HESI LPN
HESI Mental Health Practice Questions
1. A female client is admitted to the psychiatric unit with a diagnosis of anorexia nervosa. What is the priority nursing intervention?
- A. Monitor the client's vital signs regularly.
- B. Encourage the client to participate in group therapy.
- C. Offer the client frequent, high-calorie snacks.
- D. Weigh the client daily at the same time.
Correct answer: D
Rationale: The correct answer is to weigh the client daily at the same time. Daily weights are crucial in monitoring the client's nutritional status and guiding treatment for weight restoration in anorexia nervosa. Monitoring vital signs is important but weighing the client daily takes precedence in this situation. Encouraging group therapy and offering high-calorie snacks are important aspects of treatment but do not take priority over monitoring the client's weight.
2. Which client has the highest risk for developing community-acquired pneumonia?
- A. a 40-year-old first-grade teacher who works with underprivileged children
- B. a 75-year-old retired secretary with exercise-induced wheezing
- C. a 60-year-old homeless person who is an alcoholic and smokes
- D. a 35-year-old aerobics instructor who skips meals and eats only vegetables
Correct answer: C
Rationale: The correct answer is C because homeless individuals who are alcoholics and smoke have a higher risk of developing community-acquired pneumonia due to factors like poor living conditions, compromised immune systems, and increased exposure to infections. Choice A is less likely as the teacher's profession, while involving contact with children, may not pose as high a risk as the factors in choice C. Choice B may have respiratory issues but does not have the same risk factors as choice C. Choice D, the aerobics instructor, may have a healthy lifestyle but skipping meals and a restrictive diet do not directly correlate with a higher risk of pneumonia compared to the risk factors in choice C.
3. The nurse is admitting a newborn with hypospadias to the nursery. The nurse expects which finding in this newborn?
- A. absence of a urethral opening
- B. penis appears shorter than usual for age
- C. the urethral opening is along the dorsal surface of the penis
- D. the urethral opening is along the ventral surface of the penis
Correct answer: D
Rationale: Hypospadias is a congenital condition where the urethral opening is located along the ventral surface of the penis, not the dorsal surface (Choice C) or absent (Choice A). This leads to the characteristic appearance of a ventrally displaced urethral meatus. The penis may appear normal in size but with the urethral opening positioned abnormally (Choice D), rather than being shorter than usual (Choice B). Therefore, the correct expectation for a newborn with hypospadias is that the urethral opening is along the ventral surface of the penis, making Choice D the correct answer.
4. What should be a priority for a 4-year-old child with nephrosis?
- A. Impaired body image
- B. Skin impairment
- C. Nutritional deficit
- D. Injury
Correct answer: B
Rationale: The correct answer is B: Skin impairment. Skin care is a priority in nephrosis due to edema and increased risk of skin breakdown, requiring careful monitoring and management. While impaired body image (Choice A) can be a concern, it is not typically a priority in a 4-year-old with nephrosis. Nutritional deficit (Choice C) is important but addressing skin impairment takes precedence due to the immediate risk of complications related to skin breakdown. Injury (Choice D) is a general concern for children but is not the priority in a child with nephrosis.
5. A male client with mental illness and substance dependency tells the mental health nurse that he has started using illegal drugs again and wants to seek treatment. Since he has a dual diagnosis, which person is best for the nurse to refer this client to first?
- A. The emergency room nurse.
- B. His case manager.
- C. The clinic healthcare provider.
- D. His support group sponsor.
Correct answer: B
Rationale: The case manager (B) is responsible for coordinating community services, making them the best person to refer the client to first as they can describe available treatment options. The emergency room nurse (A) is unnecessary unless the client's behaviors pose imminent threats. The clinic healthcare provider (C) and support group sponsor (D) may be useful but coordinating a treatment program tailored to the client's needs is the priority in this scenario.