REAL QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT ANSWERS
& RATIONALES
◉ When providing culturally competent health care services to an
American Indian elder, the nurse practitioner understands which is
traditionally true? Answer: The "Medicine Wheel" is used by many
for the purpose of health and healing
The "Medicine Wheel" is traditionally used and contains four
directions; north, south, east, and west. Traditionally each tribe has
different meanings for each direction and they may represent the
season of the year or stage of life. It is aimed at providing a holistic
view of life.
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An understanding of different cultural preferences leads to cultural
competence in healthcare. Some patients may value traditional
culture and preferences as it relates to healthcare. These individual
preferences should be included in the interview and treatment plan
for patients.
Traditionally, the American Indian culture values a holistic approach
to health care integrating the person, lifestyle, environment, family,
,and religion. Patients adhering to these traditional cultural practices
often feel that illness is due to a lack of harmony with the physical
body, mind, spirit, and emotions. Patients may seek care from
western medicine for specific ailments while also consulting with
traditional healers for spiritual guidance.
Healthcare providers should seek to understand relevant cultural
factors and assess each individual's healthcare literacy in order to
provide culturally competent care.
◉ The nurse practitioner sees an older adult patient in the clinic
with the primary report of hearing loss and a sensation of fullness in
the right ear. The nurse practitioner suspects conductive hearing
loss. Which could contribute to this? Answer: Cerumen, commonly
called earwax, is a combination of secretions and sloughed epithelial
cells that protects the ears from infection, water, and insects. It is
normally expelled from the ear canal through natural jaw
movement. When this self-cleaning process fails, cerumen can
become impacted. Cerumen impaction occludes the ear canal and
can press against the tympanic membrane, resulting in conductive
hearing loss.
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Conductive hearing is the transition of sound from the external and
middle ear to the inner ear. Conductive hearing loss is caused by
problems in the external and middle ear that interfere with the
transmission of sound and its conversion to mechanical vibration.
,Causes of conductive hearing loss include obstruction of the external
auditory canal by cerumen, foreign bodies, debris from otitis
externa, and large exocytosis and osteomas.
Sensorineural hearing loss involves difficulty converting mechanical
vibrations to electrical potential in the cochlea or in auditory nerve
transmission to the brain. It is mostly caused by permanent damage
in the organ of Corti. It can be caused by age-related hearing loss,
noise trauma, medications, autoimmune diseases, mechanical
trauma, Meniere disease, infection, and neoplasm (acoustic
neuroma).
Approximately one-third of older adults between the ages of 61 and
70 years have hearing loss. More than 90% of adults older than 85
years of age have hearing loss. The most common type of hearing
loss is age-related and sensorineural. All adults older than 60 years
of age should be screened for hearing loss at periodic health
examinations.
◉ An otherwise healthy adult patient presents to the clinic with a
diagnosis of community-acquired pneumonia and no recent
antibiotic therapy. Which is the best option for treatment? Answer:
Amoxicillin
High-dose amoxicillin (Amoxil) or doxycycline are recommended as
first-line therapy for adults without comorbidities.
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, Community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) is pneumonia not acquired
in a hospital or long-term care facility. Patients with suspected CAP
should receive a chest X-ray for diagnosis. The Pneumonia Severity
Index should be used to assist in decisions regarding the need for
hospitalization in patients with CAP.
According to the American Thoracic Society (ATS) and the Infectious
Diseases Society of America (IDSA) 2019 guidelines, the initial
treatment of CAP for most patients is amoxicillin or doxycycline.
Macrolides are an option for treatment, but are no longer
recommended routinely as first-line treatment, given increased
macrolide resistance. This is a change from the 2007 ATS/IDSA
guidelines. Respiratory fluoroquinolones and
amoxicillin/clavulanate should be used in patients who fail first-line
medications, have significant comorbidities, have had recent
antibiotic therapy, are allergic to alternative agents, or have a
documented infection with highly drug-resistant pneumococci.
◉ A patient presents to the clinic for conception counseling. She
recently stopped taking oral contraceptives and would like to
become pregnant. Which statement about conception safety after
stopping oral contraceptives is correct? Answer:
◉ You have a 35-year-old female patient who is complaining of wrist
pain. She is an administrative assistant who does a great deal of
computer work in her job. You will test her for carpal tunnel
syndrome. When you tap at the volar surface of the wrist you are
performing which of the following tests? Answer: Tinel's sign