,Chapter 1: Communication and Behavior
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Communicating the right information to the right people at the right time in the right way:
A. Is an essential part of the nurse’s mission to assess, plan, implement, and document
care
B. Is a requirement for collaborating with nurse colleagues and all other members of
the healthcare team
C. Can make the difference between life and death for patients
D. All of the above
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: Page: 2
TOP: Importance of effective communication in nursing
2. Each of the following is an example of successful nurse communication EXCEPT:
A. The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nurse sharing her concerns with the physician about
a patient’s anxious spouse
B. The graduate nurse telling his supervisor that he is not comfortable using the IV
pump and would like additional training
C. The medical-surgical nurse offering to work an extra shift even though she feels
emotionally and physically exhausted
D. The nursing student asking her instructor to clarify her clinical assignment
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: Page: 3
TOP: A vision of successful nurse communication
3. Developing behaviors associated with effective communication requires:
A. Self-reflection, personal growth, and social learning
B. Self-reflection, social learning, and avoidance of conflict
C. Social learning, manual dexterity, and personal growth
D. None of the above
ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: Page: 4
TOP: A behavioral approach to communication
4. Providing patient-centered care “with sensitivity and respect for the diversity of human
experience” is a competency promoted by the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses
(QSEN) Institute that overlaps with which of the following communication and behavioral
skills that nurses must develop?
A. Awareness of others
B. Asking questions respectfully
C. Understanding patient preferences
D. All of the above
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: Page: 4
TOP: A behavioral approach to communication
5. Individuals with an aggressive style of communication demonstrate which of the following
characteristics of behavior?
A. Frequently interrupt others, discount others’ perspectives, and fidget
, B. Throw objects, invade the personal space of others, and use humiliating language
C. Speak in an angry tone, gossip about others behind their backs, and discount
others’ perspectives
D. Exclude others from group activities, frequently interrupt others, and invade the
personal space of others
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: Page: 7
TOP: Communication styles and types
6. Individuals who practice a passive style of communication:
A. Believe their opinions are not as important as those of their colleagues
B. Often keep their ideas to themselves
C. Speak confidently and clearly
D. Both A and B
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: Page: 7
TOP: Communication styles and types
7. Nonverbal communication represents 80% to 90% of what is being communicated and
includes all of the following EXCEPT:
A. Facial expression
B. Physical stance
C. Language
D. Intonation
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: Page: 8
TOP: Communication styles and types
8. Schuster and Nykolyn’s transformational model of communication is helpful in explaining all
of the following EXCEPT:
A. Why communication is so complicated
B. The desired outcome of communication
C. The need to consider patients’ rooms as their homes
D. The prevalence of miscommunication or communication failures in patient safety
issues
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: Page: 9 | Page: 11
TOP: Models of communication
9. A nurse calls the covering physician to report a patient’s temperature of 101.7°F. Which of the
following variables may impact their communication?
A. Time of day
B. Workload of both the nurse and the physician
C. A history of positive or negative communication encounters between these
healthcare professionals
D. All of the above
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: Page: 10
TOP: Variables that affect communication
10. Which of the following are depicted as risk factors in Schuster and Nykolyn’s
transformational model of communication?
, A. Medical jargon, stress, heavy accents, and empathy
B. Stress, stereotypes, humor, and urgency
C. Medical jargon, stereotypes, physical noise, and patient education
D. Patient education, physical noise, medical jargon, and stress
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: Page: 11 TOP: Models of communication
11. A behavioral approach to learning communication is the best approach because:
A. Human behavior and communication are interrelated.
B. Teaching communication without a focus on the underlying behaviors is not
adequate.
C. The skills to practice successful nurse communication involve self-awareness and
self-reflection.
D. All of the above
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: Pages: 4-5
TOP: A behavioral approach to communication
MULTIPLE RESPONSE
1. Which of the following behaviors suggest that the nurse is being passive? Select all that
apply.
A. She apologizes three times to her colleague for taking up space at the nurse’s
station.
B. She feels the rest of the team should have dinner together without her because she
is not much fun.
C. She uses a confident tone to express her concerns about a patient’s rising blood
sugar to the physician on call.
D. She has an idea about troubleshooting a problem with the new computer system
but keeps it to herself because she doubts it would be valuable.
ANS: A, B, D PTS: 1 REF: Page: 7
TOP: Communication styles and types
TRUE/FALSE
1. Emotional maturity of nurses is an important part of the behavioral approach to
communication promoted in this text.
ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: Pages: 2-3
TOP: Behavioral approach to communication
2. The pre-licensure curricula developed by the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses
(QSEN) Institute include competencies developed by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and
frequently require aspects of communication and behavior.
ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: Page: 4
TOP: Behavioral approach to communication
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Communicating the right information to the right people at the right time in the right way:
A. Is an essential part of the nurse’s mission to assess, plan, implement, and document
care
B. Is a requirement for collaborating with nurse colleagues and all other members of
the healthcare team
C. Can make the difference between life and death for patients
D. All of the above
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: Page: 2
TOP: Importance of effective communication in nursing
2. Each of the following is an example of successful nurse communication EXCEPT:
A. The Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nurse sharing her concerns with the physician about
a patient’s anxious spouse
B. The graduate nurse telling his supervisor that he is not comfortable using the IV
pump and would like additional training
C. The medical-surgical nurse offering to work an extra shift even though she feels
emotionally and physically exhausted
D. The nursing student asking her instructor to clarify her clinical assignment
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: Page: 3
TOP: A vision of successful nurse communication
3. Developing behaviors associated with effective communication requires:
A. Self-reflection, personal growth, and social learning
B. Self-reflection, social learning, and avoidance of conflict
C. Social learning, manual dexterity, and personal growth
D. None of the above
ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: Page: 4
TOP: A behavioral approach to communication
4. Providing patient-centered care “with sensitivity and respect for the diversity of human
experience” is a competency promoted by the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses
(QSEN) Institute that overlaps with which of the following communication and behavioral
skills that nurses must develop?
A. Awareness of others
B. Asking questions respectfully
C. Understanding patient preferences
D. All of the above
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: Page: 4
TOP: A behavioral approach to communication
5. Individuals with an aggressive style of communication demonstrate which of the following
characteristics of behavior?
A. Frequently interrupt others, discount others’ perspectives, and fidget
, B. Throw objects, invade the personal space of others, and use humiliating language
C. Speak in an angry tone, gossip about others behind their backs, and discount
others’ perspectives
D. Exclude others from group activities, frequently interrupt others, and invade the
personal space of others
ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: Page: 7
TOP: Communication styles and types
6. Individuals who practice a passive style of communication:
A. Believe their opinions are not as important as those of their colleagues
B. Often keep their ideas to themselves
C. Speak confidently and clearly
D. Both A and B
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: Page: 7
TOP: Communication styles and types
7. Nonverbal communication represents 80% to 90% of what is being communicated and
includes all of the following EXCEPT:
A. Facial expression
B. Physical stance
C. Language
D. Intonation
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: Page: 8
TOP: Communication styles and types
8. Schuster and Nykolyn’s transformational model of communication is helpful in explaining all
of the following EXCEPT:
A. Why communication is so complicated
B. The desired outcome of communication
C. The need to consider patients’ rooms as their homes
D. The prevalence of miscommunication or communication failures in patient safety
issues
ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: Page: 9 | Page: 11
TOP: Models of communication
9. A nurse calls the covering physician to report a patient’s temperature of 101.7°F. Which of the
following variables may impact their communication?
A. Time of day
B. Workload of both the nurse and the physician
C. A history of positive or negative communication encounters between these
healthcare professionals
D. All of the above
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: Page: 10
TOP: Variables that affect communication
10. Which of the following are depicted as risk factors in Schuster and Nykolyn’s
transformational model of communication?
, A. Medical jargon, stress, heavy accents, and empathy
B. Stress, stereotypes, humor, and urgency
C. Medical jargon, stereotypes, physical noise, and patient education
D. Patient education, physical noise, medical jargon, and stress
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: Page: 11 TOP: Models of communication
11. A behavioral approach to learning communication is the best approach because:
A. Human behavior and communication are interrelated.
B. Teaching communication without a focus on the underlying behaviors is not
adequate.
C. The skills to practice successful nurse communication involve self-awareness and
self-reflection.
D. All of the above
ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: Pages: 4-5
TOP: A behavioral approach to communication
MULTIPLE RESPONSE
1. Which of the following behaviors suggest that the nurse is being passive? Select all that
apply.
A. She apologizes three times to her colleague for taking up space at the nurse’s
station.
B. She feels the rest of the team should have dinner together without her because she
is not much fun.
C. She uses a confident tone to express her concerns about a patient’s rising blood
sugar to the physician on call.
D. She has an idea about troubleshooting a problem with the new computer system
but keeps it to herself because she doubts it would be valuable.
ANS: A, B, D PTS: 1 REF: Page: 7
TOP: Communication styles and types
TRUE/FALSE
1. Emotional maturity of nurses is an important part of the behavioral approach to
communication promoted in this text.
ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: Pages: 2-3
TOP: Behavioral approach to communication
2. The pre-licensure curricula developed by the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses
(QSEN) Institute include competencies developed by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) and
frequently require aspects of communication and behavior.
ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: Page: 4
TOP: Behavioral approach to communication
