NUR 316: NURSING CONCEPTS FOR
PSYCHIATRIC/MENTAL HEALTH
EXAM 1 2025 QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS
The primary impact that the development and use of psychotropic drugs had on nursing's role
in the care of clients with mental health disorders was:
A. The availability of mental health therapies as an outpatient service.
B. The expansion of the role assumed by professionally trained nurses.
C. Nurses were needed to fill the gap created by a lack of medical personnel.
D. More nurses were required to address the needs of the now treatable mental health clients.
- ANS B. The expansion of the role assumed by professionally trained nurses.
Which nursing activity demonstrates the role of a professional psychiatric nurse as identified by
Hildegard Peplau?
A. Managing the milieu
B. Caring for the client's physiological needs
C. Providing counseling
D. Documenting client behaviors - ANS C. Providing counseling
Which nursing activity is a direct result of the Community Mental Health Centers Act of 1963?
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A. Being a member of a client's multidisciplinary treatment team
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, B. Performing an extensive admissions assessment for each hospitalized client
C. Using physical restraints as only the last resort when client safety requires it
D. Educating a client on the role of neurotransmitters in chronic depression - ANS A. Being a
member of a client's multidisciplinary treatment team
What differentiates the Psychiatric-Mental Health Registered Nurse (RN-PMH) from the
Psychiatric-Mental Health Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN-PMH)?
A. Only the APRN-PMH is responsible for milieu management.
B. The APRN-PMH exercises a greater degree of autonomy when providing care.
C. Only the RN-PMH provides medication education to the client.
D. The RN-PMH has less experience working with the mentally ill. - ANS B. The APRN-PMH
exercises a greater degree of autonomy when providing care.
In order to become political advocates for the mentally ill, psychiatric nurses must first:
A. Be willing to learn the legislative and regulatory processes at both the federal and state
levels.
B. Recognize the need to work in partnership with the American Medical Association.
C. Be willing to put aside differences and unite for a common mental health cause.
D. Recognize the value of their understanding of the needs of the mentally ill. - ANS D.
Recognize the value of their understanding of the needs of the mentally ill.
The nurse demonstrates an understanding of the first assumption of Stuart's Stress Adaptation
Model when:
A. Encouraging a client's adult children to accompany their parent to family group therapy
sessions.
B. Discussing with a client's health team which interventions should be included in the plan of
care.
C. Planning interventions based on a particular nursing theory that is relevant to the client's
problem.
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Page
@COPYRIGHT @THEBRIGHT 2025/2026
, D. Identifying community resources that will help a mentally ill client live in his own home. -
ANS A. Encouraging a client's adult children to accompany their parent to family group
therapy sessions.
A young adult tells the nurse at the local free clinic that he is currently living in his car and
panhandling for money. The nurse asks the individual the reason for his decision to live as he
does. Which response will the nurse follow up on to determine if the individual is experiencing
mental health issues?
A. "I'll live in a house and get a job when the government gives everyone those opportunities."
B. "I live like this for 3 months each year just to remind myself how much I really have."
C. "This way they can't find me and if they can't find me they can't hurt me."
D. "The law says I can live any way I want to as long as I'm not hurting anyone." - ANS C. "This
way they can't find me and if they can't find me they can't hurt me."
Which statement by an older adult who has recently had hip replacement surgery supports that
her positive attitude is contributing to her mental health wellness?
A. "I know I can't go hiking like I did, but I really miss it so much."
B. "I can't go hiking, but I still enjoy walking in the park in the afternoon."
C. "If I work really hard in rehab, I think I'll be able to hike again next spring."
D. "Hiking gave me such pleasure, but if I can't hike, I'll just have to get used to it." - ANS B. "I
can't go hiking, but I still enjoy walking in the park in the afternoon."
Which statement made by a teenager indicates an increased risk for poor stress management
as a result of a psychosocial factor?
A. "I couldn't survive if my boyfriend left me."
B. "My father tried to kill himself when I was 10 years old."
C. "Our religion does not accept homosexuality as a lifestyle choice."
D. "In my culture mental illness is thought of as a punishment not a sickness." - ANS A. "I
couldn't survive if my boyfriend left me."
3
Page
@COPYRIGHT @THEBRIGHT 2025/2026
, What is the long-term benefit of successfully implementing a constructive coping mechanism?
A. Similar stressors will no longer have a negative affect in the future.
B. One's ability to avoid stressors in the future is greatly improved.
C. Stress is no longer viewed as a barrier to future happiness and success.
D. Confidence in one's ability to manage stress in the future is reinforced. - ANS D.
Confidence in one's ability to manage stress in the future is reinforced.
The client's chart indicates that she has experienced trauma to the cerebral cortex as a result of
injuries sustained during an attempted suicide. Which observation is most likely the result of
this injury?
A. Client is often found crying into her pillow.
B. Client demonstrates involuntary twitching of facial muscles.
C. Client states, "What do you mean 'it's raining cats and dogs'?"
D. Client asks, "Can you address this letter to my mom; I forget her address?" - ANS C. Client
states, "What do you mean 'it's raining cats and dogs'?"
A client suspected of being schizophrenic is scheduled for a computed tomography (CT). The
nurse informs the client that the diagnostic test will:
A. Confirm the diagnosis of schizophrenia.
B. Trace the flow of blood through his brain.
C. Allow the doctors to view the structures of his brain.
D. Help determine the areas of his brain that are overreacting. - ANS C. Allow the doctors to
view the structures of his brain.
A client diagnosed with depression has reported fatigue and poor concentration. When she is
told that the results of her sleep study show that she has excessive REM sleep cycles, the client
asks the nurse to explain what those results mean. The nurse best answers the client's concerns
by replying:
A. "It means that you are sleep deprived."
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Page
B. "REM sleep stands for rapid eye movement sleep."
@COPYRIGHT @THEBRIGHT 2025/2026
PSYCHIATRIC/MENTAL HEALTH
EXAM 1 2025 QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS
The primary impact that the development and use of psychotropic drugs had on nursing's role
in the care of clients with mental health disorders was:
A. The availability of mental health therapies as an outpatient service.
B. The expansion of the role assumed by professionally trained nurses.
C. Nurses were needed to fill the gap created by a lack of medical personnel.
D. More nurses were required to address the needs of the now treatable mental health clients.
- ANS B. The expansion of the role assumed by professionally trained nurses.
Which nursing activity demonstrates the role of a professional psychiatric nurse as identified by
Hildegard Peplau?
A. Managing the milieu
B. Caring for the client's physiological needs
C. Providing counseling
D. Documenting client behaviors - ANS C. Providing counseling
Which nursing activity is a direct result of the Community Mental Health Centers Act of 1963?
1
Page
A. Being a member of a client's multidisciplinary treatment team
@COPYRIGHT @THEBRIGHT 2025/2026
, B. Performing an extensive admissions assessment for each hospitalized client
C. Using physical restraints as only the last resort when client safety requires it
D. Educating a client on the role of neurotransmitters in chronic depression - ANS A. Being a
member of a client's multidisciplinary treatment team
What differentiates the Psychiatric-Mental Health Registered Nurse (RN-PMH) from the
Psychiatric-Mental Health Advanced Practice Registered Nurse (APRN-PMH)?
A. Only the APRN-PMH is responsible for milieu management.
B. The APRN-PMH exercises a greater degree of autonomy when providing care.
C. Only the RN-PMH provides medication education to the client.
D. The RN-PMH has less experience working with the mentally ill. - ANS B. The APRN-PMH
exercises a greater degree of autonomy when providing care.
In order to become political advocates for the mentally ill, psychiatric nurses must first:
A. Be willing to learn the legislative and regulatory processes at both the federal and state
levels.
B. Recognize the need to work in partnership with the American Medical Association.
C. Be willing to put aside differences and unite for a common mental health cause.
D. Recognize the value of their understanding of the needs of the mentally ill. - ANS D.
Recognize the value of their understanding of the needs of the mentally ill.
The nurse demonstrates an understanding of the first assumption of Stuart's Stress Adaptation
Model when:
A. Encouraging a client's adult children to accompany their parent to family group therapy
sessions.
B. Discussing with a client's health team which interventions should be included in the plan of
care.
C. Planning interventions based on a particular nursing theory that is relevant to the client's
problem.
2
Page
@COPYRIGHT @THEBRIGHT 2025/2026
, D. Identifying community resources that will help a mentally ill client live in his own home. -
ANS A. Encouraging a client's adult children to accompany their parent to family group
therapy sessions.
A young adult tells the nurse at the local free clinic that he is currently living in his car and
panhandling for money. The nurse asks the individual the reason for his decision to live as he
does. Which response will the nurse follow up on to determine if the individual is experiencing
mental health issues?
A. "I'll live in a house and get a job when the government gives everyone those opportunities."
B. "I live like this for 3 months each year just to remind myself how much I really have."
C. "This way they can't find me and if they can't find me they can't hurt me."
D. "The law says I can live any way I want to as long as I'm not hurting anyone." - ANS C. "This
way they can't find me and if they can't find me they can't hurt me."
Which statement by an older adult who has recently had hip replacement surgery supports that
her positive attitude is contributing to her mental health wellness?
A. "I know I can't go hiking like I did, but I really miss it so much."
B. "I can't go hiking, but I still enjoy walking in the park in the afternoon."
C. "If I work really hard in rehab, I think I'll be able to hike again next spring."
D. "Hiking gave me such pleasure, but if I can't hike, I'll just have to get used to it." - ANS B. "I
can't go hiking, but I still enjoy walking in the park in the afternoon."
Which statement made by a teenager indicates an increased risk for poor stress management
as a result of a psychosocial factor?
A. "I couldn't survive if my boyfriend left me."
B. "My father tried to kill himself when I was 10 years old."
C. "Our religion does not accept homosexuality as a lifestyle choice."
D. "In my culture mental illness is thought of as a punishment not a sickness." - ANS A. "I
couldn't survive if my boyfriend left me."
3
Page
@COPYRIGHT @THEBRIGHT 2025/2026
, What is the long-term benefit of successfully implementing a constructive coping mechanism?
A. Similar stressors will no longer have a negative affect in the future.
B. One's ability to avoid stressors in the future is greatly improved.
C. Stress is no longer viewed as a barrier to future happiness and success.
D. Confidence in one's ability to manage stress in the future is reinforced. - ANS D.
Confidence in one's ability to manage stress in the future is reinforced.
The client's chart indicates that she has experienced trauma to the cerebral cortex as a result of
injuries sustained during an attempted suicide. Which observation is most likely the result of
this injury?
A. Client is often found crying into her pillow.
B. Client demonstrates involuntary twitching of facial muscles.
C. Client states, "What do you mean 'it's raining cats and dogs'?"
D. Client asks, "Can you address this letter to my mom; I forget her address?" - ANS C. Client
states, "What do you mean 'it's raining cats and dogs'?"
A client suspected of being schizophrenic is scheduled for a computed tomography (CT). The
nurse informs the client that the diagnostic test will:
A. Confirm the diagnosis of schizophrenia.
B. Trace the flow of blood through his brain.
C. Allow the doctors to view the structures of his brain.
D. Help determine the areas of his brain that are overreacting. - ANS C. Allow the doctors to
view the structures of his brain.
A client diagnosed with depression has reported fatigue and poor concentration. When she is
told that the results of her sleep study show that she has excessive REM sleep cycles, the client
asks the nurse to explain what those results mean. The nurse best answers the client's concerns
by replying:
A. "It means that you are sleep deprived."
4
Page
B. "REM sleep stands for rapid eye movement sleep."
@COPYRIGHT @THEBRIGHT 2025/2026
