Communication NCLEX Questions and Answers | Updated 2026

Communication NCLEX Questions and Answers | Updated 2026 A nurse is collecting data from a client for an admission nursing history. Which question by the nurse is best to open the discussion? 1. "What brought you to the hospital?" 2. "Would it help to discuss your feelings?" 3. "Do you want to talk about your concerns?" 4. "Would you like to talk about why you are here?" - answer-1. "What brought you to the hospital?" The nurse must conduct a focused interview to complete an admission history. Which interviewing technique should the nurse use? 1. Probing 2. Clarification 3. Direct questions 4. Paraphrasing - answer-3. Direct questions Which statement about communication should the nurse consider to be accurate? 1. Verbal communication is essential for human relationships 2. Hands are the most expressive part of the body 3. Behavior clearly reflects feelings 4. Communication is inevitable - answer-4. Communication is inevitable A client is extremely upset and mentions something about a work-related issue that the nurse cannot understand. Which is the nurse's best response?1. "It's natural to worry about your job." 2. "Your job must be very important to you." 3. "Calm down so that I can understand what you're saying." 4. "I'm not quite sure I heard what you were saying about your work." - answer-4. "I'm not quite sure I heard what you were saying about your work." Which is the purpose of the use of humor by a nurse when interacting with a client? 1. Diminish feelings of anger 2. Refocus the client's attention 3. Maintain a balanced perspective 4. Delay dealing with the inevitable - answer-3. Maintain a balanced perspective A nurse is caring for a client who is blind in the left eye and visually impaired in the right eye. Which actions should the nurse employ to promote communication with this client? 1. Touch the client's left arm before initiating a conversation 2. Ensure that the door to the client's room is on the client's left side 3. Close the window curtains and dim the lights before speaking with the client 4. Knock on the door and request permission to enter before approaching the client - answer-4. Knock on the door and request permission to enter before approaching the client A client is admitted to the hospital with cirrhosis of the liver caused by long-term alcohol misuse. Which is the best response by the nurse when the client says, "I really don't believe that my drinking a couple of beers a day has anything to do with my liver problem"? 1. "You find it hard to believe that beer can hurt the liver." 2. "How long is it that you have been drinking several beers a day?" 3. "Each beer is equivalent to one shot of liquor, so it's just as damaging to the liver as hard liquor."4. "Do you believe that beer is not harmful even though research shows that it is just as bad for you as hard liquor?" - answer-1. "You find it hard to believe that beer can hurt the liver." Which is being communicated when the nurse leans forward during a client interview? 1. Aggression 2. Anxiety 3. Interest 4. Privacy - answer-3. Interest Which statement describes the following proverb? "What you do speaks so loudly I cannot hear what you say." 1. Hearing ability is an important factor in communicating 2. Nonverbal messages are often more meaningful than words 3. Listening to what people say requires attention to what is being said 4. When people talk too loudly, it is hard understand what is being said - answer-2. Nonverbal messages are often more meaningful than words A mother whose young daughter has died of leukemia is crying and is unable to talk about her feelings. Which is the best response by the nurse? 1. "Everyone will remember her because she was so cute. She was one of our favorites." 2. "As hard as this is, it is probably for the best because she was in a lot of pain." 3. "She put up the good fight, but now she is out of pain and in heaven." 4. "It must be hard to deal with such a precious loss." - answer-4. "It must be hard to deal with such a precious loss." A young adult who had a leg amputated because of trauma says, "no one will ever choose to love a person with one leg." Which is the best response by the nurse? 1. "You are a good-looking person, and you will have no trouble meeting someone who cares"2. "You May feel that way now, but you will feel differently as time passes" 3. "Do you feel that no one will marry you because you have one leg?" 4. "How do you see your situation at this point?" - answer-3. "Do you feel that no one will marry you because you have one leg?" A nurse is changing a client's dressing over an abdominal wound. Which level of space around the client is entered during the dressing change? 1. Public 2. Social 3. Intimate 4. Personal - answer-3. Intimate Which stage of an interview established the relationship between the nurse and the client? 1. Preinteraction stage 2. Orientation stage 3. Examining stage 4. Working stage - answer-2. Orientation stage A client is exhibiting anxious behavior and states, "I just found out that I have cancer everywhere, and I don't have very long to live. My life is over." Which is the best response by the nurse? 1. "It might be good if your family were here right now. Shall I call them?" 2. "What might be the best way to approach this terrible news?" 3. "That is so sad. You must feel like crying." 4. "It sounds like you feel hopeless." - answer-4. "It sounds like you feel hopeless."Which interviewing skill is used when the nurse says, "you mentioned before that you are having a problem with your colostomy"? 1. Focusing 2. Clarifying 3. Paraphrasing 4. Acknowledging - answer-1. Focusing A client says, "I am really nervous about having a spinal tap tomorrow." Which is the best response by the nurse? 1. "I'll ask the doctor for a little medication to help you relax." 2. "Clients who have had a spinal tap say it is not that uncomfortable." 3. "It's all right to be nervous, and I don't remember anyone who wasn't." 4. "Your physician is excellent and is very careful when spinal taps are done" - answer-3. "It's all right to be nervous, and I don't remember anyone who wasn't." A client with chest pain is being admitted to the emergency department. When asked about next of kin, the client states, "Don't bother calling my daughter; she is always too busy." Which is the best response by the nurse? 1. "Your daughter might be upset if you don't call" 2. "What does your daughter do that makes her so busy?" 3. "Is there someone else besides your daughter that I can call?" 4. "I think that your daughter would want to know that you are sick." - answer-3. "Is there someone else besides your daughter that I can call?" Which is the nurse doing when using the interviewing technique of "attentive listening"? 1. Identifying the client's concerns and exploring them with "why" questions 2. Determining the content and feeling of the client's message 3. Employing silence to encourage the client to talk4. Using verbal skills to obtain information - answer-2. Determining the content and feeling of the client's message A client who has had postoperative complications appears upset and agitated yet withdrawn. Which is the most appropriate statement by the nurse? 1. "You seem distressed. Tell me why you are upset." 2. "You've been having a pretty rough time recovering since surgery." 3. "It's not uncommon to have complications after the kind of surgery that you had." 4. "I'm not sure that I know everything that has been happening tell me what has happened to you since surgery." - answer-2. "You've been having a pretty rough time recovering since surgery." A nurse is admitting a client to the unit who was transferred from the emergency department. Which should the nurse do to facilitate communication? 1. Ensure that the client has an effective way to communicate with health-care team members 2. Use interviewing techniques to control the direction of the client's communication 3. Minimize energy spent by the client on negative feelings and concerns 4. Refocus to the positive aspects of the client's situation and prognosis - answer-1. Ensure that the client has an effective way to communicate with health-care team members A nurse is caring for a very confused client with a diagnosis of dementia of the Alzheimer's type. Which should the nurse say when assisting the client to eat? 1. "Please eat your meat" 2. "It's important that you eat" 3. "What would you like to eat?" 4. "If you don't eat, you can't have dessert" - answer-1. "Please eat your meat"A client states, "Do you think I could have cancer?" The nurse responds, "What did the doctor tell you?" Which interviewing approach did the nurse use? 1. Paraphrasing 2. Confrontation 3. Reflective technique 4. Open-ended question - answer-4. Open-ended question