Nursing Care Plans: Comprehensive Quiz Guide
100+ Questions with Verified Answers
Section 1: Fundamentals of Nursing Care Plans (Questions 1-15)
1. What is the primary purpose of a nursing care plan?
Answer: To provide individualized, goal-directed care that addresses the patient's
specific needs and promotes optimal health outcomes through systematic planning and
documentation.
2. What are the five components of the nursing process?
Answer: Assessment, Diagnosis, Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation (ADPIE).
3. Which component of a nursing diagnosis describes the patient's response to a health
problem?
Answer: The problem statement (or diagnostic label), which identifies the patient's
actual or potential health problem.
4. What is the difference between an actual and a risk nursing diagnosis?
Answer: An actual diagnosis describes a current health problem with supporting data,
while a risk diagnosis identifies vulnerability to developing a problem without current
signs/symptoms.
5. What does SMART stand for in goal setting?
Answer: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
6. Who should be involved in developing a nursing care plan?
Answer: The patient, family/caregivers, nurses, and other members of the
interdisciplinary healthcare team.
7. What is the difference between short-term and long-term goals?
Answer: Short-term goals are achievable within days to weeks, while long-term goals
may take weeks to months and represent broader outcomes.
8. What are nursing interventions?
, Answer: Specific actions or treatments performed by nurses to help patients achieve
desired outcomes and address nursing diagnoses.
9. What is the evaluation phase of the nursing process?
Answer: The systematic assessment of patient progress toward goals, determining
whether outcomes were met and if modifications to the care plan are needed.
10. What documentation system uses SOAP format?
Answer: Problem-Oriented Medical Record (POMR), where SOAP stands for Subjective,
Objective, Assessment, and Plan.
11. What is a collaborative problem?
Answer: A potential physiological complication that nurses monitor and manage in
collaboration with physicians, requiring both nursing and medical interventions.
12. What are the three parts of a nursing diagnosis statement (PES format)?
Answer: Problem, Etiology (related to), and Signs/Symptoms (as evidenced by).
13. What is the priority-setting framework ABC?
Answer: Airway, Breathing, and Circulation—used to prioritize patient care needs based
on life-threatening issues first.
14. When should a nursing care plan be updated?
Answer: Whenever there is a change in patient condition, new assessment data, goal
achievement or non-achievement, or patient/family input requiring modifications.
15. What is the role of evidence-based practice in care planning?
Answer: To ensure interventions are based on current best evidence, clinical expertise,
and patient preferences to achieve optimal outcomes.
Section 2: Assessment Skills (Questions 16-30)
16. What are the four types of assessment in nursing?
Answer: Initial/comprehensive assessment, focused assessment, ongoing/time-lapsed
assessment, and emergency assessment.
17. What is subjective data?
100+ Questions with Verified Answers
Section 1: Fundamentals of Nursing Care Plans (Questions 1-15)
1. What is the primary purpose of a nursing care plan?
Answer: To provide individualized, goal-directed care that addresses the patient's
specific needs and promotes optimal health outcomes through systematic planning and
documentation.
2. What are the five components of the nursing process?
Answer: Assessment, Diagnosis, Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation (ADPIE).
3. Which component of a nursing diagnosis describes the patient's response to a health
problem?
Answer: The problem statement (or diagnostic label), which identifies the patient's
actual or potential health problem.
4. What is the difference between an actual and a risk nursing diagnosis?
Answer: An actual diagnosis describes a current health problem with supporting data,
while a risk diagnosis identifies vulnerability to developing a problem without current
signs/symptoms.
5. What does SMART stand for in goal setting?
Answer: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound.
6. Who should be involved in developing a nursing care plan?
Answer: The patient, family/caregivers, nurses, and other members of the
interdisciplinary healthcare team.
7. What is the difference between short-term and long-term goals?
Answer: Short-term goals are achievable within days to weeks, while long-term goals
may take weeks to months and represent broader outcomes.
8. What are nursing interventions?
, Answer: Specific actions or treatments performed by nurses to help patients achieve
desired outcomes and address nursing diagnoses.
9. What is the evaluation phase of the nursing process?
Answer: The systematic assessment of patient progress toward goals, determining
whether outcomes were met and if modifications to the care plan are needed.
10. What documentation system uses SOAP format?
Answer: Problem-Oriented Medical Record (POMR), where SOAP stands for Subjective,
Objective, Assessment, and Plan.
11. What is a collaborative problem?
Answer: A potential physiological complication that nurses monitor and manage in
collaboration with physicians, requiring both nursing and medical interventions.
12. What are the three parts of a nursing diagnosis statement (PES format)?
Answer: Problem, Etiology (related to), and Signs/Symptoms (as evidenced by).
13. What is the priority-setting framework ABC?
Answer: Airway, Breathing, and Circulation—used to prioritize patient care needs based
on life-threatening issues first.
14. When should a nursing care plan be updated?
Answer: Whenever there is a change in patient condition, new assessment data, goal
achievement or non-achievement, or patient/family input requiring modifications.
15. What is the role of evidence-based practice in care planning?
Answer: To ensure interventions are based on current best evidence, clinical expertise,
and patient preferences to achieve optimal outcomes.
Section 2: Assessment Skills (Questions 16-30)
16. What are the four types of assessment in nursing?
Answer: Initial/comprehensive assessment, focused assessment, ongoing/time-lapsed
assessment, and emergency assessment.
17. What is subjective data?