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NCLEX Assessment Exam Review 2026
| Nursing Assessment Practice
Questions, Correct Answers &
Rationales | RN & PN Students | U.S.
NCLEX Aligned
The night shift nurse reports that a client admitted with a COPD has
normal capillary refill. What capillary refill time would the nurse expect
to find if the client's refill time remains normal?
A) 4-5 seconds
B) 1-3 seconds
C) 6-7 seconds
D) 0-2 seconds ---CORRECT- ANSWER ☑️☑️☑️ Answer: B) 1-3
seconds.
The process whereby blood returns to a portion of the capillary system
after its blood supply has been interrupted briefly. Capillary refilling is
tested by pressing firmly on a fingernail and estimating the time required
for blood to return after pressure is released. In a normal person with
good cardiac output and digital perfusion, capillary refilling should take
less than 3 seconds. A time of more than 3 seconds is considered a sign
of sluggish digital circulation, and a time of 5 seconds is regarded as
abnormal.
, 2|Page
While auscultating the heart sounds of a client with heart failure, the
nurse hears an extra heart sound immediately after the second heart
sound (S2). The nurse should document this sound as:
A) S3
B) S1
C) PMI
D) S4 ---CORRECT- ANSWER ☑️☑️☑️ Answer: A) S3. A third heart
sound.
S3 results from the impact of inflowing blood against a distended or
incompliant ventricle in mid diastole. It is a low-frequency sound
occurring ~120-150 msec after S2. To improve your chances of hearing
an S3, roll the patient on his or her left side (the left lateral decubitus
position) to swing the cardiac apex against the chest wall, bringing it
closer to your stethoscope chest piece.
The nurse is assessing a client with heart failure. The breath sounds
commonly auscultated in clients with heart failure are?
A) Pleural rub
B) Stridor
C) Wheezes
D) Fine crackles ---CORRECT- ANSWER ☑️☑️☑️ Answer: D) Fine
crackles.
Fine crackles are brief, discontinuous, popping lung sounds that are
high-pitched.
NCLEX Assessment Exam Review 2026
| Nursing Assessment Practice
Questions, Correct Answers &
Rationales | RN & PN Students | U.S.
NCLEX Aligned
The night shift nurse reports that a client admitted with a COPD has
normal capillary refill. What capillary refill time would the nurse expect
to find if the client's refill time remains normal?
A) 4-5 seconds
B) 1-3 seconds
C) 6-7 seconds
D) 0-2 seconds ---CORRECT- ANSWER ☑️☑️☑️ Answer: B) 1-3
seconds.
The process whereby blood returns to a portion of the capillary system
after its blood supply has been interrupted briefly. Capillary refilling is
tested by pressing firmly on a fingernail and estimating the time required
for blood to return after pressure is released. In a normal person with
good cardiac output and digital perfusion, capillary refilling should take
less than 3 seconds. A time of more than 3 seconds is considered a sign
of sluggish digital circulation, and a time of 5 seconds is regarded as
abnormal.
, 2|Page
While auscultating the heart sounds of a client with heart failure, the
nurse hears an extra heart sound immediately after the second heart
sound (S2). The nurse should document this sound as:
A) S3
B) S1
C) PMI
D) S4 ---CORRECT- ANSWER ☑️☑️☑️ Answer: A) S3. A third heart
sound.
S3 results from the impact of inflowing blood against a distended or
incompliant ventricle in mid diastole. It is a low-frequency sound
occurring ~120-150 msec after S2. To improve your chances of hearing
an S3, roll the patient on his or her left side (the left lateral decubitus
position) to swing the cardiac apex against the chest wall, bringing it
closer to your stethoscope chest piece.
The nurse is assessing a client with heart failure. The breath sounds
commonly auscultated in clients with heart failure are?
A) Pleural rub
B) Stridor
C) Wheezes
D) Fine crackles ---CORRECT- ANSWER ☑️☑️☑️ Answer: D) Fine
crackles.
Fine crackles are brief, discontinuous, popping lung sounds that are
high-pitched.
