NSE101 - EXAM PREP BOOK
QUESTIONS WITH 100% CORRECT
ANSWERS 2025
Leverage the environment - Answer- - Create a quiet location so that both you and the
client can hear and communicate.
- Establish a welcoming environment, which may include offering the client a place to sit
and avoiding physical barriers between you and the client such as a desk.
- Attend to the client's physical comfort, which may include offering them a drink of
water and inviting them to take their coat off or have a place for them to put their
bag/purse.
- Create an inclusive space in which care partners are invited to be part of the interview
based on the client's wishes.
- Ensure a private space so that the client feels comfortable to share personal
information and that this information is kept confidential.
- Maintain professional boundaries (CNO, 2019a) this facilitates a trusting and
therapeutic relationship between nurse and client.
Privacy and Confidentiality - Answer- - Clients have the right to have their personal
health info kept private
- You must emphasize that client data is kept confidential and only shared with relevant
members of the healthcare team directly involved in the client's care.
- The client owns their personal health information; as a custodian of this information,
you must request permission before disclosure
Reporting of abuse - Answer- Child abuse and neglect: While assessing an 8-year-old
client, the nurse suspects abuse or neglect. Who is the nurse legally obligated to report
this to? → The Children's Aid Society
Elder abuse when living in a retirement or a long-term care home in Ontario
Must report to CNO, if you observe or a client discloses a nurse who poses a serious
risk of harm to patients
Closed-ended questions - Answer- - direct questions that you ask when you are seeking
precise information.
- generate a short answer and do not facilitate a dialogue.
Ex.
- "Do you smoke?"
- "Have you been tested for TB?"
,- "What year were you born?"
- "Do you take the medication as directed?"
- "When did your rash start?"
Open-ended questions - Answer- - types of questions that invite the client to share
descriptive answers, open up about their experience, and answer in a way that is most
relevant or comfortable from their perspective.
- provides the opportunity for you to probe further.
ex.
- "What was going on in your life when you first started feeling depressed?"
- "Tell me about when you first started smoking."
- "How have you been feeling in the past week?"
- "Tell me about the challenges you are having with your medication regimen?"
Probing questions - Answer- - types of questions and statements that allow you to
gather more subjective data based on a client's response.
- can also be used to summarize and clarify a client's response or resolve discrepancies
that you identify.
- can be open- or closed-ended.
Ex.
- "Tell me more."
- "How did that affect you?"
- "When talking about your health, you said 'don't cross the bridge til you come to it,' can
you tell me what you mean by that?"
- "You said that you are doing 'well' since your partner's death, but I noticed that you are
teary eyed as you are speaking about them. Can you talk a bit about that?"
Communication strategies (eye contact, facilitation, silence, empathy, honesty,
unconditional positive regard, permission statements) - Answer- filler
Clear and simple language - Answer- - best to avoid or limit medical and professional
language that clients may not understand.
- By speaking simply and clearly, you include clients regardless of their professional or
educational point of reference.
Active listening - Answer- Facilitation: a nursing intervention defined as promoting the
ability to process and comprehend information.
- Paraphrasing
- type of listening that shows you are engaged in the conversation and that you hear
and understand what the client is saying.
- important to facilitate your understanding of, and the integration of, client's
experiences, preferences, and health goals into their care.
,Eye contact and having an open posture
- responding by saying "uh huh" and "tell me more." Active listening can also be
demonstrated by paraphrasing what the client says, which shows that you are listening
and encourages them to elaborate.
Silence - Answer- - aids active listening.
- can be beneficial in situations where the client is talking about something personal or
is struggling to find the words for what they want to say.
- better to show interest and understanding and give the client time to think about how
they best want to say what they want to say.
- If client seems to be feeling awkward about taking too much time to think, you can say
"It's ok. Take your time."
Empathy - Answer- - action of understanding another person's emotions and
experiences while suspending your own viewpoint.
- helps the client feel understood and cultivates a trusting and therapeutic relationship.
- important to imagine what another person is experiencing. You need to be curious and
demonstrate interest by responding to what the client is saying (e.g., "Tell me more.
How do you feel about it?").
- Don't get caught up in following your interview guide - it's important to let the client's
narrative shape the interview. When a client is talking about a difficult experience, you
may say something such as, "That must be very difficult."
Honesty - Answer- If you are talking about a difficult or emotionally laden topic,
demonstrate compassion by sitting down, maintaining eye contact, and being aware of
your vocal intonation.
Honesty: Avoid false reassurance - Answer- - when you assure or comfort the client
about something that is not based on fact.
- When someone voices fear or anxiety, people tend to automatically respond by
assuring them that everything will be okay.
- example of false reassurance is when the nurse says, "it will be okay" when a client
says, "I am scared I might die."
- not honest and does not open up communication. It is more effective and honest to
say, "tell me more."
avoid distancing and avoidance language. - Answer- - Distancing is when you attempt
to create a false space/distance between a threat and the person (e.g., "the cancer has
spread to your brain" as opposed to "your cancer...")
- Avoidance language is unclear language (e.g., "your partner didn't make it" or "they
are now at peace"). It's better to use specific language (e.g., "your partner died").
- Being direct demonstrates honesty and ensures clarity for the client.
Unconditional positive regard - Answer- Avoid questions that begin with "why"
- this can imply blame. For example, avoid "why do you smoke?" You can reframe this
inquiry as, "tell me about the reasons that you smoke."
, - accepting that clients are generally doing the best they can. Avoid judging or blaming
them for their beliefs, behaviours, or conditions.
- means accepting and respecting that each client has agency to believe and behave
how they want, or feel is best.
Permission statements - Answer- are a combination of statements and questions that
suggest to the client that an experience or feeling is expected or normal.
- "Often, children your age experience changes in their body that they have questions
about."
- "Clients that have experienced your type of surgery often have questions about sex.
Do you have any questions for me?"
- "Many people your age begin to experience problems with urinary incontinence, have
you had any issues?"
Developmental and cultural considerations - Answer- filler
Cultural Considerations - Answer- People are cultural beings
- refers to a person's practices or their way of life.
- includes a person's ethnicity, spirituality, and religion, but it is much more than these
components.
Culture is deeply embedded
- everything they do, including how they communicate and what is meaningful to them.
- essential to understand because it shapes the way we think, feel, and behave.
- can determine what is considered taboo, appropriate, and meaningful.
Culture is socially transmissible
- can be passed from one person/generation to the next, making verbal and non-verbal
communication a vital way to impart and share culture.
From an indigenous perspective, culture is an emergent property of individuals
interacting with their natural and human environments
Cultural safety - Answer- - you must examine your own culture and how it affects the
ways you communicate with clients.
- This self-awareness is vital to provide culturally safe care to clients and facilitate health
equity
Developmental Considerations - Answer- - includes attention to areas such as language
and cognitive and socio-emotional development.
- may need to modify your communication so that you are appropriately engaging with
the client at a level they understand.
- Chronological age and developmental stage
QUESTIONS WITH 100% CORRECT
ANSWERS 2025
Leverage the environment - Answer- - Create a quiet location so that both you and the
client can hear and communicate.
- Establish a welcoming environment, which may include offering the client a place to sit
and avoiding physical barriers between you and the client such as a desk.
- Attend to the client's physical comfort, which may include offering them a drink of
water and inviting them to take their coat off or have a place for them to put their
bag/purse.
- Create an inclusive space in which care partners are invited to be part of the interview
based on the client's wishes.
- Ensure a private space so that the client feels comfortable to share personal
information and that this information is kept confidential.
- Maintain professional boundaries (CNO, 2019a) this facilitates a trusting and
therapeutic relationship between nurse and client.
Privacy and Confidentiality - Answer- - Clients have the right to have their personal
health info kept private
- You must emphasize that client data is kept confidential and only shared with relevant
members of the healthcare team directly involved in the client's care.
- The client owns their personal health information; as a custodian of this information,
you must request permission before disclosure
Reporting of abuse - Answer- Child abuse and neglect: While assessing an 8-year-old
client, the nurse suspects abuse or neglect. Who is the nurse legally obligated to report
this to? → The Children's Aid Society
Elder abuse when living in a retirement or a long-term care home in Ontario
Must report to CNO, if you observe or a client discloses a nurse who poses a serious
risk of harm to patients
Closed-ended questions - Answer- - direct questions that you ask when you are seeking
precise information.
- generate a short answer and do not facilitate a dialogue.
Ex.
- "Do you smoke?"
- "Have you been tested for TB?"
,- "What year were you born?"
- "Do you take the medication as directed?"
- "When did your rash start?"
Open-ended questions - Answer- - types of questions that invite the client to share
descriptive answers, open up about their experience, and answer in a way that is most
relevant or comfortable from their perspective.
- provides the opportunity for you to probe further.
ex.
- "What was going on in your life when you first started feeling depressed?"
- "Tell me about when you first started smoking."
- "How have you been feeling in the past week?"
- "Tell me about the challenges you are having with your medication regimen?"
Probing questions - Answer- - types of questions and statements that allow you to
gather more subjective data based on a client's response.
- can also be used to summarize and clarify a client's response or resolve discrepancies
that you identify.
- can be open- or closed-ended.
Ex.
- "Tell me more."
- "How did that affect you?"
- "When talking about your health, you said 'don't cross the bridge til you come to it,' can
you tell me what you mean by that?"
- "You said that you are doing 'well' since your partner's death, but I noticed that you are
teary eyed as you are speaking about them. Can you talk a bit about that?"
Communication strategies (eye contact, facilitation, silence, empathy, honesty,
unconditional positive regard, permission statements) - Answer- filler
Clear and simple language - Answer- - best to avoid or limit medical and professional
language that clients may not understand.
- By speaking simply and clearly, you include clients regardless of their professional or
educational point of reference.
Active listening - Answer- Facilitation: a nursing intervention defined as promoting the
ability to process and comprehend information.
- Paraphrasing
- type of listening that shows you are engaged in the conversation and that you hear
and understand what the client is saying.
- important to facilitate your understanding of, and the integration of, client's
experiences, preferences, and health goals into their care.
,Eye contact and having an open posture
- responding by saying "uh huh" and "tell me more." Active listening can also be
demonstrated by paraphrasing what the client says, which shows that you are listening
and encourages them to elaborate.
Silence - Answer- - aids active listening.
- can be beneficial in situations where the client is talking about something personal or
is struggling to find the words for what they want to say.
- better to show interest and understanding and give the client time to think about how
they best want to say what they want to say.
- If client seems to be feeling awkward about taking too much time to think, you can say
"It's ok. Take your time."
Empathy - Answer- - action of understanding another person's emotions and
experiences while suspending your own viewpoint.
- helps the client feel understood and cultivates a trusting and therapeutic relationship.
- important to imagine what another person is experiencing. You need to be curious and
demonstrate interest by responding to what the client is saying (e.g., "Tell me more.
How do you feel about it?").
- Don't get caught up in following your interview guide - it's important to let the client's
narrative shape the interview. When a client is talking about a difficult experience, you
may say something such as, "That must be very difficult."
Honesty - Answer- If you are talking about a difficult or emotionally laden topic,
demonstrate compassion by sitting down, maintaining eye contact, and being aware of
your vocal intonation.
Honesty: Avoid false reassurance - Answer- - when you assure or comfort the client
about something that is not based on fact.
- When someone voices fear or anxiety, people tend to automatically respond by
assuring them that everything will be okay.
- example of false reassurance is when the nurse says, "it will be okay" when a client
says, "I am scared I might die."
- not honest and does not open up communication. It is more effective and honest to
say, "tell me more."
avoid distancing and avoidance language. - Answer- - Distancing is when you attempt
to create a false space/distance between a threat and the person (e.g., "the cancer has
spread to your brain" as opposed to "your cancer...")
- Avoidance language is unclear language (e.g., "your partner didn't make it" or "they
are now at peace"). It's better to use specific language (e.g., "your partner died").
- Being direct demonstrates honesty and ensures clarity for the client.
Unconditional positive regard - Answer- Avoid questions that begin with "why"
- this can imply blame. For example, avoid "why do you smoke?" You can reframe this
inquiry as, "tell me about the reasons that you smoke."
, - accepting that clients are generally doing the best they can. Avoid judging or blaming
them for their beliefs, behaviours, or conditions.
- means accepting and respecting that each client has agency to believe and behave
how they want, or feel is best.
Permission statements - Answer- are a combination of statements and questions that
suggest to the client that an experience or feeling is expected or normal.
- "Often, children your age experience changes in their body that they have questions
about."
- "Clients that have experienced your type of surgery often have questions about sex.
Do you have any questions for me?"
- "Many people your age begin to experience problems with urinary incontinence, have
you had any issues?"
Developmental and cultural considerations - Answer- filler
Cultural Considerations - Answer- People are cultural beings
- refers to a person's practices or their way of life.
- includes a person's ethnicity, spirituality, and religion, but it is much more than these
components.
Culture is deeply embedded
- everything they do, including how they communicate and what is meaningful to them.
- essential to understand because it shapes the way we think, feel, and behave.
- can determine what is considered taboo, appropriate, and meaningful.
Culture is socially transmissible
- can be passed from one person/generation to the next, making verbal and non-verbal
communication a vital way to impart and share culture.
From an indigenous perspective, culture is an emergent property of individuals
interacting with their natural and human environments
Cultural safety - Answer- - you must examine your own culture and how it affects the
ways you communicate with clients.
- This self-awareness is vital to provide culturally safe care to clients and facilitate health
equity
Developmental Considerations - Answer- - includes attention to areas such as language
and cognitive and socio-emotional development.
- may need to modify your communication so that you are appropriately engaging with
the client at a level they understand.
- Chronological age and developmental stage
