WGU SCHOOL OF NURSING AND HEALTH SCIENCES
DEPARTMENT OF NURSING| GERONTOLOGICAL
NURSING EXAMINATION-2026
Gerontological Nursing, 7th Edition Life Transitions
Course Title: Life Transitions in Aging Populations
Course Code: NUR 301
Academic Year: 2025/2026
1. A nurse manager at a long-term care facility is engaged in efforts to change many staff
members' inaccurate and negative views of older adults. Which of the following statements
made by staff is most clearly indicative of ageism?
A) "Older people seem to have so many more chronic health problems than younger people."
B) "Older adults' motor skills get progressively slower as they age."
C) "It's normal to expect a gradual loss of memory and intelligence with age."
D) "A lot of the physical changes that accompany aging are inevitable."
Ans: C
Feedback:
A common ageist misconception is that senility and loss of intelligence inevitably, and normally,
accompany the aging process. Older adults do have more chronic conditions than younger
adults, and motor skills become slower. Many of the physical changes that accompany aging are
considered normal and largely inevitable.
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, 2. According to Erikson, the final stage of the life cycle is centered on achieving integrity versus
despair. Which of the following situations would signal to the nurse that the client in question is
at risk for disappointment and despair as characterized by Erikson?
A) An 81-year-old woman has needed to adopt a minced diet following a recent stroke.
B) A 78-year-old man has had a pacemaker implanted to address his atrial fibrillation.
C) A 90-year-old woman is grieving the recent death of her husband to whom she was married
for 66 years.
D) An 80-year-old man describes himself as "useless" since he can no longer help his adult
children with their yard and garden work.
Ans: D
Feedback:
A perceived loss of useful function often constitutes a crisis for older men and can be associated
with despair rather than integrity in Erikson's typology of the life cycle. A change in diet, a
medical intervention, and grief at the loss of a spouse are less closely associated with this
conflict.
3. Which of the following clients of a nurse practitioner is demonstrative of a growing trend in
the role of grandparents in contemporary American society?
A) A 70-year-old grandmother is raising her two grandchildren because their mother is in prison.
B) An 80-year-old client of the nurse is going through a divorce with her husband of several
decades.
C) A 79-year-old man laments the fact that he is estranged from his son's children.
D) A married couple in their seventies who refuse to provide free child care for their
grandchildren on a daily basis.
Ans: A
Feedback:
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DEPARTMENT OF NURSING| GERONTOLOGICAL
NURSING EXAMINATION-2026
Gerontological Nursing, 7th Edition Life Transitions
Course Title: Life Transitions in Aging Populations
Course Code: NUR 301
Academic Year: 2025/2026
1. A nurse manager at a long-term care facility is engaged in efforts to change many staff
members' inaccurate and negative views of older adults. Which of the following statements
made by staff is most clearly indicative of ageism?
A) "Older people seem to have so many more chronic health problems than younger people."
B) "Older adults' motor skills get progressively slower as they age."
C) "It's normal to expect a gradual loss of memory and intelligence with age."
D) "A lot of the physical changes that accompany aging are inevitable."
Ans: C
Feedback:
A common ageist misconception is that senility and loss of intelligence inevitably, and normally,
accompany the aging process. Older adults do have more chronic conditions than younger
adults, and motor skills become slower. Many of the physical changes that accompany aging are
considered normal and largely inevitable.
1|Page
, 2. According to Erikson, the final stage of the life cycle is centered on achieving integrity versus
despair. Which of the following situations would signal to the nurse that the client in question is
at risk for disappointment and despair as characterized by Erikson?
A) An 81-year-old woman has needed to adopt a minced diet following a recent stroke.
B) A 78-year-old man has had a pacemaker implanted to address his atrial fibrillation.
C) A 90-year-old woman is grieving the recent death of her husband to whom she was married
for 66 years.
D) An 80-year-old man describes himself as "useless" since he can no longer help his adult
children with their yard and garden work.
Ans: D
Feedback:
A perceived loss of useful function often constitutes a crisis for older men and can be associated
with despair rather than integrity in Erikson's typology of the life cycle. A change in diet, a
medical intervention, and grief at the loss of a spouse are less closely associated with this
conflict.
3. Which of the following clients of a nurse practitioner is demonstrative of a growing trend in
the role of grandparents in contemporary American society?
A) A 70-year-old grandmother is raising her two grandchildren because their mother is in prison.
B) An 80-year-old client of the nurse is going through a divorce with her husband of several
decades.
C) A 79-year-old man laments the fact that he is estranged from his son's children.
D) A married couple in their seventies who refuse to provide free child care for their
grandchildren on a daily basis.
Ans: A
Feedback:
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