Nursing Assessment
7. A nurse is gathering information about a patient’s habits and lifestyle
patterns. Which method of data collection will the nurse use that will best
obtain this information?
a. Carefully review lab results.
b. Conduct the physical assessment.
c. Perform a thorough nursing health history.
d. Prolong the termination phase of the interview.
ANS: C
The nursing health history also includes a description of a patient’s habits
and lifestyle patterns. Lab results and physical assessment will not reveal as
much about the patient’s habits and lifestyle patterns as the nursing health
history. Collecting data is part of the working phase of the interview.
8. While interviewing an older female patient of Asian descent, the nurse
notices that the patient looks at the ground when answering questions. What
should the nurse do?
a. Consider cultural differences during this assessment.
b. Ask the patient to make eye contact to determine her affect.
c. Continue with the interview and document that the patient is depressed.
Notify the health care provider to recommend a psychological
d. evaluation.
ANS: A
To conduct an accurate and complete assessment, consider a patient’s
cultural background. This nurse needs to practice culturally competent care
and appreciate the cultural differences. Assuming that the patient is
depressed or in need of a psychological evaluation or to force eye contact is
inappropriate.
,11. A nurse is conducting a nursing health history. Which component will the
nurse address?
a. Nurse’s concerns
b. Patient expectations
c. Current treatment orders
d. Nurse’s goals for the patient
ANS: B
Some components of a nursing health history include chief concern, patient
expectations, spiritual health, and review of systems. Current treatment
orders are located under the Orders section in the patient’s chart and are not
a part of the nursing health history. Patient concerns, not nurse’s concerns,
are included in the database. Goals that are mutually established, not
nurse’s goals, are part of the nursing care plan.
12. While the patient’s lower extremity, which is in a cast, is assessed, the
patient tells the nurse about an inability to rest at night. The nurse
disregards this information, thinking that no correlation has been noted
between having a leg cast and developing restless sleep. Which action would
have been best for the nurse to take?
a
. Tell the patient to just focus on the leg and cast right now.
b
. Document the sleep patterns and information in the patient’s chart.
c
. Explain that a more thorough assessment will be needed next shift.
d Ask the patient about usual sleep patterns and the onset of having
. difficulty resting.
ANS: D
, The nurse must use critical thinking skills in this situation to assess first
in this situation. The best response is to gather more assessment data by
asking the patient about usual sleep patterns and the onset of having
difficulty resting. The nurse should assess before documenting and should
not ignore the patient’s report of a problem or postpone it till the next
shift.
14. Which statement by a nurse indicates a good understanding about the
differences between data validation and data interpretation?
a
. “Data interpretation occurs before data validation.”
b
. “Validation involves looking for patterns in professional standards.”
c. “Validation involves comparing data with other sources for accuracy.”
d “Data interpretation involves discovering patterns in professional
. standards.”
ANS: C
Validation, by definition, involves comparing data with other sources for
accuracy. Data interpretation involves identifying abnormal findings,
clarifying information, and identifying patient problems. The nurse should
validate data before interpreting the data and making inferences. The nurse
is interpreting and validating patient data, not professional standards.
16. While completing an admission database, the nurse is interviewing a
patient who states “I am allergic to latex.” Which action will the nurse
take first?
a. Immediately place the patient in isolation.
b. Ask the patient to describe the type of reaction.
c. Proceed to the termination phase of the interview.
d. Document the latex allergy on the medication administration record.