HESI Community Health Practice Exam 1 (New
2025/2026): A+ Guide with Verified Questions &
Answers
1. In an interview, the nurse may find it necessary to take notes to aid his or her
memory later. Which statement is true regarding note-taking?
A) Note-taking may impede the nurse's observation of the patient's nonverbal
behaviors.
B) Note-taking allows the patient to continue at his or her own pace as the nurse
records what is said.
C) Note-taking allows the nurse to shift attention away from the patient, resulting
in an increased comfort level.
D) Note-taking allows the nurse to break eye contact with the patient, which may
increase his or her level of comfort. - A) Note-taking may impede the nurse's
observation of the patient's nonverbal behaviors.
Page: 31 Some use of history forms and note-taking may be unavoidable. But be
aware that note-taking during the interview has disadvantages. It breaks eye
contact too often, and it shifts attention away from the patient, which diminishes
his or her sense of importance. It also may interrupt the patient's narrative flow,
and it impedes the observation of the patient's nonverbal behavior.
2. During an interview, the nurse states, "You mentioned shortness of breath. Tell
me more about that." Which verbal skill is used with this statement?
,A) Reflection
B) Facilitation
C) Direct question
D) Open-ended question - D) Open-ended question
Page: 32 The open-ended question asks for narrative information. It states the
topic to be discussed but only in general terms. The nurse should use it to begin
the interview, to introduce a new section of questions, and whenever the person
introduces a new topic.
3. A nurse is taking complete health histories on all of the patients attending a
wellness workshop. On the history form, one of the written questions asks, "You
don't smoke, drink, or take drugs, do you?" This question is an example of:
A) talking too much.
B) using confrontation.
C) using biased or leading questions.
D) using blunt language to deal with distasteful topics. - C) using biased or leading
questions.
Page: 36 This is an example of using leading or biased questions. Asking, "You
don't smoke, do you?" implies that one answer is "better" than another. If the
person wants to please someone, he or she is either forced to answer in a way
corresponding to their implied values or is made to feel guilty when admitting the
other answer.
,56. A 40-year-old woman reports a change in mole size, accompanied by color
changes, itching, burning, and bleeding over the past month. She has a dark
complexion and has no family history of skin cancer, but she has had many
blistering sunburns in the past. The nurse would:
A) tell the patient to watch the lesion and report back in 2 months.
B) refer the patient because of the suspicion of melanoma on the basis of her
symptoms.
C) ask additional questions regarding environmental irritants that may have
caused this condition.
D) suspect that this is a compound nevus, which is very common in young to
middle-aged adults. - B) refer the patient because of the suspicion of melanoma
on the basis of her symptoms.
The ABCD danger signs of melanoma are asymmetry, border irregularity, color
variation, and diameter. In addition, individuals may report a change in size,
development of itching, burning, bleeding, or a new-pigmented lesion. Any of
these signs raise suspicion of malignant melanoma and warrant immediate
referral.
57. The nurse is assessing for clubbing of the fingernails and would expect to find:
A) a nail base that is firm and slightly tender.
B) curved nails with a convex profile and ridges across the nail.
C) a nail base that feels spongy with an angle of the nail base of 150 degrees.
, D) an angle of the nail base of 180 degrees or greater with a nail base that feels
spongy. - D) an angle of the nail base of 180 degrees or greater with a nail base
that feels spongy.
Pages: 217-218. The normal nail is firm at its base and has an angle of 160
degrees. In clubbing, the angle straightens to 180 degrees or greater and the nail
base feels spongy.
58. A patient has been admitted for severe psoriasis. The nurse can expect to see
what finding in the patient's fingernails?
A) Splinter hemorrhages
B) Paronychia
C) Pitting
D) Beau lines - C) Pitting
Pages: 248-250. Pitting nails are characterized by sharply defined pitting and
crumbling of the nails with distal detachment, and they are associated with
psoriasis. See Table 12-13 for descriptions of the other terms.
59. The nurse suspects that a patient has hyperthyroidism and laboratory data
indicate that the patient's thyroxine and tri-iodothyronine hormone levels are
elevated. Which of these findings would the nurse most likely find on
examination?
A) Tachycardia
B) Constipation
2025/2026): A+ Guide with Verified Questions &
Answers
1. In an interview, the nurse may find it necessary to take notes to aid his or her
memory later. Which statement is true regarding note-taking?
A) Note-taking may impede the nurse's observation of the patient's nonverbal
behaviors.
B) Note-taking allows the patient to continue at his or her own pace as the nurse
records what is said.
C) Note-taking allows the nurse to shift attention away from the patient, resulting
in an increased comfort level.
D) Note-taking allows the nurse to break eye contact with the patient, which may
increase his or her level of comfort. - A) Note-taking may impede the nurse's
observation of the patient's nonverbal behaviors.
Page: 31 Some use of history forms and note-taking may be unavoidable. But be
aware that note-taking during the interview has disadvantages. It breaks eye
contact too often, and it shifts attention away from the patient, which diminishes
his or her sense of importance. It also may interrupt the patient's narrative flow,
and it impedes the observation of the patient's nonverbal behavior.
2. During an interview, the nurse states, "You mentioned shortness of breath. Tell
me more about that." Which verbal skill is used with this statement?
,A) Reflection
B) Facilitation
C) Direct question
D) Open-ended question - D) Open-ended question
Page: 32 The open-ended question asks for narrative information. It states the
topic to be discussed but only in general terms. The nurse should use it to begin
the interview, to introduce a new section of questions, and whenever the person
introduces a new topic.
3. A nurse is taking complete health histories on all of the patients attending a
wellness workshop. On the history form, one of the written questions asks, "You
don't smoke, drink, or take drugs, do you?" This question is an example of:
A) talking too much.
B) using confrontation.
C) using biased or leading questions.
D) using blunt language to deal with distasteful topics. - C) using biased or leading
questions.
Page: 36 This is an example of using leading or biased questions. Asking, "You
don't smoke, do you?" implies that one answer is "better" than another. If the
person wants to please someone, he or she is either forced to answer in a way
corresponding to their implied values or is made to feel guilty when admitting the
other answer.
,56. A 40-year-old woman reports a change in mole size, accompanied by color
changes, itching, burning, and bleeding over the past month. She has a dark
complexion and has no family history of skin cancer, but she has had many
blistering sunburns in the past. The nurse would:
A) tell the patient to watch the lesion and report back in 2 months.
B) refer the patient because of the suspicion of melanoma on the basis of her
symptoms.
C) ask additional questions regarding environmental irritants that may have
caused this condition.
D) suspect that this is a compound nevus, which is very common in young to
middle-aged adults. - B) refer the patient because of the suspicion of melanoma
on the basis of her symptoms.
The ABCD danger signs of melanoma are asymmetry, border irregularity, color
variation, and diameter. In addition, individuals may report a change in size,
development of itching, burning, bleeding, or a new-pigmented lesion. Any of
these signs raise suspicion of malignant melanoma and warrant immediate
referral.
57. The nurse is assessing for clubbing of the fingernails and would expect to find:
A) a nail base that is firm and slightly tender.
B) curved nails with a convex profile and ridges across the nail.
C) a nail base that feels spongy with an angle of the nail base of 150 degrees.
, D) an angle of the nail base of 180 degrees or greater with a nail base that feels
spongy. - D) an angle of the nail base of 180 degrees or greater with a nail base
that feels spongy.
Pages: 217-218. The normal nail is firm at its base and has an angle of 160
degrees. In clubbing, the angle straightens to 180 degrees or greater and the nail
base feels spongy.
58. A patient has been admitted for severe psoriasis. The nurse can expect to see
what finding in the patient's fingernails?
A) Splinter hemorrhages
B) Paronychia
C) Pitting
D) Beau lines - C) Pitting
Pages: 248-250. Pitting nails are characterized by sharply defined pitting and
crumbling of the nails with distal detachment, and they are associated with
psoriasis. See Table 12-13 for descriptions of the other terms.
59. The nurse suspects that a patient has hyperthyroidism and laboratory data
indicate that the patient's thyroxine and tri-iodothyronine hormone levels are
elevated. Which of these findings would the nurse most likely find on
examination?
A) Tachycardia
B) Constipation
