Endocrine Iggy Practice Questions
A nurse assesses a client who is prescribed a medication that stimulates beta1
receptors. Which assessment finding should alert the nurse to urgently contact the
health care provider?
a. Heart rate of 50 beats/min
b. Respiratory rate of 18 breaths/min
c. Oxygenation saturation of 92%
d. Blood pressure of 144/69 mm Hg - CORRECT ANSWER-ANS: A
Stimulation of beta1 receptor sites in the heart has positive chronotropic and
inotropic actions. The nurse expects an increase in heart rate and increased
cardiac output. The client with a heart rate of 50 beats/min would be cause for
concern because this would indicate that the client was not responding to the
medication. The other vital signs are within normal limits and do not indicate a
negative response to the medication.
A nurse prepares to palpate a client's thyroid gland. Which action should the nurse take
when performing this assessment?
a. Stand in front of the client instead of behind the client.
b. Ask the client to swallow after palpating the thyroid.
c. Palpate the right lobe with the nurse's left hand.
d. Place the client in a sitting position with the chin tucked down. - CORRECT
ANSWER-ANS: D
The client should be in a sitting position with the chin tucked down as the
examiner stands behind the client. The nurse feels for the thyroid isthmus while
the client swallows and turns the head to the right, and the nurse palpates the
right lobe with the right hand. The technique is repeated in the opposite fashion
for the left lobe.
A nurse collaborates with an unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) to provide care for a
client who is prescribed a 24-hour urine specimen collection. Which statement should
the nurse include when delegating this activity to the UAP?
a. "Note the time of the client's first void and collect urine for 24 hours."
b. "Add the preservative to the container at the end of the test."
c. "Start the collection by saving the first urine of the morning."
d. "It is okay if one urine sample during the 24 hours is not collected." - CORRECT
ANSWER-ANS: A
The collection of a 24-hour urine specimen is often delegated to a UAP. The nurse
must ensure that the UAP understands the proper process for collecting the
urine. The 24-hour urine collection specimen is started after the client's first
urination. The first urine specimen is discarded because there is no way to know
how long it has been in the bladder, but the time of the client's first void is noted.
The client adds all urine voided after that first discarded specimen during the
, next 24 hours. When the 24-hour mark is reached, the client voids one last time
and adds this specimen to the collection. The preservative, if used, must be
added to the container at the beginning of the collection. All urine samples need
to be collected for the test results to be accurate.
A nurse assesses a female client who presents with hirsutism. Which question should
the nurse ask when assessing this client?
a. "How do you plan to pay for your treatments?"
b. "How do you feel about yourself?"
c. "What medications are you prescribed?"
d. "What are you doing to prevent this from happening?" - CORRECT ANSWER-ANS:
B
Hirsutism, or excessive hair growth on the face and body, can result from
endocrine disorders. This may cause a disruption in body image, especially for
female clients. The nurse should inquire into the client's body image and self-
perception. Asking about the client's financial status or current medications does
not address the client's immediate problem. The client is not doing anything to
herself to cause the problem, nor can the client prevent it from happening.
A nurse cares for a client who is prescribed a drug that blocks a hormone's receptor
site. Which therapeutic effect should the nurse expect?
a. Greater hormone metabolism
b. Decreased hormone activity
c. Increased hormone activity
d. Unchanged hormone response - CORRECT ANSWER-ANS: B
Hormones cause activity in the target tissues by binding with their specific
cellular receptor sites, thereby changing the activity of the cell. When receptor
sites are occupied by other substances that block hormone binding, the cell's
response is the same as when the level of the hormone is decreased.
A nurse cares for a client with a deficiency of aldosterone. Which assessment finding
should the nurse correlate with this deficiency?
a. Increased urine output
b. Vasoconstriction
c. Blood glucose of 98 mg/dL
d. Serum sodium of 144 mEq/L - CORRECT ANSWER-ANS: A
Aldosterone, the major mineralocorticoid, maintains extracellular fluid volume. It
promotes sodium and water reabsorption and potassium excretion in the kidney
tubules. A client with an aldosterone deficiency will have increased urine output.
Vasoconstriction is not related. These sodium and glucose levels are normal; in
aldosterone deficiency, the client would have hyponatremia and hyperkalemia.
A nurse cares for a client with excessive production of thyrocalcitonin (calcitonin). For
which electrolyte imbalance should the nurse assess?
a. Potassium
b. Sodium
A nurse assesses a client who is prescribed a medication that stimulates beta1
receptors. Which assessment finding should alert the nurse to urgently contact the
health care provider?
a. Heart rate of 50 beats/min
b. Respiratory rate of 18 breaths/min
c. Oxygenation saturation of 92%
d. Blood pressure of 144/69 mm Hg - CORRECT ANSWER-ANS: A
Stimulation of beta1 receptor sites in the heart has positive chronotropic and
inotropic actions. The nurse expects an increase in heart rate and increased
cardiac output. The client with a heart rate of 50 beats/min would be cause for
concern because this would indicate that the client was not responding to the
medication. The other vital signs are within normal limits and do not indicate a
negative response to the medication.
A nurse prepares to palpate a client's thyroid gland. Which action should the nurse take
when performing this assessment?
a. Stand in front of the client instead of behind the client.
b. Ask the client to swallow after palpating the thyroid.
c. Palpate the right lobe with the nurse's left hand.
d. Place the client in a sitting position with the chin tucked down. - CORRECT
ANSWER-ANS: D
The client should be in a sitting position with the chin tucked down as the
examiner stands behind the client. The nurse feels for the thyroid isthmus while
the client swallows and turns the head to the right, and the nurse palpates the
right lobe with the right hand. The technique is repeated in the opposite fashion
for the left lobe.
A nurse collaborates with an unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) to provide care for a
client who is prescribed a 24-hour urine specimen collection. Which statement should
the nurse include when delegating this activity to the UAP?
a. "Note the time of the client's first void and collect urine for 24 hours."
b. "Add the preservative to the container at the end of the test."
c. "Start the collection by saving the first urine of the morning."
d. "It is okay if one urine sample during the 24 hours is not collected." - CORRECT
ANSWER-ANS: A
The collection of a 24-hour urine specimen is often delegated to a UAP. The nurse
must ensure that the UAP understands the proper process for collecting the
urine. The 24-hour urine collection specimen is started after the client's first
urination. The first urine specimen is discarded because there is no way to know
how long it has been in the bladder, but the time of the client's first void is noted.
The client adds all urine voided after that first discarded specimen during the
, next 24 hours. When the 24-hour mark is reached, the client voids one last time
and adds this specimen to the collection. The preservative, if used, must be
added to the container at the beginning of the collection. All urine samples need
to be collected for the test results to be accurate.
A nurse assesses a female client who presents with hirsutism. Which question should
the nurse ask when assessing this client?
a. "How do you plan to pay for your treatments?"
b. "How do you feel about yourself?"
c. "What medications are you prescribed?"
d. "What are you doing to prevent this from happening?" - CORRECT ANSWER-ANS:
B
Hirsutism, or excessive hair growth on the face and body, can result from
endocrine disorders. This may cause a disruption in body image, especially for
female clients. The nurse should inquire into the client's body image and self-
perception. Asking about the client's financial status or current medications does
not address the client's immediate problem. The client is not doing anything to
herself to cause the problem, nor can the client prevent it from happening.
A nurse cares for a client who is prescribed a drug that blocks a hormone's receptor
site. Which therapeutic effect should the nurse expect?
a. Greater hormone metabolism
b. Decreased hormone activity
c. Increased hormone activity
d. Unchanged hormone response - CORRECT ANSWER-ANS: B
Hormones cause activity in the target tissues by binding with their specific
cellular receptor sites, thereby changing the activity of the cell. When receptor
sites are occupied by other substances that block hormone binding, the cell's
response is the same as when the level of the hormone is decreased.
A nurse cares for a client with a deficiency of aldosterone. Which assessment finding
should the nurse correlate with this deficiency?
a. Increased urine output
b. Vasoconstriction
c. Blood glucose of 98 mg/dL
d. Serum sodium of 144 mEq/L - CORRECT ANSWER-ANS: A
Aldosterone, the major mineralocorticoid, maintains extracellular fluid volume. It
promotes sodium and water reabsorption and potassium excretion in the kidney
tubules. A client with an aldosterone deficiency will have increased urine output.
Vasoconstriction is not related. These sodium and glucose levels are normal; in
aldosterone deficiency, the client would have hyponatremia and hyperkalemia.
A nurse cares for a client with excessive production of thyrocalcitonin (calcitonin). For
which electrolyte imbalance should the nurse assess?
a. Potassium
b. Sodium
