Page 1 of 86
CONTEMPORARY NURSING: ISSUES, TRENDS, & MANAGEMENT EXAM
PREP 2026 QUESTIONS WITH VERIFIED ANSWERS DETAILED
RATIONALES GRADED A+
Part I: The Evolution and Image of Professional Nursing (Questions 1–30)
1. Florence Nightingale is best known for which of the following contributions to
the nursing profession?
A. Establishing the Henry Street Settlement
B. Founding modern professional nursing and emphasizing sanitation and
statistics
C. Becoming the first Black public health nurse
D. Founding the American Red Cross
Rationale: Nightingale is recognized as the founder of modern nursing; she used
statistical evidence to demonstrate that sanitation reforms dramatically reduced
mortality, establishing nursing as an evidence-informed profession.
2. Clara Barton is historically recognized for which of the following achievements?
A. Establishing the Henry Street Settlement
B. Founding the American Red Cross
C. Becoming the first Black public health nurse
D. Publicizing the inadequacies of hospital-based nursing schools
Rationale: Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross and is celebrated for her
humanitarian work in organizing nursing care during the Civil War and beyond.
1|Page
,Page 2 of 86
3. Lillian Wald is most closely associated with which of the following?
A. Establishing the Henry Street Settlement and founding public health nursing
B. Founding the American Red Cross
C. Becoming the first Black public health nurse
D. Establishing the first nursing school in the United States
Rationale: Lillian Wald founded the Henry Street Settlement in New York City,
which became a model for public health nursing and community-based care.
4. Mary Eliza Mahoney is historically significant in nursing because she was which
of the following?
A. The founder of the American Nurses Association
B. The first Black woman to complete nurse’s training in the United States
C. The founder of the Red Cross
D. The first nurse to receive a doctoral degree
Rationale: Mary Eliza Mahoney was the first Black woman to complete formal
nurse’s training in the United States and co-founded the National Association of
Colored Graduate Nurses.
5. The contemporary image of nursing is best described by which of the following
statements?
A. Nursing is viewed primarily as a subordinate role to medicine.
B. Nursing is consistently rated among the most trusted and ethical professions.
C. The public perceives nursing as limited to hospital bedside care.
D. Nursing’s image has declined in recent decades.
Rationale: Public opinion polls consistently rank nursing as the most trusted and
ethical profession, reflecting the profession’s emphasis on honesty, care, and
advocacy.
6. Which of the following best describes the scope of contemporary professional
nursing practice?
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,Page 3 of 86
A. Task-oriented care limited to physician orders
B. Autonomous and collaborative care encompassing advocacy, education, and
evidence-based practice
C. Care restricted to hospital settings
D. Purely technical skills without critical thinking
Rationale: Contemporary nursing is an autonomous and collaborative profession
that integrates advocacy, education, research, and evidence-based practice across
diverse settings.
7. The American Nurses Association (ANA) defines nursing primarily as which of
the following?
A. A trade focused on technical tasks
B. The protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, and
alleviation of suffering
C. A subsidiary role to medicine
D. A purely administrative function
Rationale: The ANA definition emphasizes health promotion, prevention of illness,
advocacy, and the alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of
human responses.
8. Which historical figure is associated with publicizing the inadequacies of
hospital-based nursing schools and advocating for educational reform?
A. Clara Barton
B. The Goldmark Report (1923)
C. Lillian Wald only
D. Mary Eliza Mahoney
Rationale: The Goldmark Report documented inadequacies in hospital-based
nursing education and recommended that nursing schools be established within
universities, shaping modern nursing education.
9. The nursing profession’s commitment to lifelong learning is reflected in which
of the following?
3|Page
, Page 4 of 86
A. Continuing education and professional certification requirements
B. A single-entry degree with no further requirements
C. Reliance solely on on-the-job training
D. Avoidance of specialty certification
Rationale: Lifelong learning is demonstrated through continuing education,
specialty certification, and advanced degrees that maintain and expand
competence.
10. Which of the following best describes the role of nursing in shaping health
policy?
A. Nursing should remain apolitical.
B. Nurses advocate for policies that affect patient care and population health.
C. Policy is the sole responsibility of physicians.
D. Nurses lack the expertise to influence policy.
Rationale: Nurses bring frontline expertise to policy discussions and advocate for
policies that improve health outcomes and the conditions of practice.
11. The image of nursing in the media historically has been characterized by which
of the following?
A. Stereotypical portrayals that often underestimate the complexity of nursing
practice
B. Consistently accurate depictions of advanced practice
C. Complete absence of nursing from media
D. Portrayals focused solely on nursing research
Rationale: Media portrayals have often relied on stereotypes (e.g., the
handmaiden or the angel of mercy), underrepresenting the intellectual and
autonomous dimensions of nursing.
12. Which of the following nursing organizations is primarily responsible for
establishing standards of professional practice?
A. The Joint Commission
B. The American Nurses Association (ANA)
4|Page
CONTEMPORARY NURSING: ISSUES, TRENDS, & MANAGEMENT EXAM
PREP 2026 QUESTIONS WITH VERIFIED ANSWERS DETAILED
RATIONALES GRADED A+
Part I: The Evolution and Image of Professional Nursing (Questions 1–30)
1. Florence Nightingale is best known for which of the following contributions to
the nursing profession?
A. Establishing the Henry Street Settlement
B. Founding modern professional nursing and emphasizing sanitation and
statistics
C. Becoming the first Black public health nurse
D. Founding the American Red Cross
Rationale: Nightingale is recognized as the founder of modern nursing; she used
statistical evidence to demonstrate that sanitation reforms dramatically reduced
mortality, establishing nursing as an evidence-informed profession.
2. Clara Barton is historically recognized for which of the following achievements?
A. Establishing the Henry Street Settlement
B. Founding the American Red Cross
C. Becoming the first Black public health nurse
D. Publicizing the inadequacies of hospital-based nursing schools
Rationale: Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross and is celebrated for her
humanitarian work in organizing nursing care during the Civil War and beyond.
1|Page
,Page 2 of 86
3. Lillian Wald is most closely associated with which of the following?
A. Establishing the Henry Street Settlement and founding public health nursing
B. Founding the American Red Cross
C. Becoming the first Black public health nurse
D. Establishing the first nursing school in the United States
Rationale: Lillian Wald founded the Henry Street Settlement in New York City,
which became a model for public health nursing and community-based care.
4. Mary Eliza Mahoney is historically significant in nursing because she was which
of the following?
A. The founder of the American Nurses Association
B. The first Black woman to complete nurse’s training in the United States
C. The founder of the Red Cross
D. The first nurse to receive a doctoral degree
Rationale: Mary Eliza Mahoney was the first Black woman to complete formal
nurse’s training in the United States and co-founded the National Association of
Colored Graduate Nurses.
5. The contemporary image of nursing is best described by which of the following
statements?
A. Nursing is viewed primarily as a subordinate role to medicine.
B. Nursing is consistently rated among the most trusted and ethical professions.
C. The public perceives nursing as limited to hospital bedside care.
D. Nursing’s image has declined in recent decades.
Rationale: Public opinion polls consistently rank nursing as the most trusted and
ethical profession, reflecting the profession’s emphasis on honesty, care, and
advocacy.
6. Which of the following best describes the scope of contemporary professional
nursing practice?
2|Page
,Page 3 of 86
A. Task-oriented care limited to physician orders
B. Autonomous and collaborative care encompassing advocacy, education, and
evidence-based practice
C. Care restricted to hospital settings
D. Purely technical skills without critical thinking
Rationale: Contemporary nursing is an autonomous and collaborative profession
that integrates advocacy, education, research, and evidence-based practice across
diverse settings.
7. The American Nurses Association (ANA) defines nursing primarily as which of
the following?
A. A trade focused on technical tasks
B. The protection, promotion, and optimization of health and abilities, and
alleviation of suffering
C. A subsidiary role to medicine
D. A purely administrative function
Rationale: The ANA definition emphasizes health promotion, prevention of illness,
advocacy, and the alleviation of suffering through the diagnosis and treatment of
human responses.
8. Which historical figure is associated with publicizing the inadequacies of
hospital-based nursing schools and advocating for educational reform?
A. Clara Barton
B. The Goldmark Report (1923)
C. Lillian Wald only
D. Mary Eliza Mahoney
Rationale: The Goldmark Report documented inadequacies in hospital-based
nursing education and recommended that nursing schools be established within
universities, shaping modern nursing education.
9. The nursing profession’s commitment to lifelong learning is reflected in which
of the following?
3|Page
, Page 4 of 86
A. Continuing education and professional certification requirements
B. A single-entry degree with no further requirements
C. Reliance solely on on-the-job training
D. Avoidance of specialty certification
Rationale: Lifelong learning is demonstrated through continuing education,
specialty certification, and advanced degrees that maintain and expand
competence.
10. Which of the following best describes the role of nursing in shaping health
policy?
A. Nursing should remain apolitical.
B. Nurses advocate for policies that affect patient care and population health.
C. Policy is the sole responsibility of physicians.
D. Nurses lack the expertise to influence policy.
Rationale: Nurses bring frontline expertise to policy discussions and advocate for
policies that improve health outcomes and the conditions of practice.
11. The image of nursing in the media historically has been characterized by which
of the following?
A. Stereotypical portrayals that often underestimate the complexity of nursing
practice
B. Consistently accurate depictions of advanced practice
C. Complete absence of nursing from media
D. Portrayals focused solely on nursing research
Rationale: Media portrayals have often relied on stereotypes (e.g., the
handmaiden or the angel of mercy), underrepresenting the intellectual and
autonomous dimensions of nursing.
12. Which of the following nursing organizations is primarily responsible for
establishing standards of professional practice?
A. The Joint Commission
B. The American Nurses Association (ANA)
4|Page
