NCLEX-RN
NCLEX RN Exam Preview Answers
1. What action by the nurse is appropriate when examining a 16-year-old male teenager?
- A. Discuss health teaching with the teenager to promote wellness.
- B. Ask the parent to step out of the room during the history and physical examination to respect the teenager's privacy.
- C. Use age-appropriate communication when speaking to the teenager to ensure understanding.
- D. Provide feedback that his body is developing normally and discuss the wide variation among teenagers on the rate of growth and development.
Correct answer: D
Rationale: During the examination of a 16-year-old male teenager, it is essential to provide feedback that his body is developing normally and to discuss the wide variation among teenagers regarding growth and development. This reassures the teenager about his health status and addresses any concerns about physical development. It is important to recognize that adolescents are very conscious of their body image and often compare themselves to their peers, hence the need for such feedback. Asking the parent to step out of the room respects the teenager's privacy and promotes open communication between the nurse and the teenager. Using age-appropriate communication is crucial to ensure that the teenager understands the information provided. Asking the parent to stay in the room may not be ideal as it can inhibit open discussion, and talking to the teenager as if they were a younger child is inappropriate and may undermine their autonomy and understanding.
2. You have been assigned to take an apical pulse for one of the patients on the nursing unit. How will you do this?
- A. You will place the stethoscope over the heart and listen for any irregular beats.
- B. You will place the stethoscope over the heart and count the beats per minute.
- C. You will place your fingertip over the patient's wrist and feel for any irregular beats.
- D. You will place your fingertip over the patient's wrist and count the beats per minute.
Correct answer: B
Rationale: To take an apical pulse accurately, you should place the stethoscope over the heart and count the number of beats per minute. This method provides a precise assessment of the heart rate. While listening for irregular beats is essential for assessing the heart's rhythm, the primary objective of taking an apical pulse is to determine the heart rate. Choices C and D are incorrect because the apical pulse is not taken at the wrist; instead, it is obtained by auscultating at the apex of the heart, usually at the point where the fifth intercostal space meets the midclavicular line.
3. Which of these techniques uses the sense of touch to assess texture, temperature, moisture, and swelling when assessing a patient?
- A. Palpation
- B. Inspection
- C. Percussion
- D. Auscultation
Correct answer: A
Rationale: The correct answer is Palpation. Palpation involves using the sense of touch to assess texture, temperature, moisture, and swelling in a patient. This technique allows the nurse to feel for abnormalities and changes in the patient's tissues. Inspection primarily relies on visual assessment, while percussion involves tapping on the body to produce sounds and assess underlying structures. Auscultation, on the other hand, involves listening to sounds within the body using a stethoscope. Therefore, in the context of assessing texture, temperature, moisture, and swelling, palpation is the most appropriate technique.
4. When turning an immobile bedridden client without assistance, which action by the nurse best ensures client safety?
- A. Securely grasp the client's arm and leg.
- B. Put bed rails up on the side of bed opposite from the nurse.
- C. Correctly position and use a turn sheet.
- D. Lower the head of the client's bed slowly
Correct answer: B
Rationale: When turning an immobile bedridden client without assistance, the best action to ensure client safety is to put bed rails up on the side of the bed opposite from the nurse. This is important because the nurse can only stand on one side of the bed, so having bed rails on the opposite side prevents the client from falling out of bed. Option A, which suggests securely grasping the client's arm and leg, can potentially cause client injury to the skin or joints. Options C and D, correctly positioning and using a turn sheet, and lowering the head of the client's bed slowly, respectively, are useful techniques during client turning but are of lower priority in terms of safety compared to the use of bed rails.
5. Which vacutainer tubes should be used when a requisition calls for blood to be drawn for an H&H and glucose test?
- A. One light blue, one red
- B. Two lavenders
- C. One lavender, one grey
- D. One green, one red
Correct answer: D
Rationale: The correct answer is 'One green, one red.' An H&H test involves hemoglobin and hematocrit, which are components of a complete blood count and are typically drawn in a lavender tube. On the other hand, blood for glucose testing is collected in grey tubes. Therefore, when drawing blood for both an H&H and glucose test, one green tube for glucose and one red tube for H&H should be used. The other choices are incorrect because light blue tubes are used for coagulation studies, lavender tubes are for complete blood counts, and green tubes are for chemistry tests like glucose, while grey tubes are specifically for glucose testing.
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