A psychiatric nurse is providing an educational session to the emergency room staff to
raise awareness on the topic of elder abuse. Which client is most at risk for elder abuse?
1. An 82-year-old woman with middle-stage dementia
2. A 73-year-old woman living in a poor neighborhood
3. A 70-year-old man with the recent diagnosis of heart disease
4. An 89-year-old man living with a mentally ill family member
Answer:
The nurse understands that the underlying issue of most abusers is:
1. An uncontrollably urge to love.
2. The inability to control intense anxiety.
3. A desire to enslave and control.
4. A desire to play out fantasies.
Answer:
In trying to understand other cultures, what should the nurse know about how cultural
values influence health beliefs?
1. Cultural values will not matter if the nurse is from the dominant culture.
2. Cultural values may shape perceptions of health, disease, prevention, and treatment.
3. Cultural values will not shape perceptions of health, disease, prevention, and
treatment.
4. Cultural values and other differences will negatively influence outcomes.
Answer:
An 82-year-old man is admitted to a medical-surgical unit for diagnostic confirmation
and management of probable delirium. Which of the following statements by the
client’s daughter best supports the diagnosis?
1. “Dad has always been so independent. He’s lived alone for years since my mom
died.”
2. “Dad just didn’t seem to know what he was doing. He would forget what he had for
breakfast.”
3. “Maybe it’s just caused by aging. This usually happens by age 82.”
4. “The changes in his behavior came on so quickly. I wasn”t sure what was
happening.”
Answer:
The dementia unit nursing staff are informed that the entire unit will be redecorated in
the next two weeks. Nursing staff tell the nurse manager that this will be a problem for
the clients. What particular client need is addressed by their concern?
1. A stable environment
2. Client comfort
3. Scheduling of admissions
4. Client safety
Answer:
A woman calls the nurse at the mental health clinic about her husband who takes
phenelzine (Nardil). She states that he took several over-the-counter decongestants and
now has a stiff neck, headache, nausea, and vomiting. The nurse bases her response on
what information?
1. Agranulocytosis is an adverse reaction that occurs due to the interaction of MAOIs
and decongestants.
2. MAOIs can trigger a hypertensive crisis if taken with sympathomimetics.
3. Flu-like symptoms are common when clients begin taking MAOIs.
4. Neuroleptic malignant syndrome presents with muscular rigidity following the
ingestion of MAOIs.
Answer:
The nurse knows that working with clients through rehabilitation and recovery may
cause a conflict in value systems. Which of the following circumstances may cause
your personal values to influence your effectiveness when working with a client?
1. An insurance company that approves your plan of care for the client
2. A client who chooses a different plan of care than you have mapped out
3. A family that works closely with the treatment team
4. A client who agrees with your opinion on the plan of care
Answer:
The nurse observes that an adolescent client relates, reacts, and consistently behaves
with one of the male staff in an inappropriate manner. Based on the adolescent’s history,
the nurse is concerned this client may be:
1. Manifesting manic behavior.
2. Experiencing a side effect from the medication.
3. Acting out a life script.
4. Afraid of being alone.
Answer:
On the first day of clinical rotation on an inpatient psychiatric unit, nursing student A
complains of nausea, sweaty palms, and stomach butterflies. Nursing student B
attempts to console student A by saying, “You just can”t take anything these clients say
personally; don”t listen to a word they say.” Having observed this exchange, the nursing
instructor should be most concerned about:
1. Student B’s lack of appropriate fear towards this potentially dangerous environment.
2. Student B’s perception that listening to the client is unnecessary.
3. Student A’s fear about the psychiatric setting.
4. Student A’s symptoms of an impending panic attack.
Answer:
The nursing student knows that the therapist’s goal in behavior therapy is to:
1. Decrease classical conditioning.
2. Increase self-confidence.
3. Deny religiosity in mental health clients.
4. Increase social reasoning.
Answer:
The parent of an adolescent tells the nurse that the adolescent used to be on the honor
roll at school, but now is failing every subject, skipping school, and doesn”t care about
anything except a new group of “friends”. The nurse recognizes this adolescent may be
in need of counseling related to:
1. Adolescent substance abuse.
2. Growth and development.
3. Self-esteem.
4. Independent living.
Answer:
A client told the nurse that even though his wife died three years ago, he continues to
have dinner with his wife every Saturday night. He includes a table setting for her and
he prepares their “usual” steak dinner. He also lights a candle for her each week
marking the time of her death. This is evidence of:
1. Dysfunctional grieving.
2. Anticipatory grief.
3. Normal grief.
4. Bereavement.
Answer:
A client in the inpatient mental health unit is experiencing severe anxiety. The nurse
knows that the client:
1. Is able to focus.
2. May be easily distracted.
3. Will be able to communicate in writing.
4. Retains information.
Answer:
The nurse is working with a client whose brother had recently died as a result of a brain
aneurism. The client reports spending the days crying or sleeping. The nurse intervenes
in this situation to:
1. Encourage the client to stay busy.
2. Help the client focus on other aspects of life.
3. Provide respite from a painful reality.
4. Restore the client to pre-trauma level of functioning.
Answer:
An involuntary client being treated for an acute exacerbation of paranoid schizophrenia
refuses the morning dose of medication. The nurse is frustrated and wonders if the
client will ever develop insight. What aspects of psychobiology could help reframe the
client’s behavior for the nurse?
1. The client is not responsible for the behavior.
2. Adhering to the client’s medication regimen is a priority to the nursing care.
3. The frontal and parietal lobe involvement in schizophrenia can cause an unawareness
of the illness or the need to take medications.
4. The client’s brain chemistry is altered and medications will help.
Answer: