NURS 222 Week 1 Practice Test 2026 – High-Yield
Study Guide Complete Test Bank: 300 Questions with
Answers, Choices, and Rationales
SECTION 1: NURSING PROCESS & CRITICAL THINKING (Questions 1–30)
1. Which step of the nursing process involves collecting subjective and objective data?
A. Planning
B. Assessment
C. Implementation
D. Evaluation
Answer: B. Assessment
Rationale: Assessment is the first step of the nursing process and involves gathering subjective
and objective data.
2. A nurse identifies a patient's actual or potential health problem. This is which step of the
nursing process?
A. Assessment
B. Diagnosis
C. Planning
D. Evaluation
Answer: B. Diagnosis
Rationale: Nursing diagnosis is the clinical judgment about individual, family, or community
responses to actual or potential health problems.
3. Which step of the nursing process involves prioritizing nursing diagnoses and setting
patient-centered goals?
A. Assessment
B. Diagnosis
C. Planning
D. Implementation
Answer: C. Planning
,Rationale: Planning involves prioritizing problems, formulating goals, and selecting
interventions.
4. A nurse administers a prescribed medication and repositions a patient. This is which step?
A. Assessment
B. Planning
C. Implementation
D. Evaluation
Answer: C. Implementation
Rationale: Implementation is the execution of nursing interventions identified in the plan of care.
5. Which step determines whether goals were met and whether revisions are needed?
A. Assessment
B. Planning
C. Implementation
D. Evaluation
Answer: D. Evaluation
Rationale: Evaluation compares patient outcomes with expected outcomes and determines
need for plan revision.
6. Which type of data is the patient's report of pain?
A. Objective data
B. Subjective data
C. Laboratory data
D. Diagnostic data
Answer: B. Subjective data
Rationale: Subjective data are what the patient reports or describes; pain rating is subjective.
7. Which type of data is a blood pressure reading?
A. Subjective data
B. Objective data
C. Patient opinion
D. Family report
,Answer: B. Objective data
Rationale: Objective data are measurable and observable, such as vital signs.
8. Which nursing diagnosis is written correctly?
A. Pneumonia related to infection
B. Risk for falls related to unsteady gait
C. Doctor ordered bed rest
D. Patient needs oxygen
Answer: B. Risk for falls related to unsteady gait
Rationale: A correct nursing diagnosis includes a problem and related factors; medical
diagnoses and provider orders are not nursing diagnoses.
9. What is the purpose of a nursing care plan?
A. To document medical orders
B. To guide individualized nursing care
C. To replace the medical record
D. To bill insurance
Answer: B. To guide individualized nursing care
Rationale: The care plan provides a roadmap for patient-centered nursing interventions.
10. A nurse uses clinical judgment to prioritize care. Which patient should be assessed first?
A. Patient requesting pain medication
B. Patient with new onset shortness of breath
C. Patient needing discharge teaching
D. Patient asking for a blanket
Answer: B. Patient with new onset shortness of breath
Rationale: Airway/breathing problems are highest priority using ABC/Maslow frameworks.
11. Which action demonstrates critical thinking in nursing?
A. Following a checklist without question
B. Questioning assumptions and evaluating evidence
C. Ignoring patient preferences
, D. Delegating all assessments
Answer: B. Questioning assumptions and evaluating evidence
Rationale: Critical thinking involves analysis, inference, and evaluation of data.
12. Which is a short-term goal?
A. Patient will walk 50 feet by discharge
B. Patient will ambulate to the bathroom without dyspnea by end of shift
C. Patient will lose 20 pounds in 2 months
D. Patient will quit smoking within 1 year
Answer: B. Patient will ambulate to the bathroom without dyspnea by end of shift
Rationale: Short-term goals are achievable in a brief period, often within a shift or day.
13. Which is a correctly written patient-centered goal?
A. Nurse will administer pain medication every 4 hours
B. Patient will report pain <3/10 within 30 minutes of intervention
C. Doctor will order physical therapy
D. Patient will be less anxious
Answer: B. Patient will report pain <3/10 within 30 minutes of intervention
Rationale: Goals should be patient-centered, measurable, and time-bound.
14. What is the purpose of evaluation in the nursing process?
A. To collect initial data
B. To determine if interventions were effective
C. To write nursing diagnoses
D. To order medications
Answer: B. To determine if interventions were effective
Rationale: Evaluation measures outcome achievement and guides plan revision.
15. A nurse performs a focused assessment on a patient with chest pain. This is which type of
assessment?
A. Comprehensive
B. Focused
Study Guide Complete Test Bank: 300 Questions with
Answers, Choices, and Rationales
SECTION 1: NURSING PROCESS & CRITICAL THINKING (Questions 1–30)
1. Which step of the nursing process involves collecting subjective and objective data?
A. Planning
B. Assessment
C. Implementation
D. Evaluation
Answer: B. Assessment
Rationale: Assessment is the first step of the nursing process and involves gathering subjective
and objective data.
2. A nurse identifies a patient's actual or potential health problem. This is which step of the
nursing process?
A. Assessment
B. Diagnosis
C. Planning
D. Evaluation
Answer: B. Diagnosis
Rationale: Nursing diagnosis is the clinical judgment about individual, family, or community
responses to actual or potential health problems.
3. Which step of the nursing process involves prioritizing nursing diagnoses and setting
patient-centered goals?
A. Assessment
B. Diagnosis
C. Planning
D. Implementation
Answer: C. Planning
,Rationale: Planning involves prioritizing problems, formulating goals, and selecting
interventions.
4. A nurse administers a prescribed medication and repositions a patient. This is which step?
A. Assessment
B. Planning
C. Implementation
D. Evaluation
Answer: C. Implementation
Rationale: Implementation is the execution of nursing interventions identified in the plan of care.
5. Which step determines whether goals were met and whether revisions are needed?
A. Assessment
B. Planning
C. Implementation
D. Evaluation
Answer: D. Evaluation
Rationale: Evaluation compares patient outcomes with expected outcomes and determines
need for plan revision.
6. Which type of data is the patient's report of pain?
A. Objective data
B. Subjective data
C. Laboratory data
D. Diagnostic data
Answer: B. Subjective data
Rationale: Subjective data are what the patient reports or describes; pain rating is subjective.
7. Which type of data is a blood pressure reading?
A. Subjective data
B. Objective data
C. Patient opinion
D. Family report
,Answer: B. Objective data
Rationale: Objective data are measurable and observable, such as vital signs.
8. Which nursing diagnosis is written correctly?
A. Pneumonia related to infection
B. Risk for falls related to unsteady gait
C. Doctor ordered bed rest
D. Patient needs oxygen
Answer: B. Risk for falls related to unsteady gait
Rationale: A correct nursing diagnosis includes a problem and related factors; medical
diagnoses and provider orders are not nursing diagnoses.
9. What is the purpose of a nursing care plan?
A. To document medical orders
B. To guide individualized nursing care
C. To replace the medical record
D. To bill insurance
Answer: B. To guide individualized nursing care
Rationale: The care plan provides a roadmap for patient-centered nursing interventions.
10. A nurse uses clinical judgment to prioritize care. Which patient should be assessed first?
A. Patient requesting pain medication
B. Patient with new onset shortness of breath
C. Patient needing discharge teaching
D. Patient asking for a blanket
Answer: B. Patient with new onset shortness of breath
Rationale: Airway/breathing problems are highest priority using ABC/Maslow frameworks.
11. Which action demonstrates critical thinking in nursing?
A. Following a checklist without question
B. Questioning assumptions and evaluating evidence
C. Ignoring patient preferences
, D. Delegating all assessments
Answer: B. Questioning assumptions and evaluating evidence
Rationale: Critical thinking involves analysis, inference, and evaluation of data.
12. Which is a short-term goal?
A. Patient will walk 50 feet by discharge
B. Patient will ambulate to the bathroom without dyspnea by end of shift
C. Patient will lose 20 pounds in 2 months
D. Patient will quit smoking within 1 year
Answer: B. Patient will ambulate to the bathroom without dyspnea by end of shift
Rationale: Short-term goals are achievable in a brief period, often within a shift or day.
13. Which is a correctly written patient-centered goal?
A. Nurse will administer pain medication every 4 hours
B. Patient will report pain <3/10 within 30 minutes of intervention
C. Doctor will order physical therapy
D. Patient will be less anxious
Answer: B. Patient will report pain <3/10 within 30 minutes of intervention
Rationale: Goals should be patient-centered, measurable, and time-bound.
14. What is the purpose of evaluation in the nursing process?
A. To collect initial data
B. To determine if interventions were effective
C. To write nursing diagnoses
D. To order medications
Answer: B. To determine if interventions were effective
Rationale: Evaluation measures outcome achievement and guides plan revision.
15. A nurse performs a focused assessment on a patient with chest pain. This is which type of
assessment?
A. Comprehensive
B. Focused
