Page | 1
HESI CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS
WITH DETAILED VERIFIED ANSWERS
The Patient: A 65-year- old male.
The Situation: The family brings the patient to the emergency room
because he just took an entire bottle of pills.
The Question: What action should the nurse take first? Ans: Determine
the patient's level of consciousness.
The Patient: An 80 year-old male who has used continuous oxygen for
the past three years.
The Situation: While making a home visit, the wife tells the nurse that
her husband was doing well on 2 litres of oxygen per minute until late
last night when he developed severe shortness of breath on the way to
the bathroom.
The Question: What action should the nurse take first? Ans: Assess the
patient's oxygen saturation by pulse oximeter.
The Patient: A 41-year-old male.
The Situation: The patient is complaining of severe stomach pain and
states that he has been "vomiting all the time."
The Question: What should the nurse do first? Ans: Administer a
prescribed pain medication.
The Patient: The wife of a wealthy owner of the town's bank.
The Situation: The patient and her husband arrive on the unit. While
orienting the patient to the hospital room, the nurse notices that the
patient has placed a large amount of cash and some expensive earrings
in the drawer of the bedside table.
, Page | 2
The Question: What is the best action for the nurse to take? Ans: Advise
the patient to have her husband take the items home when he leaves.
The Patient: A 45-year-old female who is 5' 2" tall, weighs 200 pounds,
and has smoked since age 21.
The Situation: The patient comes to the clinic with a complaint of "leg
pain."
The Question: It is most important for the nurse to obtain information
about which previous occurrence? Ans: A previous blood clot in the leg.
The Patient: A 61-year-old female.
The Situation: The patient has a fever of unknown origin. The nurse
administered a fever-reducing medication 30 minutes ago. At this time
there has been no decrease in the patient's fever.
The Question: What action would be best for the nurse to take? Ans:
Sponge the patient with cool water.
The Patient: A 70-year-old male who is relatively healthy.
The Situation: A liquid mediation is prescribed for this patient.
The Question: Prior to administering the prescribed medication, what
intervention has the highest priority? Ans: Determine if the patient is
allergic to the medication.
The Patient: A fifty-eight-year-old female.
The Situation: While the nurse is offering the patient her morning
medications, she tells the nurse that she does not recall ever taking a pill
that was pink-colored.
The Question: What should the nurse do in response to this patient's
comment? Ans: Withhold the mediation until the patient's prescription is
verify.
The Patients:
HESI CRITICAL THINKING QUESTIONS
WITH DETAILED VERIFIED ANSWERS
The Patient: A 65-year- old male.
The Situation: The family brings the patient to the emergency room
because he just took an entire bottle of pills.
The Question: What action should the nurse take first? Ans: Determine
the patient's level of consciousness.
The Patient: An 80 year-old male who has used continuous oxygen for
the past three years.
The Situation: While making a home visit, the wife tells the nurse that
her husband was doing well on 2 litres of oxygen per minute until late
last night when he developed severe shortness of breath on the way to
the bathroom.
The Question: What action should the nurse take first? Ans: Assess the
patient's oxygen saturation by pulse oximeter.
The Patient: A 41-year-old male.
The Situation: The patient is complaining of severe stomach pain and
states that he has been "vomiting all the time."
The Question: What should the nurse do first? Ans: Administer a
prescribed pain medication.
The Patient: The wife of a wealthy owner of the town's bank.
The Situation: The patient and her husband arrive on the unit. While
orienting the patient to the hospital room, the nurse notices that the
patient has placed a large amount of cash and some expensive earrings
in the drawer of the bedside table.
, Page | 2
The Question: What is the best action for the nurse to take? Ans: Advise
the patient to have her husband take the items home when he leaves.
The Patient: A 45-year-old female who is 5' 2" tall, weighs 200 pounds,
and has smoked since age 21.
The Situation: The patient comes to the clinic with a complaint of "leg
pain."
The Question: It is most important for the nurse to obtain information
about which previous occurrence? Ans: A previous blood clot in the leg.
The Patient: A 61-year-old female.
The Situation: The patient has a fever of unknown origin. The nurse
administered a fever-reducing medication 30 minutes ago. At this time
there has been no decrease in the patient's fever.
The Question: What action would be best for the nurse to take? Ans:
Sponge the patient with cool water.
The Patient: A 70-year-old male who is relatively healthy.
The Situation: A liquid mediation is prescribed for this patient.
The Question: Prior to administering the prescribed medication, what
intervention has the highest priority? Ans: Determine if the patient is
allergic to the medication.
The Patient: A fifty-eight-year-old female.
The Situation: While the nurse is offering the patient her morning
medications, she tells the nurse that she does not recall ever taking a pill
that was pink-colored.
The Question: What should the nurse do in response to this patient's
comment? Ans: Withhold the mediation until the patient's prescription is
verify.
The Patients:
