NR 224 FUNDAMENTAL EVOLV QUESTIONS &
ANSWERS / NR224 FUNDAMENTAL EVOLV TEST BANK
Chapter 15 - Critical Thinking in Nursing Practice
1. Place the steps of the scientific method in their correct order with number 1 being the first step
of the process. 1. Formulate a question or hypothesis. 2. Evaluate results of the study. 3. Collect
data. 4. Identify the problem. 5. Test the question or hypothesis.
a. 4, 3, 1, 5, 2
b. 3, 4, 1, 2, 5
c. 4, 3, 2, 1, 5
d. 3, 4, 1, 5, 2
2. By using known criteria in conducting an assessment such as reviewing with a patient the typical
characteristics of pain, a nurse is demonstrating which critical thinking attitude?
a. Curiosity
b. Adequacy
c. Discipline
d. Thinking independently
3. A nurse prepares to insert a Foley catheter. The procedure manual calls for the patient to lie in
the dorsal recumbent position. The patient complains of having back pain when lying on her
back. Despite this, the nurse positions the patient supine with knees flexed as the manual
recommends and begins to insert the catheter. This is an example of:
a. Accuracy.
b. Reflection.
c. Risk taking.
d. Basic critical thinking.
4. A nurse on a busy medicine unit is assigned to four patients. It is 10 am. Two patients have
medications due and one of those has a specimen of urine to be collected. One patient is having
complications from surgery and is being prepared to return to the operating room. The fourth
patient requires instructions about activity restrictions before going home this afternoon. Which
of the following should the nurse use in making clinical decisions appropriate for the patient
group?
a. Consider availability of assistive personnel to obtain the specimen
b. Combine activities to resolve more than one patient problem
c. Analyze the diagnoses/problems and decide which are most urgent based on patients’
needs
d. Plan a family conference for tomorrow to make decisions about resources the patient
will need to go home
e. Identify the nursing diagnoses for the patient going home
,5. A nurse changed a patient’s surgical wound dressing the day before and now prepares for
another dressing change. The nurse had difficulty removing the gauze from the wound bed
yesterday, causing the patient discomfort. Today he gives the patient an analgesic 30 minutes
before the dressing change. Then he adds some sterile saline to loosen the gauze for a few
minutes before removing it. The patient reports that the procedure was much more
comfortable. Which of the following describes the nurse’s approach to the dressing change?
a. Clinical inference
b. Basic critical thinking
c. Complex critical thinking
d. Experience
e. Reflection
6. A nurse just started working at a well-baby clinic. One of her recent experiences was to help a
mother learn the steps of breastfeeding. During the first clinic visit the mother had difficulty
positioning the baby during feeding. After the visit the nurse considers what affected the
inability of the mother to breastfeed, including the mother’s obesity and inexperience. The
nurse’s review of the situation is called:
a. Reflection.
b. Perseverance.
c. Intuition.
d. Problem solving.
7. Which of the following describes a nurse’s application of a specific knowledge base during
critical thinking?
a. Initiative in reading current evidence from the literature
b. Application of nursing theory
c. Reviewing policy and procedure manual
d. Considering holistic view of patient needs
e. Previous time caring for a specific group of patients
8. An aspect of clinical decision making is knowing the patient. Which of the following is the most
critical aspect of developing the ability to know the patient?
a. Working in multiple health care settings
b. Learning good communication skills
c. Spending time establishing relationships with patients
d. Relying on evidence in practice
9. Match the concepts for a critical thinker on the right with the application of the term on the left.
a. Anticipate how a patient might respond to a treatment.
i. Analyticity
b. Organize assessment on the basis of patient priorities.
i. Systematicity
c. Be objective in asking questions of a patient.
i. Truth seeking
d. Be tolerant of the patient’s views and beliefs
i. Open-mindedness
, 10. A nurse enters a 72-year-old patient’s home and begins to observe her behaviors and examine
her physical condition. The nurse learns that the patient lives alone and notices bruising on the
patient’s leg. When watching the patient walk, the nurse notes that she has an unsteady gait
and leans to one side. The patient admits to having fallen in the past. The nurse identifies the
patient as having the nursing diagnosis of Risk for Falls. This scenario is an example of:
a. Inference.
b. Basic critical thinking.
c. Evaluation.
d. Diagnostic reasoning.
11. In which of the following examples is a nurse applying critical thinking skills in practice?
a. The nurse thinks back about a personal experience before administering a medication
subcutaneously.
b. The nurse uses a pain-rating scale to measure a patient’s pain.
c. The nurse explains a procedure step by step for giving an enema to a patient care
technician.
d. The nurse gathers data on a patient with a mobility limitation to identify a nursing
diagnosis.
e. A nurse offers support to a colleague who has witnessed a stressful event.
12. A nurse is preparing medications for a patient. The nurse checks the name of the medication on
the label with the name of the medication on the doctor’s order. At the bedside the nurse
checks the patient’s name against the medication order as well. The nurse is following which
critical thinking attitude:
a. Responsible
b. Complete
c. Accurate
d. Broad
13. Two patient deaths have occurred on a medical unit in the last month. The staff notices that
everyone feels pressured and team members are getting into more arguments. As a nurse on
the unit, what will best help you manage this stress?
a. Keep a journal
b. Participate in a unit meeting to discuss feelings about the patient deaths
c. Ask the nurse manager to assign you to less difficult patients
d. Review the policy and procedure manual on proper care of patients after death
14. A nurse has seen many cancer patients struggle with pain management because they are afraid
of becoming addicted to the medicine. Pain control is a priority for cancer care. By helping
patients focus on their values and beliefs about pain control, a nurse can best make clinical
decisions. This is an example of:
a. Creativity.
b. Fairness.
c. Clinical reasoning.
d. Applying ethical criteria.
ANSWERS / NR224 FUNDAMENTAL EVOLV TEST BANK
Chapter 15 - Critical Thinking in Nursing Practice
1. Place the steps of the scientific method in their correct order with number 1 being the first step
of the process. 1. Formulate a question or hypothesis. 2. Evaluate results of the study. 3. Collect
data. 4. Identify the problem. 5. Test the question or hypothesis.
a. 4, 3, 1, 5, 2
b. 3, 4, 1, 2, 5
c. 4, 3, 2, 1, 5
d. 3, 4, 1, 5, 2
2. By using known criteria in conducting an assessment such as reviewing with a patient the typical
characteristics of pain, a nurse is demonstrating which critical thinking attitude?
a. Curiosity
b. Adequacy
c. Discipline
d. Thinking independently
3. A nurse prepares to insert a Foley catheter. The procedure manual calls for the patient to lie in
the dorsal recumbent position. The patient complains of having back pain when lying on her
back. Despite this, the nurse positions the patient supine with knees flexed as the manual
recommends and begins to insert the catheter. This is an example of:
a. Accuracy.
b. Reflection.
c. Risk taking.
d. Basic critical thinking.
4. A nurse on a busy medicine unit is assigned to four patients. It is 10 am. Two patients have
medications due and one of those has a specimen of urine to be collected. One patient is having
complications from surgery and is being prepared to return to the operating room. The fourth
patient requires instructions about activity restrictions before going home this afternoon. Which
of the following should the nurse use in making clinical decisions appropriate for the patient
group?
a. Consider availability of assistive personnel to obtain the specimen
b. Combine activities to resolve more than one patient problem
c. Analyze the diagnoses/problems and decide which are most urgent based on patients’
needs
d. Plan a family conference for tomorrow to make decisions about resources the patient
will need to go home
e. Identify the nursing diagnoses for the patient going home
,5. A nurse changed a patient’s surgical wound dressing the day before and now prepares for
another dressing change. The nurse had difficulty removing the gauze from the wound bed
yesterday, causing the patient discomfort. Today he gives the patient an analgesic 30 minutes
before the dressing change. Then he adds some sterile saline to loosen the gauze for a few
minutes before removing it. The patient reports that the procedure was much more
comfortable. Which of the following describes the nurse’s approach to the dressing change?
a. Clinical inference
b. Basic critical thinking
c. Complex critical thinking
d. Experience
e. Reflection
6. A nurse just started working at a well-baby clinic. One of her recent experiences was to help a
mother learn the steps of breastfeeding. During the first clinic visit the mother had difficulty
positioning the baby during feeding. After the visit the nurse considers what affected the
inability of the mother to breastfeed, including the mother’s obesity and inexperience. The
nurse’s review of the situation is called:
a. Reflection.
b. Perseverance.
c. Intuition.
d. Problem solving.
7. Which of the following describes a nurse’s application of a specific knowledge base during
critical thinking?
a. Initiative in reading current evidence from the literature
b. Application of nursing theory
c. Reviewing policy and procedure manual
d. Considering holistic view of patient needs
e. Previous time caring for a specific group of patients
8. An aspect of clinical decision making is knowing the patient. Which of the following is the most
critical aspect of developing the ability to know the patient?
a. Working in multiple health care settings
b. Learning good communication skills
c. Spending time establishing relationships with patients
d. Relying on evidence in practice
9. Match the concepts for a critical thinker on the right with the application of the term on the left.
a. Anticipate how a patient might respond to a treatment.
i. Analyticity
b. Organize assessment on the basis of patient priorities.
i. Systematicity
c. Be objective in asking questions of a patient.
i. Truth seeking
d. Be tolerant of the patient’s views and beliefs
i. Open-mindedness
, 10. A nurse enters a 72-year-old patient’s home and begins to observe her behaviors and examine
her physical condition. The nurse learns that the patient lives alone and notices bruising on the
patient’s leg. When watching the patient walk, the nurse notes that she has an unsteady gait
and leans to one side. The patient admits to having fallen in the past. The nurse identifies the
patient as having the nursing diagnosis of Risk for Falls. This scenario is an example of:
a. Inference.
b. Basic critical thinking.
c. Evaluation.
d. Diagnostic reasoning.
11. In which of the following examples is a nurse applying critical thinking skills in practice?
a. The nurse thinks back about a personal experience before administering a medication
subcutaneously.
b. The nurse uses a pain-rating scale to measure a patient’s pain.
c. The nurse explains a procedure step by step for giving an enema to a patient care
technician.
d. The nurse gathers data on a patient with a mobility limitation to identify a nursing
diagnosis.
e. A nurse offers support to a colleague who has witnessed a stressful event.
12. A nurse is preparing medications for a patient. The nurse checks the name of the medication on
the label with the name of the medication on the doctor’s order. At the bedside the nurse
checks the patient’s name against the medication order as well. The nurse is following which
critical thinking attitude:
a. Responsible
b. Complete
c. Accurate
d. Broad
13. Two patient deaths have occurred on a medical unit in the last month. The staff notices that
everyone feels pressured and team members are getting into more arguments. As a nurse on
the unit, what will best help you manage this stress?
a. Keep a journal
b. Participate in a unit meeting to discuss feelings about the patient deaths
c. Ask the nurse manager to assign you to less difficult patients
d. Review the policy and procedure manual on proper care of patients after death
14. A nurse has seen many cancer patients struggle with pain management because they are afraid
of becoming addicted to the medicine. Pain control is a priority for cancer care. By helping
patients focus on their values and beliefs about pain control, a nurse can best make clinical
decisions. This is an example of:
a. Creativity.
b. Fairness.
c. Clinical reasoning.
d. Applying ethical criteria.
