Page 1 of 60
TIMBY'S INTRODUCTORY MEDICAL-SURGICAL NURSING EXAM PREP
2026 QUESTIONS WITH VERIFIED ANSWERS DETAILED RATIONALES
GRADED A+
Part I: Nursing Roles, Responsibilities, and Patient Safety (Questions 1–20)
1. A nurse is orienting a new client and family to the inpatient unit and wants to
help them promote their own safety. Which information is most important to
provide?
A. The client should monitor hand hygiene among caregivers.
B. The client and family should be encouraged to be active partners in their care.
C. The family should stay with the client at all times.
D. The client should always wear the armband.
Rationale: Encouraging clients and families to be active partners provides the
broadest protection by involving them in safety monitoring, question-asking, and
advocacy throughout the care experience.
2. A preceptor advises a new nurse that the priority when working as a
professional nurse is which of the following?
A. Attending to holistic client needs
B. Ensuring client safety
C. Avoiding medication errors
D. Providing client-focused care
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Rationale: While all listed actions are appropriate, ensuring client safety is the
priority; every nurse has the responsibility to guard the client's safety above other
considerations.
3. Which statement best reflects professional nursing practice?
A. Nursing focuses only on carrying out physician orders.
B. Nursing integrates science, ethics, and patient-centered care.
C. Nursing is primarily task-oriented care.
D. Nursing is limited to hospital-based care.
Rationale: Professional nursing integrates scientific knowledge, ethical principles,
and patient-centered care to promote health and manage illness, rather than
being limited to task completion or order execution.
4. Which factor most directly influences a patient's perception of health?
A. Age only
B. Hospital policies
C. Personal beliefs and cultural values
D. Nurse staffing ratios
Rationale: Health perception is strongly influenced by personal beliefs, cultural
values, and individual experiences, not solely by demographic or organizational
factors.
5. Which is the best example of evidence-based nursing practice?
A. Using interventions based on tradition
B. Following physician preference only
C. Integrating research evidence with clinical expertise and patient preferences
D. Applying hospital routines to all patients
Rationale: Evidence-based practice combines current research evidence, clinical
expertise, and patient values and preferences, rather than relying on tradition or
routine.
6. A major goal of healthcare reform is to do which of the following?
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A. Increase hospital length of stay
B. Improve access, quality, and cost-effectiveness
C. Limit patient autonomy
D. Reduce the nursing workforce
Rationale: Healthcare reform focuses on improving access to care, enhancing
quality, and controlling costs, rather than restricting autonomy or reducing the
workforce.
7. A nurse working in a patient-centered medical home emphasizes which
approach?
A. Fragmented specialty care
B. Provider-focused decision-making
C. Coordinated, team-based care
D. Emergency-only services
Rationale: Patient-centered medical homes rely on coordinated, interdisciplinary,
team-based care that prioritizes the patient's needs and preferences.
8. The first step of the nursing process, which involves collecting subjective and
objective data about the client, is called which of the following?
A. Assessment
B. Diagnosis
C. Planning
D. Implementation
Rationale: Assessment is the first step of the nursing process and involves
collecting subjective and objective data that form the foundation for nursing
diagnoses, planning, implementation, and evaluation.
9. A nurse identifies that a client has impaired gas exchange related to
pneumonia. This statement represents which component of the nursing process?
A. Assessment
B. Nursing diagnosis
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C. Planning
D. Evaluation
Rationale: A nursing diagnosis is a clinical judgment about a client's response to
actual or potential health problems; "impaired gas exchange" identifies the
client's problem based on assessment data.
10. Which outcome statement written by a nurse is measurable and appropriate
for a client with heart failure?
A. "The client will feel less short of breath."
B. "The client will have improved breathing."
C. "The client will demonstrate effective breathing techniques by the end of the
shift."
D. "The client will be comfortable."
Rationale: A measurable outcome specifies observable behavior and a timeframe;
the correct option includes a specific, assessable behavior (demonstrating
techniques) and a clear deadline (by the end of the shift).
11. A nurse is reviewing levels of healthcare. Which level focuses on early
detection and treatment of disease to prevent complications?
A. Primary prevention
B. Secondary prevention
C. Tertiary prevention
D. Quaternary prevention
Rationale: Secondary prevention focuses on early detection (e.g., screening) and
prompt treatment to halt disease progression and prevent complications.
12. Which ethical principle requires the nurse to respect a client's right to make
their own healthcare decisions?
A. Beneficence
B. Nonmaleficence
C. Autonomy
D. Justice
4|Page
TIMBY'S INTRODUCTORY MEDICAL-SURGICAL NURSING EXAM PREP
2026 QUESTIONS WITH VERIFIED ANSWERS DETAILED RATIONALES
GRADED A+
Part I: Nursing Roles, Responsibilities, and Patient Safety (Questions 1–20)
1. A nurse is orienting a new client and family to the inpatient unit and wants to
help them promote their own safety. Which information is most important to
provide?
A. The client should monitor hand hygiene among caregivers.
B. The client and family should be encouraged to be active partners in their care.
C. The family should stay with the client at all times.
D. The client should always wear the armband.
Rationale: Encouraging clients and families to be active partners provides the
broadest protection by involving them in safety monitoring, question-asking, and
advocacy throughout the care experience.
2. A preceptor advises a new nurse that the priority when working as a
professional nurse is which of the following?
A. Attending to holistic client needs
B. Ensuring client safety
C. Avoiding medication errors
D. Providing client-focused care
1|Page
,Page 2 of 60
Rationale: While all listed actions are appropriate, ensuring client safety is the
priority; every nurse has the responsibility to guard the client's safety above other
considerations.
3. Which statement best reflects professional nursing practice?
A. Nursing focuses only on carrying out physician orders.
B. Nursing integrates science, ethics, and patient-centered care.
C. Nursing is primarily task-oriented care.
D. Nursing is limited to hospital-based care.
Rationale: Professional nursing integrates scientific knowledge, ethical principles,
and patient-centered care to promote health and manage illness, rather than
being limited to task completion or order execution.
4. Which factor most directly influences a patient's perception of health?
A. Age only
B. Hospital policies
C. Personal beliefs and cultural values
D. Nurse staffing ratios
Rationale: Health perception is strongly influenced by personal beliefs, cultural
values, and individual experiences, not solely by demographic or organizational
factors.
5. Which is the best example of evidence-based nursing practice?
A. Using interventions based on tradition
B. Following physician preference only
C. Integrating research evidence with clinical expertise and patient preferences
D. Applying hospital routines to all patients
Rationale: Evidence-based practice combines current research evidence, clinical
expertise, and patient values and preferences, rather than relying on tradition or
routine.
6. A major goal of healthcare reform is to do which of the following?
2|Page
,Page 3 of 60
A. Increase hospital length of stay
B. Improve access, quality, and cost-effectiveness
C. Limit patient autonomy
D. Reduce the nursing workforce
Rationale: Healthcare reform focuses on improving access to care, enhancing
quality, and controlling costs, rather than restricting autonomy or reducing the
workforce.
7. A nurse working in a patient-centered medical home emphasizes which
approach?
A. Fragmented specialty care
B. Provider-focused decision-making
C. Coordinated, team-based care
D. Emergency-only services
Rationale: Patient-centered medical homes rely on coordinated, interdisciplinary,
team-based care that prioritizes the patient's needs and preferences.
8. The first step of the nursing process, which involves collecting subjective and
objective data about the client, is called which of the following?
A. Assessment
B. Diagnosis
C. Planning
D. Implementation
Rationale: Assessment is the first step of the nursing process and involves
collecting subjective and objective data that form the foundation for nursing
diagnoses, planning, implementation, and evaluation.
9. A nurse identifies that a client has impaired gas exchange related to
pneumonia. This statement represents which component of the nursing process?
A. Assessment
B. Nursing diagnosis
3|Page
, Page 4 of 60
C. Planning
D. Evaluation
Rationale: A nursing diagnosis is a clinical judgment about a client's response to
actual or potential health problems; "impaired gas exchange" identifies the
client's problem based on assessment data.
10. Which outcome statement written by a nurse is measurable and appropriate
for a client with heart failure?
A. "The client will feel less short of breath."
B. "The client will have improved breathing."
C. "The client will demonstrate effective breathing techniques by the end of the
shift."
D. "The client will be comfortable."
Rationale: A measurable outcome specifies observable behavior and a timeframe;
the correct option includes a specific, assessable behavior (demonstrating
techniques) and a clear deadline (by the end of the shift).
11. A nurse is reviewing levels of healthcare. Which level focuses on early
detection and treatment of disease to prevent complications?
A. Primary prevention
B. Secondary prevention
C. Tertiary prevention
D. Quaternary prevention
Rationale: Secondary prevention focuses on early detection (e.g., screening) and
prompt treatment to halt disease progression and prevent complications.
12. Which ethical principle requires the nurse to respect a client's right to make
their own healthcare decisions?
A. Beneficence
B. Nonmaleficence
C. Autonomy
D. Justice
4|Page
