ATI Medical-Surgical Ultimate Proctored
Exam Guide – Verified Questions, Detailed
Answer Keys & Expert Rationales for
Guaranteed Success
Instructions
This document contains 80 unique Medical-Surgical Nursing questions designed
for the ATI Proctored Exam. Each question includes four answer options, with
the correct answer marked and an expert rationale provided. Topics cover car-
diovascular, respiratory, neurological, renal, and endocrine systems. The con-
tent is formatted for PDF generation using PDFLaTeX, ensuring clarity and orig-
inality.
Questions
1. A nurse is assessing a client with chest pain. Which finding suggests acute
myocardial infarction (MI)?
a) Pain relieved by rest
b) Pain radiating to the jaw (Correct)
c) Pain lasting less than 5 minutes
d) Pain associated with coughing
Rationale: MI typically presents with chest pain radiating to the jaw, neck,
or arm, unrelieved by rest. Pain relieved by rest suggests angina, brief pain
is atypical, and cough-related pain suggests a respiratory cause.
2. A client with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is receiving
oxygen at 2 L/min via nasal cannula. What should the nurse monitor?
a) Oxygen saturation (Correct)
b) Blood glucose
c) Urine output
d) Temperature
Rationale: Oxygen saturation monitoring ensures adequate oxygenation
in COPD clients, preventing hypoxemia or hypercapnia. Glucose, urine, and
temperature are not directly related to oxygen therapy.
3. A client with a stroke exhibits dysphagia. What is the nurse’s priority in-
1
, tervention?
a) Initiate a swallowing evaluation (Correct)
b) Administer IV fluids
c) Encourage oral intake
d) Place in a supine position
Rationale: Dysphagia increases aspiration risk. A swallowing evaluation
determines safe feeding methods. Encouraging oral intake or supine posi-
tioning risks aspiration, and IV fluids are secondary.
4. A client with acute kidney injury (AKI) has a potassium level of 6.2 mEq/L.
What is the nurse’s first action?
a) Administer kayexalate (Correct)
b) Encourage fluid intake
c) Monitor urine output
d) Restrict protein intake
Rationale: Hyperkalemia (potassium >5.5 mEq/L) in AKI is life-threatening
and requires immediate treatment with kayexalate to lower potassium lev-
els. Other actions are secondary.
5. A client with type 1 diabetes reports nausea and shakiness. What is the
nurse’s first action?
a) Administer insulin
b) Check blood glucose (Correct)
c) Provide a high-protein snack
d) Monitor vital signs
Rationale: Nausea and shakiness suggest hypoglycemia. Checking blood
glucose confirms the diagnosis and guides treatment. Insulin worsens hy-
poglycemia, and snacks or vitals are secondary.
6. A client with heart failure is prescribed furosemide. What electrolyte im-
balance should the nurse monitor?
a) Hypokalemia (Correct)
b) Hypernatremia
c) Hypercalcemia
d) Hypomagnesemia
Rationale: Furosemide, a loop diuretic, causes potassium loss, leading to
hypokalemia. Other imbalances are less common with furosemide therapy.
7. A client with pneumonia reports dyspnea. What is the best position for this
client?
a) High Fowler’s (Correct)
b) Supine
c) Prone
d) Trendelenburg
Rationale: High Fowler’s position (upright) maximizes lung expansion and
eases breathing in pneumonia. Other positions may worsen dyspnea.
8. A client with a seizure disorder is prescribed phenytoin. What lab should
the nurse monitor?
a) Serum phenytoin levels (Correct)
2
Exam Guide – Verified Questions, Detailed
Answer Keys & Expert Rationales for
Guaranteed Success
Instructions
This document contains 80 unique Medical-Surgical Nursing questions designed
for the ATI Proctored Exam. Each question includes four answer options, with
the correct answer marked and an expert rationale provided. Topics cover car-
diovascular, respiratory, neurological, renal, and endocrine systems. The con-
tent is formatted for PDF generation using PDFLaTeX, ensuring clarity and orig-
inality.
Questions
1. A nurse is assessing a client with chest pain. Which finding suggests acute
myocardial infarction (MI)?
a) Pain relieved by rest
b) Pain radiating to the jaw (Correct)
c) Pain lasting less than 5 minutes
d) Pain associated with coughing
Rationale: MI typically presents with chest pain radiating to the jaw, neck,
or arm, unrelieved by rest. Pain relieved by rest suggests angina, brief pain
is atypical, and cough-related pain suggests a respiratory cause.
2. A client with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is receiving
oxygen at 2 L/min via nasal cannula. What should the nurse monitor?
a) Oxygen saturation (Correct)
b) Blood glucose
c) Urine output
d) Temperature
Rationale: Oxygen saturation monitoring ensures adequate oxygenation
in COPD clients, preventing hypoxemia or hypercapnia. Glucose, urine, and
temperature are not directly related to oxygen therapy.
3. A client with a stroke exhibits dysphagia. What is the nurse’s priority in-
1
, tervention?
a) Initiate a swallowing evaluation (Correct)
b) Administer IV fluids
c) Encourage oral intake
d) Place in a supine position
Rationale: Dysphagia increases aspiration risk. A swallowing evaluation
determines safe feeding methods. Encouraging oral intake or supine posi-
tioning risks aspiration, and IV fluids are secondary.
4. A client with acute kidney injury (AKI) has a potassium level of 6.2 mEq/L.
What is the nurse’s first action?
a) Administer kayexalate (Correct)
b) Encourage fluid intake
c) Monitor urine output
d) Restrict protein intake
Rationale: Hyperkalemia (potassium >5.5 mEq/L) in AKI is life-threatening
and requires immediate treatment with kayexalate to lower potassium lev-
els. Other actions are secondary.
5. A client with type 1 diabetes reports nausea and shakiness. What is the
nurse’s first action?
a) Administer insulin
b) Check blood glucose (Correct)
c) Provide a high-protein snack
d) Monitor vital signs
Rationale: Nausea and shakiness suggest hypoglycemia. Checking blood
glucose confirms the diagnosis and guides treatment. Insulin worsens hy-
poglycemia, and snacks or vitals are secondary.
6. A client with heart failure is prescribed furosemide. What electrolyte im-
balance should the nurse monitor?
a) Hypokalemia (Correct)
b) Hypernatremia
c) Hypercalcemia
d) Hypomagnesemia
Rationale: Furosemide, a loop diuretic, causes potassium loss, leading to
hypokalemia. Other imbalances are less common with furosemide therapy.
7. A client with pneumonia reports dyspnea. What is the best position for this
client?
a) High Fowler’s (Correct)
b) Supine
c) Prone
d) Trendelenburg
Rationale: High Fowler’s position (upright) maximizes lung expansion and
eases breathing in pneumonia. Other positions may worsen dyspnea.
8. A client with a seizure disorder is prescribed phenytoin. What lab should
the nurse monitor?
a) Serum phenytoin levels (Correct)
2
