Skip to ContentGo to accessibility pageKeyboard shortcuts menu
OpenStax Logo
Medical-Surgical Nursing

Review Questions

Medical-Surgical NursingReview Questions

Review Questions

1 .
What is a definition of critical thinking skills in nursing?
  1. Habitually using a set of rational standards to guide informed decision-making.
  2. Taking action after considering all the available patient data.
  3. Feelings based on a combination of experience, emotional intelligence, and mental reasoning.
  4. Seeking feedback on personal performance and evaluating patient outcomes.
2 .
The nurse is gathering a history from a patient who presents to the ER with a severe headache. What is an action by the nurse that demonstrates the importance of critical thinking?
  1. The nurse asks the patient about what medications they are currently taking instead of checking the patient’s chart.
  2. The nurse notes the patient’s current medication list in the chart and does not ask them what medications they currently take to save time so they can prioritize a focused physical assessment.
  3. The nurse asks the patient what medications they currently take at home and compares them to the information listed in the patient’s chart, noting there are discrepancies.
  4. The nurse does not ask the patient about current medications because assessing their pain level needs to be the priority.
3 .
In what way does critical thinking connect to clinical judgment?
  1. Critical thinking is part of clinical judgment but is a narrower set of skills.
  2. Clinical judgment must be the foundation for critical thinking.
  3. Clinical judgment stems from intuition, while critical thinking is not based on experience.
  4. Critical thinking and clinical judgment refer to the same set of nursing skills, and the terms can be used interchangeably.
4 .
A nurse working in a busy medical surgical unit has just received a new patient. They walk into the patient’s room to start the comprehensive history and physical assessment. They notice that the patient is sitting on the stretcher, arms crossed, and frowning. What form of communication is this patient exhibiting?
  1. Verbal
  2. Welcoming
  3. Nonverbal
  4. Written
5 .
The nurse is caring for a patient who does not speak English. The patient’s daughter offers to translate. What is the appropriate action for the nurse to take?
  1. Allow the patient’s daughter to translate the conversation.
  2. Use a phone app to translate what needs to be communicated to the patient.
  3. Follow the facility’s guidelines for acquiring assistive technology or an interpreter.
  4. Explain to the patient’s daughter that all communication will need to be in writing.
6 .
What is the last component of the ISBAR method of communication?
  1. Recommendation
  2. Revision
  3. Review
  4. Restatement
7 .
The nurse is preparing to complete a comprehensive health history and physical assessment on a new admission from the emergency department. The patient is a 35-year-old female with a chief complaint of shortness of breath. What description correctly demonstrates how the nurse will start the assessment?
  1. The nurse starts the focused health history with questions about the patient’s broken foot that occurred 1 year ago.
  2. The nurse starts the focused health history with questions about the patient’s menstrual cycle patterns.
  3. The nurse starts the focused health history with questions about the patient’s last asthma attack.
  4. The nurse starts the focused health history with questions about the patient’s shortness of breath.
8 .
In what section of the history would the nurse document that the patient denies alcohol, tobacco, and drug use?
  1. Medical
  2. Social determinants of health
  3. Family
  4. Current medications
9 .
The nurse is taking a history on a 65-year-old patient with diabetes who is at the provider’s office for follow-up to discuss their most recent labs. The patient mentions their vision has “been blurry lately.” What step would the nurse take based on this cue?
  1. Tell the patient that they may need to see an eye doctor.
  2. Make a note for the provider to do a vision test.
  3. Change the focus of the assessment to check the patient’s eyes.
  4. Reassure the patient the symptom is probably age-related.
10 .
The nurse is taking care of a patient who is admitted to the hospital for a chief complaint of chest pain. What is a description that demonstrates how the nurse would proceed with a physical examination?
  1. Start with the head-to-toe approach, head, eyes, ears, nose, and throat.
  2. Start by letting the patient care technician change the patient’s sheets, since the patient complained that they like new sheets right away.
  3. Start with the cardiac system, then continue the bedside physical examination.
  4. Start with the respiratory system, then continue the comprehensive physical examination.
11 .
What are the components of the HEENT assessment?
  1. Head, eyes, ears, nose, thorax
  2. Head, eyes, ears, nose, throat
  3. Head, eyes, ears, nose, trachea
  4. Head, eye, ears, nose, taste
PreviousNext
Citation/Attribution

This book may not be used in the training of large language models or otherwise be ingested into large language models or generative AI offerings without OpenStax's permission.

Want to cite, share, or modify this book? This book uses the Creative Commons Attribution License and you must attribute OpenStax.

Attribution information
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a print format, then you must include on every physical page the following attribution:
    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/medical-surgical-nursing/pages/1-introduction
  • If you are redistributing all or part of this book in a digital format, then you must include on every digital page view the following attribution:
    Access for free at https://openstax.org/books/medical-surgical-nursing/pages/1-introduction
Citation information

© Sep 20, 2024 OpenStax. Textbook content produced by OpenStax is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License . The OpenStax name, OpenStax logo, OpenStax book covers, OpenStax CNX name, and OpenStax CNX logo are not subject to the Creative Commons license and may not be reproduced without the prior and express written consent of Rice University.