PCCN EXAMS EOC TEST ANSWERS AND QUESTIONS
SET A+
✔✔Delirium is differentiated from dementia by:
A. Clinical onset: Delirium has an acute onset, and dementia has a progressive onset
B. Clinical onset: Both dementia and delirium have a progressive onset
C. Dementia is more common than delirium
D. There is no difference in clinical onset - ✔✔A. Clinical onset: Delirium has an acute
onset, and dementia has a progressive onset
Delirium is an acute change in level of conciousness whereas dementia occurs over
longer period of time. Delirium is temporary confusion that can be caused by many
things in an ICU setting. It is reversible and transient. Delirium is also much more
common than dementia. They are both very different clinically as well as treated
differently.
✔✔The drug of choice for the treatment of acute delirium is:
A. lorazepam (Ativan)
B. haloperidol (Haldol)
C. propofol (Diprivan)
D. meclizine (Antivert) - ✔✔B. haloperidol (Haldol)
The drug of choice for the treatment of acute delirium is haloperidol. Lorazepam is a
sedative that may worsen symptoms. Propofol is an anesthetic agent, and meclizine is
used for the treatment of vertigo.
✔✔The first sign of Alzheimer's disease is typically:
A. long-term memory loss
B. social withdrawal
C. short-term memory loss
D. confusion and disorientation - ✔✔C. short-term memory loss
The first sign of Alzheimer's disease is typically short-term memory loss with forgetting
words and misplacement of items. As the brain continues to atrophy with shrinkage with
the hippocampus and the entorhinal regions, patients become increasingly confused
and disoriented, often forgetting their address and telephone number. This may be
followed by profound personality changes and severe cognitive decline.
, ✔✔A 45-year-old female with history of bipolar disorder is one-day postoperative
following abdominal surgery. The patient slept only one or two hours during the night
and is speaking rapidly, throwing her belongings at the nurses and insists she is going
to leave the hospital. The nurse should:
A. Notify the mental health crisis team
B. Notify social services
C. Notify the nursing supervisor
D. Notify the patient's husband - ✔✔A. Notify the mental health crisis team
In many hospitals, this can be the rapid response team. Not all hospitals have access to
mental health professionals so the rapid response team answers these calls. The
mental health crisis team is comprised of mental health professionals who can assess
the mental status of the patients as well as the medical-surgical assessment. After the
complete assessment is made, the decision of how to treat this possible exacerbation of
her bipolar disorder may be made. The patient is at risk for hurting herself and others
and may need continuing assessment of mental and surgical status beyond the rapid
response team. Decisions will be made with the attending physician. Social services
may help with placement, but not during an acute situation. The nursing supervisor may
be notified as the rapid response team is notified; this is a great strategy; however, the
supervisor may not have the ability to assess this complex patient. The supervisor is
more able to delegate care and request more help to the area if needed. The patient's
husband will need to be called after the immediate assessment is made.
✔✔Having a responsibility to patient describes which essential element of litigation?
A. duty
B. negligence
C. causation
D. proximal cause - ✔✔A. duty
Duty describes that a nurse provide a reasonable standard of care as defined by the
Nurse Practice Act of the individual state. When a nurse accepts report and
responsibility for the care of a patient, a duty to the patient is also accepted. Negligence
is when the nurse acted below the standard of care described by law. Causation is the
casual relationship between conduct and result. Proximal cause is an act from which an
injury results as a natural, direct, uninterrupted consequence and without which the
injury would not have occurred.
✔✔A patient can file a negligence claim if:
A. He or she perceives a bad outcome as a result of care
B. You actually made a mistake
C. Your unit was understaffed
D. He or she suffers from residual pain - ✔✔A. He or she perceives a bad outcome as a
result of care
Negligence is defined as failure to exercise the care that a reasonably prudent person
would exercise in the same circumstance. The area of tort law known as negligence
involves harm caused by carelessness, not intentional harm. The essence here is
"harm". If the patient has a poor outcome or perceives a poor outcome, this constitutes
the idea of negligence.
SET A+
✔✔Delirium is differentiated from dementia by:
A. Clinical onset: Delirium has an acute onset, and dementia has a progressive onset
B. Clinical onset: Both dementia and delirium have a progressive onset
C. Dementia is more common than delirium
D. There is no difference in clinical onset - ✔✔A. Clinical onset: Delirium has an acute
onset, and dementia has a progressive onset
Delirium is an acute change in level of conciousness whereas dementia occurs over
longer period of time. Delirium is temporary confusion that can be caused by many
things in an ICU setting. It is reversible and transient. Delirium is also much more
common than dementia. They are both very different clinically as well as treated
differently.
✔✔The drug of choice for the treatment of acute delirium is:
A. lorazepam (Ativan)
B. haloperidol (Haldol)
C. propofol (Diprivan)
D. meclizine (Antivert) - ✔✔B. haloperidol (Haldol)
The drug of choice for the treatment of acute delirium is haloperidol. Lorazepam is a
sedative that may worsen symptoms. Propofol is an anesthetic agent, and meclizine is
used for the treatment of vertigo.
✔✔The first sign of Alzheimer's disease is typically:
A. long-term memory loss
B. social withdrawal
C. short-term memory loss
D. confusion and disorientation - ✔✔C. short-term memory loss
The first sign of Alzheimer's disease is typically short-term memory loss with forgetting
words and misplacement of items. As the brain continues to atrophy with shrinkage with
the hippocampus and the entorhinal regions, patients become increasingly confused
and disoriented, often forgetting their address and telephone number. This may be
followed by profound personality changes and severe cognitive decline.
, ✔✔A 45-year-old female with history of bipolar disorder is one-day postoperative
following abdominal surgery. The patient slept only one or two hours during the night
and is speaking rapidly, throwing her belongings at the nurses and insists she is going
to leave the hospital. The nurse should:
A. Notify the mental health crisis team
B. Notify social services
C. Notify the nursing supervisor
D. Notify the patient's husband - ✔✔A. Notify the mental health crisis team
In many hospitals, this can be the rapid response team. Not all hospitals have access to
mental health professionals so the rapid response team answers these calls. The
mental health crisis team is comprised of mental health professionals who can assess
the mental status of the patients as well as the medical-surgical assessment. After the
complete assessment is made, the decision of how to treat this possible exacerbation of
her bipolar disorder may be made. The patient is at risk for hurting herself and others
and may need continuing assessment of mental and surgical status beyond the rapid
response team. Decisions will be made with the attending physician. Social services
may help with placement, but not during an acute situation. The nursing supervisor may
be notified as the rapid response team is notified; this is a great strategy; however, the
supervisor may not have the ability to assess this complex patient. The supervisor is
more able to delegate care and request more help to the area if needed. The patient's
husband will need to be called after the immediate assessment is made.
✔✔Having a responsibility to patient describes which essential element of litigation?
A. duty
B. negligence
C. causation
D. proximal cause - ✔✔A. duty
Duty describes that a nurse provide a reasonable standard of care as defined by the
Nurse Practice Act of the individual state. When a nurse accepts report and
responsibility for the care of a patient, a duty to the patient is also accepted. Negligence
is when the nurse acted below the standard of care described by law. Causation is the
casual relationship between conduct and result. Proximal cause is an act from which an
injury results as a natural, direct, uninterrupted consequence and without which the
injury would not have occurred.
✔✔A patient can file a negligence claim if:
A. He or she perceives a bad outcome as a result of care
B. You actually made a mistake
C. Your unit was understaffed
D. He or she suffers from residual pain - ✔✔A. He or she perceives a bad outcome as a
result of care
Negligence is defined as failure to exercise the care that a reasonably prudent person
would exercise in the same circumstance. The area of tort law known as negligence
involves harm caused by carelessness, not intentional harm. The essence here is
"harm". If the patient has a poor outcome or perceives a poor outcome, this constitutes
the idea of negligence.
