HESI Critical Thinking Exam questions and correct answers 2026

HESI Critical Thinking Exam questions and correct answers 2026 The Patient: A 70-year-old male who is relatively healthy. The Situation: A liquid medication is prescribed for this patient. The Question: Prior to administering the prescribed medication, what intervention has the highest priority? Determine if the patient is allergic to the medication The Patient: A young adult woman has smoked since she was 12 years old. The Situation: The patient is complaining of "skipped heart beats". The Question: Which instruction is most important for the nurse to provide this patient? Call for assistance if she feels weak or dizzy when getting out of bed. The Patient: An older male adult who lives at home alone. The Situation: The on-call home healthcare nurse is having dinner with family members in a restaurant when the patients calls on the cell phone. The Question: What action should the nurse take? Leave the table so the nurse can take the call in a private area. The Patient: An adult with diabetes mellitus who was just given a morning dose of insulin which lowers the blood sugar. The Situation: The Patients breakfast tray arrives, and the nurse notices that the pancake syrup and sugar pancakes have not been substituted with products containing artificial sweeteners. The Question: What should the nurse do first in this situation? Call the dietary department and request another tray. Or Remove foods containing sugar and offer sugar substitutes. The Patient: A 55-year-old female with a family history of hypertension. The Situation: The patient is concerned about her health and states "I have had severe headaches for the last six months. I think I might have high blood pressure." The nurse determines that the woman's blood pressure is 138/86 (high normal). The Question: What action would be best for the nurse to take?