ATI Med Surg
ATI Med Surg 2019 Questions and Answers
(Updated 2025)
A nurse in an emergency department is preparing to perform an ocular irrigation for a
client. Which of the following actions should the nurse plan to take?
a. Assess the client's visual acuity prior to irrigation
b. Have the client turn their head toward the unaffected eye
c. Hold the irrigator syringe 3.81 cm (1.5 in) above the eye
d. Perform the irrigation with sterile water for irrigation -Correct Answer ✔d. Perform the
irrigation with sterile water for irrigation
A nurse is preparing to administer lactated ringer's via continuous IV infusion at 200
ml/hr. The IV tubing has a drop factor of 10 drops/ml. How many gtt/min should the
nurse set the IV pump to administer? Round to near whole number -Correct Answer
✔33 gtt/min
A nurse is providing discharge teaching to a client who has a new prescription for
sublingual nitroglycerin. Which of the following client statements indicates an
understanding of the teaching?
a. I can keep my medications for 1 year before replacing it
b. I should lie down when I take this medication
c. I should discontinue this medication if I develop a headache
d. I can take up to five tablets in 15 minutes before seeking medical attention -Correct
Answer ✔b. I should lie down when I take this medication
A nurse is providing discharge teaching to an older adult client following a left total hip
arthroplasty. Which of the following instructions should the nurse include in the
teaching?
a. Clean the incision daily with hydrogen peroxide
b. You can cross your legs the ankles when sitting down
c. You should use an incentive spirometer every 8 hours
d. Install a raised toilet seat in your bathroom -Correct Answer ✔d. Install a raised toilet
seat in your bathroom
A nurse is planning care for a client following a cardiac catheterization. Which of the
following actions should the nurse take?
a. Keep the client on bed rest for 24 hours
b. Limit the client's fluid intake to 1 l per day
c. Maintain the client's affected extremity in extension
d. Change the client's dressing every 8 hour -Correct Answer ✔c. Maintain the client's
affected extremity in extension
1|Page
,ATI Med Surg
A nurse is caring for a client who has a lower extremity fracture and a prescription for
crutches. Which of the following client statements indicates that the client is adapting to
their role change?
a. I will need to have my partner take over shopping for groceries and cooking the
meals for us
b. These crutches will make it impossible to care for my child
c. I feel bad that I have to ask my partner to keep the house clean
d. Its going to be difficult to tell my parents I cant take them to their appointments
anymore -Correct Answer ✔a. I will need to have my partner take over shopping for
groceries and cooking the meals for us
A nurse is caring for a client who has gastroenteritis. Which of the following assessment
findings should the nurse recognize as an indication that the client is experiencing
dehydration?
a. Pitting, dependent edema
b. Distended jugular veins
c. Increased BP
d. Decreased BP -Correct Answer ✔d. decreased BP
A nurse is caring for a client who has a contusion of the brainstem and reports thirst.
The client's urinary output was 4,000 ml over the past 24 hour. The nurse should
anticipate a prescription for which of the following IV medication?
a. Desmopressin
b. Epinephrine
c. Furosemide
d. Nitropr -Correct Answer ✔a. Desmopressin
A nurse in a clinic receives a phone call from a client who recently started therapy with
an ACE inhibitor and reports a nagging dry cough. Which of the following responses by
the nurse is appropriate?
a. "your cough may require that you stop or change your medication"
b. "Increasing your daily fluid intake may eliminate your cough"
c. "sucking on lozenge may reduce the frequency of your cough"
d. You cough should go away in time" -Correct Answer ✔a. "your cough may require
that you stop or change your medication"
A nurse is taking an admission history from a client who reports Raynaud's disease.
Which of the following assessment findings should the nurse identify as a potential
trigger for exacerbations
a. Eating a strict vegetarian diet
b. A history of herpes zoster
c. Taking amiodipine for hypertension
d. Using a nicotine transdermal patch -Correct Answer ✔d. Using a nicotine transdermal
patch
2|Page
, ATI Med Surg
A nurse is caring for a client who has a central venous access device and notes the
tubing has become disconnected. The client develops dyspnea and tachycardia. Which
of the following actions should the nurse take first?
a. Perform an ECG
b. Obtain ABG values
c. Turn the client to his left side
d. Clamp the cat -Correct Answer ✔d. Clamp the catheter
A nurse is completing an assessment of an older adult client and notes reddened areas
over the bony prominences, but the client's skin is intact. Which of the following
lOMoARcPSD|28381545 interventions should the nurse include in the plan of care?
a. Turn and reposition the client every 4 hr
b. Apply an occlusive dressing
c. Support bony prominences with pillows
d. Massage the reddened areas three times a day -Correct Answer ✔c. Support bony
prominences with pillows
A home health nurse is making an initial visit to a client who has multiple sclerosis.
Which of the following actions is the priority for the nurse to take?
a. Discuss recommendations for eating and swallowing techniques
b. List strategies for family coping when dealing with possible role changes
c. Review the use of adaptive grooming devices to promote client independence
d. Give the client information about the local national multiple sclerosis society -Correct
Answer ✔a. Discuss recommendations for eating and swallowing techniques
A nurse in the emergency department is assessing a client. Which of the following
actions should the nurse take first?
a. Obtain a sputum sample for culture
b. Administer ondansetron
c. Initiate airborne precautions
d. Prepare the client for a chest x-ray -Correct Answer ✔c. Initiate airborne precautions
A nurse is reviewing the medical record of a client to identify risk factors for colorectal
cancer. The nurse should identify which of the following findings as increasing the
client's risk?
a. History of Crohn's disease
b. BMI of 24
c. Diet high in fiber
d. Age 46 years -Correct Answer ✔a. History of Crohn's disease
A nurse is caring for a client who is scheduled for a mastectomy. The client tells the
nurse, "I'm not sure I want to have a mastectomy." Which of the following statements
should the nurse make?
a. "I can give you a list of other people who had the same procedure"
b. "You will be cancer-free if you have the procedure"
3|Page
ATI Med Surg 2019 Questions and Answers
(Updated 2025)
A nurse in an emergency department is preparing to perform an ocular irrigation for a
client. Which of the following actions should the nurse plan to take?
a. Assess the client's visual acuity prior to irrigation
b. Have the client turn their head toward the unaffected eye
c. Hold the irrigator syringe 3.81 cm (1.5 in) above the eye
d. Perform the irrigation with sterile water for irrigation -Correct Answer ✔d. Perform the
irrigation with sterile water for irrigation
A nurse is preparing to administer lactated ringer's via continuous IV infusion at 200
ml/hr. The IV tubing has a drop factor of 10 drops/ml. How many gtt/min should the
nurse set the IV pump to administer? Round to near whole number -Correct Answer
✔33 gtt/min
A nurse is providing discharge teaching to a client who has a new prescription for
sublingual nitroglycerin. Which of the following client statements indicates an
understanding of the teaching?
a. I can keep my medications for 1 year before replacing it
b. I should lie down when I take this medication
c. I should discontinue this medication if I develop a headache
d. I can take up to five tablets in 15 minutes before seeking medical attention -Correct
Answer ✔b. I should lie down when I take this medication
A nurse is providing discharge teaching to an older adult client following a left total hip
arthroplasty. Which of the following instructions should the nurse include in the
teaching?
a. Clean the incision daily with hydrogen peroxide
b. You can cross your legs the ankles when sitting down
c. You should use an incentive spirometer every 8 hours
d. Install a raised toilet seat in your bathroom -Correct Answer ✔d. Install a raised toilet
seat in your bathroom
A nurse is planning care for a client following a cardiac catheterization. Which of the
following actions should the nurse take?
a. Keep the client on bed rest for 24 hours
b. Limit the client's fluid intake to 1 l per day
c. Maintain the client's affected extremity in extension
d. Change the client's dressing every 8 hour -Correct Answer ✔c. Maintain the client's
affected extremity in extension
1|Page
,ATI Med Surg
A nurse is caring for a client who has a lower extremity fracture and a prescription for
crutches. Which of the following client statements indicates that the client is adapting to
their role change?
a. I will need to have my partner take over shopping for groceries and cooking the
meals for us
b. These crutches will make it impossible to care for my child
c. I feel bad that I have to ask my partner to keep the house clean
d. Its going to be difficult to tell my parents I cant take them to their appointments
anymore -Correct Answer ✔a. I will need to have my partner take over shopping for
groceries and cooking the meals for us
A nurse is caring for a client who has gastroenteritis. Which of the following assessment
findings should the nurse recognize as an indication that the client is experiencing
dehydration?
a. Pitting, dependent edema
b. Distended jugular veins
c. Increased BP
d. Decreased BP -Correct Answer ✔d. decreased BP
A nurse is caring for a client who has a contusion of the brainstem and reports thirst.
The client's urinary output was 4,000 ml over the past 24 hour. The nurse should
anticipate a prescription for which of the following IV medication?
a. Desmopressin
b. Epinephrine
c. Furosemide
d. Nitropr -Correct Answer ✔a. Desmopressin
A nurse in a clinic receives a phone call from a client who recently started therapy with
an ACE inhibitor and reports a nagging dry cough. Which of the following responses by
the nurse is appropriate?
a. "your cough may require that you stop or change your medication"
b. "Increasing your daily fluid intake may eliminate your cough"
c. "sucking on lozenge may reduce the frequency of your cough"
d. You cough should go away in time" -Correct Answer ✔a. "your cough may require
that you stop or change your medication"
A nurse is taking an admission history from a client who reports Raynaud's disease.
Which of the following assessment findings should the nurse identify as a potential
trigger for exacerbations
a. Eating a strict vegetarian diet
b. A history of herpes zoster
c. Taking amiodipine for hypertension
d. Using a nicotine transdermal patch -Correct Answer ✔d. Using a nicotine transdermal
patch
2|Page
, ATI Med Surg
A nurse is caring for a client who has a central venous access device and notes the
tubing has become disconnected. The client develops dyspnea and tachycardia. Which
of the following actions should the nurse take first?
a. Perform an ECG
b. Obtain ABG values
c. Turn the client to his left side
d. Clamp the cat -Correct Answer ✔d. Clamp the catheter
A nurse is completing an assessment of an older adult client and notes reddened areas
over the bony prominences, but the client's skin is intact. Which of the following
lOMoARcPSD|28381545 interventions should the nurse include in the plan of care?
a. Turn and reposition the client every 4 hr
b. Apply an occlusive dressing
c. Support bony prominences with pillows
d. Massage the reddened areas three times a day -Correct Answer ✔c. Support bony
prominences with pillows
A home health nurse is making an initial visit to a client who has multiple sclerosis.
Which of the following actions is the priority for the nurse to take?
a. Discuss recommendations for eating and swallowing techniques
b. List strategies for family coping when dealing with possible role changes
c. Review the use of adaptive grooming devices to promote client independence
d. Give the client information about the local national multiple sclerosis society -Correct
Answer ✔a. Discuss recommendations for eating and swallowing techniques
A nurse in the emergency department is assessing a client. Which of the following
actions should the nurse take first?
a. Obtain a sputum sample for culture
b. Administer ondansetron
c. Initiate airborne precautions
d. Prepare the client for a chest x-ray -Correct Answer ✔c. Initiate airborne precautions
A nurse is reviewing the medical record of a client to identify risk factors for colorectal
cancer. The nurse should identify which of the following findings as increasing the
client's risk?
a. History of Crohn's disease
b. BMI of 24
c. Diet high in fiber
d. Age 46 years -Correct Answer ✔a. History of Crohn's disease
A nurse is caring for a client who is scheduled for a mastectomy. The client tells the
nurse, "I'm not sure I want to have a mastectomy." Which of the following statements
should the nurse make?
a. "I can give you a list of other people who had the same procedure"
b. "You will be cancer-free if you have the procedure"
3|Page
