing process is the nurse performing?
1. Assessment
2. Planning interventions
3. Implementation
4. Evaluation
____ 19. The nurse documents in a client’s plan of care that wound treatment to the client’s left foot resulted
in wound healing. The nurse then removes the skin integrity diagnosis from the plan of care.
Which aspect of the nursing process is the nurse performing?
1. Assessment
2. Evaluation
3. Planning outcomes
Copyright © 2020 F. A. Davis Company
