Review Questions

Prior to obtaining vital signs, a nurse gathers a thermometer, a manual blood pressure cuff, and a pulse oximeter and checks the patient’s vital sign trends. What item did the nurse fail to obtain?

What observation could represent an early sign of hypoxia?

After obtaining the height and weight, the nurse determines that the patient’s BMI is 27. In what category is this patient?

A patient using a walker is visiting the clinic for a preoperative appointment for gastric bypass surgery. The patient’s weight at the last appointment was 425 lb (192.8 kg). The nurse needs to obtain vital signs, height, and weight. The patient can stand without assistance. What scale should be used?

A nurse is caring for a patient following an appendectomy. The facility’s policy states that vital signs should be obtained immediately, then in fifteen-minute increments for the first hour, then in thirty-minute increments for the next two hours, then hourly for the following four hours. Vital signs were obtained immediately after surgery at 1515 and then again at 1530. When is the next time that vital signs should be obtained?

A patient’s bed is by an air vent in the hospital room. The nurse notes that the patient’s temperature decreased from 99.8°F (37.7°C) to 96.9°F (36.1°C). What type of heat transfer associated with the air vent may have contributed to the lowering of the patient’s temperature?

The nurse is caring for a 92-year-old female who is admitted to the hospital for a right hip fracture. No infection is noted per recent laboratory values and provider notes. Which temperature trend would the nurse expect for this patient?

The nurse is obtaining the pulse in the antecubital space. What pulse is this?

A nurse assesses a patient’s pulse and finds it has an irregular rhythm. What diagnosis causes an irregular rhythm?

A nurse is caring for a patient who was admitted to the hospital following surgery for hernia repair. The patient’s history includes diagnoses of COPD, hypertension, and peripheral vascular disease. The patient was also successfully treated for prostate cancer via a prostatectomy last year. Upon assessment, the nurse finds that the dorsalis pedis pulses are weak. What may be the cause of the weak pulses?

A respiratory rate of 12 breaths per minute would be expected at what age?

A nurse obtains a blood pressure reading of 133/74. In what category would this reading be classified?