NRSG 2100 Exam Study Guide: Foundations of Nursing Practice
(2025/2026 Syllabus)
Module 1: Introduction to Professional Nursing & Patient-Centered Care
1. What is the primary focus of the nursing metaparadigm?
ANSWER: ✓ The nursing metaparadigm consists of four core concepts: Person (the
recipient of care), Environment (internal and external surroundings), Health (the
continuum of wellness-illness), and Nursing (the actions, attributes, and goals of the
profession). It provides the foundational philosophy for all nursing theories.
2. How does patient-centered care differ from a task-oriented approach?
ANSWER: ✓ Patient-centered care prioritizes the individual's unique values, preferences,
and needs as the central focus of care delivery, involving them in decision-making. A
task-oriented approach focuses primarily on completing clinical procedures efficiently,
which can depersonalize care.
3. Define clinical judgment in the context of the NCSBN Clinical Judgment
Measurement Model (NCJMM).
ANSWER: ✓ Clinical judgment is the observed outcome of critical thinking and
decision-making—an iterative process of recognizing cues, analyzing cues,
prioritizing hypotheses, generating solutions, taking action, and evaluating
outcomes. It's what nurses do with their knowledge in a clinical situation.
4. What is the purpose of the nursing process?
ANSWER: ✓ The nursing process (ADPIE: Assessment, Diagnosis, Planning,
Implementation, Evaluation) is a systematic, dynamic, and patient-centered framework
used to provide individualized, evidence-based care and achieve optimal patient
outcomes.
Module 2: Safety, Communication, & Documentation
5. What are the six main "rights" of medication administration to ensure safety?
ANSWER: ✓ Right patient, Right medication, Right dose, Right route, Right time, and
Right documentation. Additional rights include the right to refuse, right assessment,
right education, and right evaluation.
6. Why is SBAR communication critical in healthcare?
ANSWER: ✓ SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) provides a
standardized, structured format for communication, especially during handoffs or critical
, events. It reduces errors, ensures clarity, and promotes efficient transfer of essential
patient information.
7. What is the single most effective practice to prevent healthcare-associated
infections (HAIs)?
ANSWER: ✓ Consistent and correct hand hygiene using alcohol-based hand rub or
soap and water, before and after every patient contact, and after contact with the
patient's environment.
8. How does a nurse demonstrate therapeutic communication?
ANSWER: ✓ By using active listening, silence, open-ended questions, clarification, and
empathy. It focuses on the patient's feelings and needs, avoids non-therapeutic
techniques like false reassurance or giving personal opinions, and builds a trusting
nurse-patient relationship.
9. What is the purpose of an incident report?
ANSWER: ✓ To document any unexpected event that causes or has the potential to
cause harm to a patient, visitor, or staff member. Its primary purpose is for quality
improvement and systems analysis, not for punitive action or to be included in the
patient's medical chart.
Module 3: Health Assessment & Vital Signs
10. What is the proper sequence for a comprehensive physical head-to-toe
assessment?
ANSWER: ✓ Inspection, Palpation, Percussion, Auscultation (except for the abdomen,
where the sequence is Inspection, Auscultation, Percussion, Palpation to avoid altering
bowel sounds).
11. A patient has a blood pressure reading of 158/96 mmHg. How would you
classify this according to ACC/AHA guidelines?
ANSWER: ✓ This is classified as Stage 1 Hypertension. It requires confirmation with
repeated readings and likely involves lifestyle modifications and possibly
pharmacological intervention.
12. What are the normal ranges for adult vital signs?
ANSWER: ✓
Temperature: 36.1°C - 37.9°C (97.0°F - 100.2°F)
Pulse: 60-100 beats per minute (strong and regular)
Respiration: 12-20 breaths per minute (regular and quiet)
Blood Pressure: <120/<80 mmHg (normal)
(2025/2026 Syllabus)
Module 1: Introduction to Professional Nursing & Patient-Centered Care
1. What is the primary focus of the nursing metaparadigm?
ANSWER: ✓ The nursing metaparadigm consists of four core concepts: Person (the
recipient of care), Environment (internal and external surroundings), Health (the
continuum of wellness-illness), and Nursing (the actions, attributes, and goals of the
profession). It provides the foundational philosophy for all nursing theories.
2. How does patient-centered care differ from a task-oriented approach?
ANSWER: ✓ Patient-centered care prioritizes the individual's unique values, preferences,
and needs as the central focus of care delivery, involving them in decision-making. A
task-oriented approach focuses primarily on completing clinical procedures efficiently,
which can depersonalize care.
3. Define clinical judgment in the context of the NCSBN Clinical Judgment
Measurement Model (NCJMM).
ANSWER: ✓ Clinical judgment is the observed outcome of critical thinking and
decision-making—an iterative process of recognizing cues, analyzing cues,
prioritizing hypotheses, generating solutions, taking action, and evaluating
outcomes. It's what nurses do with their knowledge in a clinical situation.
4. What is the purpose of the nursing process?
ANSWER: ✓ The nursing process (ADPIE: Assessment, Diagnosis, Planning,
Implementation, Evaluation) is a systematic, dynamic, and patient-centered framework
used to provide individualized, evidence-based care and achieve optimal patient
outcomes.
Module 2: Safety, Communication, & Documentation
5. What are the six main "rights" of medication administration to ensure safety?
ANSWER: ✓ Right patient, Right medication, Right dose, Right route, Right time, and
Right documentation. Additional rights include the right to refuse, right assessment,
right education, and right evaluation.
6. Why is SBAR communication critical in healthcare?
ANSWER: ✓ SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) provides a
standardized, structured format for communication, especially during handoffs or critical
, events. It reduces errors, ensures clarity, and promotes efficient transfer of essential
patient information.
7. What is the single most effective practice to prevent healthcare-associated
infections (HAIs)?
ANSWER: ✓ Consistent and correct hand hygiene using alcohol-based hand rub or
soap and water, before and after every patient contact, and after contact with the
patient's environment.
8. How does a nurse demonstrate therapeutic communication?
ANSWER: ✓ By using active listening, silence, open-ended questions, clarification, and
empathy. It focuses on the patient's feelings and needs, avoids non-therapeutic
techniques like false reassurance or giving personal opinions, and builds a trusting
nurse-patient relationship.
9. What is the purpose of an incident report?
ANSWER: ✓ To document any unexpected event that causes or has the potential to
cause harm to a patient, visitor, or staff member. Its primary purpose is for quality
improvement and systems analysis, not for punitive action or to be included in the
patient's medical chart.
Module 3: Health Assessment & Vital Signs
10. What is the proper sequence for a comprehensive physical head-to-toe
assessment?
ANSWER: ✓ Inspection, Palpation, Percussion, Auscultation (except for the abdomen,
where the sequence is Inspection, Auscultation, Percussion, Palpation to avoid altering
bowel sounds).
11. A patient has a blood pressure reading of 158/96 mmHg. How would you
classify this according to ACC/AHA guidelines?
ANSWER: ✓ This is classified as Stage 1 Hypertension. It requires confirmation with
repeated readings and likely involves lifestyle modifications and possibly
pharmacological intervention.
12. What are the normal ranges for adult vital signs?
ANSWER: ✓
Temperature: 36.1°C - 37.9°C (97.0°F - 100.2°F)
Pulse: 60-100 beats per minute (strong and regular)
Respiration: 12-20 breaths per minute (regular and quiet)
Blood Pressure: <120/<80 mmHg (normal)
