PROGRESSIVE CARE RN A EXAM 2022
A 16 year old patient was admitted to the unit for asthma exacerbation. The patient has a suicide
attempt the previous shift and states "I want to die because I am being bullied at school." Which of the
following is the MOST important action? - ANS Place the patient on suicide precautions to prevent a
second suicide attempt
A 78 year old male is admitted from the ED for syncope with ground level fall. You note his heart rate is
50 and the patient is confused. His daughter states she thinks he has dementia but he has not been
diagnosed yet. Blood pressure is stable. What order do you anticipate? - ANS Stat head CT
A co-worker administered a narcotic earlier in the shift, but failed to get a witness for the portion of
medication that was wasted. The co-worker asks that you sign off as the witness. What is the BEST
response? - ANS Refuse to witness the waste and ask the co-worker to notify the charge nurse
A patient is admitted for a NSTEMI and ST depression is noted in leads II, III, and AVF. Two hours after
admission you notice the patient now has ST elevation in each of those leads. What should you do
NEXT? - ANS Initiate STEMI team or Administer O2 and morphine 2mg IV???
A patient is admitted to the PCU with COPD exacerbation. Which of the following assessment findings
would you expect to find knowing that the patient has been taking prednisone 40 mg PO once daily for
18 years? - ANS Hyperglycemia
A patient is admitted with a diagnosis of "rule out GI bleed." Which of the following lab values supports
confirmation of this diagnosis? - ANS Hgb of 5.2
A patient is on strict I&Os with an indwelling urinary catheter. 4 hours into your shift you notice that
there is a total of 50 mL of urine in the bag. You notify the provider because you recognize that
adequate urine output should be: - ANS 30 mL/hr
A patient was involved in a motor vehicle accident and CAT scan results reveal a right sided SDH. What
would be an expected neurological assessment finding in this patient? - ANS Dilated right pupil
A patient with a history of acute seizure activity of unknown etiology is admitted to the PCU from the
ED. Which of the following orders would you expect to receive from the admitting provider? - ANS
Levetiracetam (Keppra) 500 mg IV every 12 hours and seizure precautions
A patient with an upper GI bleed has a hgb of 6.1 g/dL. Which of the following orders should you do
FIRST? - ANS Prepare to administer 2 units PRBCs
A patient with new onset seizures is most likely to have which of the following in their room? - ANS
Padded side rails and suction at the bedside
, An 18 year old female is admitted from PACU after a cholecystectomy. She has a 22 gauge peripheral IV
in her left hand and is due to void. She had morphine 8 mg and Zofran 4 mg in recovery, and is
complaining of nausea. She has Phenergan 50 mg IV every 6 hours/PRN. What should you do first? - ANS
Start a new IV line in the antecubital region or obtain an order for Phenergan IM
Of the following patients, which one would you see FIRST? - ANS A 30 year suicidal female that took an
unknown number of alprazolam with an O2 saturation of 85%
The patient is presenting with a blood pressure of 90/60, a creatinine of 3.0 and decreased urinary
output. What is a possible cause for these findings? - ANS Acute kidney injury
The patient's lab test results indicate a BNP of 2,000 upon arrival to the ED. The patient has been
transferred to PCU. What treatment plan would you anticipate from the attending provider? - ANS
Furosemide 40 mg IV BID
The provider has ordered a 24-hour urine collection for your patient. The patient voids 275 cc, 2 hours
after the order is given. This specimen should be: - ANS Discarded, then begin collection with the next
void
The provider has written an order for diltiazem 125 mg in 100 mL D5W at 10 mg/hour. The vial of
diltiazem contains 5mg/mL. Which of the following is the correct volume to add to the bag of D5W? -
ANS 25 mL
The trough for vancomycin is measured: - ANS Immediately before the next scheduled dose
Then nursing assistant reports that your post-op day 2 CABG patient has a temp of 101.3 and BP of
82/56. The patient's output has decreased to < 30 cc in the past 4 hours. You suspect a post surgical
complication. After calling the doctor, you receive the orders for STAT CBC, CMP, and coagulation test.
Which of the following results would you expect to see after these labs are completed? - ANS WBC
greater than 19,000
Unstable angina is characterized by which of the following? - ANS Chest pain, usually while at rest
Upon arrival to the unit, you receive report on four PCU patients. Which patient should you attend to
FIRST? - ANS A patient complaining of shortness of breathe on continuous BiPAP with a BP of 189/109
What abnormal heart sound would you expect to hear in a patient with mitral stenosis? - ANS Diastolic
murmur
What acid-base imbalance would you expect to see in a patient with an acute kidney injury? - ANS
Metabolic acidosis
What is the most common cause of acute onset pancreatitis? - ANS Alcoholism and galstones
What is the most common symptom of SIADH? - ANS Fluid retention
A 16 year old patient was admitted to the unit for asthma exacerbation. The patient has a suicide
attempt the previous shift and states "I want to die because I am being bullied at school." Which of the
following is the MOST important action? - ANS Place the patient on suicide precautions to prevent a
second suicide attempt
A 78 year old male is admitted from the ED for syncope with ground level fall. You note his heart rate is
50 and the patient is confused. His daughter states she thinks he has dementia but he has not been
diagnosed yet. Blood pressure is stable. What order do you anticipate? - ANS Stat head CT
A co-worker administered a narcotic earlier in the shift, but failed to get a witness for the portion of
medication that was wasted. The co-worker asks that you sign off as the witness. What is the BEST
response? - ANS Refuse to witness the waste and ask the co-worker to notify the charge nurse
A patient is admitted for a NSTEMI and ST depression is noted in leads II, III, and AVF. Two hours after
admission you notice the patient now has ST elevation in each of those leads. What should you do
NEXT? - ANS Initiate STEMI team or Administer O2 and morphine 2mg IV???
A patient is admitted to the PCU with COPD exacerbation. Which of the following assessment findings
would you expect to find knowing that the patient has been taking prednisone 40 mg PO once daily for
18 years? - ANS Hyperglycemia
A patient is admitted with a diagnosis of "rule out GI bleed." Which of the following lab values supports
confirmation of this diagnosis? - ANS Hgb of 5.2
A patient is on strict I&Os with an indwelling urinary catheter. 4 hours into your shift you notice that
there is a total of 50 mL of urine in the bag. You notify the provider because you recognize that
adequate urine output should be: - ANS 30 mL/hr
A patient was involved in a motor vehicle accident and CAT scan results reveal a right sided SDH. What
would be an expected neurological assessment finding in this patient? - ANS Dilated right pupil
A patient with a history of acute seizure activity of unknown etiology is admitted to the PCU from the
ED. Which of the following orders would you expect to receive from the admitting provider? - ANS
Levetiracetam (Keppra) 500 mg IV every 12 hours and seizure precautions
A patient with an upper GI bleed has a hgb of 6.1 g/dL. Which of the following orders should you do
FIRST? - ANS Prepare to administer 2 units PRBCs
A patient with new onset seizures is most likely to have which of the following in their room? - ANS
Padded side rails and suction at the bedside
, An 18 year old female is admitted from PACU after a cholecystectomy. She has a 22 gauge peripheral IV
in her left hand and is due to void. She had morphine 8 mg and Zofran 4 mg in recovery, and is
complaining of nausea. She has Phenergan 50 mg IV every 6 hours/PRN. What should you do first? - ANS
Start a new IV line in the antecubital region or obtain an order for Phenergan IM
Of the following patients, which one would you see FIRST? - ANS A 30 year suicidal female that took an
unknown number of alprazolam with an O2 saturation of 85%
The patient is presenting with a blood pressure of 90/60, a creatinine of 3.0 and decreased urinary
output. What is a possible cause for these findings? - ANS Acute kidney injury
The patient's lab test results indicate a BNP of 2,000 upon arrival to the ED. The patient has been
transferred to PCU. What treatment plan would you anticipate from the attending provider? - ANS
Furosemide 40 mg IV BID
The provider has ordered a 24-hour urine collection for your patient. The patient voids 275 cc, 2 hours
after the order is given. This specimen should be: - ANS Discarded, then begin collection with the next
void
The provider has written an order for diltiazem 125 mg in 100 mL D5W at 10 mg/hour. The vial of
diltiazem contains 5mg/mL. Which of the following is the correct volume to add to the bag of D5W? -
ANS 25 mL
The trough for vancomycin is measured: - ANS Immediately before the next scheduled dose
Then nursing assistant reports that your post-op day 2 CABG patient has a temp of 101.3 and BP of
82/56. The patient's output has decreased to < 30 cc in the past 4 hours. You suspect a post surgical
complication. After calling the doctor, you receive the orders for STAT CBC, CMP, and coagulation test.
Which of the following results would you expect to see after these labs are completed? - ANS WBC
greater than 19,000
Unstable angina is characterized by which of the following? - ANS Chest pain, usually while at rest
Upon arrival to the unit, you receive report on four PCU patients. Which patient should you attend to
FIRST? - ANS A patient complaining of shortness of breathe on continuous BiPAP with a BP of 189/109
What abnormal heart sound would you expect to hear in a patient with mitral stenosis? - ANS Diastolic
murmur
What acid-base imbalance would you expect to see in a patient with an acute kidney injury? - ANS
Metabolic acidosis
What is the most common cause of acute onset pancreatitis? - ANS Alcoholism and galstones
What is the most common symptom of SIADH? - ANS Fluid retention
