PSYCHIATRIC (MENTAL HEALTH) NURSE
EXAM QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS
Martin is a 23-year-old male with a new diagnosis of schizophrenia, and
his family is receiving information from a home health nurse. The topic of
education is suicide prevention, and the nurse recognizes effective
teaching when the mother says:
• “Persons with schizophrenia rarely commit suicide.”
• “Suicide risk is greatest in the first few years after diagnosis.”
• “Suicide is not common in schizophrenia due to confusion.”
• “Most persons diagnosed with schizophrenia die of suicide.”
Sigmund Freud, Karl Menninger, and Aaron Beck theorized that
hopelessness was an integral part of why a person commits suicide. A more
recent theory suggest suicide results from:
• Elevated serotonin levels
• The diathesis-stress model
• Outward aggression turned inward
• A lack of perfectionism
Which person is at the highest risk for suicide?
• A 50-year-old married white male with depression who has a plan
to overdose if circumstances at work do not improve.
• A 45-year-old married white female who recently lost her parents,
suffers from bipolar disorder, and attempted suicide once as a teenager.
,• A young single white male who is alcohol dependent, hopeless,
impulsive, has just been rejected by his girlfriend, and has ready access to a
gun he has hidden.
• An older Hispanic male who is Catholic, is living with a debilitating
chronic illness, is recently widowed, and who states, “I wish that God
would take me too.”
Kara is a 23-year-old patient admitted with depression and suicidal
ideation. Which intervention(s) would be therapeutic for Kara?
Select all that apply.
• Focus primarily on developing solutions to the problems leading the patient to
feel suicidal.
• Assess the patient thoroughly and reassess the patient at regular intervals
as levels of risk fluctuate.
• Avoid talking about the suicidal ideation as this may increase the patient’s
risk for suicidal behavior.
• Meet regularly with the patient to provide opportunities for the patient to
express and explore feelings.
• Administer antidepressant medications cautiously and conservatively because
of their potential to increase the suicide risk in Kara’s age group.
• Help the patient to identify positive self-attributes and to question negative
self-perceptions that are unrealistic.
Which patient statement indicates the helpfulness of the nurse-patient
relationship?
• “I appreciate the time you spent with me. I have a better understanding of
,what I can do to manage my problem.”
• “I really need to talk with you. You always give me good advice about how
to address my anger issues.”
• “If it wasn’t for you and the hours we’ve spent talking, I don’t think I would
be on my way to getting my anxiety under control.”
• “You always showed me sympathy when I was at my lowest point after the
sexual assault. Knowing you had been there too was such a help.”
A female nurse had been sexually assaulted as a teenager. She finds it
difficult to work with patients who have undergone the same trauma.
What is the most helpful response?
• Discussing these feelings with the nurse supervisor.
• Requesting that these patients not be a part of her patient assignment.
• Discussing these feelings with a mental health professional.
• Accepting her role in providing unbiased, respectful, and professional care to all
patients.
A patient whose history includes experiences with abusive partners is being
treated for major depressive disorder. The patient’s care plan includes
rape-trauma syndrome among its nursing diagnoses. What goal is directly
associated with this diagnosis?
• Remains free from self-harm
• Wears appropriate clothing
• Reports feeling stronger and having a sense of hopefulness
, • Demonstrates appropriate affect for both positive and negative emotions
The nurse is engaged in crisis intervention with a patient reporting, “I have
no reason to keep on living.” What is the nurse’s initial intervention?
• Advise the patient about the services available to help them.
• Ask the patient, “Have you ever been this depressed before?”
• Ask the patient, “Do you have any plan to hurt yourself or anyone else?”
• Assure the patient that he or she is in a safe place and will be well cared for.
Which statement concerning a crisis experience is true and should be used
as a guideline for crisis management care? Select all that apply.
• A crisis is self-limiting and usually resolves within 4 to 6 weeks.
• The earlier interventions are implemented, the better the expected prognosis.
• The nurse should maintain a nondirective role.
• The patient in crisis is assumed to be mentally unhealthy and in an
extreme state of disequilibrium.
• The goal of crisis management is to return the patient to at least the
precrisis level of functioning.
Which statement about crisis theory will provide a basis for nursing
intervention?
• A crisis is an acute time-limited phenomenon experienced as an
overwhelming emotional reaction to a problem perceived as unsolvable.
EXAM QUESTIONS WITH ANSWERS
Martin is a 23-year-old male with a new diagnosis of schizophrenia, and
his family is receiving information from a home health nurse. The topic of
education is suicide prevention, and the nurse recognizes effective
teaching when the mother says:
• “Persons with schizophrenia rarely commit suicide.”
• “Suicide risk is greatest in the first few years after diagnosis.”
• “Suicide is not common in schizophrenia due to confusion.”
• “Most persons diagnosed with schizophrenia die of suicide.”
Sigmund Freud, Karl Menninger, and Aaron Beck theorized that
hopelessness was an integral part of why a person commits suicide. A more
recent theory suggest suicide results from:
• Elevated serotonin levels
• The diathesis-stress model
• Outward aggression turned inward
• A lack of perfectionism
Which person is at the highest risk for suicide?
• A 50-year-old married white male with depression who has a plan
to overdose if circumstances at work do not improve.
• A 45-year-old married white female who recently lost her parents,
suffers from bipolar disorder, and attempted suicide once as a teenager.
,• A young single white male who is alcohol dependent, hopeless,
impulsive, has just been rejected by his girlfriend, and has ready access to a
gun he has hidden.
• An older Hispanic male who is Catholic, is living with a debilitating
chronic illness, is recently widowed, and who states, “I wish that God
would take me too.”
Kara is a 23-year-old patient admitted with depression and suicidal
ideation. Which intervention(s) would be therapeutic for Kara?
Select all that apply.
• Focus primarily on developing solutions to the problems leading the patient to
feel suicidal.
• Assess the patient thoroughly and reassess the patient at regular intervals
as levels of risk fluctuate.
• Avoid talking about the suicidal ideation as this may increase the patient’s
risk for suicidal behavior.
• Meet regularly with the patient to provide opportunities for the patient to
express and explore feelings.
• Administer antidepressant medications cautiously and conservatively because
of their potential to increase the suicide risk in Kara’s age group.
• Help the patient to identify positive self-attributes and to question negative
self-perceptions that are unrealistic.
Which patient statement indicates the helpfulness of the nurse-patient
relationship?
• “I appreciate the time you spent with me. I have a better understanding of
,what I can do to manage my problem.”
• “I really need to talk with you. You always give me good advice about how
to address my anger issues.”
• “If it wasn’t for you and the hours we’ve spent talking, I don’t think I would
be on my way to getting my anxiety under control.”
• “You always showed me sympathy when I was at my lowest point after the
sexual assault. Knowing you had been there too was such a help.”
A female nurse had been sexually assaulted as a teenager. She finds it
difficult to work with patients who have undergone the same trauma.
What is the most helpful response?
• Discussing these feelings with the nurse supervisor.
• Requesting that these patients not be a part of her patient assignment.
• Discussing these feelings with a mental health professional.
• Accepting her role in providing unbiased, respectful, and professional care to all
patients.
A patient whose history includes experiences with abusive partners is being
treated for major depressive disorder. The patient’s care plan includes
rape-trauma syndrome among its nursing diagnoses. What goal is directly
associated with this diagnosis?
• Remains free from self-harm
• Wears appropriate clothing
• Reports feeling stronger and having a sense of hopefulness
, • Demonstrates appropriate affect for both positive and negative emotions
The nurse is engaged in crisis intervention with a patient reporting, “I have
no reason to keep on living.” What is the nurse’s initial intervention?
• Advise the patient about the services available to help them.
• Ask the patient, “Have you ever been this depressed before?”
• Ask the patient, “Do you have any plan to hurt yourself or anyone else?”
• Assure the patient that he or she is in a safe place and will be well cared for.
Which statement concerning a crisis experience is true and should be used
as a guideline for crisis management care? Select all that apply.
• A crisis is self-limiting and usually resolves within 4 to 6 weeks.
• The earlier interventions are implemented, the better the expected prognosis.
• The nurse should maintain a nondirective role.
• The patient in crisis is assumed to be mentally unhealthy and in an
extreme state of disequilibrium.
• The goal of crisis management is to return the patient to at least the
precrisis level of functioning.
Which statement about crisis theory will provide a basis for nursing
intervention?
• A crisis is an acute time-limited phenomenon experienced as an
overwhelming emotional reaction to a problem perceived as unsolvable.
