HESI MEDSURG1 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
2026 EXAM TEST PAPER COMPLETE
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ALREADY PASSED
◉ Which method elicits the most accurate information during a
physical assessment of an older client?
A) Ask the client to recount one's health history.
B) Obtain the client's information from a caregiver.
C) Review the past medical record for medications.
D) Use reliable assessment tools for older adults. Answer: D) Use
reliable assessment tools for older adults.
* Specific assessment tools (D) for an older adult, such as Older
Adult Resource Services Center Instrument (OARS), mini-mental
assessment, fall risk, depression (Geriatric Depression Scale), or skin
breakdown risk (Braden Scale), consider age-related physiologic and
psychosocial changes related to aging and provide the most accurate
and complete information. (A and B) are subjective and may vary in
reliability based on the client's memory and caregiver's current
involvement. Although (C) is a good resource to identify
polypharmacy, a written record may not be available or currently
accurate.
,◉ The nurse obtains a client's history that includes right
mastectomy and radiation therapy for cancer of the breast 10 years
ago. Which current health problem should the nurse consider is a
consequence of the radiation therapy?
A) Asthma.
B) Myocardial infarction.
C) Chronic esophagitis with gastroesophageal reflux.
D) Pathologic fracture of two ribs on the right chest. Answer: D)
Pathologic fracture of two ribs on the right chest.
* The ribs lie in the radiation pathway and lose density over time,
becoming thin and brittle, so the occurence of two right-sided ribs
with pathological fractures resulting without evidence of trauma (D)
is related to radiation damage. The heart (B), esophagus (C), and
larger bronchi (A) are not usually in the radiation path.
◉ Three weeks after discharge for an acute myocardial infarction
(MI), a client returns to the cardiac center for follow-up. When the
nurse asks about sleep patterns, the client tells the nurse that he
sleeps fine but that his wife moved into the spare bedroom to sleep
when he returned home. He states, I guess we will never have sex
again after this. Which response is best for the nurse to provide?
,A) Sexual intercourse can be strenuous on your heart, but closeness
and intimacy, such as holding and cuddling, can be maintained with
your wife.
B) Sexual activity can be resumed whenever you and your wife feel
like it because the sexual response is more emotional rather than
physical.
C) You should discuss your questions about your sexual activity with
your healthcare provider because sexual activity may be limited by
your heart damage.
D) Sexual activity is similar in cardiac workload and energy
expenditure as climbin Answer: D) Sexual activity is similar in
cardiac workload and energy expenditure as climbing two flights of
stairs and may be resumed like other activities.
* Sexual intercourse after an MI, or acute coronary syndrome, has
been found to require no more energy expenditure or cardiac stress
than walking briskly up two flights of stairs (D), as long as other
guidelines, such as limiting food and alcohol intake before
intercourse, are followed. (A, B, and C) do not provide the best
factual information to reduce the client's anxiety and
misconceptions.
◉ An 85-year-old male client comes to the clinic for his annual
physical exam and renewal of antihypertensive medication
prescriptions. The client's radial pulse rate is 104 beats/minute.
Which additional assessment should the nurse complete?
, A) Palpate the pedal pulse volume.
B) Count the brachial pulse rate.
C) Measure the blood pressure.
D) Assess for a carotid bruit. Answer: C) Measure the blood
pressure.
* Elderly clients who take antihypertensive medications often
experience side effects, such as hypotension, which causes
tachycardia, a compensatory mechanism to maintain adequate
cardiac output, so the client's blood pressure (C) should be
determined. (A, B, and D) are less likely to provide data related to
the client's tachycardia.
◉ The nurse is preparing a teaching plan for a client with newly
diagnosed glacoma and a history of allergic rhinitis. Which
information is most important for the nurse to provide the client
about using over-the-counter (OTC) medications for allergies?
A) Notify your healthcare provider if there is an increase in heart
rate.
B) Increase fluid intake while taking an antihistamine or
decongestant.
C) Avoid allergy medications that contain pseudoephedrine or
phenylephrine.
2026 EXAM TEST PAPER COMPLETE
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS ALREADY PASSED
◉ Which method elicits the most accurate information during a
physical assessment of an older client?
A) Ask the client to recount one's health history.
B) Obtain the client's information from a caregiver.
C) Review the past medical record for medications.
D) Use reliable assessment tools for older adults. Answer: D) Use
reliable assessment tools for older adults.
* Specific assessment tools (D) for an older adult, such as Older
Adult Resource Services Center Instrument (OARS), mini-mental
assessment, fall risk, depression (Geriatric Depression Scale), or skin
breakdown risk (Braden Scale), consider age-related physiologic and
psychosocial changes related to aging and provide the most accurate
and complete information. (A and B) are subjective and may vary in
reliability based on the client's memory and caregiver's current
involvement. Although (C) is a good resource to identify
polypharmacy, a written record may not be available or currently
accurate.
,◉ The nurse obtains a client's history that includes right
mastectomy and radiation therapy for cancer of the breast 10 years
ago. Which current health problem should the nurse consider is a
consequence of the radiation therapy?
A) Asthma.
B) Myocardial infarction.
C) Chronic esophagitis with gastroesophageal reflux.
D) Pathologic fracture of two ribs on the right chest. Answer: D)
Pathologic fracture of two ribs on the right chest.
* The ribs lie in the radiation pathway and lose density over time,
becoming thin and brittle, so the occurence of two right-sided ribs
with pathological fractures resulting without evidence of trauma (D)
is related to radiation damage. The heart (B), esophagus (C), and
larger bronchi (A) are not usually in the radiation path.
◉ Three weeks after discharge for an acute myocardial infarction
(MI), a client returns to the cardiac center for follow-up. When the
nurse asks about sleep patterns, the client tells the nurse that he
sleeps fine but that his wife moved into the spare bedroom to sleep
when he returned home. He states, I guess we will never have sex
again after this. Which response is best for the nurse to provide?
,A) Sexual intercourse can be strenuous on your heart, but closeness
and intimacy, such as holding and cuddling, can be maintained with
your wife.
B) Sexual activity can be resumed whenever you and your wife feel
like it because the sexual response is more emotional rather than
physical.
C) You should discuss your questions about your sexual activity with
your healthcare provider because sexual activity may be limited by
your heart damage.
D) Sexual activity is similar in cardiac workload and energy
expenditure as climbin Answer: D) Sexual activity is similar in
cardiac workload and energy expenditure as climbing two flights of
stairs and may be resumed like other activities.
* Sexual intercourse after an MI, or acute coronary syndrome, has
been found to require no more energy expenditure or cardiac stress
than walking briskly up two flights of stairs (D), as long as other
guidelines, such as limiting food and alcohol intake before
intercourse, are followed. (A, B, and C) do not provide the best
factual information to reduce the client's anxiety and
misconceptions.
◉ An 85-year-old male client comes to the clinic for his annual
physical exam and renewal of antihypertensive medication
prescriptions. The client's radial pulse rate is 104 beats/minute.
Which additional assessment should the nurse complete?
, A) Palpate the pedal pulse volume.
B) Count the brachial pulse rate.
C) Measure the blood pressure.
D) Assess for a carotid bruit. Answer: C) Measure the blood
pressure.
* Elderly clients who take antihypertensive medications often
experience side effects, such as hypotension, which causes
tachycardia, a compensatory mechanism to maintain adequate
cardiac output, so the client's blood pressure (C) should be
determined. (A, B, and D) are less likely to provide data related to
the client's tachycardia.
◉ The nurse is preparing a teaching plan for a client with newly
diagnosed glacoma and a history of allergic rhinitis. Which
information is most important for the nurse to provide the client
about using over-the-counter (OTC) medications for allergies?
A) Notify your healthcare provider if there is an increase in heart
rate.
B) Increase fluid intake while taking an antihistamine or
decongestant.
C) Avoid allergy medications that contain pseudoephedrine or
phenylephrine.
