Nursing Elites

1. To improve overall health, the nurse should place the highest priority on assisting a client to make lifestyle changes for which of the following habits?

• A. drinking a six-pack of beer each day
• B. eating an occasional chocolate bar
• C. exercising twice a week
• D. using relaxation exercises to deal with stress

Correct answer: A

Rationale: To improve overall health, the nurse should prioritize assisting the client in making lifestyle changes that have the most significant impact on health. Drinking a six-pack of beer each day can have serious negative effects on health, including liver damage, increased risk of chronic diseases, and addiction. By addressing this habit first, the nurse can make a substantial positive difference in the client's health. Eating an occasional chocolate bar, exercising twice a week, and using relaxation exercises to deal with stress are beneficial habits, but they are not as detrimental to health as excessive alcohol consumption. Therefore, they are not the highest priority for immediate lifestyle changes to improve health.

2. When performing an abdominal assessment, what is the correct order of the tasks?

• A. inspect, percuss, palpate, auscultate
• B. inspect, palpate, percuss, auscultate
• C. inspect, auscultate, percuss, palpate
• D. inspect, palpate, auscultate, percuss

Correct answer: C

Rationale: The correct order of tasks when performing an abdominal assessment is to first inspect the abdomen visually, then auscultate to assess bowel sounds without altering them, followed by percussing to assess the presence of tympany or dullness, and finally palpating to feel for any tenderness, masses, or organ enlargement. Placing palpation or percussion before auscultation, as in choices A, B, and D, can affect the bowel sounds and examination findings, making them incorrect sequences.

3. A nurse is determining the fetal heart rate (FHR) and places the fetoscope on the mother's abdomen to count the FHR. The nurse simultaneously palpates the mother's radial pulse and notes that it is synchronized with the sounds heard through the fetoscope. Which action should the nurse take?

• A. Count the FHR for 60 seconds, ensuring that it is synchronized consistently with the mother's radial pulse.
• B. Move the fetoscope to another area on the mother's abdomen to locate the fetal heart.
• C. Ask the mother to lie still while both the FHR and the radial pulse rate are counted.
• D. Count the FHR for 30 seconds and then count the radial pulse rate of the mother for 30 seconds.

Correct answer: B

Rationale: When auscultating the fetal heart rate, the nurse would place the fetoscope on the maternal abdomen, over the fetal back. The nurse would then palpate the mother's radial pulse. If her pulse is synchronized with the sounds from the fetoscope, the nurse would move the fetoscope to another area on the mother's abdomen to locate the FHR. The nurse needs to be sure that the FHR is what is actually being heard. Other sounds that may be heard are the funic sound (blood flowing through the umbilical cord) and the uterine sound (blood flowing through the uterine vessels). The funic sound is synchronized with the FHR; the uterine sound is synchronized with the mother's pulse. Therefore, moving the fetoscope to a different area will help in accurately locating and counting the fetal heart rate. Choice A is incorrect because counting for 60 seconds without changing the position may not address the issue of accurately locating the FHR. Choice C is incorrect as it does not address the need to reposition the fetoscope to locate the fetal heart. Choice D is incorrect because counting the FHR and the radial pulse rate separately may not help in differentiating the two sounds.

4. A 2-year-old child diagnosed with HIV comes to a clinic for immunizations. Which of the following vaccines should the nurse expect to administer in addition to the scheduled vaccines?

• A. pneumococcal vaccine
• B. hepatitis A vaccine
• C. Lyme disease vaccine
• D. typhoid vaccine

Correct answer: A

Rationale: For a 2-year-old child diagnosed with HIV, in addition to the scheduled vaccines, the nurse should expect to administer the pneumococcal vaccine. Children with HIV are at an increased risk of infections, including pneumococcal disease. The pneumococcal vaccine helps protect against serious pneumococcal infections like pneumonia, meningitis, and bacteremia. The hepatitis A vaccine is not specifically recommended for all children with HIV unless there are specific risk factors. The Lyme disease vaccine is for individuals at risk for Lyme disease, typically between the ages of 15 and 70, transmitted by ticks. The typhoid vaccine is usually recommended for individuals traveling to endemic areas or working in specific high-risk occupations like microbiology laboratories dealing with Salmonella typhi.

5. A nurse is preparing to assess the function of a client's spinal accessory nerve. Which action does the nurse ask the client to take to aid assessment of this nerve?

• A. Smiling
• B. Clenching the teeth
• C. Shrugging the shoulders against the nurse's resistance
• D. Identifying by taste a substance placed on the back of the tongue

Correct answer: C

Rationale: To assess cranial nerve XI (spinal accessory nerve), the examiner checks the sternomastoid and trapezius muscles for equal size. Equal strength is assessed by asking the client to rotate the head forcibly against resistance applied to the side of the chin and by asking the client to shrug the shoulders against resistance. These movements should feel equally strong on the two sides. The client is asked to smile as a test of the function of cranial nerve VII (facial nerve). The client's ability to clench the teeth is used to assess the motor function of cranial nerve V (trigeminal nerve). The client's taste perception is used to assess the sensory function of cranial nerve IX (glossopharyngeal nerve). Therefore, the correct action to assess the spinal accessory nerve is to ask the client to shrug the shoulders against resistance. The other options are used to assess different cranial nerves, making them incorrect choices.

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