Nursing Elites

1. A young adult male who is being seen at the employee health care clinic for an annual assessment tells the nurse that his mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia when she was his age and that life with a schizophrenic mother was difficult indeed. Which response is best for the nurse to provide?

• A. Ask the client if he is worried about becoming schizophrenic at the age his mother was diagnosed.
• B. Encourage the client to seek genetic counseling to determine his risk for mental illness.
• C. Inform the client that his mother’s schizophrenia has affected his psychological development.
• D. Tell the client that mental illness has a familial predisposition so he should see a psychiatrist.

Correct answer: B

Rationale: Genetic counseling can help assess risk and provide guidance for the client’s concerns about potential hereditary conditions.

2. The nurse is preparing to send a client to the cardiac catheterization lab for an angioplasty. Which client report is most important for the nurse to explore further prior to the start of the procedure?

• A. Verbalizes a fear of being in a confined space.
• B. Drank a glass of water in the past 2 hours.
• C. Reports left chest wall pain prior to admission.
• D. Experiences facial swelling after eating crab

Correct answer: C

Rationale: The correct answer is C. Left chest wall pain could indicate ongoing cardiac issues or instability, which needs to be assessed before proceeding with the procedure. This pain could be related to the heart and may suggest a potential risk during the angioplasty. Options A, B, and D do not directly relate to cardiac complications during the procedure, making them less urgent for immediate assessment. Fear of confined spaces, drinking water, and facial swelling after eating crab are not immediate risks to the client's safety in the context of a cardiac catheterization procedure.

3. A client who is diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is having difficulty swallowing and articulating words. Which intervention is most important to include in this client’s plan of care?

• A. Encourage speaking slowly and articulating words
• B. Sit upright and flex chin forward while swallowing
• C. Position a communication board at the bedside
• D. Provide feeding utensils with large grip handles

Correct answer: B

Rationale: The correct intervention for a client with ALS experiencing difficulty swallowing and articulating words is to sit upright and flex the chin forward while swallowing. This position helps manage dysphagia associated with ALS by facilitating the swallowing process. Encouraging speaking slowly and articulating words (Choice A) may be helpful for speech clarity but does not address the swallowing issue. Positioning a communication board (Choice C) would not directly address the swallowing difficulty. Providing feeding utensils with large grip handles (Choice D) is not the priority intervention for managing dysphagia in ALS.

4. A continuous infusion of nitroglycerin is prescribed for an adult male admitted with an acute myocardial infarction. The client is experiencing active chest pain that he describes as 8 out of 10. Which intervention is most important for the nurse to implement?

• A. Administer the infusion via an infusion pump
• B. Obtain the current serum potassium level
• C. Continuously monitor blood pressure
• D. Teach guided imagery to decrease pain

Correct answer: C

Rationale: Continuously monitoring blood pressure is crucial in this case because nitroglycerin can cause hypotension as a side effect. Monitoring blood pressure allows the nurse to assess the client's response to the medication and detect any signs of hypotension promptly. This intervention is essential to ensure the effectiveness of nitroglycerin therapy and prevent potential complications. Administering the infusion via an infusion pump is important for accurate dosing but not the most critical at this moment. Obtaining the current serum potassium level is important but not the most immediate concern when the client is experiencing active chest pain. Teaching guided imagery may be beneficial for pain management, but in this scenario, monitoring blood pressure takes precedence due to the potential side effects of nitroglycerin.

5. A young adult client was admitted 36 hours ago for a head injury that occurred as a result of a motorcycle accident. In the last 4 hours, the client’s urine output has increased to over 200 ml/hour. Before reporting the finding to the healthcare provider, which intervention should the nurse implement?

• A. Obtain capillary blood samples for glucose every 2 hours
• B. Measure oral secretions suctioned during the last 4 hours
• C. Evaluate the urine osmolality and serum osmolality values
• D. Obtain blood pressure and assess for dependent edema

Correct answer: C

Rationale: The correct answer is to evaluate the urine osmolality and serum osmolality values. The increased urine output following a head injury could indicate diabetes insipidus, a condition characterized by excessive urination and extreme thirst. Evaluating osmolality is crucial for diagnosing diabetes insipidus. Choice A is incorrect because obtaining capillary blood samples for glucose every 2 hours is not the priority in this situation. Choice B is irrelevant to the client's current symptom of increased urine output. Choice D is also not the most appropriate intervention as the focus should be on assessing for a potential endocrine issue related to the increased urine output.

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