PEDIATRIC ACTUAL EXAM QUESTIONS
AND COMPLETE STUDY GUIDE 2026
▶ What change is seen when a child enters from a stage of toddlerhood to
the stage of preschooler? Answer: Preschoolers get into the habit of
extending bedtimes.
▶ At which age would the nurse anticipate the appearance of an imaginary
friend for a preschool-age client? Answer: Imaginary friends typically
appear by 3 years of age and can last throughout the preschool stage of
development. If an imaginary friend has not appeared by this age, it is
unlikely to expect this to surface at 4, 5, or 6 years of age.
▶ After a tonsillectomy, which finding alerts the nurse to suspect the initial
stage of hemorrhage? Answer: Blood seeping from the surgical site drains
into the oral cavity, causing the child to *swallow*. Snoring is to be
expected after a tonsillectomy because of edema.
▶ What is the required average daily intake of calories in preschoolers?
Answer: 1800
▶ A nurse educates a group of parents about how to teach their children to
safely cross roads and walk in parking lots. Which age group of the children
is the nurse referring to? Answer: Preschoolers
▶ Which type of language development is seen in 4-year-olds? Answer:
knows simple songs
,▶ An adolescent visits the allergy clinic because of seasonal environmental
allergies, and blood is drawn for testing. Which laboratory finding indicates
to the nurse that an allergic response is in progress? Answer: Increased
eosinophil level
▶ Pulse oximetry is prescribed for an adolescent. What should the nurse
do to ensure accuracy of the pulse oximeter reading? Answer: Capillary
beds are closest to the surface in a *finger or earlobe*; this proximity
permits more accurate measurement of arterial oxygen saturation.
▶ What is true about psychosocial changes observed in adolescents?
Answer: search for his or her personal identity and develop his or her own
ethical system
▶ What is true about cognitive changes observed in adolescents? Answer:
consider themselves invincible and consider their parents materialistic
▶ Which herbal therapies can be recommended to a client with breast
pain? Answer: chamomile, bugleweed, and chaste tree fruit
▶ What is the minimum respiratory rate in a normal adolescent? Answer:
16
▶ The parents of a 15-year-old adolescent who is being treated for
allergies privately tell a nurse that they suspect that their child is a
hypochondriac. What is the most therapeutic response by the nurse?
Answer: Discussing developmental behaviors of adolescents
, ▶ What is the maximum heart rate of a 16 year old? Answer: 90 bpm
▶ What is gynecomastia? Answer: Gynecomastia is a bilateral or unilateral
enlargement of breast seen in adolescent boys. It is an unusual change
during growth and development and subsides on its own. Gynecomastia is
caused by a hormone imbalance of testosterone and estrogen.
▶ What is the average diastolic pressure recorded in a 16 year old?
Answer: 75 mmHg
▶ Which complication of anaphylactic shock in the adolescent client is
most important for the nurse to detect early? Answer: *Laryngeal edema*
with severe acute upper airway obstruction may be life threatening in
anaphylactic shock and requires rapid intervention. The reaction may also
involve symptoms of irritability, cutaneous signs of urticaria, tachycardia,
and increasing restlessness, but these are not as life threatening as
laryngeal edema.
▶ A preschool-aged child visits the health clinic with his mother. The
mother is concerned about the child's interaction with "imaginary friends."
What is the best response by the nurse? Answer: Imaginary friends and
imaginary play are normal for children at the preschool developmental
level. Their thinking is influenced by role fantasy. Children believe that their
wishes are real and that dreams come to life. They believe that inanimate
objects have feelings and thoughts. It is important for the mother to know
that this form of thinking is normal for a child of this age and that there is no
need for a psychiatrist, medication, or a developmental assessment.
AND COMPLETE STUDY GUIDE 2026
▶ What change is seen when a child enters from a stage of toddlerhood to
the stage of preschooler? Answer: Preschoolers get into the habit of
extending bedtimes.
▶ At which age would the nurse anticipate the appearance of an imaginary
friend for a preschool-age client? Answer: Imaginary friends typically
appear by 3 years of age and can last throughout the preschool stage of
development. If an imaginary friend has not appeared by this age, it is
unlikely to expect this to surface at 4, 5, or 6 years of age.
▶ After a tonsillectomy, which finding alerts the nurse to suspect the initial
stage of hemorrhage? Answer: Blood seeping from the surgical site drains
into the oral cavity, causing the child to *swallow*. Snoring is to be
expected after a tonsillectomy because of edema.
▶ What is the required average daily intake of calories in preschoolers?
Answer: 1800
▶ A nurse educates a group of parents about how to teach their children to
safely cross roads and walk in parking lots. Which age group of the children
is the nurse referring to? Answer: Preschoolers
▶ Which type of language development is seen in 4-year-olds? Answer:
knows simple songs
,▶ An adolescent visits the allergy clinic because of seasonal environmental
allergies, and blood is drawn for testing. Which laboratory finding indicates
to the nurse that an allergic response is in progress? Answer: Increased
eosinophil level
▶ Pulse oximetry is prescribed for an adolescent. What should the nurse
do to ensure accuracy of the pulse oximeter reading? Answer: Capillary
beds are closest to the surface in a *finger or earlobe*; this proximity
permits more accurate measurement of arterial oxygen saturation.
▶ What is true about psychosocial changes observed in adolescents?
Answer: search for his or her personal identity and develop his or her own
ethical system
▶ What is true about cognitive changes observed in adolescents? Answer:
consider themselves invincible and consider their parents materialistic
▶ Which herbal therapies can be recommended to a client with breast
pain? Answer: chamomile, bugleweed, and chaste tree fruit
▶ What is the minimum respiratory rate in a normal adolescent? Answer:
16
▶ The parents of a 15-year-old adolescent who is being treated for
allergies privately tell a nurse that they suspect that their child is a
hypochondriac. What is the most therapeutic response by the nurse?
Answer: Discussing developmental behaviors of adolescents
, ▶ What is the maximum heart rate of a 16 year old? Answer: 90 bpm
▶ What is gynecomastia? Answer: Gynecomastia is a bilateral or unilateral
enlargement of breast seen in adolescent boys. It is an unusual change
during growth and development and subsides on its own. Gynecomastia is
caused by a hormone imbalance of testosterone and estrogen.
▶ What is the average diastolic pressure recorded in a 16 year old?
Answer: 75 mmHg
▶ Which complication of anaphylactic shock in the adolescent client is
most important for the nurse to detect early? Answer: *Laryngeal edema*
with severe acute upper airway obstruction may be life threatening in
anaphylactic shock and requires rapid intervention. The reaction may also
involve symptoms of irritability, cutaneous signs of urticaria, tachycardia,
and increasing restlessness, but these are not as life threatening as
laryngeal edema.
▶ A preschool-aged child visits the health clinic with his mother. The
mother is concerned about the child's interaction with "imaginary friends."
What is the best response by the nurse? Answer: Imaginary friends and
imaginary play are normal for children at the preschool developmental
level. Their thinking is influenced by role fantasy. Children believe that their
wishes are real and that dreams come to life. They believe that inanimate
objects have feelings and thoughts. It is important for the mother to know
that this form of thinking is normal for a child of this age and that there is no
need for a psychiatrist, medication, or a developmental assessment.
