NCLEX-RN Practice Questions 2026 |
Comprehensive Test Prep with
Answers, Rationales & Key Concepts
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_fhpxse
1. A nurse forgets to administer a client's diuretic and the client
experiences an
episode of pulmonary edema. The charge nurse would consider the
medication
error to constitute negligence because the situation contains which
element?
1. Purposeful failure to perform a health care procedure
2. Unintentional failure to perform a health care procedure
3. Act of substituting a different medication for the one ordered
4. Failure to follow a direct order by a physician: Answer: 2
Rationale: Negligence is the unintentional failure of an individual to
perform or not perform an act that a reasonable
person would or would not do in the same or similar circumstances. A
purposeful failure to perform a procedure would
be the opposite of negligence, which is unintentional. Substituting a
different medication does not fit the description of
the situation in the question. Failure to follow a direct order does not fit
the description in the situation in the question.
Cognitive Level: Applying
,Client Need: Management of Care
Integrated Process: Nursing Process: Assessment
Content Area: Fundamentals
Strategy: Two options are opposites, which is a clue that one of them
may be correct. Choose unintentional failure to
carry out a procedure over purposeful failure because it matches the
definition of negligence.
2. A client asks why a diagnostic test has been ordered and the nurse
replies,
"I'm unsure but will find out for you." When the nurse later returns and
provides
an explanation, the nurse is acting under which principle?
1. Nonmaleficence
2. Veracity
3. Beneficence
4. Fidelity: Answer: 4
Rationale: Fidelity means being faithful to agreements and promises.
This nurse is acting on the client's behalf to
obtain needed information and report it back to the client.
Nonmaleficence is the duty to do no harm. Veracity refers
to telling the truth for example, not lying to a client about a serious
prognosis. Beneficence means doing good, such
as by implementing actions (e.g. keeping a salt shaker out of sight) that
benefit a client (heart condition requiring
,sodium-restricted diet).
Cognitive Level: Understanding
c
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_fhpxse
Client Need: Management of Care
Integrated Process: Nursing Process: Implementation
Content Area: Fundamentals
Strategy: Use the process of elimination. The correct answer is the one
that matches the description in the stem; that
is, the nurse made a promise to a client and kept it, which constitutes
fidelity.
3. An individual has a seizure while walking down the street. During the
seizure,
a nurse from a physician's office is noticed driving past without
stopping to
assist. The individual sues the nurse for negligence but fails to win a
judgement
for which reason?
1. The nurse had no duty to the individual.
2. The nurse did what most nurses would do in the same circumstance.
3. The nurse did not cause the client's injuries.
4. The nurse was off-duty at the time.: Answer: 1
, Rationale: To be guilty of negligence, the nurse must have a
relationship with the client that involves a duty to provide
care. The relationship is usually a component of employment. The
nurse did not necessarily do what others would do
in this situation. Although the nurse did not cause the client's injuries, it
does not prevent the nurse from assisting in
this situation. Although the nurse was off-duty, the nurse could have
assisted if motivated to do so.
Cognitive Level: Understanding
Client Need: Management of Care
Integrated Process: Nursing Process: Implementation
Content Area: Fundamentals
Strategy: Use the process of elimination and nursing knowledge. The
correct answer is the one that recognizes that the
nurse was not in the role of employee at the time of the incident,
removing the requirement of acting on the client's
behalf.
4. An adult female ambulatory care client receiving an oral
anticoagulant is
given aspirin for a headache while visiting a neighbor, who is a nurse.
The client
subsequently has a bleeding episode because of a drug interaction. The
legal
nurse consultant interprets that which necessary elements of
malpractice are
Comprehensive Test Prep with
Answers, Rationales & Key Concepts
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_fhpxse
1. A nurse forgets to administer a client's diuretic and the client
experiences an
episode of pulmonary edema. The charge nurse would consider the
medication
error to constitute negligence because the situation contains which
element?
1. Purposeful failure to perform a health care procedure
2. Unintentional failure to perform a health care procedure
3. Act of substituting a different medication for the one ordered
4. Failure to follow a direct order by a physician: Answer: 2
Rationale: Negligence is the unintentional failure of an individual to
perform or not perform an act that a reasonable
person would or would not do in the same or similar circumstances. A
purposeful failure to perform a procedure would
be the opposite of negligence, which is unintentional. Substituting a
different medication does not fit the description of
the situation in the question. Failure to follow a direct order does not fit
the description in the situation in the question.
Cognitive Level: Applying
,Client Need: Management of Care
Integrated Process: Nursing Process: Assessment
Content Area: Fundamentals
Strategy: Two options are opposites, which is a clue that one of them
may be correct. Choose unintentional failure to
carry out a procedure over purposeful failure because it matches the
definition of negligence.
2. A client asks why a diagnostic test has been ordered and the nurse
replies,
"I'm unsure but will find out for you." When the nurse later returns and
provides
an explanation, the nurse is acting under which principle?
1. Nonmaleficence
2. Veracity
3. Beneficence
4. Fidelity: Answer: 4
Rationale: Fidelity means being faithful to agreements and promises.
This nurse is acting on the client's behalf to
obtain needed information and report it back to the client.
Nonmaleficence is the duty to do no harm. Veracity refers
to telling the truth for example, not lying to a client about a serious
prognosis. Beneficence means doing good, such
as by implementing actions (e.g. keeping a salt shaker out of sight) that
benefit a client (heart condition requiring
,sodium-restricted diet).
Cognitive Level: Understanding
c
Study online at https://quizlet.com/_fhpxse
Client Need: Management of Care
Integrated Process: Nursing Process: Implementation
Content Area: Fundamentals
Strategy: Use the process of elimination. The correct answer is the one
that matches the description in the stem; that
is, the nurse made a promise to a client and kept it, which constitutes
fidelity.
3. An individual has a seizure while walking down the street. During the
seizure,
a nurse from a physician's office is noticed driving past without
stopping to
assist. The individual sues the nurse for negligence but fails to win a
judgement
for which reason?
1. The nurse had no duty to the individual.
2. The nurse did what most nurses would do in the same circumstance.
3. The nurse did not cause the client's injuries.
4. The nurse was off-duty at the time.: Answer: 1
, Rationale: To be guilty of negligence, the nurse must have a
relationship with the client that involves a duty to provide
care. The relationship is usually a component of employment. The
nurse did not necessarily do what others would do
in this situation. Although the nurse did not cause the client's injuries, it
does not prevent the nurse from assisting in
this situation. Although the nurse was off-duty, the nurse could have
assisted if motivated to do so.
Cognitive Level: Understanding
Client Need: Management of Care
Integrated Process: Nursing Process: Implementation
Content Area: Fundamentals
Strategy: Use the process of elimination and nursing knowledge. The
correct answer is the one that recognizes that the
nurse was not in the role of employee at the time of the incident,
removing the requirement of acting on the client's
behalf.
4. An adult female ambulatory care client receiving an oral
anticoagulant is
given aspirin for a headache while visiting a neighbor, who is a nurse.
The client
subsequently has a bleeding episode because of a drug interaction. The
legal
nurse consultant interprets that which necessary elements of
malpractice are
