Certified Medical Surgical Practice Exam Questions With
Complete Solutions
A 32 year old patient on the medical unit experiences an acute
asthma episode. All of the following are ordered to treat the
patient. What will the nurse administer FIRST?
a. intravenous corticosteroids
b. oxygen by nasal cannula
c. bronchodilator by meter dose inhaler
d. intravenous fluids Correct Answers Correct Answer: B.
Oxygen therapy should be started immediately, with
administration monitored by pulse oximetry to keep SpO2
greater than 90%. Aerosolized medications will be given by
nebulizer or metered-dose inhaler every 20 minutes for 1 hour.
Systemic corticosteroids will be indicated if the initial response
to the bronchodilator is insufficient
A 57 Year old patient is admitted to the medical unit for
progressive symptoms of dyspnea on exertion and decreased
appetite, and is scheduled for pulmonary function testing. when
the patient asks what the test will measure, the nurse's response
is based on the knowledge that the tests are used to identify
which three general patterns of pulmonary abnormality?
a. obstructive, restrictive, and mixed
b. obstructive, constrictive, and mixed
c. restrictive, functional, and mixed
d. constrictive, functional and mixed Correct Answers Correct
Answer: A.
,Pulmonary function tests are used to identify and quantify
abnormalities in respiratory function, including three general
patterns of abnormality: obstructive, restrictive, and mixed.
A patient is admitted to the medical unit with a Heimlich valve.
The nurse recognizes this as an intervention used for:
a. administration of chemotherapeutic agents.
b. uncomplicated hemothorax
c. post-herpetic neuralgia
d. administration of intrapleural antibiotic's Correct Answers
Correct Answer; B
The Heimlich valve is a one-way valve used instead of water-
seal drainage for treatment of an uncomplicated pneumothorax
or hemothorax
A patient is being monitored via continuous pulse oximetry. The
nurse knows that pulse oximetry results are most likely to be
affected by the patient's:
a. heart rate
b. gender
c. blood glucose
d. skin pigmentation Correct Answers Correct Answer: D
Factor agents, or situations that may affect readings, limit
precision or limit the performance or application of a pulse
oximeter including skin pigmentation, motion artifact, abnormal
hemoglobin (primarily carboxyhemoglobin [COHb] and
methemoglobin[metHb]), intravascular dyes, exposure of
measuring probe to ambient light during measurement, low
, perfusion states, and nail polish or nail coverings with finger
probe.
A patient is to have ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) scan. the nurse
knows this study has been ordered to diagnose:
a. asthma
b. pulmonary fibrosis
c. pulmonary embolus
d. COPD Correct Answers Correct Answer: C
A V/Q scan is primarily used to diagnose a pulmonary embolus.
A patient tells the nurse that he thinks he has sleep apnea
because his wife complains about his snoring. The nurse knows
that sleep apnea also is suggested by the patients history of:
a. sleeping on a hard mattress
b. frequent awakenings at night
c. asthma
d. cough Correct Answers Correct Answer: B
Apnea during the sleep cycle causes hypoxemia and
hypercapnia, stimulating ventilation and awakening the patient.
This fret awakening can result in morning headaches, insomnia
and excessive daytime sleepiness. the degree of mattress
firmness and a history of asthma or cough are not relevant
factors.
A patient with squamous cell carcinoma of the lung is
readmitted to the hospital midway through her third cycle of
chemotherapy with a diagnosis of neutropenia. Vital signs
include temperature 100.6degrees F; pulse 84 beats per minute,
Complete Solutions
A 32 year old patient on the medical unit experiences an acute
asthma episode. All of the following are ordered to treat the
patient. What will the nurse administer FIRST?
a. intravenous corticosteroids
b. oxygen by nasal cannula
c. bronchodilator by meter dose inhaler
d. intravenous fluids Correct Answers Correct Answer: B.
Oxygen therapy should be started immediately, with
administration monitored by pulse oximetry to keep SpO2
greater than 90%. Aerosolized medications will be given by
nebulizer or metered-dose inhaler every 20 minutes for 1 hour.
Systemic corticosteroids will be indicated if the initial response
to the bronchodilator is insufficient
A 57 Year old patient is admitted to the medical unit for
progressive symptoms of dyspnea on exertion and decreased
appetite, and is scheduled for pulmonary function testing. when
the patient asks what the test will measure, the nurse's response
is based on the knowledge that the tests are used to identify
which three general patterns of pulmonary abnormality?
a. obstructive, restrictive, and mixed
b. obstructive, constrictive, and mixed
c. restrictive, functional, and mixed
d. constrictive, functional and mixed Correct Answers Correct
Answer: A.
,Pulmonary function tests are used to identify and quantify
abnormalities in respiratory function, including three general
patterns of abnormality: obstructive, restrictive, and mixed.
A patient is admitted to the medical unit with a Heimlich valve.
The nurse recognizes this as an intervention used for:
a. administration of chemotherapeutic agents.
b. uncomplicated hemothorax
c. post-herpetic neuralgia
d. administration of intrapleural antibiotic's Correct Answers
Correct Answer; B
The Heimlich valve is a one-way valve used instead of water-
seal drainage for treatment of an uncomplicated pneumothorax
or hemothorax
A patient is being monitored via continuous pulse oximetry. The
nurse knows that pulse oximetry results are most likely to be
affected by the patient's:
a. heart rate
b. gender
c. blood glucose
d. skin pigmentation Correct Answers Correct Answer: D
Factor agents, or situations that may affect readings, limit
precision or limit the performance or application of a pulse
oximeter including skin pigmentation, motion artifact, abnormal
hemoglobin (primarily carboxyhemoglobin [COHb] and
methemoglobin[metHb]), intravascular dyes, exposure of
measuring probe to ambient light during measurement, low
, perfusion states, and nail polish or nail coverings with finger
probe.
A patient is to have ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) scan. the nurse
knows this study has been ordered to diagnose:
a. asthma
b. pulmonary fibrosis
c. pulmonary embolus
d. COPD Correct Answers Correct Answer: C
A V/Q scan is primarily used to diagnose a pulmonary embolus.
A patient tells the nurse that he thinks he has sleep apnea
because his wife complains about his snoring. The nurse knows
that sleep apnea also is suggested by the patients history of:
a. sleeping on a hard mattress
b. frequent awakenings at night
c. asthma
d. cough Correct Answers Correct Answer: B
Apnea during the sleep cycle causes hypoxemia and
hypercapnia, stimulating ventilation and awakening the patient.
This fret awakening can result in morning headaches, insomnia
and excessive daytime sleepiness. the degree of mattress
firmness and a history of asthma or cough are not relevant
factors.
A patient with squamous cell carcinoma of the lung is
readmitted to the hospital midway through her third cycle of
chemotherapy with a diagnosis of neutropenia. Vital signs
include temperature 100.6degrees F; pulse 84 beats per minute,
