NURS 261 Mid-Term Exam Study Guide 2025-2026 |
Health Assessment for Nursing Practice(Questions
&Verified Answers)
1.What is the purpose of performing a health assessment?
..ANSWER..to identify the specific needs of a person and how those
needs will be addressed by the healthcare system or skilled nursing
facility
2.Differentiate subjective data from objective data. Think of examples
for each. ..ANSWER..Objective: what we observe/see (ex. labs, VS,
etc.) Subjective: what the patient says (ex. pain rating, reporting a
fall/injury)
3.Review the difference between the 4 types of assessment data that
nurses collect (complete, focused or problem-centered, follow-up, and
emergency) and think about examples of situations in which each set of
data would be collected. ..ANSWER..Complete (total): history and
physical (possibly performed during a routine visit)
Focused/Problem-Centered: patient who comes in for a specific
problem (had an injury to the arm and went to the minor med)
Follow-Up: pt coming back to check on a problem (pt with broken arm
checks the progress of healing)
Emergency: not expected to be there; collecting life-saving info (going
to the ER/ICU)
4.Distinguish between open-ended and closed-ended questions. What
do you hope to achieve with the use of open-ended questions and with
the use of closed-ended questions? ..ANSWER..Open-ended: narrative,
paragraph answers; avoid asking Y/N questions
Closed-ended: straight-forward; Y/N questions
1|Page
,5.Review the positive nonverbal behaviors that promote
communication during an interview (Table 3-3) and be able to identify
examples of each. ..ANSWER..Posture, gesture, facial expressions,
appearance, eye contact, voice, and touch
6.Be able to recognize examples of facilitation, reflection, empathy,
clarification, confrontation, and leading or biased questions.
..ANSWER..Facilitation: encouraging client to say more ("mm-hmm"
or "go on...")
Reflection: mirroring client's words to help elaborate on the problem
(pt. may mention worrying about her kids-- "So you feel worried
about your children?"
Empathy: allows person to feel accepted and strengthens rapport
("This must be very hard for you")
Clarification: summarizing person's words ("Is that correct?" -- after
repeating their info)
Confrontation: clarifying inconsistent info ("earlier you said this, but
now...")
Leading/biased questions: "You don't smoke do you?" (never ask a
client in this way)
7.Know the "Ten Trap of Interviewing" ..ANSWER..1. Providing false
assurance or reassurance
2. Giving unwanted advice
3. Using authority
4. Using avoidance language
5. Distancing
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, 6. Using professional jargon
7. Using leading or biased questions
8. Talking too much
9. Interrupting
10. Using "why" questions
8.Review the functional use of space (Table 3-1). Note the differences
between intimate zone, personal distance, social distance, and public
distance, and know the number of feet associated with each.
..ANSWER..Intimate Zone: best for assessing body odors (0-1.5 ft)
Personal distance: where physical assessment occurs (1.5-4 ft)
Social distance: where interview occurs (4-12 ft)
Public distance: voice must be projected (12+ ft)
9.What are the techniques for promoting therapeutic communication
and building rapport? ..ANSWER..- keep intro short and formal
- address client with surname and shake hands
- ask open-ended questions
- let client discuss their concern
- make eye contact
- listen
10.What is the purpose of using silence during an interview?
..ANSWER..communicates that client has time to think; interruptions
could make them lose their train of thought; provides you with a
chance to observe nonverbals
3|Page
Health Assessment for Nursing Practice(Questions
&Verified Answers)
1.What is the purpose of performing a health assessment?
..ANSWER..to identify the specific needs of a person and how those
needs will be addressed by the healthcare system or skilled nursing
facility
2.Differentiate subjective data from objective data. Think of examples
for each. ..ANSWER..Objective: what we observe/see (ex. labs, VS,
etc.) Subjective: what the patient says (ex. pain rating, reporting a
fall/injury)
3.Review the difference between the 4 types of assessment data that
nurses collect (complete, focused or problem-centered, follow-up, and
emergency) and think about examples of situations in which each set of
data would be collected. ..ANSWER..Complete (total): history and
physical (possibly performed during a routine visit)
Focused/Problem-Centered: patient who comes in for a specific
problem (had an injury to the arm and went to the minor med)
Follow-Up: pt coming back to check on a problem (pt with broken arm
checks the progress of healing)
Emergency: not expected to be there; collecting life-saving info (going
to the ER/ICU)
4.Distinguish between open-ended and closed-ended questions. What
do you hope to achieve with the use of open-ended questions and with
the use of closed-ended questions? ..ANSWER..Open-ended: narrative,
paragraph answers; avoid asking Y/N questions
Closed-ended: straight-forward; Y/N questions
1|Page
,5.Review the positive nonverbal behaviors that promote
communication during an interview (Table 3-3) and be able to identify
examples of each. ..ANSWER..Posture, gesture, facial expressions,
appearance, eye contact, voice, and touch
6.Be able to recognize examples of facilitation, reflection, empathy,
clarification, confrontation, and leading or biased questions.
..ANSWER..Facilitation: encouraging client to say more ("mm-hmm"
or "go on...")
Reflection: mirroring client's words to help elaborate on the problem
(pt. may mention worrying about her kids-- "So you feel worried
about your children?"
Empathy: allows person to feel accepted and strengthens rapport
("This must be very hard for you")
Clarification: summarizing person's words ("Is that correct?" -- after
repeating their info)
Confrontation: clarifying inconsistent info ("earlier you said this, but
now...")
Leading/biased questions: "You don't smoke do you?" (never ask a
client in this way)
7.Know the "Ten Trap of Interviewing" ..ANSWER..1. Providing false
assurance or reassurance
2. Giving unwanted advice
3. Using authority
4. Using avoidance language
5. Distancing
2|Page
, 6. Using professional jargon
7. Using leading or biased questions
8. Talking too much
9. Interrupting
10. Using "why" questions
8.Review the functional use of space (Table 3-1). Note the differences
between intimate zone, personal distance, social distance, and public
distance, and know the number of feet associated with each.
..ANSWER..Intimate Zone: best for assessing body odors (0-1.5 ft)
Personal distance: where physical assessment occurs (1.5-4 ft)
Social distance: where interview occurs (4-12 ft)
Public distance: voice must be projected (12+ ft)
9.What are the techniques for promoting therapeutic communication
and building rapport? ..ANSWER..- keep intro short and formal
- address client with surname and shake hands
- ask open-ended questions
- let client discuss their concern
- make eye contact
- listen
10.What is the purpose of using silence during an interview?
..ANSWER..communicates that client has time to think; interruptions
could make them lose their train of thought; provides you with a
chance to observe nonverbals
3|Page
