Chapter 15 Neurological-Health
Assessment Questions and All Correct
Answers 2025-2026 Updated.
During a health history, a patient reports having difficulty
swallowing. Based on this report, which assessment technique does
the nurse use to collect more data about the patient's ability to
swallow?
a. Ask the patient to puff out her cheeks, purse her lips and blow
out.
b. Observe the rising of the soft palate when the patient says "ahh."
c. Observe the patient while she swallows water from a paper cup.
d. Wearing gloves, grasp the patient's tongue and palpate all sides. - Answer b. Observe the
rising of the soft palate when the patient says "ahh."
As a patient is walking into the exam room, the nurse notices his
unsteady gait. What findings does the nurse anticipate during the
neurologic exam?
a. When the patient stands with feet together, eyes closed, his
upright posture is maintained.
b. As the patient sits in the exam room, the nurse observes a tremor
of his hands as they rest in his lap.
c. A tremor is observed in his hands while he touches his finger to his thumb on the same hand.
d. The patient is able to move the heel of one foot down the shin of
the other leg while lying supine. - Answer c. A tremor is observed in his hands while he
touches his finger to his thumb on the same hand.
During a symptom analysis the patient reports a pain that radiates
from the right lateral thigh, over the knee, and around to the right
medial ankle. The nurse refers to the dermatome map (see Fig. 15-7) to determine that the
patient's description of pain is consistent with dysfunction of which spinal nerve?
, Which question gives the nurse additional information about a
patient's report of his hands shaking for the last two months?
a. "Does the shaking occur when your hands are at rest or when you are picking up an item?"
b. "Do you experience any abnormal sensations such as tingling or
coldness at the same time?"
c. "What actions do you take to relieve the shaking when it occurs?"
d. "Have you ever experienced this shaking before?" - Answer a. "Does the shaking occur
when your hands are at rest or when you are picking up an item?"
Which techniques does the nurse use to test the triceps reflex?
a. Holds the knee in a slightly flexed position while he or she
strokes the end of the foot with a dull object.
b. Holds the patient's relaxed forearm with the hand slightly
pronated while striking the appropriate tendon with a reflex
hammer.
c. Hold the patient's relaxed arm with elbow flexed at a 90-degree
angle, places a thumb over the appropriate tendon, and strikes
the thumb with the pointed end of the reflex hammer.
d. Holds the patient's relaxed arm with elbow flexed at a 90-degree angle in one hand and
strikes the appropriate tendon just above the elbow with either end of the reflex hammer. -
Answer d. Holds the patient's relaxed arm with elbow flexed at a 90-degree angle in one hand
and strikes the appropriate tendon just above the elbow with either end of the reflex hammer.
Which patient behavior indicates to the nurse that the patient's
facial cranial nerve (CN VII) is intact?
a. The patient's eyes move to the left, right, up, down, and
obliquely.
b. The patient moistens the lips with the tongue.
c. The sides of the mouth are symmetric when the patient smiles.
d. The patient's eyelids blink periodically. - Answer c. The sides of the mouth are symmetric
when the patient smiles.2
Assessment Questions and All Correct
Answers 2025-2026 Updated.
During a health history, a patient reports having difficulty
swallowing. Based on this report, which assessment technique does
the nurse use to collect more data about the patient's ability to
swallow?
a. Ask the patient to puff out her cheeks, purse her lips and blow
out.
b. Observe the rising of the soft palate when the patient says "ahh."
c. Observe the patient while she swallows water from a paper cup.
d. Wearing gloves, grasp the patient's tongue and palpate all sides. - Answer b. Observe the
rising of the soft palate when the patient says "ahh."
As a patient is walking into the exam room, the nurse notices his
unsteady gait. What findings does the nurse anticipate during the
neurologic exam?
a. When the patient stands with feet together, eyes closed, his
upright posture is maintained.
b. As the patient sits in the exam room, the nurse observes a tremor
of his hands as they rest in his lap.
c. A tremor is observed in his hands while he touches his finger to his thumb on the same hand.
d. The patient is able to move the heel of one foot down the shin of
the other leg while lying supine. - Answer c. A tremor is observed in his hands while he
touches his finger to his thumb on the same hand.
During a symptom analysis the patient reports a pain that radiates
from the right lateral thigh, over the knee, and around to the right
medial ankle. The nurse refers to the dermatome map (see Fig. 15-7) to determine that the
patient's description of pain is consistent with dysfunction of which spinal nerve?
, Which question gives the nurse additional information about a
patient's report of his hands shaking for the last two months?
a. "Does the shaking occur when your hands are at rest or when you are picking up an item?"
b. "Do you experience any abnormal sensations such as tingling or
coldness at the same time?"
c. "What actions do you take to relieve the shaking when it occurs?"
d. "Have you ever experienced this shaking before?" - Answer a. "Does the shaking occur
when your hands are at rest or when you are picking up an item?"
Which techniques does the nurse use to test the triceps reflex?
a. Holds the knee in a slightly flexed position while he or she
strokes the end of the foot with a dull object.
b. Holds the patient's relaxed forearm with the hand slightly
pronated while striking the appropriate tendon with a reflex
hammer.
c. Hold the patient's relaxed arm with elbow flexed at a 90-degree
angle, places a thumb over the appropriate tendon, and strikes
the thumb with the pointed end of the reflex hammer.
d. Holds the patient's relaxed arm with elbow flexed at a 90-degree angle in one hand and
strikes the appropriate tendon just above the elbow with either end of the reflex hammer. -
Answer d. Holds the patient's relaxed arm with elbow flexed at a 90-degree angle in one hand
and strikes the appropriate tendon just above the elbow with either end of the reflex hammer.
Which patient behavior indicates to the nurse that the patient's
facial cranial nerve (CN VII) is intact?
a. The patient's eyes move to the left, right, up, down, and
obliquely.
b. The patient moistens the lips with the tongue.
c. The sides of the mouth are symmetric when the patient smiles.
d. The patient's eyelids blink periodically. - Answer c. The sides of the mouth are symmetric
when the patient smiles.2
