HESI PRACTICE EXAM STUDY GUIDE GRADED A+ WITH QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS LATEST UPDATED VERSION 2026 FUNDAMENTALS NURSING CARE

HESI PRACTICE EXAM STUDY GUIDE GRADED A+ WITH QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS LATEST UPDATED VERSION 2026 FUNDAMENTALS NURSING CARE During the initial morning assessment, a male client denies dysuria but reports that his urine appears dark amber. Which intervention should the nurse implement? A. Provide additional coffee on the client's breakfast tray. B. Exchange the client's grape juice for cranberry juice. C. Bring the client additional fruit at mid-morning. D. Encourage additional oral intake of juices and water. - Answer ️Dark amber urine is characteristic of fluid volume deficit, and the client should be encouraged to increase fluid intake (D). Caffeine, however, is a diuretic (A), and may worsen the fluid volume deficit. Any type of juice will be beneficial (B), since the client is not dysuric, a sign of an urinary tract infection. The client needs to restore fluid volume more than solid foods (C). Correct Answer: D Which intervention is most important for the nurse to implement for a male client who is experiencing urinary retention? A. Apply a condom catheter. B. Apply a skin protectant. C. Encourage increased fluid intake. D. Assess for bladder distention. - Answer ️Urinary retention is the inability to void all urine collected in the bladder, which leads to uncomfortable bladder distention (D). (A and B) are useful actions to protect the skin of a client with urinary incontinence. (C) may worsen the bladder distention. Correct Answer: D An elderly resident of a long-term care facility is no longer able to perform self-care and is becoming progressively weaker. The resident previously requested that no resuscitative efforts be performed, and the family requests hospice care. What action should the nurse implement first? A. Reaffirm the client's desire for no resuscitative efforts. B. Transfer the client to a hospice inpatient facility. C. Prepare the family for the client's impending death. D. Notify the healthcare provider of the family's request. - Answer ️The nurse should first communicate with the healthcare provider (D). Hospice care is provided for clients with a limited life expectancy, which must be identified by the healthcare provider. (A) is not necessary at this time. Once the healthcare provider supports the transfer to hospice care, the nurse can collaborate with the hospice staff and healthcare provider to determine when (B and C) should be implemented. Correct Answer: D When evaluating a client's plan of care, the nurse determines that a desired outcome was not achieved. Which action will the nurse implement first? A. Establish a new nursing diagnosis. B. Note which actions were not implemented. C. Add additional nursing orders to the plan. D. Collaborate with the healthcare provider to make changes. - Answer ️First, the nurse reviews which actions in the original plan were not implemented (B) in order to determine why the original plan did not produce the desired outcome. Appropriate revisions can then be made, which may include revising the expected outcome, or identifying a new nursing diagnosis (A). (C) may be needed if the nursing actions were unsuccessful, or were unable to be implemented. (D) other members of the healthcare team may be necessary to collaborate changes once the nurse determines why the original plan did not produce the desired outcome. Correct Answer: B The healthcare provider prescribes 1,000 ml of Ringer's Lactate with 30 Units of Pitocin to run in over 4 hours for a client who has just delivered a 10 pound infant by cesarean section. The tubing has been changed to a 20 gtt/ml administration set. The nurse plans to set the flow rate at how many gtt/min? A. 42 gtt/min. B. 83 gtt/min. C. 125 gtt/min. D. 250 gtt/min. - Answer ️gtt/min = 20gtts/ml X 1000 ml/4hrs X 1 hr/60 min Correct Answer: B Which assessment data would provide the most accurate determination of proper placement of a nasogastric tube? A. Aspirating gastric contents to assure a pH value of 4 or less. B. Hearing air pass in the stomach after injecting air into the tubing. C. Examining a chest x-ray obtained after the tubing was inserted. D. Checking the remaining length of tubing to ensure that the correct length was inserted. - Answer ️Both (A and B) are methods used to determine proper placement of the NG tubing. However, the best indicator that the tubing is properly placed is (C). (D) is not an indicator of proper placement. Correct Answer: C The nurse is caring for a client who is receiving 24-hour total parenteral nutrition (TPN) via a central line at 54 ml/hr. When initially assessing the client, the nurse notes that the TPN solution has run out and the next TPN solution is not available. What immediate action should the nurse take? A. Infuse normal saline at a keep vein open rate. B. Discontinue the IV and flush the port with heparin. C. Infuse 10 percent dextrose and water at 54 ml/hr. D. Obtain a stat blood glucose level and notify the healthcare provider. - Answer ️TPN is discontinued gradually to allow the client to adjust to decreased levels of glucose. Administering 10% dextrose in water at the prescribed rate (C) will keep the client from experiencing hypoglycemia until the next TPN solution is available. The client could experience a hypoglycemic reaction if the current level of glucose (A) is not maintained or if the TPN is discontinued abruptly (B). There is no reason to obtain a stat blood glucose level (D) and the healthcare provider cannot do anything about this situation. Correct Answer: C The nurse witnesses the signature of a client who has signed an informed consent. Which statement best explains this nursing responsibility? A. The client voluntarily signed the form. B. The client fully understands the procedure. C. The client agrees with the procedure to be done. D. The client authorizes continued treatment. - Answer ️The nurse signs the consent form to witness that the client voluntarily signs the consent (A), that the client's signature is authentic, and that the client is otherwise competent to give consent. It is the healthcare provider's responsibility to ensure the client fully understands the procedure (B). The nurse's signature does not indicate (C or D). Correct Answer: A An IV infusion terbutaline sulfate 5 mg in 500 ml of D5W, is infusing at a rate of 30 mcg/min prescribed for a client in premature labor. How many ml/hr should the nurse set the infusion pump? A. 30 B. 60 C. 120 D. 180 - Answer ️(D) is correct calculation: 180 ml/hr = 500 ml/5 mg × 1mg/1000 mcg × 30 mcg/min × 60 min/hr. Correct Answer: D A female client with a nasogastric tube attached to low suction states that she is nauseated. The nurse assesses that there has been no drainage through the nasogastric tube in the last two hours. What action should the nurse take first? A. Irrigate the nasogastric tube with sterile normal saline. B. Reposition the client on her side. C. Advance the nasogastric tube an additional five centimeters. D. Administer an intravenous antiemetic prescribed for PRN use. - Answer ️The immediate priority is to determine if the tube is functioning correctly, which would then relieve the client's nausea. The least invasive intervention, (B), should be attempted first, followed by (A and C), unless either of these interventions is contraindicated. If these measures are unsuccessful, the client may require an antiemetic (D). Correct Answer: B Utilitarian = - Answer ️The rightness or wrongness of an action depends on the consequences of the action. Deontologic = - Answer ️An action is right or wrong independent of its consequences. What are the steps of the nursing process? - Answer ️ASSESS DIAGNOSE PLAN IMPLEMENT EVALUATE -DOCUMENT- The nurse is instructing a client in the proper use of a metered-dose inhaler. Which instruction should the nurse provide the client to ensure the optimal benefits from the drug? A. "Fill your lungs with air through your mouth and then compress the inhaler." B. "Compress the inhaler while slowly breathing in through your mouth." C. "Compress the inhaler while inhaling quickly through your nose." D. "Exhale completely after compressing the inhaler and then inhale." - Answer ️B Rationale: The medication should be inhaled through the mouth simultaneously with compression of the inhaler. This will facilitate the desired destination of the aerosol medication deep in the lungs for an optimal bronchodilation effect. Options A, C, and D do not allow for deep lung penetration. A 20-year-old female client with a noticeable body odor has refused to shower for the last 3 days. She states, "I have been told that it is harmful to bathe during my period." Which action should the nurse take first? A. Accept and document the client's wish to refrain from bathing. B. Offer to give the client a bed bath, avoiding the perineal area. C. Obtain written brochures about menstruation to give to the client. D. Teach the importance of personal hygiene during menstruation with the client. - Answer ️D Rationale: Because a shower is most beneficial for the client in terms of hygiene, the client should receive teaching first, respecting any personal beliefs such as cultural or spiritual values. After client teaching, the client may still choose option A or B. Brochures reinforce the teaching. While reviewing the side effects of a newly prescribed medication, a 72-year-old client notes that one of the side effects is a reduction in sexual drive. Which is the best response by the nurse? A. "How will this affect your present sexual activity?" B. "How active is your current sex life?" C. "How has your sex life changed as you have become older?" D. "Tell me about your sexual needs as an older adult." - Answer ️A Rationale: Option A offers an open-ended question most relevant to the client's statement. Option B does not offer the client the opportunity to express concerns. Options C and D are even less relevant to the client's statement. The nurse is using the Glasgow Coma Scale to perform a neurologic assessment. A comatose client winces and pulls away from a painful stimulus. Which action should the nurse take next? A. Document that the client responds to painful stimulus. B. Observe the client's response to verbal stimulation. C. Place the client on seizure precautions for 24 hours. D. Report decorticate posturing to the health care provider - Answer ️.A Rationale: The client has demonstrated a purposeful response to pain, which should be documented as such. Response to painful stimulus is assessed after response to verbal stimulus, not before. There is no indication for placing the client on seizure precautions. Reporting decorticate posturing to the health care provider is nonpurposeful movement. The nurse plans to administer diazepam, 4 mg IV push, to a client with severe anxiety. How many milliliters should the nurse administer? (Round to the nearest tenth.) A. 0.2 mL B. 0.8 mL C. 1.25 mL D. 2.0 mL - Answer ️B Rationale: (1 mL × 4 mg)/5 mg = 0.8 mL The nurse prepares to insert a nasogastric tube in a client with hyperemesis who is awake and alert. Which intervention(s) is(are) correct? (Select all that apply.) A. Place the client in a high Fowler position. B. Help the client assume a left side-lying position. C. Measure the tube from the tip of the nose to the umbilicus. D. Instruct the client to swallow after the tube has passed the pharynx. E. Assist the client in extending the neck back so the tube may enter the larynx. - Answer ️A, D Rationale: (A and D) are the correct steps to follow during nasogastric intubation. Only the unconscious or obtunded client should be placed in a left side-lying position (B). The tube should be measured from the tip of the nose to behind the ear and then from behind the ear to the xiphoid process (C). The neck should only be extended back prior to the tube passing the pharynx and then the client should be instructed to position the neck forward (E). The nurse teaches the use of a gait belt to a male caregiver whose wife has right-sided weakness and needs assistance with ambulation. The caregiver performs a return demonstration of the skill. Which observation indicates that the caregiver has learned how to perform this procedure correctly? A. Standing on his wife's strong side, the caregiver is ready to hold the gait belt if any evidence of weakness is observed. B. Standing on his wife's weak side, the caregiver provides security by holding the gait belt from the back. C. Standing behind his wife, the caregiver provides balance by holding both sides of the gait belt. D. Standing slightly in front and to the right of his wife, the caregiver guides her forward by gently pulling on the gait belt. - Answer ️B Rationale: His wife is most likely to lean toward the weak side and needs extra support on that side and from the back to prevent falling. Options A, C, and D provide less security for her. Which nursing diagnosis has the highest priority when planning care for a client with an indwelling urinary catheter? A. Self-care deficit B. Functional incontinence C. Fluid volume deficit D. High risk for infection - Answer ️D Rationale: Indwelling urinary catheters are a major source of infection. Options A and B are both problems that may require an indwelling catheter. Option C is not affected by an indwelling catheter. A client has a nursing diagnosis of Altered sleep patterns related to nocturia. Which client instruction is important for the nurse to provide? A. Decrease intake of fluids after the evening meal. B. Drink a glass of cranberry juice every day. C. Drink a glass of warm decaffeinated beverage at bedtime. D. Consult the health care provider about a sleeping pill. - Answer ️A Rationale: Nocturia is urination during the night. Option A is helpful to decrease the production of urine, thus decreasing the need to void at night. Option B helps prevent bladder infections. Option C may promote sleep, but the fluid will contribute to nocturia. Option D may result in urinary incontinence if the client is sedated and does not awaken to void.