Advanced Health Assessment and Clinical Reasoning
NSGD 2256 AHA Final Exam 2025– Actual
Questions and Answers Graded A+ (Pace
University)
The nurse is assessing a female patient at the neighborhood clinic.
The patient reports frequent shortness of breath and dizziness. The
nurse knows that these symptoms may be an underlying symptom of
which condition?
Myocardial infarction
The nurse is assessing the sleep patterns of a patient when the patient
reports having trouble sleeping when lying flat. Which is the best
response by the nurse?
Use pillows to prop yourself up while sleeping.
A patient is experiencing periods of confusion, and the family is
concerned. The patient’s son asks the nurse for an explanation and
recommendation. Which is the best response by the nurse?
"Your father may be having mini-strokes; I will notify his healthcare
provider."
1|Page
,Advanced Health Assessment and Clinical Reasoning
A patient is questioning the nurse about circulation and perfusion. Which
response about perfusion by the nurse is the best?
"It is the flow of blood through arteries and capillaries delivering nutrients
and oxygen to cells."
What is the purpose of including exercise and activity in a cardiac
rehabilitation program?
- Increase cardiac output
- Increase blood flow through the arteries
- Increase muscle mass
- Increase flexibility
A nursing instructor assigns the clinical group the task of writing a
journal depicting the student’s clinical day. What is the most likely
rationale for this assignment?
Allows reflection, an important aspect of clinical judgement.
2|Page
,Advanced Health Assessment and Clinical Reasoning
Which statement best describes clinical reasoning?
Includes the thinking used for analyzing knowledge relative to a clinical
situation or specific patient.
Tanner’s Clinical Judgment Model, the most commonly used model in
nursing education and based on three decades of research, has different
stages. Which is a stage of Tanner’s Clinical Judgment Model?
- Noticing
- Interpreting
- Responding
- Reflecting
Which communication term can be applied to this statement: How
messages are received and interpreted would include personal states such
as mood disturbance, environmental stimuli related to the setting of the
communication, and contextual variables?
Metacommunication
What is the MOST significant modifiable risk factor for the development
of impaired gas exchange?
3|Page
, Advanced Health Assessment and Clinical Reasoning
Tobacco use
When reviewing the concept of gas exchange, how should the nurse BEST
describe the movement of oxygen and carbon dioxide?
Gas moves from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure across
the alveolar membrane.
A healthcare provider writes a prescription for arterial blood gases (ABG).
What should the nurse recognize that this test is used to detect?
Status of acid-base balance in arterial blood.
The nurse is administering oral glucocorticoids to a patient with asthma.
What finding indicates a therapeutic response to the medication?
No observable respiratory difficulty or shortness of breath over the last 24
hours.
The nurse is caring for a patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease (COPD). The patient tells the nurse he is having a "hard time
breathing." His RR is 32, P 120, O2 90%. Which action should the nurse
take?
Initiate oxygen via a nasal cannula, and begin at a flow rate of 2L/min.
4|Page
NSGD 2256 AHA Final Exam 2025– Actual
Questions and Answers Graded A+ (Pace
University)
The nurse is assessing a female patient at the neighborhood clinic.
The patient reports frequent shortness of breath and dizziness. The
nurse knows that these symptoms may be an underlying symptom of
which condition?
Myocardial infarction
The nurse is assessing the sleep patterns of a patient when the patient
reports having trouble sleeping when lying flat. Which is the best
response by the nurse?
Use pillows to prop yourself up while sleeping.
A patient is experiencing periods of confusion, and the family is
concerned. The patient’s son asks the nurse for an explanation and
recommendation. Which is the best response by the nurse?
"Your father may be having mini-strokes; I will notify his healthcare
provider."
1|Page
,Advanced Health Assessment and Clinical Reasoning
A patient is questioning the nurse about circulation and perfusion. Which
response about perfusion by the nurse is the best?
"It is the flow of blood through arteries and capillaries delivering nutrients
and oxygen to cells."
What is the purpose of including exercise and activity in a cardiac
rehabilitation program?
- Increase cardiac output
- Increase blood flow through the arteries
- Increase muscle mass
- Increase flexibility
A nursing instructor assigns the clinical group the task of writing a
journal depicting the student’s clinical day. What is the most likely
rationale for this assignment?
Allows reflection, an important aspect of clinical judgement.
2|Page
,Advanced Health Assessment and Clinical Reasoning
Which statement best describes clinical reasoning?
Includes the thinking used for analyzing knowledge relative to a clinical
situation or specific patient.
Tanner’s Clinical Judgment Model, the most commonly used model in
nursing education and based on three decades of research, has different
stages. Which is a stage of Tanner’s Clinical Judgment Model?
- Noticing
- Interpreting
- Responding
- Reflecting
Which communication term can be applied to this statement: How
messages are received and interpreted would include personal states such
as mood disturbance, environmental stimuli related to the setting of the
communication, and contextual variables?
Metacommunication
What is the MOST significant modifiable risk factor for the development
of impaired gas exchange?
3|Page
, Advanced Health Assessment and Clinical Reasoning
Tobacco use
When reviewing the concept of gas exchange, how should the nurse BEST
describe the movement of oxygen and carbon dioxide?
Gas moves from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure across
the alveolar membrane.
A healthcare provider writes a prescription for arterial blood gases (ABG).
What should the nurse recognize that this test is used to detect?
Status of acid-base balance in arterial blood.
The nurse is administering oral glucocorticoids to a patient with asthma.
What finding indicates a therapeutic response to the medication?
No observable respiratory difficulty or shortness of breath over the last 24
hours.
The nurse is caring for a patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease (COPD). The patient tells the nurse he is having a "hard time
breathing." His RR is 32, P 120, O2 90%. Which action should the nurse
take?
Initiate oxygen via a nasal cannula, and begin at a flow rate of 2L/min.
4|Page
