Chapter 1: Nursing Today
2. The nurse prescribes strategies and alternatives to attain expected outcome. Which
standard of nursing practice is the nurse following?
a. Assessment
b. Diagnosis
c. Planning
d. Implementation
3. An experienced medical-surgical nurse chooses to work in obstetrics. Which level
of proficiency is the nurse upon initial transition to the obstetrical floor?
e. Novice
f. Proficient
g. Competent
h. Advanced beginner
4. A nurse assesses a patient’s fluid status and decides that the patient needs to drink more
fluids. The nurse then encourages the patient to drink more fluids. Which concept is the
nurse demonstrating?
i. Licensure
j. Autonomy
k. Certification
l. Accountability
5. A nurse prepares the budget and policies for an intensive care unit. Which role is the
nurse implementing?
m. Educator
n. Manager
o. Advocate
p. Caregiver
8. A nurse identifies gaps between local and best practices. Which Quality and Safety
Education for Nurses (QSEN) competency is the nurse demonstrating?
a. Safety
b. Patient-centered care
c. Quality improvement
d. Teamwork and collaboration
9. A nurse has compassion fatigue. What is the nurse experiencing?
e. Lateral violence and intrapersonal conflict
f. Burnout and secondary traumatic stress
g. Short-term grief and single stressor
h. Physical and mental exhaustion
10. A patient is scheduled for surgery. When getting ready to obtain the informed consent, the
patient tells the nurse, “I have no idea what is going to happen. I couldn’t ask any questions.”
The nurse does not allow the patient to sign the permit and notifies the health care provider
of the situation. Which role is the nurse displaying?
i. Manager
j. Patient educator
,k. Patient advocate
l. Clinical nurse specialist
11. The patient requires routine gynecological services after giving birth to her son, and
while seeing the nurse-midwife, the patient asks for a referral to a pediatrician for the
newborn. Which action should the nurse-midwife take initially?
m. Provide the referral as requested.
n. Offer to provide the newborn care.
o. Refer the patient to the supervising provider.
p. Tell the patient that is not allowed to make referrals.
12. The nurse has a goal of becoming a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA).
Which activity is appropriate for a CRNA?
q. Manages gynecological services such as PAP smears
r. Works under the guidance of an anesthesiologist
s. Obtains a PhD degree in anesthesiology
t. Coordinates acute medical conditions
13. A nurse teaches a group of nursing students about nurse practice acts. Which information is
most important to include in the teaching session about nurse practice acts?
a. Protects the nurse
b. Protects the public
c. Protects the provider
d. Protects the hospital
15. A nurse is using a guide that provides principles of right and wrong to provide care to
patients. Which guide is the nurse using?
e. Code of ethics
f. Standards of practice
g. Standards of professional performance
h. Quality and safety education for nurses
17. While providing care to a patient, the nurse is responsible, both professionally and legally.
Which concept does this describe?
a. Autonomy
b. Accountability
c. Patient advocacy
d. Patient education
4. The nurse manager from the oncology unit has had two callouts; the orthopedic unit has had
multiple discharges and probably will have to cancel one or two of its nurses. The orthopedic
unit has agreed to “float” two of its nurses to the oncology unit if oncology can “float” a
nursing assistant to the orthopedic unit to help with obtaining vital signs. Which concepts does
this situation entail? (Select all that apply.)
a. Autonomy
b. Informatics
, c. Accountability
d. Political activism
e. Teamwork and collaboration
Chapter 15: Critical Thinking
1. Which action should the nurse take when using critical thinking to make clinical decisions?
a. Make decisions based on intuition.
b. Accept one established way to provide care.
c. Consider what is important in a given situation.
d. Read and follow the heath care provider’s orders.
2. Which patient scenario of a surgical patient in pain is most indicative of critical thinking?
a. Administering pain-relief medication according to what was given last shift
b. Offering pain-relief medication based on the health care provider’s orders
c. Asking the patient what pain-relief methods, pharmacological
and nonpharmacological, have worked in the past
d. Explaining to the patient that self-reporting of severe pain is not consistent
with the minor procedure that was performed
3. Which action indicates a registered nurse is being responsible for making clinical decisions?
a. Applies clear textbook solutions to patients’ problems
b. Takes immediate action when a patient’s condition worsens
c. Uses only traditional methods of providing care to patients
d. Formulates standardized care plans solely for groups of patients
4. A charge nurse is supervising the care of a new nurse. Which action by a new nurse
indicates the charge nurse needs to intervene?
a. Making an ethical clinical decision
b. Making an informed clinical decision
c. Making a clinical decision in the patient’s best interest
d. Making a clinical decision based on previous shift assessments
5. Which action demonstrates a nurse utilizing reflection to improve clinical decision making?
a. Obtains data in an orderly fashion
b. Uses an objective approach in patient situations
c. Improves a plan of care while thinking back on interventions effectiveness
d. Provides evidence-based explanations and research for care of assigned patients
6. A nursing instructor needs to evaluate students’ abilities to synthesize data and identify
, relationships between nursing diagnoses. Which learning assignment is best suited for this
instructor’s needs?
a. Concept mapping
b. Reflective journaling
c. Lecture and discussion
d. Reading assignment with a written summary
7. A nurse is using a critical thinking model to provide care. Which component is first that
helps a nurse make clinical decisions?
a. Attitude
b. Experience
c. Nursing process
d. Specific knowledge base
8. Which action by a nurse indicates application of the critical thinking model to make the
bestclinical decisions?
a. Drawing on past clinical experiences to formulate standardized care plans
b. Relying on recall of information from past lectures and textbooks
c. Depending on the charge nurse to determine priorities of care
d. Using the nursing process
9. A nurse is using the critical thinking skill of evaluation. Which action will the nurse take?
a. Examine the meaning of data.
b. Support findings and conclusions.
c. Review the effectiveness of nursing actions.
d. Search for links between the data and the nurse’s assumptions.
10. The patient appears to be in no apparent distress, but vital signs taken by assistive
personnel reveal an extremely low pulse. The nurse then auscultates an apical pulse and asks
the patient whether there is any history of heart problems. The nurse is utilizing which critical
thinking skill?
a. Evaluation
b. Explanation
c. Interpretation
d. Self-regulation
11. A patient continues to report postsurgical incision pain at a level of 9 out of 10 after pain
medicine is given. The next dose of pain medicine is not due for another hour. What should
the critically thinking nurse do first?
2. The nurse prescribes strategies and alternatives to attain expected outcome. Which
standard of nursing practice is the nurse following?
a. Assessment
b. Diagnosis
c. Planning
d. Implementation
3. An experienced medical-surgical nurse chooses to work in obstetrics. Which level
of proficiency is the nurse upon initial transition to the obstetrical floor?
e. Novice
f. Proficient
g. Competent
h. Advanced beginner
4. A nurse assesses a patient’s fluid status and decides that the patient needs to drink more
fluids. The nurse then encourages the patient to drink more fluids. Which concept is the
nurse demonstrating?
i. Licensure
j. Autonomy
k. Certification
l. Accountability
5. A nurse prepares the budget and policies for an intensive care unit. Which role is the
nurse implementing?
m. Educator
n. Manager
o. Advocate
p. Caregiver
8. A nurse identifies gaps between local and best practices. Which Quality and Safety
Education for Nurses (QSEN) competency is the nurse demonstrating?
a. Safety
b. Patient-centered care
c. Quality improvement
d. Teamwork and collaboration
9. A nurse has compassion fatigue. What is the nurse experiencing?
e. Lateral violence and intrapersonal conflict
f. Burnout and secondary traumatic stress
g. Short-term grief and single stressor
h. Physical and mental exhaustion
10. A patient is scheduled for surgery. When getting ready to obtain the informed consent, the
patient tells the nurse, “I have no idea what is going to happen. I couldn’t ask any questions.”
The nurse does not allow the patient to sign the permit and notifies the health care provider
of the situation. Which role is the nurse displaying?
i. Manager
j. Patient educator
,k. Patient advocate
l. Clinical nurse specialist
11. The patient requires routine gynecological services after giving birth to her son, and
while seeing the nurse-midwife, the patient asks for a referral to a pediatrician for the
newborn. Which action should the nurse-midwife take initially?
m. Provide the referral as requested.
n. Offer to provide the newborn care.
o. Refer the patient to the supervising provider.
p. Tell the patient that is not allowed to make referrals.
12. The nurse has a goal of becoming a certified registered nurse anesthetist (CRNA).
Which activity is appropriate for a CRNA?
q. Manages gynecological services such as PAP smears
r. Works under the guidance of an anesthesiologist
s. Obtains a PhD degree in anesthesiology
t. Coordinates acute medical conditions
13. A nurse teaches a group of nursing students about nurse practice acts. Which information is
most important to include in the teaching session about nurse practice acts?
a. Protects the nurse
b. Protects the public
c. Protects the provider
d. Protects the hospital
15. A nurse is using a guide that provides principles of right and wrong to provide care to
patients. Which guide is the nurse using?
e. Code of ethics
f. Standards of practice
g. Standards of professional performance
h. Quality and safety education for nurses
17. While providing care to a patient, the nurse is responsible, both professionally and legally.
Which concept does this describe?
a. Autonomy
b. Accountability
c. Patient advocacy
d. Patient education
4. The nurse manager from the oncology unit has had two callouts; the orthopedic unit has had
multiple discharges and probably will have to cancel one or two of its nurses. The orthopedic
unit has agreed to “float” two of its nurses to the oncology unit if oncology can “float” a
nursing assistant to the orthopedic unit to help with obtaining vital signs. Which concepts does
this situation entail? (Select all that apply.)
a. Autonomy
b. Informatics
, c. Accountability
d. Political activism
e. Teamwork and collaboration
Chapter 15: Critical Thinking
1. Which action should the nurse take when using critical thinking to make clinical decisions?
a. Make decisions based on intuition.
b. Accept one established way to provide care.
c. Consider what is important in a given situation.
d. Read and follow the heath care provider’s orders.
2. Which patient scenario of a surgical patient in pain is most indicative of critical thinking?
a. Administering pain-relief medication according to what was given last shift
b. Offering pain-relief medication based on the health care provider’s orders
c. Asking the patient what pain-relief methods, pharmacological
and nonpharmacological, have worked in the past
d. Explaining to the patient that self-reporting of severe pain is not consistent
with the minor procedure that was performed
3. Which action indicates a registered nurse is being responsible for making clinical decisions?
a. Applies clear textbook solutions to patients’ problems
b. Takes immediate action when a patient’s condition worsens
c. Uses only traditional methods of providing care to patients
d. Formulates standardized care plans solely for groups of patients
4. A charge nurse is supervising the care of a new nurse. Which action by a new nurse
indicates the charge nurse needs to intervene?
a. Making an ethical clinical decision
b. Making an informed clinical decision
c. Making a clinical decision in the patient’s best interest
d. Making a clinical decision based on previous shift assessments
5. Which action demonstrates a nurse utilizing reflection to improve clinical decision making?
a. Obtains data in an orderly fashion
b. Uses an objective approach in patient situations
c. Improves a plan of care while thinking back on interventions effectiveness
d. Provides evidence-based explanations and research for care of assigned patients
6. A nursing instructor needs to evaluate students’ abilities to synthesize data and identify
, relationships between nursing diagnoses. Which learning assignment is best suited for this
instructor’s needs?
a. Concept mapping
b. Reflective journaling
c. Lecture and discussion
d. Reading assignment with a written summary
7. A nurse is using a critical thinking model to provide care. Which component is first that
helps a nurse make clinical decisions?
a. Attitude
b. Experience
c. Nursing process
d. Specific knowledge base
8. Which action by a nurse indicates application of the critical thinking model to make the
bestclinical decisions?
a. Drawing on past clinical experiences to formulate standardized care plans
b. Relying on recall of information from past lectures and textbooks
c. Depending on the charge nurse to determine priorities of care
d. Using the nursing process
9. A nurse is using the critical thinking skill of evaluation. Which action will the nurse take?
a. Examine the meaning of data.
b. Support findings and conclusions.
c. Review the effectiveness of nursing actions.
d. Search for links between the data and the nurse’s assumptions.
10. The patient appears to be in no apparent distress, but vital signs taken by assistive
personnel reveal an extremely low pulse. The nurse then auscultates an apical pulse and asks
the patient whether there is any history of heart problems. The nurse is utilizing which critical
thinking skill?
a. Evaluation
b. Explanation
c. Interpretation
d. Self-regulation
11. A patient continues to report postsurgical incision pain at a level of 9 out of 10 after pain
medicine is given. The next dose of pain medicine is not due for another hour. What should
the critically thinking nurse do first?
