TEST BANK FOR PSYCHIATRIC-MENTAL
HEALTH NURSING REVIEW AND RESOURCE
MANUAL 5TH EDITION (HUTCHINSON) | ALL
CHAPTERS 1–8 | VERIFIED QUESTIONS &
ANSWERS | 2026 VERSION
• This material covers psychiatric-mental health nursing across all core chapters —
ideal for ANCC certification prep, course exams, and clinical review using a
question-by-question active recall strategy.
• Features verified-style MCQs with 5 options (A–E), bolded correct answers, and
EXPERT RATIONALE to reinforce understanding of concepts, pharmacology,
assessment, and nursing interventions.
TEST BANK — PSYCHIATRIC-MENTAL HEALTH NURSING
Review and Resource Manual, 5th Edition | Chapters 1–8 | Questions
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CHAPTER 1 — Professional Issues, Legal and Ethical Foundations
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
1. A psychiatric-mental health nurse is reviewing the standards of practice.
Which organization is primarily responsible for establishing these standards
for psychiatric-mental health nursing in the United States?
A. The Joint Commission (TJC)
B. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
C. The World Health Organization (WHO)
D. The American Nurses Association (ANA)
E. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Correct Answer: D — The American Nurses Association (ANA)
, EXPERT RATIONALE: The ANA, in collaboration with the American Psychiatric
Nurses Association (APNA) and the International Society of Psychiatric-Mental
Health Nurses (ISPN), establishes the Scope and Standards of Practice for
psychiatric-mental health nursing, guiding competent and ethical care.
2. A nurse is caring for a patient who has been involuntarily committed. The
patient demands to be discharged immediately. What is the nurse's most
appropriate response?
A. Immediately call the attending physician to discharge the patient
B. Restrain the patient to prevent elopement
C. Ignore the patient's request as involuntary status overrides all rights
D. Discharge the patient as requested to honor autonomy
E. Inform the patient of their rights and the legal process for challenging
involuntary commitment
Correct Answer: E — Inform the patient of their rights and the legal
process for challenging involuntary commitment
EXPERT RATIONALE: Even involuntarily committed patients retain legal rights,
including the right to be informed of those rights and to seek legal counsel or a
judicial review. The nurse must respect patient rights while maintaining safety
within the legal framework.
3. Which of the following best describes the concept of "least restrictive
environment" in psychiatric care?
A. Patients should always be treated in outpatient settings
B. Physical restraints should only be used with physician orders
C. Treatment should be provided in the setting that allows the most freedom
while ensuring safety
D. Inpatient treatment is always more effective than outpatient treatment
,E. Community mental health centers are always the best option
Correct Answer: C — Treatment should be provided in the setting that
allows the most freedom while ensuring safety
EXPERT RATIONALE: The principle of least restrictive environment is a legal and
ethical standard requiring that patients receive care in settings that preserve
maximum personal freedom and autonomy while still ensuring their safety and the
safety of others.
4. A patient with schizophrenia refuses to take prescribed antipsychotic
medication. Which ethical principle is most relevant when the nurse
considers the patient's refusal?
A. Beneficence
B. Nonmaleficence
C. Justice
D. Fidelity
E. Autonomy
Correct Answer: E — Autonomy
EXPERT RATIONALE: Autonomy refers to the patient's right to make informed
decisions about their own care, including the right to refuse treatment. The nurse
must balance this principle with beneficence (doing good) and nonmaleficence
(avoiding harm), especially when the patient has decision-making capacity.
5. A nurse documents in the medical record that a patient was "agitated and
combative" without providing specific behavioral descriptions. This
documentation is most likely a problem because:
A. It uses too many words
B. It is illegible to other providers
, C. It contains a HIPAA violation
D. It uses interpretive language instead of objective behavioral observations
E. It should be documented in a separate incident report
Correct Answer: D — It uses interpretive language instead of objective
behavioral observations
EXPERT RATIONALE: Effective psychiatric nursing documentation requires
objective, specific, and behavioral descriptions. Terms like "agitated" and
"combative" are interpretations. The nurse should describe what the patient said
and did, such as "patient raised voice, paced the hallway, and struck the wall with a
closed fist."
6. The psychiatric-mental health registered nurse (PMH-RN) differs from the
psychiatric-mental health advanced practice registered nurse (PMH-APRN)
primarily in:
A. The ability to communicate therapeutically
B. The use of the nursing process
C. The legal and ethical standards they follow
D. The ability to diagnose mental disorders and prescribe medications
independently
E. Access to clinical supervision
Correct Answer: D — The ability to diagnose mental disorders and
prescribe medications independently
EXPERT RATIONALE: The PMH-APRN (CNS or NP) has graduate-level education
that allows for independent psychiatric diagnosis, psychotherapy, and in many
states, prescriptive authority. The PMH-RN practices within the scope of RN
licensure, implementing care plans but not independently diagnosing or
prescribing.
HEALTH NURSING REVIEW AND RESOURCE
MANUAL 5TH EDITION (HUTCHINSON) | ALL
CHAPTERS 1–8 | VERIFIED QUESTIONS &
ANSWERS | 2026 VERSION
• This material covers psychiatric-mental health nursing across all core chapters —
ideal for ANCC certification prep, course exams, and clinical review using a
question-by-question active recall strategy.
• Features verified-style MCQs with 5 options (A–E), bolded correct answers, and
EXPERT RATIONALE to reinforce understanding of concepts, pharmacology,
assessment, and nursing interventions.
TEST BANK — PSYCHIATRIC-MENTAL HEALTH NURSING
Review and Resource Manual, 5th Edition | Chapters 1–8 | Questions
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
CHAPTER 1 — Professional Issues, Legal and Ethical Foundations
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
1. A psychiatric-mental health nurse is reviewing the standards of practice.
Which organization is primarily responsible for establishing these standards
for psychiatric-mental health nursing in the United States?
A. The Joint Commission (TJC)
B. The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
C. The World Health Organization (WHO)
D. The American Nurses Association (ANA)
E. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Correct Answer: D — The American Nurses Association (ANA)
, EXPERT RATIONALE: The ANA, in collaboration with the American Psychiatric
Nurses Association (APNA) and the International Society of Psychiatric-Mental
Health Nurses (ISPN), establishes the Scope and Standards of Practice for
psychiatric-mental health nursing, guiding competent and ethical care.
2. A nurse is caring for a patient who has been involuntarily committed. The
patient demands to be discharged immediately. What is the nurse's most
appropriate response?
A. Immediately call the attending physician to discharge the patient
B. Restrain the patient to prevent elopement
C. Ignore the patient's request as involuntary status overrides all rights
D. Discharge the patient as requested to honor autonomy
E. Inform the patient of their rights and the legal process for challenging
involuntary commitment
Correct Answer: E — Inform the patient of their rights and the legal
process for challenging involuntary commitment
EXPERT RATIONALE: Even involuntarily committed patients retain legal rights,
including the right to be informed of those rights and to seek legal counsel or a
judicial review. The nurse must respect patient rights while maintaining safety
within the legal framework.
3. Which of the following best describes the concept of "least restrictive
environment" in psychiatric care?
A. Patients should always be treated in outpatient settings
B. Physical restraints should only be used with physician orders
C. Treatment should be provided in the setting that allows the most freedom
while ensuring safety
D. Inpatient treatment is always more effective than outpatient treatment
,E. Community mental health centers are always the best option
Correct Answer: C — Treatment should be provided in the setting that
allows the most freedom while ensuring safety
EXPERT RATIONALE: The principle of least restrictive environment is a legal and
ethical standard requiring that patients receive care in settings that preserve
maximum personal freedom and autonomy while still ensuring their safety and the
safety of others.
4. A patient with schizophrenia refuses to take prescribed antipsychotic
medication. Which ethical principle is most relevant when the nurse
considers the patient's refusal?
A. Beneficence
B. Nonmaleficence
C. Justice
D. Fidelity
E. Autonomy
Correct Answer: E — Autonomy
EXPERT RATIONALE: Autonomy refers to the patient's right to make informed
decisions about their own care, including the right to refuse treatment. The nurse
must balance this principle with beneficence (doing good) and nonmaleficence
(avoiding harm), especially when the patient has decision-making capacity.
5. A nurse documents in the medical record that a patient was "agitated and
combative" without providing specific behavioral descriptions. This
documentation is most likely a problem because:
A. It uses too many words
B. It is illegible to other providers
, C. It contains a HIPAA violation
D. It uses interpretive language instead of objective behavioral observations
E. It should be documented in a separate incident report
Correct Answer: D — It uses interpretive language instead of objective
behavioral observations
EXPERT RATIONALE: Effective psychiatric nursing documentation requires
objective, specific, and behavioral descriptions. Terms like "agitated" and
"combative" are interpretations. The nurse should describe what the patient said
and did, such as "patient raised voice, paced the hallway, and struck the wall with a
closed fist."
6. The psychiatric-mental health registered nurse (PMH-RN) differs from the
psychiatric-mental health advanced practice registered nurse (PMH-APRN)
primarily in:
A. The ability to communicate therapeutically
B. The use of the nursing process
C. The legal and ethical standards they follow
D. The ability to diagnose mental disorders and prescribe medications
independently
E. Access to clinical supervision
Correct Answer: D — The ability to diagnose mental disorders and
prescribe medications independently
EXPERT RATIONALE: The PMH-APRN (CNS or NP) has graduate-level education
that allows for independent psychiatric diagnosis, psychotherapy, and in many
states, prescriptive authority. The PMH-RN practices within the scope of RN
licensure, implementing care plans but not independently diagnosing or
prescribing.
