HESI – FUNDAMENTALS
QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT
ANSWERS 2025-2026
When turning an immobile bedridden client without assistance, which action by the nurse
best ensures client safety?
A. Securely grasp the client's arm and leg.
B. Put bed rails up on the side of bed opposite from the nurse.
C. Correctly position and use a turn sheet.
D. Lower the head of the client's bed slowly. CORRECT ANSWER B
Rationale: Because the nurse can only stand on one side of the bed, bed rails should be up
on the opposite side to ensure that the client does not fall out of bed. Option A can cause
client injury to the skin or joint. Options C and D are useful techniques while turning a client
but have less priority in terms of safety than use of the bed rails.
The nurse identifies a potential for infection in a client with partial-thickness (second-
degree) and full-thickness (third-degree) burns. What intervention has the highest priority in
decreasing the client's risk of infection?
A. Administration of plasma expanders
B. Use of careful handwashing technique
C. Application of a topical antibacterial cream
D. Limiting visitors to the client with burns CORRECT ANSWER B
Rationale: Careful handwashing technique is the single most effective intervention for the
prevention of contamination to all clients. Option A reverses the hypovolemia that initially
accompanies burn trauma but is not related to decreasing the proliferation of infective
organisms. Options C and D are recommended by various burn centers as possible ways to
reduce the chance of infection. Option B is a proven technique to prevent infection.
The nurse is aware that malnutrition is a common problem among clients served by a
community health clinic for the homeless. Which laboratory value is the most reliable
indicator of chronic protein malnutrition?
A. Low serum albumin level
,B. Low serum transferrin level
C. High hemoglobin level
D. High cholesterol level CORRECT ANSWER A
Rationale: Long-term protein deficiency is required to cause significantly lowered serum
albumin levels. Albumin is made by the liver only when adequate amounts of amino acids
(from protein breakdown) are available. Albumin has a long half-life, so acute protein loss
does not significantly alter serum levels. Option B is a serum protein with a half-life of only 8
to 10 days, so it will drop with an acute protein deficiency. Options C and D are not clinical
measures of protein malnutrition.
In completing a client's preoperative routine, the nurse finds that the operative permit is not
signed. The client begins to ask more questions about the surgical procedure. Which action
should the nurse take next?
A. Witness the client's signature to the permit.
B. Answer the client's questions about the surgery.
C. Inform the surgeon that the operative permit is not signed and the client has questions
about the surgery.
D. Reassure the client that the surgeon will answer any questions before the anesthesia is
administered. CORRECT ANSWER C
Rationale: The surgeon should be informed immediately that the permit is not signed. It is
the surgeon's responsibility to explain the procedure to the client and obtain the client's
signature on the permit. Although the nurse can witness an operative permit, the procedure
must first be explained by the health care provider or surgeon, including answering the
client's questions. The client's questions should be addressed before the permit is signed.
The nurse is assessing several clients prior to surgery. Which factor in a client's history poses
the greatest threat for complications to occur during surgery?
A. Taking birth control pills for the past 2 years
B. Taking anticoagulants for the past year
C. Recently completing antibiotic therapy
D. Having taken laxatives PRN for the last 6 months CORRECT ANSWER B
Rationale:
, Anticoagulants increase the risk for bleeding during surgery, which can pose a threat for the
development of surgical complications. The health care provider should be informed that
the client is taking these drugs. Although clients who take birth control pills may be more
susceptible to the development of thrombi, such problems usually occur postoperatively. A
client with option C or D is at less of a surgical risk than with option B.
When assisting a client from the bed to a chair, which procedure is best for the nurse to
follow?
A. Place the chair parallel to the bed, with its back toward the head of the bed and assist the
client in moving to the chair.
B. With the nurse's feet spread apart and knees aligned with the client's knees, stand and
pivot the client into the chair.
C. Assist the client to a standing position by gently lifting upward, underneath the axillae.
D. Stand beside the client, place the client's arms around the nurse's neck, and gently move
the client to the chair. CORRECT ANSWER B
Rationale: Option B describes the correct positioning of the nurse and affords the nurse a
wide base of support while stabilizing the client's knees when assisting to a standing
position. The chair should be placed at a 45-degree angle to the bed, with the back of the
chair toward the head of the bed. Clients should never be lifted under the axillae; this could
damage nerves and strain the nurse's back. The client should be instructed to use the arms
of the chair and should never place his or her arms around the nurse's neck; this places
undue stress on the nurse's neck and back and increases the risk for a fall.
Which step(s) should the nurse take when administering ear drops to an adult client? (Select
all that apply.)
A. Place the client in a side-lying position.
B. Pull the auricle upward and outward.
C. Hold the dropper 6 cm above the ear canal.
D. Place a cotton ball into the inner canal.
E. Pull the auricle down and back. CORRECT ANSWER A, B
Rationale: The correct answers (A and B) are the appropriate administration of ear drops.
The dropper should be held 1 cm (½ inch) above the ear canal (C). A cotton ball should be
placed in the outermost canal (D). The auricle is pulled down and back for a child younger
than 3 years of age, but not an adult (E).
QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT
ANSWERS 2025-2026
When turning an immobile bedridden client without assistance, which action by the nurse
best ensures client safety?
A. Securely grasp the client's arm and leg.
B. Put bed rails up on the side of bed opposite from the nurse.
C. Correctly position and use a turn sheet.
D. Lower the head of the client's bed slowly. CORRECT ANSWER B
Rationale: Because the nurse can only stand on one side of the bed, bed rails should be up
on the opposite side to ensure that the client does not fall out of bed. Option A can cause
client injury to the skin or joint. Options C and D are useful techniques while turning a client
but have less priority in terms of safety than use of the bed rails.
The nurse identifies a potential for infection in a client with partial-thickness (second-
degree) and full-thickness (third-degree) burns. What intervention has the highest priority in
decreasing the client's risk of infection?
A. Administration of plasma expanders
B. Use of careful handwashing technique
C. Application of a topical antibacterial cream
D. Limiting visitors to the client with burns CORRECT ANSWER B
Rationale: Careful handwashing technique is the single most effective intervention for the
prevention of contamination to all clients. Option A reverses the hypovolemia that initially
accompanies burn trauma but is not related to decreasing the proliferation of infective
organisms. Options C and D are recommended by various burn centers as possible ways to
reduce the chance of infection. Option B is a proven technique to prevent infection.
The nurse is aware that malnutrition is a common problem among clients served by a
community health clinic for the homeless. Which laboratory value is the most reliable
indicator of chronic protein malnutrition?
A. Low serum albumin level
,B. Low serum transferrin level
C. High hemoglobin level
D. High cholesterol level CORRECT ANSWER A
Rationale: Long-term protein deficiency is required to cause significantly lowered serum
albumin levels. Albumin is made by the liver only when adequate amounts of amino acids
(from protein breakdown) are available. Albumin has a long half-life, so acute protein loss
does not significantly alter serum levels. Option B is a serum protein with a half-life of only 8
to 10 days, so it will drop with an acute protein deficiency. Options C and D are not clinical
measures of protein malnutrition.
In completing a client's preoperative routine, the nurse finds that the operative permit is not
signed. The client begins to ask more questions about the surgical procedure. Which action
should the nurse take next?
A. Witness the client's signature to the permit.
B. Answer the client's questions about the surgery.
C. Inform the surgeon that the operative permit is not signed and the client has questions
about the surgery.
D. Reassure the client that the surgeon will answer any questions before the anesthesia is
administered. CORRECT ANSWER C
Rationale: The surgeon should be informed immediately that the permit is not signed. It is
the surgeon's responsibility to explain the procedure to the client and obtain the client's
signature on the permit. Although the nurse can witness an operative permit, the procedure
must first be explained by the health care provider or surgeon, including answering the
client's questions. The client's questions should be addressed before the permit is signed.
The nurse is assessing several clients prior to surgery. Which factor in a client's history poses
the greatest threat for complications to occur during surgery?
A. Taking birth control pills for the past 2 years
B. Taking anticoagulants for the past year
C. Recently completing antibiotic therapy
D. Having taken laxatives PRN for the last 6 months CORRECT ANSWER B
Rationale:
, Anticoagulants increase the risk for bleeding during surgery, which can pose a threat for the
development of surgical complications. The health care provider should be informed that
the client is taking these drugs. Although clients who take birth control pills may be more
susceptible to the development of thrombi, such problems usually occur postoperatively. A
client with option C or D is at less of a surgical risk than with option B.
When assisting a client from the bed to a chair, which procedure is best for the nurse to
follow?
A. Place the chair parallel to the bed, with its back toward the head of the bed and assist the
client in moving to the chair.
B. With the nurse's feet spread apart and knees aligned with the client's knees, stand and
pivot the client into the chair.
C. Assist the client to a standing position by gently lifting upward, underneath the axillae.
D. Stand beside the client, place the client's arms around the nurse's neck, and gently move
the client to the chair. CORRECT ANSWER B
Rationale: Option B describes the correct positioning of the nurse and affords the nurse a
wide base of support while stabilizing the client's knees when assisting to a standing
position. The chair should be placed at a 45-degree angle to the bed, with the back of the
chair toward the head of the bed. Clients should never be lifted under the axillae; this could
damage nerves and strain the nurse's back. The client should be instructed to use the arms
of the chair and should never place his or her arms around the nurse's neck; this places
undue stress on the nurse's neck and back and increases the risk for a fall.
Which step(s) should the nurse take when administering ear drops to an adult client? (Select
all that apply.)
A. Place the client in a side-lying position.
B. Pull the auricle upward and outward.
C. Hold the dropper 6 cm above the ear canal.
D. Place a cotton ball into the inner canal.
E. Pull the auricle down and back. CORRECT ANSWER A, B
Rationale: The correct answers (A and B) are the appropriate administration of ear drops.
The dropper should be held 1 cm (½ inch) above the ear canal (C). A cotton ball should be
placed in the outermost canal (D). The auricle is pulled down and back for a child younger
than 3 years of age, but not an adult (E).
