NCLEX Psychiatric/Mental Health Drugs Exam
NCLEX PSYCHIATRIC/MENTAL HEALTH DRUGS EXAM NEWEST
2025/2026 COMPLETE 100 QUESTIONS AND CORRECT
DETAILED ANSWERS (VERIFIED ANSWERS) |ALREADY GRADED
A+||BRAND NEW VERSION!!
A nurse is administering medications to clients on a psychiatric unit. What does
the nurse identify as the reason that so many psychiatric clients are given the drug
benztropine or trihexyphenidyl in conjunction with the phenothiazine-derivative
neuroleptic medications?
A. They reduce postural hypotension.
B. They potentiate the effects of the neuroleptic drug.
C. They combat the extrapyramidal side effects of the neuroleptic drug.
D. They ameliorate the depression that may accompany schizophrenia. - ANSWER-
C. They combat the extrapyramidal side effects of the neuroleptic drug.
Which atypical antipsychotics are approved for long-term use to prevent the
recurrence of mood episodes in clients with bipolar disease? Select all that apply.
A. Olanzapine
B. Quetiapine
C. Ziprasidone
D. Risperidone
E. Aripiprazole - ANSWER-A. Olanzapine
C. Ziprasidone
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, NCLEX Psychiatric/Mental Health Drugs Exam
E. Aripiprazole
An older adult living in a long-term care facility has been receiving 600 mg of
lithium twice a day for 3 weeks to ease manic behavior. The client is experiencing
nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, thirst, polyuria, slurred speech, and muscle
weakness. What is the most appropriate nursing intervention?
A. Withholding the next dose of lithium and drawing blood to test it for toxicity
B. Obtaining a prescription for the antidote to lithium and administering it
immediately
C. Suggesting that the primary healthcare provider replace the lithium for an
antiepileptic that will control the mania
D. Assessing the client for coarse hand tremor and, if it is present, giving the daily
dose of lithium with a bit of water - ANSWER-A. Withholding the next dose of
lithium and drawing blood to test it for toxicity
A client asks the nurse how psychotropic medications work. How does the nurse
reply?
A. "These medications decrease the metabolic needs of your brain."
B. "These medications increase the production of healthy nervous tissue."
C. "These medications affect the chemicals used in communication between nerve
cells."
D. "These medications regulate the sensory input received from the external
environment." - ANSWER-C. "These medications affect the chemicals used in
communication between nerve cells."
2|Page
, NCLEX Psychiatric/Mental Health Drugs Exam
Which toxic effect would the nurse find in a client who has overdosed on
isocarboxazid?
A. Mydriasis
B. Bradycardia
C. Hypothermia
D. Circulatory collapse - ANSWER-D. Circulatory collapse
A client with schizophrenia is started on a regimen of chlorpromazine. After 10
days a shuffling gait, tremors, and some rigidity are apparent. Benztropine
mesylate 2 mg by mouth daily is prescribed. What does the nurse remember
when administering these medications together?
A. Both medications are cholinesterase inhibitors.
B. Both medications have a cholinergic-blocking action.
C. The antipsychotic effects of chlorpromazine will be decreased.
D. The synergistic effect of these medications will cause drooling. - ANSWER-B.
Both medications have a cholinergic-blocking action.
A client receiving the medication buspirone is admitted to the hospital with the
diagnosis of possible hepatitis. The nurse identifies that the client's sclerae look
yellow. What will be the nurse's initial action?
A. Withhold the medication.
3|Page
NCLEX PSYCHIATRIC/MENTAL HEALTH DRUGS EXAM NEWEST
2025/2026 COMPLETE 100 QUESTIONS AND CORRECT
DETAILED ANSWERS (VERIFIED ANSWERS) |ALREADY GRADED
A+||BRAND NEW VERSION!!
A nurse is administering medications to clients on a psychiatric unit. What does
the nurse identify as the reason that so many psychiatric clients are given the drug
benztropine or trihexyphenidyl in conjunction with the phenothiazine-derivative
neuroleptic medications?
A. They reduce postural hypotension.
B. They potentiate the effects of the neuroleptic drug.
C. They combat the extrapyramidal side effects of the neuroleptic drug.
D. They ameliorate the depression that may accompany schizophrenia. - ANSWER-
C. They combat the extrapyramidal side effects of the neuroleptic drug.
Which atypical antipsychotics are approved for long-term use to prevent the
recurrence of mood episodes in clients with bipolar disease? Select all that apply.
A. Olanzapine
B. Quetiapine
C. Ziprasidone
D. Risperidone
E. Aripiprazole - ANSWER-A. Olanzapine
C. Ziprasidone
1|Page
, NCLEX Psychiatric/Mental Health Drugs Exam
E. Aripiprazole
An older adult living in a long-term care facility has been receiving 600 mg of
lithium twice a day for 3 weeks to ease manic behavior. The client is experiencing
nausea and vomiting, diarrhea, thirst, polyuria, slurred speech, and muscle
weakness. What is the most appropriate nursing intervention?
A. Withholding the next dose of lithium and drawing blood to test it for toxicity
B. Obtaining a prescription for the antidote to lithium and administering it
immediately
C. Suggesting that the primary healthcare provider replace the lithium for an
antiepileptic that will control the mania
D. Assessing the client for coarse hand tremor and, if it is present, giving the daily
dose of lithium with a bit of water - ANSWER-A. Withholding the next dose of
lithium and drawing blood to test it for toxicity
A client asks the nurse how psychotropic medications work. How does the nurse
reply?
A. "These medications decrease the metabolic needs of your brain."
B. "These medications increase the production of healthy nervous tissue."
C. "These medications affect the chemicals used in communication between nerve
cells."
D. "These medications regulate the sensory input received from the external
environment." - ANSWER-C. "These medications affect the chemicals used in
communication between nerve cells."
2|Page
, NCLEX Psychiatric/Mental Health Drugs Exam
Which toxic effect would the nurse find in a client who has overdosed on
isocarboxazid?
A. Mydriasis
B. Bradycardia
C. Hypothermia
D. Circulatory collapse - ANSWER-D. Circulatory collapse
A client with schizophrenia is started on a regimen of chlorpromazine. After 10
days a shuffling gait, tremors, and some rigidity are apparent. Benztropine
mesylate 2 mg by mouth daily is prescribed. What does the nurse remember
when administering these medications together?
A. Both medications are cholinesterase inhibitors.
B. Both medications have a cholinergic-blocking action.
C. The antipsychotic effects of chlorpromazine will be decreased.
D. The synergistic effect of these medications will cause drooling. - ANSWER-B.
Both medications have a cholinergic-blocking action.
A client receiving the medication buspirone is admitted to the hospital with the
diagnosis of possible hepatitis. The nurse identifies that the client's sclerae look
yellow. What will be the nurse's initial action?
A. Withhold the medication.
3|Page
