NCLEX-RN
NCLEX RN Practice Questions With Rationale
1. The BRAT diet is often prescribed for patients with gastroenteritis. This acronym stands for:
- A. Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast
- B. Bread, Rice, Apricots, and Tapioca
- C. Bananas, Rolls, Apricots, and Toast
- D. Bananas, Rolls, Applesauce, and Tapioca
Correct answer: Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast
Rationale: The BRAT diet, which stands for Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast, is commonly recommended for patients with gastroenteritis. These easily digestible foods help firm up stools due to their low fiber content and provide essential nutrients lost during vomiting and diarrhea. Choice B is incorrect because it includes apricots, which are not part of the traditional BRAT diet. Choice C is incorrect as it includes rolls, which are not typically included in the BRAT diet. Choice D is incorrect as it includes tapioca, which is not part of the traditional BRAT diet. Therefore, the correct answer is Bananas, Rice, Applesauce, and Toast.
2. At the beginning of her shift in a long-term care facility, which of the following clients should a nurse check on first?
- A. A 91-year-old man who needs help eating breakfast
- B. An 86-year-old man who has been incontinent in his bed
- C. An 82-year-old woman who needs IV antibiotics
- D. A 75-year-old man who is recovering from an injury and needs an ice pack
Correct answer: An 82-year-old woman who needs IV antibiotics
Rationale: When prioritizing care in a long-term care facility, the nurse must consider tasks that require their immediate attention and cannot be delegated. Administering IV antibiotics is a critical nursing task that only the nurse can perform, ensuring the timely and correct delivery of medication to the patient. While assisting with breakfast, managing incontinence, and providing an ice pack are important, these tasks can be delegated to other healthcare team members, allowing the nurse to address the client needing IV antibiotics first to ensure effective treatment and patient safety.
3. You are attempting to teach the wife of a Greek patient how to administer his gastrostomy tube feedings once he returns home. She smiles and nods through your explanations, but when you ask her for a return demonstration, she looks confused and shakes her head. Her daughter enters the room and states that she does not speak English. What would be most helpful in this situation?
- A. Teach the daughter instead
- B. Teach both and ask the daughter to translate for you
- C. Contact a home health agency to provide care
- D. Provide a pamphlet with detailed instructions
Correct answer: Teach both and ask the daughter to translate for you
Rationale: Teaching both the patient's wife and the daughter is the best option in this situation. The daughter may not always be available, and the wife is eager to care for her husband at home. While a hospital interpreter is often preferred, asking the daughter to interpret is a good alternative. This approach allows the daughter to receive instruction and reinforce it for herself as she translates it to her mother. Contacting a home health agency may not be necessary if family members are willing and able to assist. Providing a pamphlet with detailed instructions would not be as effective in ensuring the wife fully understands the procedure and can carry it out correctly.
4. An 18-year-old male patient informs the nurse that he isn't sure if he is homosexual because he is attracted to both genders. The nurse establishes a trusting relationship with the patient by saying:
- A. Don't worry. It's just a phase you will grow out of.
- B. Those are abnormal impulses. You should seek therapy.
- C. At your age, it is normal to be curious about both genders.
- D. Having questions about sexuality is normal. Have you noticed any changes in the way this makes you feel about yourself?
Correct answer: At your age, it is normal to be curious about both genders.
Rationale: It is important for the nurse to validate the patient's concerns and provide a supportive environment. By acknowledging that it is normal for young adults to have questions about sexuality, the nurse helps the patient feel understood and accepted. This response encourages further discussion and exploration of the patient's feelings without judgment. Choice A dismisses the patient's concerns and implies that his feelings are not valid. Choice B stigmatizes the patient's feelings by labeling them as abnormal and suggests therapy without proper assessment. Choice D addresses the patient's feelings but lacks the validation and reassurance present in the correct answer, which is essential in building a trusting relationship with the patient.
5. Which of the following statements best describes compartment syndrome?
- A. An injury causes pain and tingling that starts in the buttock and travels down the leg.
- B. An injury causes swelling within muscle tissue that leads to anoxia of nerves and muscles.
- C. An injury causes permanent flexion of the interphalangeal joint, resulting in deformity.
- D. An injury causes pain and swelling of the median plantar nerve.
Correct answer: An injury causes swelling within muscle tissue that leads to anoxia of nerves and muscles.
Rationale: Compartment syndrome is characterized by swelling and increased pressure within a muscle compartment, leading to decreased blood flow and oxygen supply to nerves and muscles. This can result from various causes, such as trauma or the application of a cast after a fracture. If left untreated, compartment syndrome can lead to tissue necrosis. Choice A is incorrect as pain and tingling starting in the buttock and traveling down the leg are not specific features of compartment syndrome. Choice C is incorrect as permanent flexion of the interphalangeal joint is unrelated to compartment syndrome. Choice D is incorrect as pain and swelling of the median plantar nerve do not describe compartment syndrome.
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